Sentimental? Cue freak rainstorms

I’ve been getting a little sentimental lately.  Yesterday, walking lungarno towards the Ponte Vecchio, taking in the sights of this pretty city, I couldn’t help but to think that next week at this time I’ll be home... in Danvers.

I actually watched a parade of hundreds of these adorable,
old Fiat 500's the other day. Nice, surprise study break!

Anna finds Boccaccio very entertaining

Then, I got less sentimental.  Sorry, Florence, but when you bombard me with irrational, New England-esque weather, it’s kind of rude.  I understand that you’re upset that we’re leaving on Saturday--we’ve had a wonderful year together.  However, Sunday began as what Lew would refer to as a “Top 10 Day.” We trekked up to the Boboli gardens to revive our suntans... ahem I mean, study...and were, instead, surprise-attacked by an end-of-the-world type storm.  Rain, hail, wind, thunder, and lightning did not make for the best afternoon outside. Even better, Lauren and I were obviously umbrella-less, bike-less, car-less, and eventually shoe-less, trudging through the overflowing streets and suffering the impact of splashing cars.  When bus #23 finally arrived, we looked as if we just took a dunk in the Arno.

I just jumped in the river?

Things that should not occur in June

Anyhow, these mixed feelings lead me to.................

Things I’m Looking Forward to about the USA:

Yes, Randy, that means you!

1. A manicure and a pedicure


2. “Say Yes to the Dress” or any live television show in my native language for that matter


3. Giant, feathery pillows, medium-sized spoons, and a cell phone from the 21st century


4. A bathroom that does not involve a hidden flush, a bidet, a foot pedal, or a rocket-ship shower

Bye Bye Bidet, Bidet goodbye

5. Written exams>Oral exams


6. Living in a “dog” house. (Not, a doghouse.) Cat lovers, don’t take this personally, I just don't think I can talk about how beautiful Angiolina’s eyes are any longer. Pearl girl, on the other hand...

Cute even when she's dirty and gray!

7. Weather-appropriate clothing. Italians, we don’t wear scarves when it is 80 degrees outside.


8. 34 cent stamps. Snail mail is the best; the cost of postage abroad is not.


9. Laundry via fabric softener & a dryer


10. Some food favorites LIKE... McDonald’s Coca-Cola, fried clams, berry salad, peanut butter, orange juice, and hamburgers :)








***My beautiful friends and family!

Sorry Ky, you didn't make the cut! This picture of the
Larson Fam is far too wonderful to omit

Things I’m Going to Miss About Italy:


1. Nina, my Italian host sister, singing American pop songs with no knowledge of the English language. I give you the lyrics to Katy Perry's Firework: “Ohhshaby yurr a fyerrwurk momon soyumwat cher vurr” 

Nina & Oscar

2. The bicycle culture. Toddlers riding in the bike’s baby seat, elderly women strolling past in their finest furs, tourists frantically running out of the way of crazed bicycling natives...
















3. Traveling to foreign countries on the weekends

4. Oscar discovering the gelato-cones that Sylvia craftily hides in empty, frozen spinach bags, in the freezer


5. Living in a place where people vacation. My proximity to the center of Florence. The fact that I see Renaissance artwork and walk through history every single day.

6. Parlare italiano

Spence getting his Italian on

7. Listening to the opera singer (who lives upstairs) belting out tunes while I’m in the shower. Her voice is a little better than my shower voice.




8. Sharing hilarious host-family stories with my friends... Lauren walked into breakfast and was greeted by her 70-year-old host-mother reading the newspaper in 3D glasses... When Adair forgot her keys, her host-mom wouldn’t let her in, because she didn’t recognize her name until she pronounced it incorrectly... Ah-dai-Ee-Err.


9. Bufala mozzarella, Italian tomatoes, Chianti vino, & essentially anything that Attilio cooks for dinner


10. A gelato a day with my little group of American besties

Gelato, Tourists, Sun, & more Gelato

I’ve been a busy, little bee in Firenze for the past few weeks! Yes, exams are just around the corner... Unfortunately (for Holy Cross, L’Universita’ di Firenze, and my tutors) my Italian social life is a splash more exciting than Tuscan history and the reign of Vittorio Emanule II. Sorry dude.

Last weekend, Holy Cross invaded Florence, yet again.  I am SO lucky that I have seen so many friends all across Europe this year: sharing a tent in freezing Munich with the Holy Cross crew, hunting for chocolate con churros with Eva in Madrid, and visiting the Drapek famiglia in Umbria, etc etc, forever and ever. My friend Audrey and I met up four times over the course of the year. Get this: in four different countries. Honestly, that’s absurd. Anyhow, this weekend was double-trouble because not only did a trio from Holy Cross arrive (including my lovely roommate Kathryn) but Roxanne, one of my best friends, also made her way up to Florence!

Roxanne visits Florence...

...and so does Kathryn!!!

Family pictures were taken...

...and so were photos spelling H-O-C-R-O

We saw the city from Piazzale Michelangelo!

and Fiesole!

And boy were my amici in luck! This weekend was Gelato Festival! Things that made me love Florence more than I already did? The fact that Gelato was created here. Supposedly, the Medici family were the first to have some kind of freezer/storage unit in their backyard (also known as the Boboli Gardens) where they kept the good stuff. Of course they did. 

So the gang purchased gelato cards and were set loose among stands and stands of gelato vendors.  In a word, heaven.  I’m not going to lie, eating gelato with visitors is a little different from doing so with seasoned gelato-eating veterans (Lauren, Adair).  For some odd reason, after swiping the gelato card three times in the course of an hour, Roxanne was ready to call it quits for the day. Um really signorina? 

Thoughts running through my head: Okay, well I guess if that’s how much gelato, a normal-person’s stomach can handle...then..um...that’s enough for me too.  In all honesty, that's not the case. Proof? Adair, Lauren, and I have a new song that goes a little something like this:  “Gelato, you make me feel like I’m the biggest girl in the world.” (To be played to the tune of Rihanna’s “Only girl in the world”)  Serious gelato-conoisseurs just, plain cannot stop after 3 gelati, my friend.

Anyhow, we had a splendid weekend together, walking about 100 miles every day--not enough to cancel out the gelato calories, but still noteworthy.

After our visitors took off, the girls and I decided that it would be a wonderful idea to wake up at twilight and bike to Piazzale Michelangelo in time to see the sunrise.  These days, the sun rises at about 5:30 so in order to make the climb, I woke up at about 4:40. Yes, that is freakishly early. Poor Attilio (the host dad) was also up at that ungodly hour.  Sadly, I scared the poor little guy, half to death. Being friendly and all, I gave him a wave before departing and he jumped a mile, before harassing me with questions as to where in the world is Carmen Sandiego... I mean, where in the world I was going before 5am.  After the fact, he and Syliva (host mom) decided that I went to meet my Italian boyfriend. Oh... you guys didn’t know I had an Italian boyfriend? Me neither. Sorry to burst your bubble, host famiglia, but I just met the girls for some sun, bananas, and mimosas! 

Today was “tourist day” in Florence.  Well, it was “tourist day” for the Holy Cross students.  Spencer, Adair, and I raided the cheapo t-shirt box at the souvenir store and uncovered some true gems.  Add in some sneakers and a city tour bus and you’ve got yourself a full day of ridiculousness!  My host family didn't quite understand the concept... In fact, Sylvia asked if I was going running this morning when I was leaving the house in my sneakers and jean shorts. Really? Girl, if I try to go running in my jorts, please stop me. The mix of sweat and denim sounds horribly uncomfortable. 


The day was brilliant and we made complete fools out of ourselves, as planned. Tragically, the wonderful day ended with me tripping and falling off of the bus, onto my chin. (Appropriate.) Seriously, every fall I've ever taken involves me landing on my chin. Today in the piazza I had an incredibly realistic flashback to my most legitimate chin-fall-incident involving Nana's front stairs and fourteen stitches, circa 1997. Gross. At dinner, I was the target of some serious mocking from Signorina Nina who could not understand for the life of her, how the hell I landed on my chin.  Now, I'm stuck with a nice quarter-sized boo boo there. Adorable!  Anyhow, here are some pre-fall-photos:

All aboard!

Hey ponte vecchio!

Tomorrow, it’s time to get down to business. My stack of flashcards is actually staring me down as I write this, trying to guilt me as much as it is possible for an inanimate object to guilt a person. Sorry that I’ve been avoiding you, Tuscan History. Now, it's game time.

Sail Away

Yeah, this wacko family
would probably do something
like that

You know those families that go on vacation, all dressed in the same color so that the little kids won’t get lost... or if they do get lost, they’ll remember what color their parents are wearing?  Embarrassingly enough, Adair and I began our adventure to Greece--when I say adventure, I mean adventure--in precisely the same way.  

The uniform? Hot pink v-necks and black sweats. 

Pre-planned? Absolutely not. 

Did it look pre-planned? Oh hell yes. 

We couldn’t figure out why the guards outside of the cruise ship were throwing us such glares. UhmHmm the fact that we looked like two twenty-year-old girls playing “twins” for the day may have had something to do with it.

Anyhow, Greece was beautiful. Are you surprised? Probably not. I can honestly say that it was the brightest place I have ever seen. Strange statement, but one-hundred-percent true. I exited the ship and walked directly into the sun or at least what I imagine it would feel like to walk directly into the sun. With my sunglasses on, my weekend began.

Sadly, essentially everything that could have gone wrong, did go wrong during our little, Greek getaway.  Overbooked trains to and fro, lost ferry reservations, cancelled kayak safaris, and one, sick, little Adair.  We did, however, get to amp up those suntans that we’ve been working on, in addition to attending a Greek-themed toga party hosted by our hostel.

Things that the hostel should consider? Providing “How-To-Make-A-Toga” instructions.  Adair and I are very crafty people. We love dresses. We own a lot of dresses. Sure, I’ve never put together a toga before, but really how hard could it be? The two of us returned from a day at the beach and spent a full (well this is embarrassing) 2 hours standing in front of the mirror, twisting, folding, and tying ourselves up in these ridiculous, pink sheets. The level of frustration on the trip hit an all time high, until at last Adair maneuvered the wad of fabric into a grecian gown. Thank the lord.

The trip ended with Adair and I, sitting in the backseat of the hostel’s shuttle bus to the port, fifteen minutes before departure.  Passengers are supposed to arrive two hours prior. We’re watching the minutes tick past on the clock while the song “Sail Away” is blaring (appropriately) out of the car’s speakers. No worries, we made it.

Now, it is 90 degrees and sunny in the beautiful city of Florence which is now especially inundated with tourists... Great for the city’s tourism, bad for the city’s biking population. I may have casually grazed a person's backside last week. Whoops! 

Here, I was going to write a little tidbit about how happy I am that I haven’t run into the cast of "Jersey Shore."  I’m sure everyone in America is well aware that the trashy, MTV reality series decided to drop off the group of hair-gelled, fake-baked stars in the center of Renaissance history and culture. Anyhow, what I was going to write no longer applies. After class this afternoon, the three of us walked directly passed the "the situation."

Luckily, that wasn't my only celebrity sighting of the week! Yesterday, I was actually so overjoyed when I jogged past our favorite professor in the park that I immediately informed my friends about it. Clearly they were jealous.       

Look at that Tiffany-blue
suit jacket and tell me
he's not a champ!

Fast & Furious 5: Fiat Edition

Starting point: Firenze

So as most of my readers already know, the Florence crew and I road-tripped down to the Amalfi Coast this weekend!  For those unfamiliar with Italian geography, I’m including a little map so that you can get the whole effect. The Amalfi Coast is mentioned in essentially every Road Trip/Scenic Drives Top 10 list ever produced. It’s also been on my personal to-do-list for as long as I can remember. 

Our navigator.
Worrisome.

When our teeny Fiat rolled up, early Friday morning, our adventure began!  Anna (The only one who drives stick... God bless her) was behind the wheel, contending with the temperamental vespa drivers, and Adair deciphered the maps, while Spencer, Lauren, and I (classified as the “Sleepers”) took turns singing, dancing, and dozing in and out of consciousness.

Music up. 
Windows down. 
Sea-Bands on. 
Feeling-in-butt gone. 
One bag of popcorn, two pringle cans, a few 90‘s jams, some unreal glimpses of the coastline, and 6 hours later... we arrived in Sorrento, which became our home-base for the weekend.  

Saturday, we left the mainland for the Isle of Capri. (Pronounced: Kah-pree. I was corrected many a time.) The island, about a 45-minute ferry ride from Sorrento, combines rock formations, fancy white villas, and the clearest of turquoise waters.  Sure, 5 college students fit in just fine with the big-spenders and honeymooners dominating the paradise. It's becoming a theme here that the 5 of us enjoy traveling to lavish and exotic places where normal, twenty-year-old kids should not be traveling. We stick out like a sore thumb. I guess you could say that the Amalfi Coast is not quite our natural habitat. Yet, secondo me, it should be. 

Oh Hello, down there!

We took a chair lift to the top of Anacapri, the highest region of the island, where we paraded around with our cameras, capturing the views as best we could.  We simultaneously took part in a fun, little game called “What would you be doing at Holy Cross right now?”  On Saturday, our poor, little Crusader friends were slaving away at exams after endless hours of studying, without sunlight, fresh air, or food. Okay, maybe they could eat. But still. I guess it’s a teensy bit unfair that we spent Holy Cross’ final exam week doing this:

Our "We're in CAPRI instead of taking FINAL EXAMS" faces!

What would you be doing at Holy Cross right now?

What are you doing instead?

THE FIAT 5

 After a Caprese pizza and a gelato (I don’t kid when I say “A Gelato a Day”), the gang headed to a little, rock beach on Capri’s Marina Piccola.  We could only worship the blazing sun for a matter of minutes before bidding farewell to our towels and immersing ourselves in the Tyrrhenian.  We swam around like little fishies, waiting to be pinched and awoken to the reality of Dinand Library. 

Yup that little bobbing head is mine!

Birthday kids!

That night, we celebrated Spencer and Lauren.  The pair happen to share the same birthday which we rung in with a picnic of bread, cheese, and vino atop the hostel’s gorgeous, rooftop patio.  Uber European.  We kept the party rocking with a make-shift cake in the form of a tin of cookies, garnished with festive, birthday numbers.

Before hitting the road for our return trip to Florence, we revisited our friend, Signor Fiat, who toured us all around the roads that snake in and out of cliffs, high above the sea. I'm not going to lie: I took my Dramamine and was prepared for anything because the last time I drove on winding cliff-roads was on an entertaining, yet heart-attack-inducing, trip to Yosemite, as a backseat to Uncle Ken's superb speed-racing. Luckily, Anna's a bit more tame, behind the wheel. We stopped in Positano, a picturesque little town, built on the side of a ledge. 

GRANITA!

Sadly, on the beach at Positano, we mutated from tanned beach bods into overcooked, red lobsters. However, in the meantime, we did enjoy a bit of beachside granita--an Italian lemon-flavored slush.  Make that, a GIANT lemon, flavored slush. For some odd reason, the lemons in Amalfi are on steroids. They look a bit like Kyle, after a nasty, chalky power-milkshake, during a hockey season, lift session. That's one freakishly, huge lemon.

A view of Positano from the beach

Once my gelato franchise hits it big in the States, I will be joining the girls in purchasing a Positano time share.  Today, at the ceramics store, Lauren and I even picked out the blue and white design for our kitchenware. You are all welcome to visit, just be sure to pack your walking shoes because the stairs on this hillside village challenge those at good, old HC. 

I don't have a mere minute to complain about my blah and boring life because I'm off yet again.  This is my final little Euro trip... I can't believe that next week I'll actually have to buckle down with Boccaccio and some good, old Tuscan History readings. Boo Hoo povera me. Guess I'll have to enjoy myself this weekend in Greece with Miss Adair!

Happy weekend! I hope these sunny photos bring positive thoughts to rainy Massachusetts!