The Last Tale

Well, I can't believe I am writing my last blog from Europe. Seems like just yesterday I was writing about my arrival. So much happens in a year.

Most of the others have gone already, I'm left cleaning and packing and sorting and tossing. This is my last day in the city, and I am planning to spend my afternoon in the center, walking around my favorite streets and piazzas and taking it in for the last time. Sounds so sad to say it like that.

The year ended with a bang, though. We took a trip to Sicily for a week with the school after finals were over. 16 hour bus trip, but it was worth it when we arrived to an island filled with sunshine, beautiful beaches, and sparkling emerald waters. It was such an amazing trip. We went to several of the little towns that line the coast, adorable little beach towns built up on cliffs overlooking the sea. We went up to Mt. Etna and climbed around on craters. Another day we took a ferry to the volcanic island of Vulcano, where we lounged around on the beach and went into the sulfur mud baths, which was quite an interesting experience. We ate delicious food and stayed in a hotel that was on a beautiful pebbly beach, with perfect water. It was definitely a trip I will remember forever, being in such a beautiful place with all of us together for the last time.

The ends of experiences are always a little difficult. I am so happy to be going home, to be going back to my real life there, but at the same time it seems surreal that things will not continue to be like they have been here. I feel like I have been here for so long, yet at the same time, it seems to have passed in the blink of an eye.
I remember at least three years ago, making plans in my mind to spend a year studying abroad, and the time leading up to when I came, I spent reading guidebooks and travel memoirs, and daydreaming about what it would be like. I think that it has exceeded my expectations. I have learned so much, seen so many things, come to appreciate a new culture and new things that I never did before, like art and architecture and food and history. I have learned a new language and can now communicate in a way I never could before. I have made new friends who have become important and will be part of my life forever. I have become more self-sufficient, traveled on my own and done things I didn't think I would ever do on my own. When I think hard about it, I feel like I have accomplished the goals I set out for myself when I came. I can't wait to get home and see how the things that I have learned here about life and myself will affect my life at home. I know that I am not the same person who came here 10 months ago, and for this I am grateful, because I believe that it is important to always have change and growth in life, even if it is hard sometimes.

So thank you, Italy, for this year and this opportunity, and this newfound happiness that I now have. I will always remember this year as one of the best of my life, and I will always be grateful for it.

A Few Thoughts on Freedom

The last few days have been an interesting mix of studying, relaxing, and having fun. I've had a few tests (studying), laid out in the sun for hours under a perfect blue sky, amongst the wildflowers coming up everywhere in the Tuscan countryside and read my book (relaxing), and been to a few concerts, explored the city, and celebrated Italy's liberation from the Nazis (fun!). I never know what the next day will bring for me here.

Today for instance, something happened that really made me think. I went to the Piazza Dalmazia in the morning with a book and a pastry to sit in a little park for a little while to enjoy the sun and the hustle and bustle of the city. Sharing my bench was a very old man who was sitting with his cane in hand, seemingly enjoying the sunshine as well. Somehow I found myself entered into a conversation with him (in Italian, which made things interesting). He was 82 years old and had lived in Florence for many of those years. Born in Siena, he moved to Florence and was part of the police force here for over 30 years. He told me that he has a lot of relatives here, and he likes to walk down to the piazza in the mornings to see friends and just sit.
Speaking to him made me think of my own grandfather, now almost 90 years old, who was a soldier during WWII. In my history class we are studying Fascism, so that has caused me to have some thoughts about the wars of the past. As I was talking to this man and thinking about what his youth must have been like, I imagine my grandfather in his soldier's uniform, stationed in a country far away from home, during a time when Mussolini reigned supreme over Italy and was not a friend to the Americans. And it made me think that at that time this little old man that I was speaking to would have been the bitter enemy of my own grandfather, should they have ever met in battle.

Strange thoughts, I know, but it made me appreciate the fact that that world of the past, the world of emnity between our countries is gone, and that I now have the freedom, thanks to people probably like that man, and also my own grandfather, to be studying in Italy, carefreely enjoying a foreign city and all the pleasures that come with it, and to be sitting in a pretty little park on a Monday morning, talking to this Italian man. It made me appreciate my freedom and also the sacrifices that others have made just a little bit more than I already did. Coincidentally, today is also the day that, 63 years ago, Mussolini was killed and the war was considered to be over (according to my history book). It really is the perfect day for me to be considering and appreciating the life that I have today and the people who have made it possible.

Welcome to Adulthood?

Two days ago I celebrated my 21st birthday, which is an exciting thing for most people. It was definitely so for me, and also a little bit special because I celebrated it in a foreign country.

The weekend right before my birthday, which was on Monday, I decided to take myself on a little solo trip to Rome for a night to see some of the things I didn't have time for when the school took us in March. I booked a little room in a hotel very close to the Vatican City and hopped on a train after class. I had Friday evening in the city, visiting the church of San Pietro in Vincolo to see the tomb of Pope Julius II, which was carved by Michelangelo and has as part of it his famous statue of Moses. Then I found my way to the Coliseum and walked from there through some of the main parts of the city all the way to the Vatican City. That evening, I went to a restaurant and had an amazing dinner, even though it felt a little strange to be eating by myself. The next morning I went early to see the Vatican Museums, including the Sistine Chapel and rooms painted by Raphael. So much to see! The day was perfect and sunny, so I wandered to the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain, had lunch, and then headed back to the train station to head home, but first making a stop in Orvieto, which is a small medieval town in Umbria. It is such a beautiful little place, built high up on a cliff. It's known for it's gorgeous Gothic cathedral. It was very charming.

Sunday afternoon, the day right before my birthday, a few friends and I bought bread, cheese, pesto dip, and some other little things to take up to the Piazzale Michelangelo, which overlooks the whole city, to see the sunset and just relax a little bit. It was such a nice time, after the sun had gone down, the lights of the city came up. Florence is stunning at night. After we had eaten, we walked back down into the center to see a violin and organ performance of Vivaldi's Four Seasons in a little church called Santa Maria dei Ricchi.

My actual birthday was unfortunately rainy and a little bit chilly, and I had classes for most of the day, but in the late afternoon the skies cleared up and a big group of everyone from school here, about 18 or 19 of us, all went to a pizzeria in the center to eat together. It was really fun to have everything together, it seems like we hadn't all done anything like that for such a long time! I suppose birthdays are a perfect way to bring people together.

So altogether it turned out to be a very good time. I don't know if being 21 means that I am now really an "adult." My parents would probably tell you it doesn't :-) But I do think that it is just another year into a time in my life that is going to bring many changes, lots of growth, and who knows what else...I will have to wait and see.

Spring Break and Other Good Things

Well, I'm back! The last month or so has been crazy, so much to do, so little time. And now, so much to write, so little time!

My spring break began just a day or so before Easter...the first interesting thing I got to do was see "Lo Scoppio del Carro," which is a Florentine Easter tradition. It's basically this huge, fancily-decorated cart that is pulled into the Piazza del Duomo by some huge oxen, along with a parade of people dressed in Renaissance costume. The cart is covered in firecrackers and stops in front of the main door of the Duomo. There was entertainment for a bit, traditional flag throwers. Then the archbishop of Florence came out and threw holy water on the crowds...quite interesting. Finally after what felt like forever, they lit the firecrackers. When the popping began, a large fake dove was released by the archbishop from the pulpit of the Duomo. Tradition says that if the dove flies all the way out to the cart without problems, it means it will be a good year for Florence. Fortunately for all the Florentines this year, it did! So that was a really fun cultural experience, I'm really glad to have been there.

The same day as the cart, my parents arrived in Florence! I met them at the station and we spent the next four days together, two days in Florence, and two driving a rented car through Tuscany and Umbria, the region to the south of Tuscany that is known as "the green heart of Italy." It was a great trip, we got to see several lovely little hill-top towns, such as Monteriggioni, Cortona, Spoleto,Assisi and Todi, and several of the bigger, but still medieval cities: Siena and Perugia. It was nice to just drive, see the countryside, try out the local foods, visit churches and other touristy sights. I also loved just walking through the narrow cobble-stoned streets of the little towns and just getting the feel of the life there.

After those few days I separated from my parents and began my two week whirlwind tour of some European countries with my friend and roommate Heather. We had train passes and big backpacks and we just went! We stayed in hostels for super cheap, and saw so many churches and museums, it made my head spin. Definitely a trip I will never forget: Berlin; Dresden, Germany; Prague, Czech Republic; Vienna, Austria; Bratislava, Slovakia; Budapest, Hungary; Zagreb, Croatia; Ljubljana, Slovenia; and finally back into Italy, stopping in Milan to see the amazing Gothic cathedral! The traveling was a bit exhausting, but we tried to make the most of our time and see a lot. It was really interesting to see a different part of the continent, and it's amazing how countries so close to Italy can be so different. The trip just continue to fuel the fire that I now have to see the world. It's too big, I want to see all of it!

By the time the two weeks were over, however, I was very ready to come back to Italy, a place that now feels somewhat like a second home to me. That's one of the great things about traveling: it makes you appreciative your home even more, and at the end of a long trip, there's nothing like being back where you feel you belong.

P.S. LOTS of photos will be on my photo sight!

Two Different Worlds

One thing that I love about being here is how it's possible to have so many diverse experiences in a very short amount of time. For me, this past week was like that.

Last weekend, I returned to Spain for the third time (I just can't stay away from the place!) to see the beginning of the Las Fallas celebration, which a fiesta that happens every year in Valencia during Semana Santa (Holy Week). The fiesta has religious origins, but nowadays it's more about the party, it seems. For a week, the streets of Valencia are filled with people and huge, colorful statues made of a papier-mache like material. People spend massive amounts of time and money building these things and then at the end of the week, in one evening, they burn them all to the ground and it's like the city is on fire. Crazy.
I wasn't there for the burning, unfortunately, but I did get to see some amazing fireworks shows, a good concert, crazy parade, and the "mascleta," which is another Fallas tradition: each afternoon in the main plaza of the city, there is a ten-minute or so volley of firecrackers shot into the sky. It seems to go on forever, especially to the ears! So loud. I have never seen anything like it before.

Another thing that made Fallas fun for me though, was visiting some friends that I made during the summer when I studied Spanish at the Adventist college that is very close to Valencia. I stayed at my friend Elias' house for the weekend, near Valencia, and spent my time with him and his friends. It was cool to be able to experience the fiesta with locals, although it was a little difficult trying to keep up with them with my not-so-great Spanish. I have forgotten so much since the summer, and now Italian has taken over my brain! It was definitely a challenge, since not many of the Spanish people speak English, but it didn't damper my fun too much.

After I returned from Fallas, we had our last day of classes for almost a month! And then headed to Rome for two days. I had been waiting for this trip for so long. Since I was little, I've had this obsessive fascination with Rome, particularly the Rome of the ancient Romans: Coliseum, forum, Circus Maximus, the whole bit. And finally my dream of seeing it all came true! Standing inside the Coliseum was so surreal. Not to mention seeing the ruins of the ancient Forum, the arch of Constantine, and a prison where the apostles Paul and Peter were legendarily imprisoned. After that there were famous piazzas, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, and Santa Maria Maggiore, another important church. Rome has so much to offer! It is so big, there was nowhere near enough to see half of what there is there, so I know that in my life I will go back. One disappointment: we weren't able to go inside the Vatican Museum and see the Sistine Chapel or the famous Raphael paintings. So I contented myself with St. Peter's Square and the Basilica. The Vatican City is rather amazing. St. Peter's is so huge and intimidating. While I was there, the new pope was giving a mass. The place was crowded, since it is just a few days before Easter.

So Rome was a good experience. It has a different feel from Florence, that is for sure, but I definitely loved a lot of things about it, and I will be back. I threw money in the Trevi Fountain, so that means my return should be guaranteed!

Coffee With the Italians

One of the things that I find so interesting about Italy is the people, I have to say. I had a long break between classes this morning, so I decided to make the ten-minute walk to the Piazza Dalmazia near the school. I had a few things I needed to do, like withdraw money and mail some postcards, and I also wanted a coffee, so Piazza Dalmazia, a pretty big shopping area, was the perfect place to kill two birds with one stone (or as the Italians say, "Prendere due piccioni con una fava," which literally means "to keep two pigeons with one bean," a little bit kinder version of our saying!) I made it to the bar, after being stopped in front of the Careggi university by a young man giving out pamphlets about a series of meetings on the Catholic church. He and I spoke for a few minutes, and it wasn't until after I had walked on that I realized "hey, that whole conversation was in Italian!" It's always exciting to have those moments when you really feel like you have a grasp of the language and are more a part of the culture, instead of being the "stupid American" on the outside looking in.

But anyway, I made it to the bar, ordered my caffe latte (only acceptable to drink before noon), and then started observing the other people. There was one older man who looked exactly like Mark Twain, complete with white hair and big bushy white eyebrows. He ordered a drink that turned out to be white wine mixed with Campari, a type of liquor that is a bright red color. At ten in the morning! And no one even glanced his way. He took the drink, had a long gulp, and then walked over to the mirror that took up a good part of one wall of the bar. He looked in the mirror, smoothed his burly white moustache a little, and then drank the rest of his drink. I laughed a little bit inside.

My other favorite characters of Italy are the older women. They all seem to be the same: short, still fashionable with their nice black or brown leather heels and pretty jackets. They travel in groups, carrying large leather bags and talking rapidly to each other, using lots of hand motions, their fingers always bedecked with gold rings. They are adorable and I love to watch them.

I think there is a lot to be learned about a country or city just by observing the people. It is something I have learned to do more while I've been here: just quietly observe people-and life.

Art, Art, Art

Before I came to Italy, I had probably an average amount of interest in Art and Art History. I had heard of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo and the other big names of the Renaissance, but I didn't really know very much about the their stories and was hardly able to identify any of their works, besides the Mona Lisa and the Sistine Chapel, of course. So when I began my Storia dell'Arte course last November, I was prepared to learn a lot. We started out with ancient Greece and the "classical" architecture of that time. It was really fun then to go to Greece and see for myself the types of structures I had studied. I loved being able to look at an ancient Greek temple and be able to distinguish which period it was built in based on the decorations on the capitals of the columns.

But it wasn't until about two weeks ago, when we got to the Renaissance in my class, when my interest suddenly intensified. I was struck by the realization that I am living in the very city where that period was born, and so many of the paintings that we look at on the projector screen in class are in churches and museums merely a 15-minute bus ride away. On top of that, I started reading (and am still reading) a fantastic book about Michelangelo and the painting of the Sistine Chapel. Reading it has given me a view of what the artists of the Renaissance were really like. It must have been such a fascinating time in history to be living, because everything was changing.

So with this newfound thirst for knowledge, I have decided to make the most of being in Florence, and am on a church/museum rampage. I went inside the Duomo for the fourth or fifth time, but this time actually paid attention to the architectural details. I've been to the Uffizi to see all the paintings by Giotto, Botticelli, da Vinci, and Michelangelo, among others. I've been to the Bargello Museum to see the famous sculptures by Donatello, Michelangelo, and Giambologna. I've been inside the church of Santa Maria Novella to see the amazing crucifix of Giotto, the "Trinita" by Masaccio, and the Tournabuoni Chapel frescoed by Ghirlandaio (Michelangelo was one of his apprentices; he is a new favorite artist of mine!) I've been to the church of Ognissanti (which means "all saints") to see some other works by Ghirlandaio. I've seen Michelangelo's "David." I've been to the church of Santa Croce to see Galileo's tomb, designed by Vasari. I've seen the famous statues under the loggia in the Piazza della Signoria, including my favorite, "The Rape of the Sabines" by Giambologna. And these are just a few of the many places yet to see in the city. Everywhere you turn there is art, art, and more art.

So although I still have more places to see and more to learn in class, already I am thankful that I have been able to learn what I have. I believe being able to have knowledge of the past and appreciate it for what it was allows us to also appreciate the present. And that is another one of the many things that Florence has taught me.


P.S. I have put some photos of the pieces of art that I was talking about on my Picasso album for anyone who is also interested in Art History!

Spring Is In the Air

This seems like a strange title, considering that it is still February, but the last few days have really felt like spring is on its way. The mornings and evenings are still a bit brisk, but when the sun is out and the sky is blue and the birds are going crazy singing in the mornings, it's hard not to feel that it's almost time.

For this, I am thrilled. I heard an Italian say the other day: "If you think Italy is pretty now, wait till the springtime." I was excited to hear that at least this conception that we Americans have about Tuscany is true (many of my other beliefs about the region, and really all of Italy have been disproved since I've experienced it for myself!).

Yesterday was Sunday, one of those blissful days when there are no responsibilities. Most businesses are closed, so there's little temptation to go out and spend money. Instead, the girls and I put on our tank tops and put our hair in ponytails and went for a walk up the hill past the school where there are nice views of the city. It was such a beautiful day, probably the nicest we've had in months. We walked up the narrow road, past the pretty little houses, sometimes peeking through the back gates and the impossibly perfect gardens and backyards. A little old man was out tilling the ground in his olive grove and garden. We sat in the sun and looked out over the city, the Duomo seeming so small from so far away. We talked about the future and plans and wishes and hopes.

It was really an almost perfect day.

Trips Galore!

It's been a busy few weeks! I do go to classes, I swear, though it made not seem like it sometimes :-)

About two weeks ago, on January 31, we went to Venice with the whole school to participate in Carnevale, which is a huge citywide (countrywide in Italy, actually) party that is famous throughout the world. It was just a day trip, and it was a little bit before the actual festivities began, so it wasn't quite as crowded as I was expecting, especially after experiencing it at New Years! But it was a lot of fun to see the people roaming around in costumes. There were lots of masks, full-body costumes, and painted faces. My friends and I had our faces painted with pretty colors and lots of sparkles, so that we would blend in. We saw the Basilica, spent some time feeding those wild pigeons in Piazza San Marco, and just enjoyed some time walking around the city. It is so beautiful, and was no less so on my second trip there than the first.

The next big thing then was this past weekend when I took a trip to Barcelona, Spain with three of my girl friends from school. It was my second time visiting the city (I went there over the summer when I studied in Spain), and I loved it just as much this time. It is such a fun city, with the amazing architecture (Antonio Gaudi, a very unique modern architect who created a lot of interesting buildings in the city), like Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia and La Casa Mila, a really cool park where we watched the sunset, and a beautiful harbor. There were lots of people everywhere, especially on the main pedestrian street, Las Ramblas. The weather was beautiful, we got to see a few museums, and have some great Spanish food. It made me realize that I really really love Spain. It is definitely a place I want to go back to in the future, and I want to learn to speak Spanish better! One language at a time, though. So altogether, it was a successful weekend.

The last few days have just been a blur of classes. Today though, we had another fun trip: to these thermal baths in a tiny town called Rapolano. There were natural hot springs there. We spent an afternoon just relaxing in the warm water. It was nice to relax, because in a few days we have finals coming up! Real school: it's hard to focus on it when you're surrounded by so many things to see and places to go!

Wish me luck on the tests. I'll put up pictures from Venice and Barcelona on the Picasa Album. Oh, and one more thing: Happy Valentine's Day!

Christmas Break Part 3 - Venice

Just a quick synopsis of the last few days of 2006, which I spent in one of the most unique and beautiful cities I have yet to visit! This was my first time in Venice, as well as the first time for my mom and brother. When we arrived on December 30th, it was dark and freezing, and we had an interesting time finding our hotel. First thing to do after a bus ride to one of the main piazzas from the airport, was figure out how to use the waterbuses. This first experience in Venice let us know that it is a city unlike anywhere else! There are no cars on the island. The way that people get around is on the waterbuses, or more expensive water taxis. The canals are extensive, and the water buses basically just circle the island on the Grand Canal.

We found our hotel on a little back canal, not too far away from the center. It was a beautiful place. Our first evening there we found a delicious pizzeria for dinner. The next day we spent seeing all the sights of the city: St. Mark's Square and Basilica, the Palazzo Ducale, Rialto Bridge. Venice is just beautiful, that's the only word I can think of to describe it. It was a perfect sunny day when were there, so we saw it at its height of beauty, I think. St. Mark's Basilica is breathtaking, and we had an hour or so's worth of fun feeding the crazy pigeons in the square. They will not hesitate to climb all over you, even landing on our heads sometimes! It was very entertaining. The thing I found myself feeling while I was there was how it felt so far away from the "real" world, with roads and vehicles and all those types of things. All the buildings in the city are old, all lining the canals. There are places where stairs just go down into the water. There are little back canals, like back alleys, all crossed with little bridges everywhere. It could be called enchanting.

That evening was New Year's Eve, and we had no idea what were in for. Italians have a tradition on New Year's Eve: they eat a really big meal called Cenone (which literally means "big dinner." The word is reserved for new year's eve only, though). Almost all the restaurants have special menus that evening, many require reservations, and some cost as much as 1000 euros a person!! We had a slice of take-away pizza instead. We made our way, along with the rest of Venice, to the Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square). There was a stage set up with musical entertainment and the place was packed with people. We strolled a bit, and waited until the midnight countdown. It was definitely a unique New Year's, especially afterwards, when we tried to get out of the piazza. Major traffic jam, not a good place to be if you are at all claustrophobic! It was an interesting experience, definitely!

The next day we walked around the city a bit in the morning, and had a delicious lunch before grabbing a train to Florence (home again for me!) So that's the story of how I fell in love with Venice. And fortunately for me, I get to go back in four days for Carnivale! I'm sure it will be an experience to remember as well.

Simple Pleasures

Well, it's been a rather rough week. I remember when I first came here, I thought: "Nothing bad could happen here, I'm in Italy!!" But since then I have learned that it doesn't matter if you are in a beautiful place; you can feel lonely and despondent anywhere. There can be moments of sadness no matter how amazing the surroundings. I am still glad to be here, most definitely, but I have just seen in my life recently that sometimes it takes an enormous effort to make the most of your situation. I have five months left here, and I do want to make the absolute most of them.

So I have been indulging lately in simple pleasures that remind me that life is good, especially in Italy: going to town with my roommate, browsing through racks and racks of beautiful books, having a big cup of gelato (some of the best I've had yet!), reading my favorite book in bed, having a hot cup of tea in my friends' room, listening to a favorite song, taking a walk to the grocery store just because, writing a friend a postcard, little things like that. I like to remind myself often that I am experiencing an opportunity that not everyone has.

I felt the full force of that when I took a little trip to town today. I walked past the Duomo of Florence, huge, colorful, amazing to look at it. And it hit me how awesome this place is. And I remembered why I'm here. Also, sitting at dinner tonight and having a real conversation completely in Italian wasn't bad either! I feel like I can actually learn this language, that being here will produce not just great memories of great places, but also the knowledge of a new language and culture. And the memories of some awesome gelato, of course!

Christmas Break Part 2 - Greece

This was the part of my break that I was really anticipating, because not only was I going to get to see some of the most ancient ruins and most famous buildings in the world (other history nerds know what I'm talking about!), but I was also getting to see my family, who I was missing a lot.

My friend Sarah and I flew from Florence to Athens and arrived in the middle of the day. We were delighted with the weather, especially after having just come from Amsterdam and the freezing temperatures there. It was sunny and beautiful, a little cool in the shade, but nice. We met my mom and brother Jeremy at the airport and spent the rest of the day walking around part of Athens. We found a main shopping strip with lots of restaurants and the Athens Street Market, which is pretty well-renowned in those parts. The food was interesting: from the very beginning I got the feeling that I would probably get tired of Greek food pretty soon: cheese and spinach pie, feta on everything (which is not a bad thing, just different!), weird meats prepared in even weirder ways, things of that nature. Our first full day we spent seeing Hadrian's Arch, which stands beside the Temple of Zeus. It was amazing to stand in front of this massive structure, partially knocked down, but still standing after thousands of years. We also climbed the hills of Athens, as I like to think of them: one that overlooked the Acropolis and Mars Hill, where Paul preached to the Athenians in 51 A.D. We watched the sunset from another hill, complete with little church on top. The next day my dad flew into Athens and we did the big guns: Acropolis, Ancient Agoras. Standing there felt so surreal, in front of the Parthenon, Temple of Athena Nike, Erectheon, with the famous Carytide statues in the shape of women. The Parthenon was a little disappointing, being covered with so much scaffolding, but still very cool.

The next morning was Christmas Eve day, and we had an early flight to Santorini, one of the Cyclades, the group of southernmost islands, right above Crete. It is the type of place that is considered "typical" of the Greek Isles: beautiful little villages with white-washed houses built into a cliff overlooking the sea, deep blue domes on little white churches and blue-painted doors, black sand beaches. And that is truly how it looked. The trip came with a little bit of surprise, however: in wintertime, the Greek Isles shut down. It was almost like a ghost town, especially during Christmas. Hardly any restaurants were open, few hotels, and we saw only a handful of other tourists. It was a little bit eerie to be walking through the narrow stone streets past all these boarded up shots, and empty, almost-run down cafes, bars, and restaurants. It was hard to imagine it being full of life and people, as it most definitely is during the summer months. But there were advantages to being there at this time: we had a lot of peace. Christmas day was spent riding little vespas all over the island to see the beaches and the views from the clifftops across the caldera. We also found a great restaurant where we found ourselves every day during our stay! It was definitely an unconventional holiday, but I found myself enjoying being in a unique place with my family, relaxing, and not worrying about anything. And I am now curious to see how Santorini, or another island like it, would be during the summer time. Another trip is probably in the future!

By the end of the week, I was starting to feel a little bit Greeced-out. But I still was able to appreciate the culture. One thing I noticed about the Greeks are how friendly and giving they are. They seem to enjoy you being there, and at the end of every meal we ate in Greece, we were given something free: a little bit of dessert, a little drink to make a toast, something like that. Every meal. They are very generous people, and usually willing to help. This was something I appreciated, because Italy, although there are many friendly and helpful people, as a general rule seems to be a little less that way.

We spent one more day in Athens, doing a little more hiking the hills, and a little more shopping, before hopping on a plane back to Italy for New Years. But that is another blog for another day!

Christmas Break Part 1 - Amsterdam

Happy New Year! I can't believe it's another year, and I'm still in Europe. I've been back from break for about a week and am getting back into the swing of things in class.

Break was great. It was nice to not only have a break from classes, but to have a chance to really do some traveling. I started out by heading north to Belgium and the Netherlands. A small group of friends and I left early in the morning to fly to Brussels. It was absolutely freezing when we got there, but there was so much activity and so many people out in the city center. We only spent a few hours in Brussels, but had time to see the beautiful buildings in the main square, the huge Christmas tree, and Christmas market. We also had Belgian waffles and chocolate, of course. After a rather interesting experience at the train station, we finally made it to Centraal Station in Amsterdam. It was dark, so finding the hostel was interesting, but I was so excited to see the city. It is beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. There are lots of quiet canals, lined with little boats, and little houses. The houses are all lined up side by side, no spaces in between, and they are all different colors and have different shaped roofs. It makes the streets look so pretty.

The only thing I did not enjoy about being there was the extreme cold. We layered up, but it was still almost unbearable at times. Amsterdam is the European city with the most museums per square footage. And it seemed like we went to almost all of them! Van Gogh, Rembrandt House, Rijksmuseum, Anne Frank House. There was a lot of interesting stuff to see. Also, we took a boat ride on the canals in the evening, and a three hour walking tour through the city center to learn a lot of the history (freezing, but fun!). It was a lot of fun, especially to be with friends. We spent about 3 1/2 days there, enough time to get a feel of the place. It is definitely a different culture than Italy and one I'm glad to have experienced.

After the days there, my friend Sarah and I flew back to Florence for a night before setting out on part 2 of vacation: GREECE!