Spring Break Recap Part 1

Fiesole Roman Baths

Fiesole Ampitheater

Another view of the baths ITALY PRIDE..lolzzz

Milano: Duomo

Galleria in Milano

Castello in Milano

Park behind the castle

Me in the Arc of Peace :)

Bergamo! Church in the lovely upper town

Walls of the upper town

Tram to the Top

Walking back down

BACK from SPRING BREAK! It was amazing.

Last Friday we did a day trip to Fiesole (20 minutes by city bus from Florence), then a train to Milan on Saturday, train to Bergamo Monday, flight to Barcelona on Tuesday, and back to Florence on Friday. It was a jam packed week! My feet are dead and my pockets empty, but it was quite the week. This weekend I’ve been dead from lack of sleep and a minor cold, but I’m resting up, taking lots of vitamin C, and hoping to be better in no time. Writing about the trip seems a bit daunting at the moment, so I’ll go by day and try to list the highlights.

Friday Fiesole sits on a hill overlooking Florence. The views from up there are great. The main “attraction” in Fiesole is the Area Archeologica. There is an ancient Roman amphitheater, Roman baths, and other ruins. There is also a museum with artifacts that have been found in the area. The site was really nifty(why don’t we all use “nifty” more?). It was sunny and warm, and we were happy to be outside and in the sun for most of the afternoon in Fiesole. We also went into a church that was attached to a museum. There was no information in English, but they had artifacts from all over the world, including Japanese dolls and a mummified woman and cat. Interesting… That was Fiesole. Nice day trip!

Saturday We got up early and left for Milan. Once we arrived, we wandered a bit, then found the Duomo. The Milan Duomo is a very Gothic structure with an intricate façade. We also went in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele which is right next to the Duomo. The Galleria a glass-topped tunnel which is basically one of the world’s earliest and most selective shopping malls. We found a large park, Giardini Publblica, and relaxed there for a while. It was so nice out, so we just read for a while and enjoyed the day. Then we met my friend Vivianna and her friends at the train station. Vivianna lives in Turino, and one of her other friends goes to a military school in Milan, so they came to visit for the weekend. Vivianna was a foreign exchange student at Cibola, and it was really nice to see her again. She is such an funny, eccentric, nice, outgoing girl. We hung out with the girls that night in their hostel, as it was POURING rain. We ordered pizza, too. I got the same as Vivianna, pizza con patatine fritte (pizza with fries on top)! Haha it was good, but weird. That night we left to meet the host we were staying with through CouchSurfing. He was quiet and it was a bit awkward because he seemed uncomfortable with his English, but he was nice. We went out for a bit, then we played card games with him when we got back. We learned an Italian card game, scopa, and taught him Egyptian rat-screw and bull shit. It was fun and broke the ice.

Sunday The next day in Milan we met the Italian girls and hung out with them before they went back to Turin. Then we went to the Palazzo Reale. There were TONS of people dressed up in 18th century costumes EVRYWHERE. It was the 150th anniversary of Italy, so they were doing something to commemorate it, but we never did quite find out exactly what they were doing. We also saw a man who dyed his beard red, green, and white to celebrate Italy! Dedication. Then we went to the Castello Sforzesco. It’s a huge castle that was constructed in 1450. Since it was the reunification celebration, there was a fake battle in front and they were firing canons and the whole she-bang. It was amusing. Behind the Castello was a carnival and Parco Semprione. The park was really nice, and it was a beautiful day so there were lots of people out enjoying the day. At the back of the park is the Arch of Peace built for Napoleon (similar to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris). That night our host, Alessandro, took us on a walk to other parts of Milan. We saw the church Santa Maria delle Grazie and the canals in Milan, the Navigli. He took us to a gelato place that has all sorts of different flavors depending on the day (including Parmesan and mojito). It got banana and cinnamon! Then home, more card games, and sleep.

Monday Monday morning we went in a church, Santa Maria presso San Satiro, that is painted using illusion. It looks bigger than it is because of the way the alter is painted with “fake” columns. Then we took a train to a town about 45 minutes away, Bergamo. Bergamo is where the airport is, and since our flight was early in the morning we decided to stay there for a night. Bergamo is a cute little town divided into an upper and lower town. We walked around the lower part, then took a tram to the upper town. In the upper town, we went into the church, wandered the square, and had lunch in a café on the main square. We also tried the famous dessert from there, polento e osei. It is a yellow polenta cake that was reallly good and reaaaalllly sweet. We wandered back down to the lower town through little streets that are along the Venetian walls of the upper city. The views were nice from up there, and it was good to walk down for a change of scenery after taking the tram up. We wandered the shops of the lower town before going to our hotel for the night. I took a bath, which was great because I love baths and we don’t have a tub in Florence. That was about it for Milan and Bergamo! I still have to write about Barcelona, and I will! I need a break, for now, but I will post more ASAP!

Love :)

Sette: Seven

SAY CHEEEEEESE :)

Alyssa and I and lots of yummy, stinky, old cheese :)

You can see both layers of the barrel, which will make sense later.

Vinegar being aged.

Hey dad... Got any more meat? Haha

Breaking the curds while cooking the cheese.



Ciao!
I haven’t written in too long, so I hope I remember everything of interest that I’ve done!
On Friday the 4th, Alyssa and I did a trip through our school here. We went to a Parmigiano Reggiano producer in Reggio Emilia, a prosciutto producer in Parma, and a producer of Aceto Basalmico Tradizionale di Modena. All of these products are only produced in these specific parts of Italy because of food regulations. All of these towns are close to each other, but they are a few hours from Florence, so we met on the bus at 5:30 am and took off. I slept the whole way there, of course. We went to the Parmesan producer, first. This was probably my favorite visit. The Parmigiano Reggiano is so good because the milk they use is so good. Their cows are milked twice a day and are only fed grasses. The milk is used right after milking, as is. The only ingredients in the cheese are fresh milk, whey, a natural enzyme from a cow’s stomach, rennet, and salt. We saw how they cook the cheese, mold it, salt it, and age it. There are all sorts of regulations concerning what is quality Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, and we learned about the different qualities and ages. We also tasted two cheeses, one that was aged for two years, the other for three. Yum! They gave us our own little cheese knives, too.

Next it was to the prosciutto producer. It was hard to understand the guy who was telling us about it, but basically they get a pigs back legs and refrigerate them a bit, then refrigerate them more at a higher temperature, and then in a barely cold room. Then they dry out some more. Tons of raw, dried pig legs. I thought of my dad when we were there, so that picture is a shout out to you, Pops! That was about all there was to it. Haha. We ate there and got to have bread and prosciutto and pasta and wine… good stuff!

Lastly was the producer of the balsamic vinegar. They gave us the history of the company and showed us where the vinegar is aged. They only use grapes that have been cooked for two days in their classic vinegar, and then they age it. The classic is aged for 12 years! The aging is in the attic, not the cellar, and the vinegar is in barrels. It moves from a large barrel down to a small one, with lots of intermediate sizes. The smallest barrel would sell for 30,000 Euros! And that is without any vinegar in it! The barrel we were looking at when the woman explained this had been in the business since 1890. When the barrels begin to leak, they don’t replace them, but they build a new barrel around the outside! The barrel from 1890 had another casing that was put on in the 1950s. We also got to sample vinegars. One of the ones we tried was the Aceto Basalmico Tradizionale di Modena Extra Vecchio. It was aged for 25 years! I had vinegar older then I am. :)
One other interesting thing about vinegar is that as long as it is bottled in Modena, not necessarily made there, but if it is bottled in Modena a company can put “di Modena” on it. That’s why and cheap grocery store balsamic vinegar says “di Modena” on it. To say “Aceto Basalmico Tradizionale di Modena” on it, it must be aged correctly within the certain restrictions. That was definately a cool trip. Learned a lot about food and got to see how it is made. I had lots of old, aged things to eat that day!

That weekend I also went to the photo exhibition I previously wrote about. It was small, but the pictures were great. They were all from the last century. There was a group of pictures taken by the church by our house, which was cool to see.

It was Alyssa’s birthday Sunday, so we went out Saturday to celebrate. We met “the Soggy Bottom boys” at the bar we went to. Haha. It was Carnevale and there were three guys dressed as the soggy bottom boys. They were nice, and one of them was a DJ who told us to go back when he was playing. We did go back last night. He played 50’s records. This bar is a café/bar, but it is a cute place with a fun vibe. They have live music there sometimes, which is nice too. On Alyssa’s actual birthday we took her out to Gusta Pizza. It’s on our block and known for having some of the best pizza. We had not been, but it is now a fave! It was delicious. We also had cake and gelato. Happy Birthday, Alyssa!

This is getting long winded! I also went to the Medici Palace and the Bardini Gardens this last week. I have midterms this coming week, so this weekend is going to include lots of reading and studying! So long for now…

Sei:Six

Ciao a tutti!
Venice update and a few pictures!


Welcome to Venezia!

Golden :)

Classic Carnevale Costume... and yours truly!

San Marco

VERRRYYYY CROWDED bus lol

Venice was amazing. It is unlike any city I have been to. We arrived Friday, the day before Carnevale. It was nice to be there early and see Venice before the craziness started. The city is so charming. With no cars, it is eerily quiet. It is magical just wandering the streets, but also quite confusing. We spend the first day getting lost, shopping, and wandering. We all bought masks in preparation for Carnevale. I bought a white one that I plan to paint! There were some amazing shops we came across. The architecture is amazing, too. We also went in the church at San Marco. It was beautiful and the golden ceiling and mosaic work was phenomenal.

Saturday we took a long vaporetto ride around Venice and to Murano. A vaporetto is a water bus in Florence. Then we went to San Marco and got into the spirit of Carnevale! There were thousands of people, lots of them dressed up. The people who go all out are incredible, as you can see in some of the pictures! There were concerts going on, street performers, and people everywhere. We wandered and went to other squares in the city where there were vendors set up, an ice skating rink, DJs, and general activity everywhere. We got Vin Brule, a hot wine, and enjoyed being a part of the festivities—while wearing our masks, of course!

Departing from Venice was another adventure in and of itself. We had an overnight train that left at 3am and was to arrive in Florence at 6am. The only problem was our train did not leave from the center of Venice, but from a station 45 minutes outside the center. We were not aware of this, but were early enough that we knew we could take a bus to the station. That would have been easy, except for the fact that there were a few hundred people trying to get on the same bus as us! Can you say, sardines? We did get on the second bus that came, squished but happy that we would make it on time. The overnight train was brutal, but worth the great trip!

This week in my Women and Religion class, we “interviewed” two senior Italian women to get their perspective on the experience of a woman in Italy. They were so sweet. They are both part of a historical society that is having an exhibition this weekend. I’m going to go. They are going to have pictures and movies and lots of stuff. It should be cool. Back to class, though. The women also sang for us and we sang the chorus of one of a song about crickets. It was great.
In my art history class this week we went to Palazzo Davanzati. Pretty cool palace.. not as big as Pitti and I still have to go to the Medici palace, but it was fun.

Now a side story not really related to my travels, so feel free to skip this is you like. The other night Alyssa and I were looking up classes at USD. We were then looking at some of the Theology department faculty. One of the faculty members had S.T.D. by his name.
This is what followed:

Staci: “What’s an S.T.D.?”
Alyssa: (Gives me the… “Did you really just say that?” face)
Both: Laughing. Lots of laughing.
Staci: “But really, I want to know.”
Alyssa: “Not like you can just look up STD.”
Staci: “Oh, I’ll find out.” (proceeds to look up STD) “I found it. It means Sacrae Theologiae Doctor.”
Alyssa: “Which means?”
Staci: “Hold on…It’s the final theological degree in the Catholic Church.”
Alyssa: “So basically.. only the theology department can get an S.T.D.”
Both: Laughing uncontrollably. ANNNNDD… we are still laughing about this.

We are obviously very mature. It is hilarious, though. You learn something new everyday! Until next time, much love!