5/15/09
I went to bed early last night because I wanted to be well rested for today- and I'm glad I was! I woke up early and went down into town to get a cappuchino (the best I've ever had) before leaving. I also got a delicious pastry that was shaped like a braid with raisins in it. Then we headed out on the bus to Tourgiano, which is like an hour away. This is in the region of Perugia. Once there we went to a wine museum that was constructed to honor and remember the ancient methods of wine making, since chemistry and science is now taking over. Our guide was great and the information was very interesting. We saw lots of old pottery and actual wine presses which were huge! I thought one of the most interesting things was learning about the relationship between the fermentation wine and the resurrection of Jesus. Basically, the fermentation of grapes mirrors Jesus' transformation since grape juice turns to wine, a completely different substance. This process occurs underground, similar to a tomb, and the grapes emerge again as the transformed wine. After the wine museum we went to an olive oil museum, but without a guide. We had time for a true Italian espresso before getting on the bus and enjoyed that sitting outside of the clock tower.
After that we headed to Assisi. The first thing we did was follow Chris (if I haven't introduced him before, he is the UGA liason who lives in Cortona and has for 8 years. so, an American who knows everything here and is the one to follow if you want the "real deal") to a lunch place. By far, the best meal I've had yet. It was a very small family owned restaurant out of the tourist areas. We had carpaccio with rocket, parmesan and lemon and it was great. Then for my main meal I had risotto al raddichio. The risotto was perfectly al dente cooked and the bitter raddichio paired perfectly with the buttery, creamy risotto. We tried a white wine that was made in the traditional greek way and it was pretty good. Very different than I've ever had- very little fruit, super mild and light almost in a watery way, and lots of honey character. It was very drinkable and I could see how the ancient farmers of Greece would enjoy a wine like this.
After lunch we headed out to see the sights. We saw two churches and the fort first. Both were pretty amazing. The fort was at the top of the mountain and so the view was incredible and it had a great cool mountain breeze. We met a really nice, older German couple and talked to them for a bit and then headed down to the Basilica di St. Francisco, where we were meeting as a class so Chris could give us some information on it. He gave us some of the background story on St. Francis and then we headed in. This was a great treat and seriously one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen. The detail and grandeur is unmatched... even down to the reconstructed frescos that were damaged during an earthquake. It meant so much to be in this church that is one of the largest pilgrimage points for Catholics and I can't describe how honored it feels to have had this opportunity. Getting to see his cloak and even then his tomb was surreal and I would recommend this to anyone, despite whether they were Catholic, Christian, or any religion.
We went shopping on the way back to bus after the Basilica and found some cute little shops. I was able to pick up some pretty cool souvenirs for people so that was exciting. Once we got back on the bus I enjoyed listening to some music and taking some personal time. I actually ended up studying a bunch on all the bus rides since our test is tomorrow. It was about an hour and a half ride back and we got there just in time for dinner. We left dinner a little early to go study up at the dorms and I ended up going to bed fairly early so I could wake up early and study more. Not the craziest Fri night, but at least the information we're learning is really cool!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Some updates
So I've been super busy (in a good way) so I haven't had much time to journal. But I will catch up in it soon! So far, it is amazing. Beautiful view of the valley, amazing food, great wine and a wonderful group here to enjoy it with me.
Gelato flavors tried so far: yogurt*, panna cotta* + creme caramel, tiarimisu + coffee, DARK chocolate + cherry*. [* indicates it was my first time trying this flavor, + means I had those two flavors together on one cone]
Will write more soon, for now, I have to go to class!!
Arrival Day in Rome
Flights went well today, actually slept a decent amount. I never want to fly another airline than Lufthansa, that's for sure! The food was actually really good, super nice flight attendants and and roomy/comfy seats (all with individual TVs of course). I watched Slumdog Millionaire finally and it was just as good as I expected, considering how much everyone built it up. Once I arrived in Rome I found the UGA reps pretty easily and was led to the group waiting for the bus. I was surprised to see Dana still there (she was supposed to be on the earlier bus) but then found out that 6 people lost their luggage!! I was SO glad to not be one of them since I normally never check bags and decided to for this trip. After a short wait we headed to the hotel and dropped our things off. Our rooms weren't ready yet, so we had to drop them off in this room with all the other UGA students (there is an art, science and drama program as well).
We headed to lunch after this, guided by Marco who is one of the drama professors and is actually from Rome. I was completely overwhelmed once we went into the restaurant which would almost be considered "fast food"- but the quality is anything but that. There were kebabs with a million toppings to choose from, an entire dessert case, and finally at least 10 huge pizzas with a variety of toppings to choose from. Some toppings included: proscuitto, fresh tomatoes, anchovies, arugula, ham, mushrooms, sausage, basil, fresh mozzarella, and caramelized onions. I like the way you order this precooked pizza, because instead of just getting an arbitrary "slice" like in the US, the guy puts the knife on a section of the pizza and your can tell him whether you want a bigger or smaller piece. Then it is just charged by the pound.
After lunch we decided to head into the heart of Rome to check out the Vatican. There were 8 of us (including me) who decided to go together and figured out the subway no problem, with some advice from Marco at lunch. Once we arrived at the gates of the Vatican City, I was immediately in awe. It was so large and incredibly detailed and beautiful. It was such a neat feeling to be standing in the huge area that I have seen on TV so many times before. Unfortunately, we did not go in because the lines were so long that we wouldn't have had time to get back to the hotel for orientation. So, we decided to head to the river next which was just down the street from the Vatican.
We wandered around the river for a while enjoying the scenery of tree lined roads, old statues, street performers, open air market stalls, and of course tons of traffic and mopeds. We ended up wandering through some little streets and alley ways and some little piazzas. Just the simple things here are so pretty. Even though all the shops in the alleys were closed, the buildings themselves are something to admire: flowering plants in hanging baskets as well as growing off the bricks, terracotta roofs, cute windows, and cobblestone streets. All of the buildings and roofs are beautiful oranges and greens, colors that I may not put together on my own but seeing them here love them. Of course to top it all off, a continual breeze carrying the scents of fresh baked pizza and gelato. It really is out of a postcard scene.
When we were done with our wandering we were debating whether we had time to go see anything else or if we should go back to the hotel. We decided we had plenty of time and this is when our real sightseeing began. We went to the Piazza del Popolo first and ended up arriving when they were having this huge police festival. Except the police here are awesome! They had police Lamborghini's, BMW bikes, scuba divers (in a huge tank, actually diving), helicopters and more. I got a picture on one of the motorcycles with a policeman and we wandered around looking at all the stuff they had out. Then we went up to the steps to look out over the entire piazza, which is actually one of the overlooks at one of the Medici family houses. We kept walking up on the ridge to the Medici gardens (which I had a private tour of last summer) and decided to not go in so we could go see the Spanish Steps.
It wasn't too far of a walk to the Spanish Steps from there, or better known as the Piazza di Spagna. From there we walked around and went all the way down the steps (they seemed much bigger than I remember) and filled our water bottles in the nearby fountain (the fountains are sourced from the spring and have completely potable water: way cool). All the shops around this area are super nice designer stores so we had a quick look around, but then had to head back to the hotel.
We headed to lunch after this, guided by Marco who is one of the drama professors and is actually from Rome. I was completely overwhelmed once we went into the restaurant which would almost be considered "fast food"- but the quality is anything but that. There were kebabs with a million toppings to choose from, an entire dessert case, and finally at least 10 huge pizzas with a variety of toppings to choose from. Some toppings included: proscuitto, fresh tomatoes, anchovies, arugula, ham, mushrooms, sausage, basil, fresh mozzarella, and caramelized onions. I like the way you order this precooked pizza, because instead of just getting an arbitrary "slice" like in the US, the guy puts the knife on a section of the pizza and your can tell him whether you want a bigger or smaller piece. Then it is just charged by the pound.
After lunch we decided to head into the heart of Rome to check out the Vatican. There were 8 of us (including me) who decided to go together and figured out the subway no problem, with some advice from Marco at lunch. Once we arrived at the gates of the Vatican City, I was immediately in awe. It was so large and incredibly detailed and beautiful. It was such a neat feeling to be standing in the huge area that I have seen on TV so many times before. Unfortunately, we did not go in because the lines were so long that we wouldn't have had time to get back to the hotel for orientation. So, we decided to head to the river next which was just down the street from the Vatican.
We wandered around the river for a while enjoying the scenery of tree lined roads, old statues, street performers, open air market stalls, and of course tons of traffic and mopeds. We ended up wandering through some little streets and alley ways and some little piazzas. Just the simple things here are so pretty. Even though all the shops in the alleys were closed, the buildings themselves are something to admire: flowering plants in hanging baskets as well as growing off the bricks, terracotta roofs, cute windows, and cobblestone streets. All of the buildings and roofs are beautiful oranges and greens, colors that I may not put together on my own but seeing them here love them. Of course to top it all off, a continual breeze carrying the scents of fresh baked pizza and gelato. It really is out of a postcard scene.
When we were done with our wandering we were debating whether we had time to go see anything else or if we should go back to the hotel. We decided we had plenty of time and this is when our real sightseeing began. We went to the Piazza del Popolo first and ended up arriving when they were having this huge police festival. Except the police here are awesome! They had police Lamborghini's, BMW bikes, scuba divers (in a huge tank, actually diving), helicopters and more. I got a picture on one of the motorcycles with a policeman and we wandered around looking at all the stuff they had out. Then we went up to the steps to look out over the entire piazza, which is actually one of the overlooks at one of the Medici family houses. We kept walking up on the ridge to the Medici gardens (which I had a private tour of last summer) and decided to not go in so we could go see the Spanish Steps.
It wasn't too far of a walk to the Spanish Steps from there, or better known as the Piazza di Spagna. From there we walked around and went all the way down the steps (they seemed much bigger than I remember) and filled our water bottles in the nearby fountain (the fountains are sourced from the spring and have completely potable water: way cool). All the shops around this area are super nice designer stores so we had a quick look around, but then had to head back to the hotel.
Orientation was about an hour long after we got all our bags settled in our room, which was nice but teeny. I don't know how the guys used the shower because I could barely fit in it myself! Dinner was great; pesto pasta, skewers with chicken, sausage, and peppers, salad and a lemon custard tart for dessert. Oh, and of course delicious table wine all you can drink. I ended up going back to the room around 8:45p, and was completely asleep by 9:00pm. 6:00am wake up call for Rome tour and then travel to Cortona!
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Pre-Flight!
Almost packed and ready to go! So excited! The past few weeks have flown by and it's finally the day of departure. Hopefully I'll be able to update soon after arriving. Apparently there is a Mac computer lab on "campus" which is pretty cool. I'll try and keep this blog up and respond on Facebook pretty regularly (at least in May when I have regular computer access).
Also, I got an international phone and texting/calling is pretty expensive, but I can RECEIVE FREE TEXTS! So, I may not always text back but if you feel like sending me one I'd love it :) You just use my regular phone number b/c I got call forwarding.
SEND ME YOUR ADDRESS if you want a postcard!
Everyone have a great summer!! Stay safe, have fun and keep in touch!
Ohh, and this is what I'm drooling for...
Also, I got an international phone and texting/calling is pretty expensive, but I can RECEIVE FREE TEXTS! So, I may not always text back but if you feel like sending me one I'd love it :) You just use my regular phone number b/c I got call forwarding.
SEND ME YOUR ADDRESS if you want a postcard!
Everyone have a great summer!! Stay safe, have fun and keep in touch!
Ohh, and this is what I'm drooling for...
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