Life in Firenze

This past week has flown by. Having my girlfriends here, midterms, and the promise of Spring Break, have all caused this week to seem like a blur. A good blur. I absolutely loved having Het and Kristen here. It was such a treat. There is nothing like good times with old friends. We had quite a few entertaining stories from their time in Firenze. Most of them seem to involve Italian men trying to sell us things, talking to us, or chasing us. Gotta love Italians. I was bummed to see them go, but really I couldn’t have asked for a better time with them! Studying was also a nice distraction from missing them too badly.






This week can be summed up with one word: midterms. Honestly, I don’t do much studying around here. Compared to the hours of studying I do at Chapel Hill, my time in Florence has been more about “the experience”, than actual studying. This week changed things. I had three midterms on one day, so needless to say that wasn’t fun. Melis and went to the Florence library on Monday. We tried to sit outside but ended up making our way into the children’s section. It was nice to be around/distracted by little kids. It’s always funny to hear little kids speak another language. You know it’s bad when you can’t understand on a 4 year olds level. Maybe I should study in the children section more often. Leaving the library I have to admit I was feeling slightly stressed and complaining to Melis about our test. I had been studying Italian Renaissance with its many artist and their creations. Walking out of the library, I looked up to the most incredible view of the Duomo. I had just studied the structure that Brunelleschi used to build the dome. It was one of those times I was disgusted with my complaining. How in the world could I complain about a couple hours of studying art and architecture that I get to walk past and see every day? You would think I would learn to not take for granted the beauty of Florence. Every day I have to remind myself to love and appreciate where I’m at. I think I’ll probably have to do that for the rest of my life, whether in Florence, taking summer school, or wherever God leads.

On another note I love my language partner. I’m really bad. I don’t think y’all can understand how horrible I am. Italian language classes at UNC are not a joke. I studied more for Italian than most of my other subjects (many of my dear friends can attest to this). In Italy you would think Italian class would be challenging. Not the case. Our teacher basically laughs at Hilary and I, and while this is nice, I am learning NO Italian. When I meet with Chiara I realize how truly horrible my speaking skills are. It takes me a good minute to think about how to conjugate the verb, and by that point I look/feel so lost the rest of the sentence makes no sense. It’s painful but hey, no pain…no gain. Thank goodness Chiara is as sweet as they come and is GREAT at English. When I have children they will go to immersion school. I love the simplicity of our meetings. We can laugh at me learning to say “ugly little bird”, or discuss the love triangle in Dawson’s Creek. I’ve learned a lot about Italian culture from Chiara, and hopefully I’m a good representation of an American girl (even though I can’t speak Italian). It’s been fun, and I’m excited for for her to meet Mom, Al, and Gram!

Ok well I’m writing as if I’m done with midterms, but lo’ I still have Literature tomorrow! We leave for spring break in Greece tomorrow (still haven’t packed) and then soon after I return Mom, Al, and Grammy will be here! So excited! I guess I won’t be able to write for a while but all my love from Italia. Miss y’all.

Wing.Meow.Love.
Bec



I added this photo for everyones viewing pleasure. Another highlight of the week was when Hil made black beans (not out of a can), and she thought she has messed them up. Note: you wash black beans off after you cook them to make them look normal. This photo was taken when she thought they were a lost cause. Never a dull moment in ol' Bella Rosa!

Hi. Ciao. Bonjour.

There is never enough time to do all I want around here! This weekend was an amazing whirl wind that culminated in coming back to Firenze to Het and Kristen (2 of my best buddies from high school) waiting outside my apartment! It has been an awesome couple of days.

We left for Monte Carlo, on the French Rivera, around 4.30 on Saturday morning. We didn’t get chased by Panini man this time-bummer. I love going with the school on trips because not only do they take you everywhere, but they explain all the history. Monte Carlo was the first stop. I signed up for this trip not knowing much, or anything really, about the French Riviera. Monte Carlo, in the princedom on Monaco, was unbelievably beautiful. Like something off the Princess Diaries. We went on a walking tour led by a French tour guide with a Canadian accent. It was pretty funny and entertaining. We learned a lot about Grace Kelly (famous American actress who married prince of Monaco and became the princess, also famous for the YouTube skit “can I have your number”). I loved learning about the history, but more than anything I loved the flower gardens and the view looking out over the Mediterranean Sea. After lunch in Monaco we drove to Nice. I know I always write about the views on the bus but really some of the prettiest views I have seen have been from the comfort of a bus seat. The roads were super curvy and narrow. No wonder Grace Kelly died in a car accident (I bet her driver was Italian). When we made it to “nice” Nice we checked into our hotel and opted out of the going with the French Canadian tour guide to explore on our own!

Nice was amazing. It was the Myrtle Beach of the French Riviera, except about 1000 times nicer! Both Elton John and Tina Turner have houses in the hills around Nice. My favorite part about Nice was the promenade or boardwalk on the sea. We spent a couple hours just walking, taking pictures, and admiring all the yachts! We explored on some rocks and got splashed by the waves. It was great fun. We had group dinner at 7.30 and I was very happy to eat French food aka NOT pizza or pasta! We walked around Nice at night and even went into the casino. It was no Vegas, but it was still fun to see. I was exhausted by the time we got back to the hotel.

The next day consisted of visiting three towns near Nice: St. Paul Vence, Cannes, and Eze. I loved St. Paul and Eze! I would live in St. Paul. The streets were all made of cobblestone flowers. The word quaint was created to describe St. Paul. I was very sad to leave, but it was one of those towns I will make a point to come back too! Cannes was neat, but rainy. It is home of the international film festival. The highlight of Cannes was putting my hand into Chuck Norris Hollywoodwish handprint, and discussing the impacts of globalization after going into yet another jammed packed McDonalds. In Eze we toured a perfume/soap factory. We left smelling like flowers and two hours later I had a legit headache. We climbed to the top of town and saw one of the most beautiful views overlooking the French Riviera. Such a fun day. I read and tried to rest on the way back, but I was too excited to see Kristen and Het!



We got back at the perfect time because Kristen and Het were trying to figure out how to work the pass code to our apartment! I was soooo happy to see them. It almost didn’t feel real. I’m so used to the little group of girls I see all the time, and here were two of my best friends from High School! It was a great night of catching up in Bella Rosa and the next day we explored Firenze. I loved getting to show them around. We climbed to the top of Duomo, ate gelato and hot chocolate, looked around the Ponte Vecchio, sat in a Piazza. It was such a great day. They left for Rome and Naples this morning, and will return to Florence on Thursday evening! I can’t explain how thankful I am for such good friends. My whole time in Florence I have continually been reminded of how blessed I am to have such genuine and sweet friends. Whether it’s been letters, Skype, FB, sharing an apartment, or even coming to visit; I am beyond blessed with friends. I thank God for all of you (esp. those of you that read my blog ;) ). Overall this week couldn’t get much better. Midterms are next week, so I better start studying…

Fun things…

*This week’s photo assignment were portraits. I liked this assignment. Here are a couple of my faves. I had great models, so I think all of my pictures looked good. My teacher was more critical but hey, to each her own!










*Monday was Festa di Donne (party of women). Basically it was women’s day in Italia. The day is known for little yellow mimosa flowers and women going out with their friends. It fell on the perfect day because Het and Kristen were here! We went to apretivo at this neat little place and took some funny pictures. Sadly, no one bought us mimosas, but we had a great time celebrating “Festa di Donne”!

*Last week I was pretty sure we had hit the homestretch for warm spring weather….WRONG. It snowed today. I’m ready for spring!

Time is flying by. I miss and love you all.
Wing. Meow. Love.
Bec

"For none of us lives to himself alone, and non of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord."
Romans 14:7-8

"What's an edelweiss?"

The hills are alive with the sound of music! It has been a full week. Hil and I ventured to Austria this weekend. I really hoped we would get to see Austria, and while many of the girls went to Paris, Hil and I toured Vienna and Salzburg. We left Thursday and got to Vienna early Friday morning. We went with the bus tour group again. Vienna was a beautiful city. We did the ring tour on a tram to all the main palaces and museums, ate a famous piece of chocolate apricot cake (Sacher Torte…yum yum), and explored around St. Stephens church. It was kinda rainy, and I don’t have luck with umbrellas, but we had a wonderful time and enjoyed walking into all the shops. Our tour guide told us about the famous Opera House in Vienna and that they offered discounted tickets to students. On Friday night there was a ballet playing (Die Fledermaus), so obviously we had to go! I haven’t been to many ballets but I LOVED it! They sell the tickets that aren’t taken when the show starts to the students, so we figured we would have pretty bad seats. Boy were we wrong! We were about 6 rows back from the stage, in the most beautiful Opera House I have ever been in (not that I’ve been in many). It was such a fun night. Hil and I like to refer to this weekend as our “cultural weekend”. We toured the Habsburg Palace on Saturday morning and learned a lot about Empress Maria Theresa and the Austrian Empire. The gardens were beautiful and we enjoyed our sandwiches and fruit that we packed from hostel free breakfast (we’ve gotten smart with free food). We left for Salzburg around 2.




On the way to Salzburg we watched The Sound of Music! I had watched it with Mom the week before I left, but it’s one of those movies you can watch many times (right Blair?). The main reason Hil and I went to Austria was to go on the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg, and because of the Billy Joel song “Vienna waits for you”. We were very excited for Sunday. We got to Salzburg pretty late, and it was dark by the time we explored. From what I saw of the quaint little streets, churches, and mountains, I can say Salzburg is one of my favorite cities. We went with the group to the famous Salzburg beer hall. I didn’t know what to expect, but from what I had been told I would be missing out if I didn’t go. The beer hall reminded me of my father and Harry Potter (for different reasons of course). I actually really enjoyed it. It was huge and full of these long tables packed with stone mugs and men. We got stared at because we were literally the only girls in the place. We sat beside an Air Force couple stationed in Germany, and they informed us that the beer hall was named by the History Channel as the “world’s best beer hall with the world’s best beer”. It was quite the experience, even if I couldn’t finish my half liter, and Hil was pouring hers into mine so she could say she finished “the world’s best beer”. The food was all vinegar based and very Austrian. I tried Wienerschnitzel. We walked around Salzburg a little more and called it a night! Sunday was the long awaited Sound of Music Tour! The tour was great but I have to admit, if Blair would have been there it would have been better. Blair, one of my best friends, LOVES the Sound of Music more than anyone I know. We took a picture of her with us on the whole tour. Blair, you were there in spirit. My favorite part was the hill town of Mondsee, where they get married in the movie! It was about a 30 minute drive up in the hills from Salzburg, around the lake region. It was BEAUTIFUL! Kinda reminded me of the beauty of the Interlaken area. We had the best apple strudel and ice cream. It was a great afternoon! We left Salzburg about 2 and headed towards Firenze. I tried to do my school reading on the bus but couldn’t because of the view. The drive was beyond amazing. I stared out the window for 4 hours. It was unreal. We were driving through valleys, so we were surrounded by the Alps on both sides. Because of all the traveling we have been doing lately, we’ve been missing church on Sunday night. It’s been a bummer, but looking out the window and sitting for 4 hours was a wonderful time to think and pray. How could someone look at the Alps and beautiful countryside and not praise the Artist who made them! Another highlight of the drive was when we stopped at a McDonalds with a panoramic view of the Alps. If the beer hall gets a world famous award, then this McDonalds should too! No kidding, it was that beautiful. We got back to Florence around 10.





Other fun facts:

-While in Austria I discovered a new painter: Gustav Klimt. His work was all around Austria and I LOVED IT! I normally don’t notice artist, but I really liked his paintings. I got a couple of his post cards.

-This week’s photo class assignment was “self-portraits”. My teacher is very broad when she gives us the assignments. She likes creativity. My self-portraits were creative to say the least. Hil got her laugh for the week. It’s not easy to take pictures of yourself. You either look like the middle school MySpace mirror kid, or really weird and conceited. I think I may even prefer being a creeper with my “feel the world” assignment. I managed to get 10 self-portraits but my professor wasn’t as positive this week. I’m learning a lot about Photoshop. Here is a self-portrait for your viewing and laughing pleasure!


-On Monday I went to a “cultural dance class”. It was girls only and taught by my cooking instructor. The more I’m around my cooking teacher, the more I like her! I had to go to her dance workshop! It was the funniest two hours. It was mainly Egyptian style and middle eastern dancing (basically belly dancing). She kept saying “feel the music”, but 35 American girls aren’t used to “feeling the music”. I loved every minute. It reminded me of when Al and I dance on Christmas Eve for Grandma Johnson. We just did whatever we felt. At one point we danced with scarves around our heads and I felt like I was in Slum Dog Millionaire. After dance class and the ballet, I’ve decided I have missed my calling: I was meant to be a dancer.

-Last week we went to a Fiorentina vs. Milan soccer match! I’ve never been to anything like it- not even a UNC vs. Duke basketball game. It was intense! We looked like the dumb American girls when we tried to find our proper seats. Some Italian man informed us that we should just find a free seat…good luck with that! We had on purple so we were fine as long as we stayed with the Fiorentina fans. Florence lost sadly, and we never spotted David Beckham! It was a great night and I will def. be going back to another soccer match!

-I really enjoy hanging out with my language partner! She is so nice and I look forward to seeing her every week! We normally meet on Wednesday.

I love y’all very much. I think and pray for y’all (the faithful few that actually read my blog) daily!
Love.Meow.Wing.
Bec

“The present of things past is memory, the present of things present is sight; and the present of things future is expectation.” –St. Augustine (talking about the concept of time in Philosophy class)