When in Rome...!

November is the busiest month so far for me here in Italy! Paul visiting for 5 days, one day in between, then we left on a school field trip to Rome for 4 days! Our first stop on the way to Rome was the quaint little town of Orvieto, where we visited a church and had lunch. 

Orvieto

a little side-street in Orvieto

Orvieto is situated on top of a hill, overlooking this beautiful view!

Second stop on the way to Rome: 

Il Parco dei “mostri” di Bomarzo which means "park of monsters". It is filled with huge statues and sculptures of gigantic animals, huge figures, nymphs, and gods with dramatic proportions and kind of ugly (hence the name of the park).  

ahhhh

Finally, after an eight hour journey from Florence, we arrived in Rome! We stayed in a really nice hotel, and I roomed with two girls whom I have made really good friends with--Lauren and Brittani. That night we had a 3 course meal of Cannelloni with ricotta and spinach, Saltimbocca alla Romana with green beans and carrots, pasta, and a fruit cake for dessert.

Jessica and I looking fancy at dinner

The next day, our program directors didn't hesitate to get us up at 7 in the morning to begin our jam-packed Roman holiday. First place we visited was the Forum, which was the ancient center of Rome. What blew me away was that this was completely covered in dirt up until the 1920's when excavations finally began to uncover this gem. Next we visited the Palatino (Palatine) which is one of the central hills of Rome as well as one of the oldest parts of the city.

what a view!!

Next stop, the Colosseo (Colosseum!) All I have to say is Magnificent. To any of you out there who have read Francine Rivers' "Mark of the Lion" Trilogy, this really brought to life her books! Did you know that it was capable of seating 50,000 spectators?! Crazy. One thing that bummed me out though was that after the 6th century, since it was no longer being used, they took a lot of it apart and used it for building materials.

 Later, we saw the Pantheon, two Caravaggio paintings in the Church of San Luigi, and visited the Trevi fountain at night. Let me just say that the Trevi Fountain (especially at night) has now become one of my most favorite places in the whole world.

St. Peter's Basilica aka the Vatican at night!

 The next day, we went to the Vatican Museum. That was AMAZING! Some highlights: the Hall of Maps, the Sistine Chapel, a beautiful painting by Jan Matejko, The Sistine Chapel, and then of course, St. Peter's Basilica (the Vatican!)

my friend Brittani, no shame looking like a tourist,  enduring the rain. haha

the Jessica's and I inside the Vatican Museum!

We also visited the MAXXI Modern Art Museum, an Etruscan Villa, and two Etruscan "cities of the dead"--Cerveteri and Tarquinia--where the Etruscans built entire cities to lay their deceased family members to rest. It was so fascinating.

I couldn't help but say (about 50 times) that this was the best field trip I've ever been on!! What an incredible blessing to be able to be here in Italy and travel and see the things I have seen.

PAUL IN FIRENZE!

So I am very behind on my posts, so without further ado: 

 introducing,

Paul in Firenze!

Paul and the Duomo

We went on a run to Piazzale Michelangelo and Chiesa San Miniato

Paul's amazing night photography

Sitting on the steps of the Duomo!

For a Florence Cultural celebration, they put grass all around the piazza surrounding the Baptistry!

Day trip to Fiesole, a city that sits on the hill above Firenze

One of our many pizzas during the week

Graffiti tunnel

Paul and a candy shop

We tried Marzapane!

Probably one of the most perfect nights of my life! We ate some gelato right before this picture :)

First week of Classes= success!

School has officially begun! 

My classes:

1. Painting at the Accademia di Belle Arte with Prof. Bisi 

2. Italian Grammar

3. Italian Conversation 

4. Early Renaissance Art History 

Pretty excellent if you ask me! Painting is my only class at the Accademia, all the rest are at the CSU. For my Renaissance Art History class, we have field trips all over the city to see the ACTUAL pieces of art. Can you believe it?? I can't think of a better way to study art.

As for the Accademia, well It took a little while them to get their act together, but things are starting to settle down, and make a little bit more sense. I am currently working on developing a theme/concentration from which I will develop a body of work. 

FUN FACT about school in Italy: Mandatory "caffe" break in every class. The teacher will be teaching and about half way into class, they'll say "Caffe?" and we "facciamo una piccola pausa" for about 10-20 minutes, and everyone goes to a bar (that's what coffee shops are called here) and gets some coffee or food!  It's great.

Another exciting Fact: Paul is arriving in Firenze tomorrow! Yaaaay :)

Ciao for now!

Norwich...sensational!

Paul and I hopped on a train to return to Norwich, where he is studying at the University of East Anglia. Our train ride was at 6 in the morning, so naturally we slept for most of it. I was able to go to two of Paul's classes--both of which we watched movies in! 

6am train ride. Paul is quite a chipper lad

in the field at UEA

We went to the Pub on Campus, met up with some of Paul's friends to watch a football (soccer) game, and had some beers. It was a grand old time.

The next morning, we went to breakfast at "The Waffle House" which was SENSATIONAL! We got: earl grey tea, fresh orange juice, waffles, eggs, bacon/ham, fried tomatoes and mushrooms. I was so hungry that I completely forgot to take a picture of the spread, but here is the aftermath.

After that, Paul and I needed to get costumes for the Halloween dance party that was happening the next night. We went over to a "Fancy Dress Shop", which is a costume shop but they'd rather make it sound a little more classy (it's not any classier). That was where Paul and I found some magical items. For me, it was the shiny metallic "Space Cadet" costume. And for Paul it was a Mullet wig, mustache, and Tiger temporary tattoo. We went back to school after that, Paul went to class and I went for a run. I got to explore his campus a little bit, and on my run I discovered an AMAZING lake! It was absolutely beautiful and I wish I had my camera to take some pictures. Also, there was a man along the pathway, who had a beardog. Literally, it was half bear, half dog. 

THE NEXT DAY: Halloween Dance Party!!

Paul and I chose to have matching costumes this year...! I went and got ready with Katie and Lauren (two girls who actually are also from SF State and we knew from school) and Paul and his buddy Andy came up and we headed out.

Space Cadet and....Paul in 10 years?

Check out that tat!

I'm thinking about going pink permanently... what do you think mom and dad? ;) 

 We went to the pub on campus to meet up with a bunch of kids, and that was when Katie needed my help singing karaoke! I can never turn that down (so I have learned over the years) and we sang "California Girls" while Paul was our back up dancer. Unfortunately you can't tell how amazing his dance moves were from this picture, but he had the whole place laughing and thoroughly entertained.

After a few more songs, we headed out and went to the club downtown which was hosting the Halloween dance party. For those of you who know me (or have been at weddings with me), I really love to dance. SO lets just say, I had a great time!  I generally could dance until I was the last person on the dance floor, but all of the kids had class the next day and were responsible students and we headed out. 

DANCING

I'm pretty sure they were playing "Africa" by Toto, so this explains the faces

The next day we headed back to London and stayed the night at the Voge's house again. Georgia made the most delicious chocolate and nutella pie and we very likely ate too much. The next day I unfortunately had to leave, and returned home to Firenze. 

Conclusion:

I ate too much good food, spent some good quality time with Paul (IN LONDON might I add!!) , and saw some pretty cool stuff. 

P.S. Did I mention that I never used to like Earl Grey Tea until London changed my view forever! When I got home to Firenze, I went and bought a box. Maybe it's because every time I drink it, it reminds me of my wonderful time in England...

Would you like some tea?

Another day in London means more adventures for Paul and I! 

Like my creepy face? 

Aside from taking pictures next to Susan Boyle, our main focus was to see St. Peters Cathedral. Let me just say that it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! We went inside, and I was awestruck by just about everything.

Paul standing in front of the doors of St. Peters Cathedral

We climbed to the very top of the Cathedral, which was ALOT of steps (which were beneficial to burn off the fish n'chips). The view from the top was spectacular!

After our rendezvous to St Peters, Paul insisted that we go to "High Tea" (probably because the kid has an addiction to scones and clotted cream, but that's a whole nother story!) No but really, he wanted me to have the English experience. 

The very first time I actually LIKED Earl Grey Tea!

Our spread included:

Earl Grey Tea with milk and sugar cubes

various finger sandwiches

scones with clotted cream and homemade jam

various pastries

My recommendation to all who come to England: drink tea, eat scones with clotted cream and jam

Later that night, we went to see the movie "The Social Network" which is about the creation of Facebook (very interesting) and after we went to dinner at an Italian Restaurant to celebrate two years of dating! And Yes, I DID talk in Italian to the owner of the restaurant (I just had to), and he then gave us a free bowl full of biscotti.

Don't Mess.

Good day, good day.

Riding Bikes in London!

I'd say the title pretty much sums this day up-- Paul Voge took Paul and I on a bike tour of London! OH-cool thing: London has this nifty system called Barclays Bikes. So all around the city, there are a bunch of "docking stations". You take a bike, ride it around wherever you want, and return it back to one of the  docking stations!! And get this--the first 30 minutes are for free!! It is so rad. 

We rode our bikes through Kensington Gardens, past Kensington Palace where Princess Diana once lived, saw the Round Pond full of the queen's swans, saw the Albert Memorial, and then we saw Buckingham Palace. At that point, we dismounted our glorious two-wheeled transporters, and walked over to see the Horse Guards, and checked out some art in the National Gallery.

Buckingham Palace 

Fancy moves

THE Paul Voge--our excellent tour guide/entertainer

I'd just like to let everyone know that I had my FIRST burrito from Chipotle in London. I fought it long enough in America, opting to eat REAL mexican food over Mexican-imposter Chipotle food. But I'll admit it, I had a moment of weakness in London. I missed Mexican food so bad and would give anything to eat anything that even attempted to be Mexican. It was good, however, they committed the ultimate burrito sin: their only hot sauce was Tabasco Sauce. No Tapatio or Cholula. I was a little heartbroken.

DOUBLE RAINBOW!!!

If anyone has not seen the "double rainbow" youtube video, please click here and then envision our reaction to this marvelous sight.

Why hello there Big Ben!