my girls.

yes .

squirt guns and sbanebio

The weather has been HOT hence the need for squirt guns. Not only do the cool you down, but if an italian man gets too fresh or thinks his "do you like your face" (yes, someone ACTUALLY said this to me) will work, you just shoot him with some water! harmless, and really funny. 

Nery, locked and loaded.

 So many things have been going on these past few weeks, and as of now, I have 3 days left in Italy!!!

can you believe how beautiful the Arno looks?????

 We went and saw a band called Sbanebio, who dress up in costume and play a type of music they call "tropical glam rock" haha but its like a ska mixed with really funny lyrics in italian. Our italian friend Alice is friends with the band, so this is actually the third time we saw them.

sweet caroline (ba ba baaa)

My second american roommate, Caroline, left last week so now it's just three girls remaining in Via Dei Servi! My love for Caroline goes way deeper than heart-shaped pizzas (see photo below)--she became one of my closest friends here. Such a genuine sweetheart, Caroline was always there for me whenever I needed someone to talk to, someone to eat popcorn and watch movies with, and she always knew when I needed a hug. I am so happy that we were able to get to know each other this year, and I miss her so much already. But thankfully, I will see my little ballerina in San Francisco next year because she lives nearby!  

yep, this actually happened.

on her last day we went and got gelato and sat down on the river!

beautiful day with a beautiful girl :)

I love you boo!

i miei amici mi danno un grande sorriso!

the sun setting on the Arno 

il tramonto, vino, e buone amiche.

my courtyard, with a planter box full of pink flowers from an admirer!

friends are fun

whenever I get sad I stop being sad and start being awesome.

Aperitivo con Carolina, Ilaria, e Valentina 

Tristan and I, enjoying our scarves.

l'ultima cena per CSU! che belle ragazze!!

la casa di Valentina

-We finally made it to Valentina's house for a weekend! Her family lives a little over an hour outside of Florence in the beautiful "compagna" (countryside) of Castiglion Fiorentino. When we pulled up to her house, her adorable grandma was standing on the porch awaiting our arrival. She had been making homemade lasagne noodles for our lunch!! So italian :)

We went inside, ate a little bit of food, and then Vale took us in her tiny little red Fiat "cinquecento" car and we toured her hometown, Cortona, and up to Chiesa Santa Margherita at the top of a hill. Vale's family has a tiny little one bedroom apartment in the historical center of Castiglion Fiorentino, where her dad's family lived when he was growing up-which is where we got to stay :) 

For lunch that day, we had:

-Homemade lasagne

-Chicken and sausage

-spinach, roasted potatoes

-and (if that wasn't enough) gelato with fresh strawberries!!!

 

Italy is COVERED in these beautiful red pop

The next day, we went to a HUGE lake and relaxed in the sun. It was beautiful!! I am so glad that we were able to spend some time getting to know Valentina better, and be able to see her home and her family--things that are so important to her! She is the sweetest girl, and I am so glad that I got to live with her this year. She has helped me improve my Italian so much, and she always is interested in talking and getting to know me. I'm really going to miss her! You can bet that I will come and stay with her when I come back to Italy!!

Valentina and I- such a wonderful girl!!