Thankful.

 How does one go about explaining our American holiday called Thanksgiving to two curious Italian girls?

First, you talk about the food. Most important food is the Turkey, naturally. Then comes the copious amount of buttered/salted/sugared/marsh-mellowed casseroles, vegetables, rolls, salads, sauces, potatoes and pies that you load on your plate not just once, but twice or maybe three times.

After the "look-of-sheer-disgust/intrigue", you attempt to justify this gluttony by saying we do this because we are thankful! 

They nod their head hesitantly, but secretly they could hardly wait to stuff their faces on their very first Thanksgiving.

And neither could we.

Cooking in our TINY kitchen

 So we decided to go an easier route and got Turkey Breasts instead of the whole bird since our oven is small, unpredictable, and hot as Hades (we named it Dante's Inferno if that gives you any idea).

Maleesa's amazing turkey

the delicious stuffing I made!

I was in charge of the stuffing and the gravy, which both turned out to be Ilaria and Valentina's favorite! I got my recipes from the Food Network (Gravy recipe and Stuffing recipe).

Marie enjoying the feast

Our Menu:
-Turkey Breast
-Mashed Potatoes
-Stuffing
-Gravy
-Fruit Salad
-Broccoli Salad
-Sweet Potatoes
-Bread
-Cranberry Sauce
-Pumpkin Pie
-Homemade chocolate chip cookies (the mix was sent from USA!)
-Vino and Spumante (wine and champagne)

Pumpkin Pie and chocolate chip cookies

We had twelve people join our Thanksgiving feast, including MARIE SHIMANSKY(!!) who was one of three of my girlfriends who came to visit for the weekend (the other two didn't get in until after midnight).

my beautiful roommates

Cin-Cin!

All in all, Thanksgiving was a success and extremely delicious. I still cannot believe that I am living here in Italy, and seeing/doing/experiencing such wonderful things. I am so thankful for this incredible adventure God has me on, and for my family and friends whom I love so very much!

Being an artist costs a lot of money.

I just purchased my first 100cm x 150 cm canvas, oil paints and two paint brushes in Italy!
Damage done: €113.
[OUCH]

However, I am VERY excited to start my first painting! It is gonna be raaaad

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...