First day of classes

Today was officially my first day of classes! My Etruscan, Greek, and Roman history class was long and little bit dry I must say. I found the discussions about the ancient Greek and Roman architecture much more interesting. Lots of reading in this class that I’m not looking forwarded too, but hopefully it will help. The teacher is very nice but also extremely hard to understand because English is not her native language. My Italian class on the other hand was very informative, interesting, and fun! (Yes, I did just say fun) I never thought I would look forward to learning a foreign language. I feel much more motivated to learn Italian now that I am here and need to communicate with people on a daily basis. I can order my own cappuccino at the bar and typically order a meal at a restaurant, but I hope to be able to communicate much more easily before leaving Tuscania. My teacher is extremely nice and encouraging. He would rather you try and make a fool of yourself, than keep quiet and never learn. My classes do not end until 4:00 pm, so my day feels much shorter. I am going to miss having so much free time, but I look forward to learning more Italian!

Todays beautiful sunset

Making my own meals, for every meal, is already starting to get old. I took you for granted Mom! I never understood how time consuming cooking a meal was until I had to do it myself! I have already made a ton of chicken and pasta. Tonight I decided to switch it up and make some stir-fry with the fresh veggies I got from Friday’s market. Now that was especially delicious! Eating all these carbs (pasta and bread, of course) makes me miss fresh salads and veggies. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s classes, especially my Italian cooking class! I will learn how to make my own 3 course homemade meal. YUM! J

Until tomorrow!

Sunday funday

Sunday was a very nice relaxing day. Sleeping-in always puts me in a better mood. I made a nice cup of green tea (with my delicious new cinnamon honey) and sunny-side up eggs. My favorite part of the day was sitting on my front porch in my pajamas bundled up in my coat, slippers, and leggings looking out over the olive trees that span for miles beyond my apartment. My nose and cheeks became as red a cherry, but the morning sun warmed my back. The air feels and tastes more fresh and crisp compared to Marylebone. It felt like a vacation being able to sit outside and hear nothing but birds chirping and the occasional vespa passing by.  It reminded me of Connecticut, sitting on my back screened-in porch listening to the waterfall trickle down the stones as it met with the water below. I never realized how much I missed nature until it became hard to come by.

Later that night, Jess, Tori and I spent hours trying to plan our trip to Istanbul and Turkey for our weeklong break once arriving in Roma. We got most of the flight planning out of the way and will finish picking hostiles within the coming week. I am very excited to see both of these amazing countries. I have only heard wonderful things about both. I hear the spice markets are out of this world and Old Constantinople is a must see! I will need to do some further research on places to visit once I get there. If anyone has any suggestions it would be very much appreciated! I finished the night sharing 3 bottles of wine with Jess and Tori. It was exactly what I need to fall fast asleep!

Bona note amici!

Day 4

St. Mara's Basilica

St. Peter's Basilica

After a late night out, the girls and I got caught up on some much-needed sleep. Once getting our act together we heading towards the outskirts of town to see the ancient Etruscan church and ruins. Saint Peter’s Basilica and S. Mara’s Basilica were atop a large hill that span for miles and miles. The church is no longer used for services but as been preserved for thousands of years. I can’t help but think how many people have walked where I just walked? How many sat at this exact same pew?  Entering St. Peter’s gave me goose bumps just thinking about the amount of history in one place! After exploring St. Peter’s we then began to venture to S. Mara’s Basilica, which was equally as magnificent. I loved this church because much of the artwork was preserved in comparison to St. Peter’s. Many of the walls were painted in colorful biblical scenes along with breath-taking architecture throughout the entire ceiling.  After making my way back to town I stopped at “Falleroni” Gelato bar for some homemade ice cream! Of course I got a mixture of coffee and Tiramisu that was to die for! Tonight all 12 of the 3-citiy Ldm Students came to my apartment and made a homemade dinner. We had three different types of pastas to choose from, salad, bread and olive oil, and of course wine! It was brilliant having everyone over laughing, sharing stories, and eating! 

Day 3

Friday morning I woke up at 8:30 am to walk to the school for 9:00 am. I had to finish paper work for my permit to stay that took up a good portion of the morning. In between waiting to sign my documents I explored the local market just outside the “old town”. It reminded me a lot of my local market at home in Marylebone. Lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, cheese stands, deli stands, and an amazing local homemade honey stand (prefect for my morning cup of tea)! Tons of amazing leather shoes, I was drooling just looking at them all! And of course there were many stands of scarves, hats, and mittens. I was very excited to order (in Italian) my own fruits and veggies for the upcoming weeks groceries! All of the locals are extremely welcoming and encourage trying to speak the language. I only have to say a few mismatching words, such as “quanto costa” meaning how much or “vorrene”meaning I would like, before they are filling in my missing pieces.  Their extensive use of hand movements while speaking has been incredibly helpful with the language barrier. I purchased some delicious potatoes, onions, tomatoes, red peppers, apples, blood oranges, and zucchini, all of which I can not wait to cook with in my adorable new kitchen!

Roof Top of Palazzo Ranucci

Later in the afternoon Mei (one of my advisors) took a group of us around the town for a walking tour. I learned where all the local amenities and services of the town were located. Of course what I found most helpful was learning about the many local restaurants. I hope to eat in most of the restaurants before I leave, trying something new at each place! Some that look particularly tasty are, “Fantasmino” which is a local pizzeria, “Sapori di Festa” which is known for having the best plate of pasta is town, “Kyatos” which has amazing fresh baked croissants and pastries each morning, “Pulceinella” which has wonderful sea food pasta dishes, “Voglia di Piiza” know for its out of this world lasagna, and last but not least, “La Dolce Nuvola” which is know for there exceptional crepes of all kinds! I look forward to trying all of these magnificent restaurants!

For dinner a group of us went to “Palazzo Ranucci” which was a highly sheik restaurant known for having more international food, rather than purely Italian. I tired to be very adventurous and daring while eating! The first dish was pasta topped with wild boar. I was surprised with how much I enjoyed this dish. The boar tasted like chicken but had the consistency of tuna. I would recommend this dish to anyone who passes! For the second dish I had a large portion of veil top with sautéed peppers, onions, and olives. Red meat is always a favorite of mine so I had no problem finishing this dish! For dessert I was served yellow custard. It tasted like eggnog, but had a fluffy light consistency, topped with drizzled chocolate sauce. This was my favorite meal so far! I enjoyed trying many dishes I otherwise would not have, I hope to come back again! To end the night a large group went to a local bar called “Caffe Del Duomo”. This bar was very inexpensive and was packed with locals all of which were eager to mingle. I started the night off with a 2-euro shot of tequila. After attempting to talk to locals most of my drinks came free! I met a hilarious older Italian man who gave me a card to his restaurant called “Il Fifugio” where he offered to give my friends and me a large discount as well as, a free wine tasting at his vineyard! I hope I make it there before next weekend! Many drinks in, Tara and I ended up in the center of town on our backs gazing at stars for what felt like an eternity. I found the big dipper and North Star and felt like I was in Granby CT again! What a small, small world. The night sky always makes me feel at home. I could not have wished (on a shooting star) for a better night!

Day 2

Slept in till 11:00 am this morning but it was just what I needed for my long day ahead! I woke up to a beautiful sunny day, although it was a bit chilly (nothing a scarf and jacket couldn’t fix). For breakfast I had a Greek yogurt and apple, both of which I picked up at the local market. The roommates and I decided to explore the “old town” part of the Tuscania, which is the historic area between the two tall clock towers. The “old town” is my favorite part of Tuscania because that’s where the town originated. The large stonewalls used to act as a barrier to protect the town from intruders in the Roman area. If you walk straight up the cobble stone street from the arched clock tower entrance, it leads you to a magnificent plateau to view the entire northern side of the town called Parco di Lavello. When first entering, on your left, you see a large circular fountain that spews a small arch of water from its center. Overlooking the fountain is a large and never ending stonewall, part of the original wall that acted as a barrier to the town that overlooks miles upon miles of hills and valley’s. Upon many of the hills are ancient castles and farmhouses. It was truly breath taking. I stayed here for an hour and half just gazing at its beauty. The sun felt amazing on my back as I sat there and gaze in pure awe. I hope this view never becomes anything less than marvelous; I never want to take a site such as this for granted!

For lunch we met another five students from Ldm at La Piazzetta. Mei, one of my academic advisors, offered all students wonderful meal deals to eight local restaurants, all of which cost only 5 euros! At La Piazzetta I had an amazing spaghetti dish with fresh tomato sauce and grated cheese. I never knew how scrumptious spaghetti could taste until eating it in Italy! Truly mouth watering! I then ended the meal with two “tortas” which reminded me of marble pound cake with a strawberry jam drizzled on top. YUM! (and for an muy bene price!) Following our lunch I then walked around the town for a bit, stopping at a local bar called Centre. I tried a ginseng cappuccino that was out of the world! It is very similar to a typical cappuccino expect its less strong and little more sweet, the perfect combination for me! It is normal in Italy to stand at the bar when drinking your cappuccino, rather than sitting. There is actually a price difference from drinking your cappuccino while standing at the bar versus sitting at a table. Most people spend no more than five minutes at the bar. Coffees are meant to quick, but frequent things in Italy!

Ginseng cappuccino

After learning our “short cut” from the school to our apartment, Tori, Jen and I went grocery shopping. We tried to by enough groceries to last us the week. At the store we bought lots of sandwich meats, cheese, and pasta, (and enough chicken breasts to last us for a couple of dinners). Tonight Jen showed me how to make chicken cutlets cooked in olive oil, along with pasta and tomato sauce and some steamed broccoli! Jen is an excellent cook and I was quiet impressed with our first real home cooked meal! Tonight was a ton of fun because all 6 of us sat around in the living room and chatted for hours. And of course the subject of boys, booze, and traveling came up. I can already feel my abs from all the laughing. I can tell this is going to be an easy transitions with these six! We all have so much common and have a lot of similar places we want to visit while here, some of which include, Spain, Prague, Germany, Greece, Holland, Israel, and of course within Italy Pompeii and the Almaphi coast!

I was also finally able to set up my Internet connection and got to skype with Mom, Dad, Sabe, JuJu, and Taylor! Made me feel right at home. Missing everyone at home, but wishing they could come see and experience all the amazing sights I have already discovered!

Buena notte! 

Day 1

I have officially arrived in the small, quiet, and truly beautiful city of Tuscania! After the two-hour bus ride from Rome, we were quickly escorted around the small town to see our campus. It is located between two tall clock towers, one on each entrance into what the locals call the “old city of Tuscania”. 

Sun rise looking over Italy!

It is truly magnificent. Everything you could think of, small cobble stone streets (just big enough to fix a moped), damp clothing hanging from roof top to roof top, and beautiful winter shrubbery dangling from individual window boxes. Each home is painted a light pastel color, from yellow to orange, or light blue to sea foam green. Each street seems surreal, almost as if  taken from a movie. I went to my first local grocery story today. It was similar to a local market with a  pasta section that was out the door! Any kind of pasta imaginable, they had it. The fresh fruit was to die for, my favorite was the clementines (super juicy)!

As part of the orientation we had a welcome dinner at a beautiful authentic Italian restaurant called “La Palombella”. It was to DIE for! We started off with a strange, yet delicious pasta dish. I must describe it as the Italian’s do, “al dente!” It was pure perfection, not to sticky yet not too hard. The pasta looked liked coiled string, no bigger than the size of my pointer finger.  It came in a light cream sauce with chopped tomatoes and mushrooms. The mushrooms were extremely juicy and sautéed to perfection! Following the pasta we were served a thick pork chop and sliced potatoes. The potatoes were soaked in olive oil and spices, a personal favorite of mine. And for dessert we had a croissant like biscuit filled with cream and chocolate sauce. It was similar to a croissant in that it was light and fluffy, but shaped circular like a biscuit. The cream reminded me of the filling found in a Boston cream donut, but much lighter and less sweet. To top off the night we had a wonderful red wine throughout the course of the meal. My first meal in Italy was absolutely delicious! Muy delishioso!

My roommates Jennifer, Katherine, Jessica, Tori, and Tara are all great! They have been nothing but nice and welcoming, and not to mention it's always nice conversing a fellow American in a foreign country. Two of them have taken multiple Italian courses before, making ordering coffee and food a breeze. I am learning one step at a time and they have been very helpful! They are from all over the place, including two from Long Island, California, and Trinidad. We were all surprised with how amazing our apartment was because it is in the middle of never ending vineyard. It has 3 two-person bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a beautiful farmhouse Italian style kitchen, and a spacious living room! Oh, and I forgot to mention the stunning outside deck including an outdoor wooden stove! What is not to love?! And on top of it all we have 3 pets that immediately made me feel at home. Two cats, which could not be friendlier if they tried, and one adorable dog named Rudy. Both cats curled up by the fireplace with all of us as we shared stories about our hometown and past traveling experiences. They are already apart of the family!

I am off to bed for the night! First day was remarkable and blew my expectations out of the water! All my first day butterflies have vanished. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!

And the adventures begins...

Buongiorno!

I am currently sitting at my dinning room table listening to bustling rush hour traffic that London brings. Next to me sits Berlitz "learn Italian in 30 days" manual, as if! I have learned a few verbs and phrases, as well as, some common conjugations of verbs and adjectives. Verbs such as "essere" meaning to be or "stare" meaning to say. I still can't hold more than a common "Hello, how are you?" conversation, but isn't that what this whole experience is for?!

I have been anxiously awaiting this day for what feels like months and now it is finally here (and yes I must admit I'm nervous!) Excited to meet many new friends, try delicious italian cuisine, drink copious amounts of italian vineyard wine, and explore the never ending cobble stone side streets! Yet, at the same time my stomach is in knots for tomorrow morning. No sleep for the weary! One of the major pluses to arriving from London to Rome is the manageable time change of only one hour. I feel bad for the other students who have a much greater time difference to adjust too.

Mom (or should I say Mum or Mamma) is currently making my favorite American meal before I leave. Of course I chose pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, zucchini, and salad, what else could a girl want?! It's always great having the family around the table for a nice home cooked meal. We missed you Mike! Thanks Ma! 

I want to give a shout to my best gal Spencer Leigh on her 21st birthday tomorrow! You made mine so special and I wish I could be there to celebrate yours with you! I hope you have an amazing birthday filled with laughter, friends, family, cake, and of course, gin & tonic! You deserve nothing less. I know Ty and the girls will take great care of you. I've never done European traveling without you and I know it won't be the same. Just remember, "always strategically pick which bathroom stall to enter!" I promise my present from Italy will be much better than anything you could have received from Connecticut! Happy birthday best friend, I love you Spenc! 

I am leaving the flat between 5 and 5:30 am to make my 7 am flight! I land in Roma by 11:00 am sharp! I can't wait to see where this new year and new adventures take me!

Arrivedercci! 

A roommate or should I say soul mate?

As I sit on my living couch on this slightly overcast friday I think to myself, where's Taylor Llewellyn? Not living with my other half has really taken a toll on my mental and physical health! Who will I have hour conversations with before falling asleep each night? (Topics of which can not be included) Who will be on there phone until 2 am waking me up with her iphone's glowing light/ obnoxious ring tones? Who will hang Bonnie and Woobie from inappropriate places on the wall and ceiling? Who will share the "poop log" with casual visitors? Who will walk into the room 24 hours later with a fat lip given to her by a Hennessy bottle? Who will make fun of my dancingqueen1125 middle school screen name? Who will stroll home at 4 am to check and see if Red Sun in open for business? Who will remember where I last parked my car (3 hours ago)? Who will kill large ass insects on with your hairbrush and just leave them there? (Oh wait that was me) Who will drink all my pickle juice (and eat all my pickles?) Who will eat queso splashed with (sabe's) orange vodka with me...on the floor? Who will brush there teeth as fast as they can because our toothpaste taste like fish mixed with dog food?  Who will wipe there ass with paper towels because we haven't had towel paper in weeks? Who will constantly rip my towel off me every time I make my way to the shower? Who will call me at ungodly hours to tell me Sabe shit her bed, but come to find out it was melted chocolate? What 15 girls will pile themselves into a single bathroom stall?  Who will dress like a goth and run around the apartments with me? Who will dress like a dirty mexican when its taco night at the house? Who will fill up plastic bags of water and throw them into the boys apartments (or should I say a bucket of water filled with blue glitter)? Who will teach me how to create meth? Who will let me stick a paintbrush up her ass? Who will actually look at my ass? Who will accept my rosacea as apart of me? Who will sleep with me the entire night even though she has her own bed about 6 steps away? Who will sit on me and pluck my invisible unibrow?  Who will say "goodnight and I love you" every night before I fall asleep? Who will hot box her bed and make me smell it? Who will leave throw up on my pillow? Who will name it furby? Who will rap me in duck tap and roll me around the OX floor? Who will smoke hookah with me on the roof? Who will drive all the way to Winston Salem to drop off a late library book? Who will walk into the room and look for dog shit on her shoes? Who will go to goat farms with me (for extra credit for a class)? fourteen/sixteens? (enough said) Who spontaneously burst into interpretive dance with me? And most importantly, who will "keep me young"?!

You're a bad bitch, you're you're bad bitch. LOVE YOU PW!
I'm really gonna miss you this semester (if you couldn't tell)

Just to name a few.....