New Routine!

So week #1 is over and went by very smoothly.

I (successfully) went to class for 1 week, dropped my management class (since DU is quarter system and I am here for a full semester, I am able to only take 3 classes and still get 18 credits... while at DU I would be taking only 16. Yey!) and had a good time!

After dropping my class on Wednesday I went to Payperback Exchange (where we get all our books) for the third time. Books are extremely expensive here. I went with my friend Pato, and since he is taking 4 Art History or just regular History classes, the amount he spent on books was outrageous. I got my Art History book (which weighs like 300 pounds) and headed back to school. Today on my Mediterranean Diet class we took a walking tour of Florence exploring "local" cuisine. We learned about the difference between Sicilian gelato, sorbet and granitas, had some Florentine trippe and our teacher pointed out the best spots for Kebabs, cookies, gelato, vegan candies and kosher meals. Very fun and entertaining.

Wednesday night we decided to head out with some Syracuse friends. We went to what we call "Secret Bar" for some wine and drinks and then headed to the Duomo. We meet up with Lizz there, who had tickets to get into one of the nicest clubs in Florence (or so they say), YAB. We tagged along with Lizz, even though my friends Laura, Karian and I were for sure not dressed to go clubbing. YAB was PACKED and it was about 1 million degrees inside. After a short time there, we decided we needed to go. Too hot, to full and we were NOT dressed apropriate. We got this little card when we got in and were told "50 Euro if you loose it". We DID NOT loose it but we could not find where to get a receipt to finally GET OUT. It was a struggle, but after about 20 minutes, we made it out. Thursday morning during Italian class I found out about half of my class was there. Funny.

Thursday we had site visit #1 for my Art History class which was really fun. We meet in Piazza della Signoria and learned about the statues that are there. That night I stayed in since both Molly and I had to be up at 6.30 am since we were going to Assisi on Friday.

Assisi was AMAZING. Even the bus ride there was gorgeous. The Italian countryside is just amazing and, as my friend Maddie pointed out, there is not a lot of "green" in Firenze, so driving amongst so many trees and mountains was refreshing. Assisi is a small town, where the center of attention is the Basilica. It is a gorgeous three story church, full of historic frescos and the body of St. Francis of Assisi. After a morning inside the church, learning about the art work we parted ways and I went to lunch and to explore with Laurie, Dani and Maddie. We had lunch at this very cute Trattoria, I learned that Spaghetti A la Carbonara in Italy is NOT the same as in Trefratelli in Guatemala (it was just spaghetti, eggs and ham.. not my favorite) and that bruschetta is always just an amazing meal. We tasted what an old man said was "the best olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette  in all of Italy" (it was 30 euros for a bottle..... so it probably was) and had lots of gelato (Dani had 3, actually). We sat down and had some wine overlooking the amazing views you find in the region of Umbria.

Friday night Laura and I had some interesting adventures with a wine bottle that was just REFUSING to open and then we checked out Lions Pub. Lions is very popular with Americans since it has T-Shirts of many, many schools from the US. I couldn't locate DU, so I might have to donate the ONE DU shirt I brought. We had a great time but turned in not-so-late because I had another 6.30 am morning, since I was going to Ravenna.

Ravenna is a much bigger town than Assisi, that apparently only the "rich" and very affluent get to live in. The art work was amazing, and we some some incredible mosaics (which is what it is famous for) and just gorgeous art work. Ravenna is home to what one of the professors called, in his opinion, one of the most beautiful churches in the world. I agree. The Basilica of San Vitale is exquisit. As a town though, I liked Assisi better. I had some Capresse salad for lunch and we walked around a bit.

That night I went to dinner with Ceci's  (who is my BFF from Guat) co-worker from her job at Mint and had a great time. It was fun to hang out with someone from Guatemala. We had some pizza, were sweet-talked by a waiter and had some great gelato. After an exhausting day, I headed to bed,

Sunday was a lazy day, since the weather decided not to cooperate. It rained and was gray all day. Molly and I grabbed some breakfast and checked out a "flea market" on Piazza della Vittoria, then I went to church at San Marco, explored La Fortezza with Laura, which had an Antiques, had some pizza and gelato and did some homework. Afterwards we had some amazing dinner and headed to bed!

So now we are trying to figure out weekend travels!
That is all for now!

Love, Cami