I have a knack for Faces

Okay guys so the past two days have been really great and I have to tell you about them so you can be proud of all that I have accomplished.

So I finally got off my lazy butt and started site seeing (mostly because my Vampire Diaries episodes wouldn’t load so I had to do something else to occupy my time)
Why yesterday was a good day: I went to the Concierge and saw Marie Antoinette’s last prison cell before she went to the guillotine. I recently wrote a paper about her and have a new perspective on her so it was really interesting to see her cell. I also happened to spot a girl that looked JUST like the princess in a famous Velazquez painting Las Meninas. The best part was that my Art History professor was with me. When she saw the girl and my comment, she was blown away with how correct I was. It was truly incredible!Then I had a great work out in which I jumped around my room like a crazy person to Girl Talk songs….listen to That’s my DJ—its truly addicting, I have new appreciation for Girl Talk, how he mixes songs is pure harmony!

I showered and went with Katie and Liz to the Arc de Triomphe. Something I regretted not doing last time I came to Paris was climb the Arc, so I did this time! Great view. I love the historical context of the structure; awesome cannot even begin to describe it. But I also died like seven times climbing up spiral stairs…had the worst vertigo when I finally came back down to the ground. I then went with my climbing buddies to Longchamp and emotionally cheered on Liz in her purchase of a bag for her and her sister.

Today was an even better day! I went to the Musée d'Orsay and saw famously beautiful impressionist pieces. But something amazing happened. So standing outside the Orsay, I told the girls in my group that I had this feeling…a feeling that I was going to see a beautiful man (whom I jokingly said would be my husband). Sarah asked me when I would know if I saw him. And out of nowhere I said “We’ll all know because we will unanimously inhale breath in the shock.” Everyone laughed and we began a mini game of searching for my Mr. Hottie. Well as class was being dismissed we were huddled around Madeline (my Art history Professor) and

over her shoulder I saw this beautiful man looking at a painting. I only saw his side profile, but I was intrigued…what this my famous man. Then he turned and looked at me….And my breath was pulled out of my mouth. He was someone famous. I couldn’t peg who he was, but all at once a scene from A Knights Tale flashed before my eyes. I am not kidding, but the guy looked at me and realized that I knew he was someone famous. He quickly turned away. I immediately turned to the group because they knew that my attention was distracted and was like “Guys…that dude over there is famous, he’s from A Knights Tale.” No one believed me at first, but then when they looked over the shoulder and saw him, and remembered the character I said he played, everyone unanimously agreed it was him. I followed him into two different collections (Degas and Monet) and pretended to be interested in the layout of the building when really I was trying to wrack my brain and figure out what other movies he was in and what was his name. I was star struck. My palms sweaty. My heart racing. People who know me know that I LOVE MOVIE and LIVE FOR CELEBRATIES. It was such an exhilarating moment. The guy was Rufus Sewell. If I knew his name I would have totally asked for his autograph. He is here in Paris because he is filming The Tourist with Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp…sadly neither of them attended the Orsay with Rufus. But still, I was totally content.

Being on such a high from seeing Rufus, I went with some of the pople in my group to Ladurée—The famous boulangerie of Paris. I felt like I was in a scene from the Great Gastby, but instead of being having tea time at New York’s Palace, I was having iced coffee and macaroons in Paris. Lovely, lovely day.
And then to top it all off….I went an got my cartilage pierced in the late afternoon.

The end! Haha (Mom, please don’t kill me)

See I finally got the hang of the Paris things—climbing monuments, eating amazing desserts, seeing famous people, and getting body parts pierced. All in two days!

Yeah...I may have a problem

Okay okay so I know I haven’t been as good about writing on the blog, but I’m in a dilemma…I don’t have as much time to write, but I don’t think I’ve been doing much that will justify me not writing… translation, I’ve become lazy…sorry!

So lets do a quick update of what’s gone on

1. School
2. Homework
3. School
4. Homework
5. Weekend trip to Alsace
6. Stress eating Gingerbread cookies
7. School
8. Obsession with Vampire Diaries (The book and the TV show)
9. Stress eating chocolate
10. Running to work off my stress eating
11. SLEEP!

Yeah so that’s how I break it down.

School is good, though time consuming, I’ve had a lot of life altering perspectives. Cliché I know, but when I come home, you’ll understand. I don’t even recognize myself.

We went to Alsace this weekend, which doesn’t really hold much significance besides the fact that I went to a Champagne cave and bought celebratory champagne for when I graduate College. And let me tell you that day couldn’t come any sooner! But I’ll elaborate on that when I see your lovely faces on my return

Thing that is most worth mentioning right now (which also is quite humiliating)…yes ladies, I have found a new obsession. And it is called Vampire Diaries. Remember how I was with Twilight…yeah well this is worse! I picked up the book on random in Denmark and can’t seem to put it down. Worse is that the TV show encourages me to revert back to my teenage crazy days and obsess over super hot hunky actors.

I am a magazine and a pair of scissors away from being that psycho that cuts out pictures from “Teen Beat” and pasting them on my wall. Yeah, I’m in Paris right now and I’ve essentially lost my shit. How the hell did this happen. I really and truly don’t know. Maybe it has something to do with me living on my own…no judgmental roommate to snatch the book out of my hands. This is just so sad! The only reason I have managed to write my blog is because I am currently waiting for an episode to load… I told you guys, it really is bad.

When I come home, someone please slap me. And then promptly check me into an insane asylum.

Paris is good, I go jogging in the morning so I get to see a little bit more of the city. I have enjoyed seeing more sites and realize that I haven’t been that bad of a recluse. I did venture to shop a bit but then saw the potential of becoming very broke very fast so I quickly hoped on a metro home to avoid further damage to my wallet. I have made it a sincere goal to avoid shopping as much as possible.

Um…well I’m drawing a blank as to what else I should tell you about my life in Paris. I am going to Amsterdam this weekend so will probably have a lot more to talk about after the weekend, but right now I am going into panic mode because my Vampire Diaries episode isn’t loading. Borderline hyperventilating…haha no I’m kidding, really I am fine….sort of…god damn it why won’t it just load already!

Okay I am going to step away from the computer now

Ladini

And then i saw a Gap in Paris

Okay guys, its official…I am homesick!

Lets start from the beginning. Berlin was amazing. I am sure I have overused that word, but seriously like this was the favorite city by far. We came in Friday and each day we did a walking tour of the city. Me being the massive history buff loved the tour we took on the Third Reich. I just about died when I got to see Hitler’s bunker even though it just a parking lot now. Saturday we just did a standard tour of the city talking about Prussia and the empires in Potsdam. Sunday we went up north to Sachsenhausen, a Nazi labor camp created to be the model concentration camp. I am not going try to pretend like I could understand what happened there, but having been there I feel like I at least attempted to scratch the surface. Great experience, cheap place to visit, wealth of history, you gotta go there.

Then things took a slightly negative turn. One of the exciting features of my trip was that we were going to take a sleeper train from Berlin to Paris Sunday night. I love trains and was so pumped to get to sleep in one! Well we get to the train station half an hour early and are lazily sitting in burger king, when we find out that our train was canceled. Apparently Europe is capable of having hurricanes and the weather was too bad to allow trains to travel at night. Awesome…. thanks for that warning people! Well what we were told to do was take a train that night from Berlin to Frankfurt and wait until morning to take a second train from Frankfurt to Paris. We had no other choice so we took the train from 8:30 pm in Berlin and arrived about 1:30 am in Frankfurt. Our train to Paris left at 6:00 am. Unlike an airport where it is nice and warm and totally okay to sleep with your luggage in the terminal, a train station is different. The train tracks are outside, and there isn’t much of an “inside” area for you to safely hang out. The only place that was covered was the subway station underground but nothing could make me logically sleep there at 2 in the morning seeing as how subway stations are hella dirty and hella sketchy. We were just asking to get mugged. We start to freak about a bit (We as in Me, Katie, Liz, and Nathan) but we find a McDonalds. We ordered only what they would offer us…four-hour-old cheeseburgers and sprite. They ran out of water…yes let me repeat myself THEY RAN OUT OF WATER. How the hell does that happen? I have no idea. McDonalds closes at 2 am, so we don’t have a place to stay. I never have ever felt more like a homeless person in my life. We sit down on the side of the train station and begin to mentally prepare ourselves to sit on the street and wait out for the next 4 or 5 hours. Luckily, Nathan is wandering around and finds a train “lounge” for us to hang out it. It is a large tiled room with a bunch of hospital-like couches (you know, like a giant waiting room). Most of the couches were taken so we camped out on the floor. You have no idea what it felt like, it was heaven compared to the idea of sleeping on the train platforms. So many other people were in the same dilemma as us so it was nice to feel united in a sense. But because everyone was cuddling their luggage and looked a little beaten by their travels…Katie said it felt like we were Katrina victims. I don’t mean to joke…but it really did feel like that. All of us packed in like sardines being handed water to drink and yeah. I slept on the floor next to a young German solider who looked like he couldn’t have been older than 16. It made me kind of sad to see him in uniform at such a young age. Literally, there were a few guys and all of them looked incredibly young. Some even had braces! Well we managed to sleep a little. I broke my hip basically by sleeping on the tiled floor. But I knew it was better than the street outside so I didn’t complain. Somehow, within my sleep I ended up getting nose to nose with the solider, I guess I migrate towards warm bodies. Haha, luckily he was passed out and when I woke up I moved away fast.

We finally got onto our train at 6 am only to find out we were not given an assigned seat and the train was booked. We sat down at what we thought were empty seats but at every stop between Frankfurt and Paris, more people boarded and used our seats. So we would stand, walk around a bit and sit in another spot, only to have to move again an hour later when someone boarded the train and had that spot reserved for them. It was like musical chairs but not fun. Obviously, with this constant shifting of seats, we didn’t sleep much

We arrived in Paris around 10 am and went straight to our school to get our living stuff. I love my dorm. I have it completely to myself, with a bathroom and little kitchenette. This is where the homesickness comes in. This is the first time I am truly living on my own. I have gone to the grocery store four times so far and don’t know how to feed myself! Going from home, to the dorms, to alpha chi for two years…. I’ve never had to cook for myself, or truly live in on my own. It’s really weird! All I do is sit alone in my room and facebook creep and see that everyone is having a great time in Lawrence. Yes I realize that Paris is amazing, and I am having a unique experience, but I just miss seeing you guys. When you comment on my facebook or send me an e-mail it makes my life. So yeah please, let me know how you are doing. You don’t understand how much I miss you all very very much. It has led me to stress eat…and I’ve gained a bit of weight! Haha

The homesickness really hit in when, get this, I saw GAP in Paris. They are all over the place. I wanted to run inside and scream, “I love denim!” Then Monday night I got to go to dinner with Katie and meet her parents who flew in for the week. They hugged me upon meeting me…do you know that that is like my first hug since January when I hugged my mother goodbye. Do you know how much I miss hugs? Please hug me when you see me.

Anyway, that’s all I have for now. I’m sure I’ll be okay

Love you all!

Ladini

Start of a great week

Apologizes for not having working Internet, the bastards at the Copenhagen hostel charge for everything, including this. So I have been writing what’s been going on this past week and am posting it in Berlin.Spring Break 2010, obviously the best Spring Break of my life: Prague, Copenhagen, Malmo, and Berlin

Prague (Czech Republic) was amazing! Literally like the Las Vegas of Europe. Everyone we met was from the UK coming to have a weekend “with the guys”…see do you understand the Las Vegas-like feel? It was so ironic that we barely met any Czech people…everyone was from London or Leeds or Liverpool and on their “get-away weekend.” We went on this pub-crawl where our tour guide was from…get this…K-State. I know crazy right?!? I tried to be mean to him but he luckily told me that his parents went to KU. We had a good time, meeting really friendly guys who kept using phrases like “taking a piss” and “pulling my wanker” but would laugh at me constantly when I said “oh my god” or “you’re full of shit” because basically… they totally were. I met my perfect British husband, Carl. He’s perfect. Adorable. But unfortunately…lives in London. Oh well. We ended up at a five-story club that has different music and themes on each floor. This famous European bar was beyond hilarious…we say this scary ass he/she dancing in a tight mesh shirt

(I truly couldn’t tell you if it was a man or a woman). Ironically the 70s and 80s music floor was more fun than the hip-hop floor. Like Saturday Night Fever, we danced on floor tiles that flashed different colors. Singing Grease and Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer. We went on the same pub-crawl again the next night and met up with other girls on our study abroad group.

Food and Beer is phenomenal here. We did a Beer tasting and ate Beef Goulash and dumplings at night (it takes just like pot roast…but better). The next day we did a walking tour of the city that has a wealth of history and amazing views. Prague is inexpensive and has a million things to do and see… one of the best places I’ve ever been, it beats out Switzerland and Italy as my favorite place in Europe for a good time.

Copenhagen (Denmark) It had the brick buildings of Boston and Philadelphia mixed with trendy modern architecture of Seattle or the new downtown Kansas City. It is literally a breathtaking architectural view. Half the stuff was closed because it was cold but we still managed to walk around and enjoy the sites. 7-11s were everywhere and we pretty much needed them to survive. The constant runs to get hot chocolate was the only reason I am not currently suffering from frostbite. Oh did I mention it is crazy expensive here?!?! My bank account took a serious beating from the bullshit charges forced upon me by this hostel. Boo! Since Hans Christian Andersen is from Copenhagen, they erected a little mermaid statue near the harbor in recognition of his story. Since the Little Mermaid is my FAVORITE Disney movie it was obvious that we venture over there.

I walked literally ON the river, over frozen ice to get this statue but it was totally worth it. I semi felt like man vs. wild. Then of course, I had to get my hot chocolate fix and sadly paid a whopping $9..i know, desperation leads me to do stupid things. By the way, a nod to my AXO girls…Open Face Sandwiches are famous Danish food. Not the same as what Mark makes, but they are damn good here.

The next day we went took a 35-minute train ride to Malmö, Sweden. Really cool city, lively people, and beautiful views. Sadly, the weather prevented us from going many places. The wind was beyond brutal, I thought I was going to lose my face…literally have it be ripped off. We walked in the shopping district where the people greet each other with the formal greeting of “Hey! Hey!” Very rapid and comical, I want to laugh but then realize that they are formally saying hello to me…I just want to retort “Hey! Hey! Hey!” but then they might think I am an ass. It’s because I am. The people both in Copenhagen and Malmo are stunning. Their icy blue eyes are gorgeous with their nice long blond hair. I literally was the darkest thing on the street…I probably looked like an alien to them. But yes, it was totally worth taking a day trip to Sweden, because hell…now I can say I’ve been to Sweden.

Oh have I mentioned that during my entire trip thus far I have been intensely reading a new romance novel…the girls who know me best are not surprised….but I do have to mention that it was a lovely read and I will lend it to you when I get home. Since the weather has given our skin a serious beating we have had to stay in our hostel quite a bit and read to help pass the time. I swear, once I get a TV I won’t know what to do with it.

So I have internet in Berlin and will put up a different post for that. Let me know what you think

Trying not to get mugged

Ladini

Praha Problems

So we just started our ten-day break: Milan for the night to catch an early flight to Prague. We had these creepy Italian men follow us who were infatuated with Katie’s use of a north face roo fanny pack as a sling across her back. They were truly perplexed by the image of her roo sticking out under her coat. I think they may have even tried to poke it...it looked like a tumor.

When we finally made it to Prague I immediately ran into our hostel room and went crazy because its PHENOMENAL…too bad I ripped the only jeans I brought for our spring break…. please dear god tell me that I didn’t rip my jeans because I’m fat…please please please

Now that I don’t have school to interrupt my life I will do a better job updating you all on my trip. We are in Prague until Monday and I get free wifi in my room. It’s a trade off to the ripped jeans

Meandering my way through Prague,

Ladini

They call me "Miss India"

So I was kindly informed by Elise that my Blog isn’t that engaging. Apologies! I will try to fix that.

I started writing this blog for my parents and didn’t realize that my friends would be reading this as well. As Kevo mentioned, it didn’t sound like Ladini—there was no sarcasm and random ranting. And this is very true, so this post I dedicate to Elis

e and Kevin—I promise to make my future blogs sound like me, and not a boring textbook. J

(Though this is not meant to be negative but…) Things that annoy me about Italy:

• PDA: I realize Italy is a romantic place, and seeing people holds hands and lightly kiss is adorable. But what I have seen isn’t adorable. It’s sex standing up. Couples on the street will be walking hand in hand strolling casually and then BAM—intense make out session. They don’t even move to the side of the wall, just in the middle of the sidewalk causing serious traffic jams. But then I feel like other couples see this and engage in their own make out session. Now I have sidewalks clogged with intense passion. I swear its like they are trying to suck the souls out of each other…its borderline violent. When we were in Lucca, we took a bike ride and when we started we saw a couple sitting on a ledge making out. After we made the 45-minute loop around the city…the couple was still there but this time awkwardly rocking back and forth…we took pictures…and made up our own commentary as we stupidly watched. I was on the bus back from Fiesole and two 13 years olds sat behind me and started kicking my chair. I turn around to see them making out HARD CORE! It disturbs me. I know that on Valentine’s Day…I’m going to have to stay inside. I just may kill myself
• Sidewalk etiquette: the sidewalks are rather narrow in Italy, but what is difficult is that they are right next to walls of buildings (where in America either side there is a space of grass or dirt usually). People, especially old women, love to walk down the center of the sidewalk and when they see you coming, they don’t move. I actually had a grandma poke me in the stomach with her umbrella for me to move. It hurt! I always have to walk in the street or press myself against the wall to make way for them. But nooooooo, they don’t move for me! I had to walk to the train station with my massive hiking pack and people still wouldn’t move… I was so irate that I was about to body check someone and scream.
• Aggressive Men: I knew Italians men were very forward and it don’t really mind. Usually the girls in my group get the typical “Ciao Bella!” But for me…there is a whole different phrase. Our instructors informed me that my skin color was a rarity in Italy. When Italians see foreigners, they are typically Caucasian Americans. So when they see me, who appears to be an American foreigner, they feel the need to isolate me with a different phrase of choice…which happens to be “Miss India.” Its like they all got together and decided to call me that. I walk on the street and hear “Miss India…kiss kiss...!” ALL THE TIME I don’t know what is more entertaining—that every man has called me the exact same title, or that they feel the need to use this phrase in the first place. But even more hilarious is that I keep getting free stuff. When I was in Pisa, a guy called me “Miss India”—without thinking I responded, “I’m not INDIAN!” and ended up having to talk to him…he gave me a free turtle statue…random. Then when I was in the market, someone asked me if I was Indian, and I said “No, I am Sri Lankan.” Immediately he grabs my wrist and ties a bracelet on it, telling me that he LOVES Sri Lankans. Then he proceeded to give all the girls in my group free bracelets and an extra discount because he loved Sri Lankans. Yet again, random. But it’s okay because I LOVE free stuff.

So hopefully that was a more entertaining blog, trust me there are more to come. I just didn’t think you wanted to read about it. Enjoy, and leave a comment for me

Ciao!

Ladini aka “Miss India”

You’ll never believe what I did this weekend…

Interlaken and Bern, Switzerland

Best Weekend of my life---Switzerland. Words cannot begin to describe everything so this entry will be erratic and chaotic, similar to my experience here.

Well we came in at 3:00 am Friday at the Funny Farm Hostel to be greeted by a GIANT Saint Bernard…yet I think all Saint Bernards are giant. Anyway, it was precious and it instantly added to the character of the hostel. Our rooms were nice, and we all crashed. We

woke up at 8 to sign up for…CANYON JUMPING. 1:00am we met with a group from Gonzaga, Syracuse, and Lafayette. We all agreed that we would have to tell our mom about this…after we jumped. Canyon Jumping is when you jump off a ledge 300 ft above this river in a canyon. You are attached to a harness with a rope on the other side so essentially you free fall for 5 seconds and then when you run out of slack you swing back and forth in the mouth of the canyon for a few minutes.

Fast forward through hiking up the most amazing mountain and trees and being the last one to jump (we had to jump in descending weight order, so lucky me…I was last…and everyone was

watching). I was so calm for most of the trip, yet when standing over the ledge…I didn’t know what to do. Canyon Jumping is said to be more intense than Sky Diving because you are alone…you have to willing choose to jump off a mountain into open air. You’d be surprised how hard

of a decision that is…instinctively I kept grabbing the bar, holding on for stability.

You are basically going against your natural mental state to avoid danger. Our guide, Biff (yeah I know…the crazy Swiss adventure junky, typical) kept making me let go and told me to hold onto the rope for stability. But everyone else jumped with his or her arms out and I wanted to be brave. Finally, after being up there for too long, I took the step off the edge….

I instantly went into fetal position, and screamed the whole way down. It’s the strangest sensation that is impossible to describe…your body is still but you know your moving. We were going approx 80 mph.

My eyes went into shock, it happened so fast, I was in the air, needing to

grab for something stable and then all of a sudden it looks like I am about to crash into the canyon wall. But right before I hit the wall I swing back over the river. Screaming the whole way yet not sure if I actually made noise because my voice box was closed up. When swinging all I could do was lie on my back and look up, reflecting that the most insane thing I’ve ever done.

Since then, I’ve been reliving the moment over and over again, feeling the fall, taking in the view, comprehending what I just did. My next post will be a video of the jump…check it out!

club scene

I am hammered....that is all i have to update you with. But i will wake up in time to shower... obviously i have my priorities... duh.

Good Food, Good Wine, Good People

On Friday we took a class trip to Assisi. A religious landmark—Assisi is the location of the Basilica of St. Francis, a place that serves as a close second to the Vatican to members of the Catholic faith. The city held a wealth of history, both catholic and not. Not only is this the burial ground for St. Francis and St. Chiara, but also it was a hiding place for Jews during the Second World War. Beautiful in its architecture and art, the basilica was a beautiful site.

Saturday some of us went on a wine tasting in Chianti. Nestled in the hills of the Tuscan countryside, Chianti is the top location for red wine vineyards, and its specially is obviously… Chianti wine! With the aid of our tour guide, Federico, we did an easy two hours walk around the vineyard and oil tree groves. We learned what qualities to look for when establishing a vineyard, and the maintenance required for a good harvest.

We then had a wine sampling at the Sassolini Family Villa. Lorenzo, the owner of the Sassolini vineyard was a rough Italian version of Johnny Depp from Chocolat. He invited us into his villa, which his family has lived in for the past 900 years. He and his wife, Federica, made us lunch to be paired with our wine. We began with a Chianti Classico.

In order to be considered an authentic Chianti wine, it must be sampled and approved by all the wineries in the Chianti guild, and they determine if it is worthy to take on the villages’ name. There is a special pink label wrapped around the neck of the bottle with the Black Rooster (symbol of Chianti) displaying this fulfillment. We learned how to swirl the wine and what to look for—taste, smell, color, and consistency. With the Chianti, we ate Tuscan salami, prosciutto, and bread with fresh, homemade olive oil. Delicioso! We then drank a heavier red wine, Terre di Panzano, which is made from three different types of grapes. Along with the Panzano we ate pasta with Pesto sauce, and pasta in a tomato cream sauce. For dessert we had biscotti and a vinsanto, a Tuscan dessert wine. And finally, to finish off the filling mean, we did a shot of grappa, an after dinner digestive. Everything was great (except the Grappa). Good conversation, good people, good atmosphere. Satiated, we walked around the Sassolini estate, admiring the breath taking view.

Lorenzo joked of his need for young people to come pick grapes in the fall. If I could afford to come back, I wouldn’t mind helping out. It was so picturesque. Another beautiful weekend in Tuscany!

Ciao

Ladini

The Week Flew By

Before I left for Florence, everyone kept warning me how the time just flies by when you are here. And up until this week, I didn’t believe them. I felt like after the first week we had been here, we had been here for months. But this past week was a blur—the days were zooming by, only punctuated by brief sleep. Classes and homework took up most of my time (so sorry that I didn’t blog, but I didn’t think you needed to hear about it since you have your own homework to deal with). We went to Fiesole yesterday to check out a roman amphitheater ruin.We re-enacted the play we are currently reading—Antigone. It was a really cool feeling.

After Fiesole, we went to a Florentine soccer game. They played against the roman team, Lazio. As you can imagine, there were many dedicated fanatic fans. But when I expected them to be drunk off their ass, I discovered that their choice of gaming preparation was pot. The reefer smell is still in my hair. The game was entertaining though (probably thanks to the weed).

You can feel the patriotism in their love for their Florentine team…the singing, flag waving, erratic behavior. It made me think of the Rock Chalk chant…how in the field house, I feel a place of belonging and community. Oh Jayhawks, how I miss you!

In my art history class, I learn so much about the city, the little clues that seem to be hiding in the walls, and when observed I feel like I just found Waldo. There is so much history in the architecture of this city; something I wish we had in America. Well anyway, in my endeavors to find these clues within the walls (family crests, pictures of the crucifixion, the Madonna and child, guilds of old Florentine working unions, etc) I seem to be tripping over myself. I have two swollen toes from last week from when a glass dropped on me, and I twisted my ankle because it got stuck in the pavement cracks of the stone streets. I was going to run in the streets to keep off the weight, but after the chaotic walks through the busy streets to get to class, my little feet can’t take it anymore. They are little swollen stumps!

The weekend in the outskirts of Tuscany

Friday morning, the group piled onto a bus on our way to Siena. We had the cutest little tour guide who gave such a beautiful history of this quaint town. We sat in the open square, eating Gelatto and watching people. It was a lovely afternoon.

We then went onto San Gimignano—a tiny walled in city on the hills of Tuscany. We saw vineyards and olive trees. When walking around in the city we passed little shops—the epitome of a town tucked away in the mountains.

The next day, some of us individually went to Pisa and Lucca. We went by train, which was a neat, yet, slightly stressful experience. When we got to Pisa it was a half hour walk to the leaning tower—trust me, there is nothing to do there besides taking corny pictures of you trying to hold up the tower.

After a lengthy photo shoot, we got back on the train and headed to Lucca—another city that sits on the outskirts of Florence, about an hour and a half away. Our Art history instructor gave us this great New York Time’s article about Lucca and how it is the Tuscan Food capital of the world. I wrote down numerous places to eat and when we arrived we found one almost immediately. Ristorante Giglio—with the most attractive waiter we’ve ever seen. Aside from drooling over him, we ate the best food we’ve had so far in Italy. I got a gnocchi dish with a crab sauce, while others tried stuffed ravioli and lamb.

The bread was so good because it was the only place in Tuscany that uses salt when making bread. We then walked around the city—it was unbelievable how picturesque it was. It was recommended to take a bike ride around the walls of the city so we found a place, Cicli, where they sold tandem bikes. Liz was my partner as we made the scenic, yet scary ride around the city. There were virtually no Americans here so we felt like we stood out with our loud laughter and goofy biking techniques, but the Italians were so much friendlier—they smiled as they walked their dogs through the trail.

It was just a perfect way to spend an afternoon. The sun was out, there was a lot of greenery…it was just lovely.

When I woke up today, I thought it was going to be another cold, dreary day in Florence. I grudgingly put on my rain boots and layered up for potential bad weather. However, it was a BEAUTIFUL DAY! After class, Alyssa, Taylor and I went to the student travel agency to book a trip to Interlaken, Switzerland. We are going to go Paragliding! Afterwards we casually walked around the city—getting Gelatto, bartering with street vendors, buying scarves, and drooling over H&M and Zara, I was officially bit by the shopping bug. It was a good thing I didn’t have much money because I was sure I would have bought a lot more.

As we made our stroll around the new market and the Piazza della Republica, we saw a guy making large chalk paintings on the sidewalk. Also we saw a man posing in the street, dressed in a “windblown” costume for money.

The city was alive with bustling shoppers and students getting out of school. Everyone was enjoying the beautiful weather. I finally saw the sun! I never realized how much I missed it until I saw it today. Hopefully it will stay out for the rest of my trip. But tomorrow’s forecast warns of snow…

The Heater Finally Works!

I went on my own for lunch—getting a bite at the “Oil Shoppe”—famous in all guide books for the best “panino” on a budget. I ate half of a giant chicken Parmesan panino and flipped through pages of the restaurant’s guest book. From all over the world, students had written of their devotion to the Shoppe and its welcoming owner. I even saw a familiar “Rock Chalk, Jayhawk” and instantly felt at home.

We did our first Art and Architecture class today, where the followed Madeline (our instructor) around the Duomo and the city’s main cathedral and baptistery.

I’ve referenced the Duomo numerous times before as our typical meeting place for the group. In my slide show pictures you will see many shots of this location in passing. But having had a lesson on its history, it means so much more.

After classes finished we headed back to the apartment in anticipation for the plumber, who promises to fix our frozen radiator. Someone promptly buzzes our door at 5. We look out the window to see three typical Italian men waiting…but for us foreigners, we instantly think them as “sketchy.” I get my phrase book to find the word for plumber and can’t find one. So instead I stick my head out the window and pantomime “plumber actions” and ask in loud, stupid English if they are the people we need. They say yes…. but we say no; too suspicious. A room full of young foreign girls with three older men—no bueno.

We ignore their constant buzzing and finally hear men outside our door.

It was our landlord and the plumber…the three men downstairs. Now I just feel stupid. And let me tell you—if there could have been an Italian version of Mr. Bean, it was my landlord. All the makings of a goofy, doping Mr. Bean, with the extra bit of Italian flavor mixed in. It was quite amusing. He even had a clunky walk like Mr. Bean. Anyway, the heater is now working, and I am ten times happier.

Things are about to get a lot better!

First day of School

Classes started today and I am sure it’s going to be tough. Not because the material is bad; the topics sound really interesting. But more than I am forced to be inside reading when I’d much rather be outside walking or shopping. Damn those dull textbooks.

Don’t my teachers realize I’m on vacation…I mean study abroad? Why do they expect the same amount of academic commitment as if I were on the Lawrence campus, I mean COME ON… its study abroad, relax! As I would often say back at home “NBD!”

I’m sure that I will begin to vent about my hatred of Plato and Aristotle…they are ruining so much already. I’ve been at home for the past few hours reading and freezing my butt off (the radiator is still broken in my room). That’s all for now

Buona Notte

Ladini

The Church Bell Alarm Clock

Determined to seize the day my roommates and I planned to wake up at 9:00 am. As Alicia and I were sound asleep, we heard the booming of large bells. It droned on for what felt like forever, but was truly 15 minutes. I am now wide-awake and yell out “WHAT IN GOD’s NAME IS THAT….oh right…its Sunday…it must be mass at the corner Church.” Alicia nodded in agreement and we passed out again for another few hours. A second round of mass must have gone by since the bells erupted again through our window.

Finally, rising out of a deep slumber, we look at the clock and realize its 2:00 IN THE AFTERNOON! Shoot, we overslept.

Everyone overslept as well so it was good to be on the same page. The group met at the Duomo at 3 and went around the city again for another mini adventure. We spent most of the day on the old Bridge and on our side of the city. Our last part of our mini walk through the city was at the church near our apartment. The Basicilia de si Spirto was beyond beautiful. The walls were sectioned off into mini scenes from the bible. It was breath taking. I feel like I overuse these expressions but I am running out of words to explain how amazing everything is here!

We stayed at home tonight to start working on homework (ew) and make pasta for dinner. Sort of excited for class tomorrow…hopefully it won’t ruin all the fun we are having.

Ciao!

Ladini

PS Don’t worry; I will definitely have an alarm clock set for tomorrow’s class.

Rain drops keep falling on my head

Saturday January 9, 2010

Yesterday the whole group went out for dinner and drinks. We ate at the Republic Centrale at this great decently priced restaurant. I got a tasty gnocchi al pesto and the house Chianti. We then went to this new bar called Amadeus where the bar owner kept offering free shots and awful 80s music. It was a blast—I really got to bond with the group and realized that we are going to have a wonderful time here.

We planned to meet today at the Duomo around noon to go shopping at the market. I was super excited because I got my blowdryer to work and took a nice hot shower. After two days of constantly wearing rain boots I decided that I would be bold and wear sperry’s and my fleece. What a dumb idea. Today was the day that we were outside the most and the rain demolished my freshly dried hair. My pants got soaked and my socks turned brown from the leather of my shoes. Whatever you do—always have rain gear for every day in Florence. It feels like it is always raining here!

Ciao

Ladini

Rain, Rain, go away

Friday January 8, 2010

Today was a good day—we got a walking tour of the city and I just about died from its beauty. I am overwhelmed by how amazing it is here. The architects of this city took their time to mention every detail in their work. Our bedroom ceiling has an ornate painted design. The bases that hold statues have gold etchings. No part of this city was ignored. It is all so beautiful! After our tour, we went to the ACCENT office (the coordinating group for my trip) and did orientation of what the culture differences are like—I now know why no one is smiling back at me on the street.

Also, it rains so much! I luckily wore my rain boots and raincoat, but it makes it difficult to look around when I am busy try to shield myself from the rain. My pants get wet and I become SO cold. But still, it’s not like a torrential downpour, I’ll make it work.

Nothing too exciting yet, but trust me, I’ll do my best to provide better stories next time

With love from Italy

Ladini

The Plane Ride

Thursday January 7, 2010

It is 11:32 pm—my first night in Florence! I decided to do a blog so I can let everyone know what’s going on with my little adventure without having to repeat myself a thousand times. Don’t expect elegant writing or lyrical prose…I am just simply not capable of that kind of wit.

Flying wasn’t too terribly bad. Checking in was a pain. I mean seriously, who in their right mind thinks a 50-pound bag is going to cut it for 4 months. I begged and pleaded, but eventually had to open the bag and frantically shove all kinds of random heavy objects into my carry on. Oh, that’s right—my carry on is a hiking pack. That is about three and a half feet tall. It overwhelms my spine. Awesome.

So here I am—my bag finally makes the 50-pound maximum, and all my excess has been transferred to my massive back pack. When I make it to Philly and try to hoist my messenger bag on my shoulder along with my hiking back, I realized that I have expedited the crippling on my back. I had to make a grueling trip from terminal F to A with the mother of all carry-ons strapped to my back. Yes, I may sound dramatic right now…but trust me, it was epic. It was probably the closest thing I’ve come to hiking. Sad, but true. I watched Audrey Hepburn’s Roman Holiday to get into the Italian mood. When we finally board for Munich, I get super excited to find that I have a seat 5 rows from the front and it is an aisle seat—score! Happily calling my parents to tell them this convenient news I had the feeling that I may have spoke to soon. And I was right.

While waiting for the rest of the passengers to board, a woman comes up to me and starts speaking in frantic Italian. Yes I realize that I should get used to this, but I was like, really…we are still in America…lets speak English. (This does makes me sound ignorant, but I’m nervous and was not ready to be ambushed in a foreign language just yet). The lady two seats down starts translating for the Italian. She tells me that the Italian has the seat next to me and her eleven-year-old daughter is in the back, separated from her mother. I was totally cornered. Ambushed with the “my poor daughter” story. Well obviously I can’t be an ass hole. I was pitied into switching seats with her daughter. I moved towards the back and realize that the eleven year old had a center seat in a four-seating section. Not only did I have to climb over the already-situated passengers near me, but the crazy German in front of my seat and put her luggage under her seat, which is where my carry on should go. And the eleven-year-old Italian stubbornly knocked over my blanket and pillow and stepped on them. Epic Fail. When I arrive to Munich I also come to the realization that I probably am Closter phobic because that flight was damn near awful. But flying to Florence made up for that. It was a beautiful trip—we flew over the Swiss Alps that went on for miles and miles. It was like one of the screen shots the show in the movies. It was magnificent. But that was nothing compared to arriving in Florence.

Florence was amazing. Beyond being breathtaking, you get this overwhelming feeling that you are not seeing enough. You just want to bottle everything up and take small sips every day. Man was my ADD going crazy. I was looking up, down, left, right. Everywhere there was beauty. I pretty much went straight to my apartment and met my roommates—three other girls within the program. My apartment is on the other side of the river, a good twenty-minute walk from where I will have my classes. To my surprise, everything is quite spacious for European standards. We have a great bathroom with hot water, and my bed is really comfy. Only bad thing is that the heater doesn’t work and we don’t have wifi like the other apartments. It’s so cold in the apartment, but thanks to my parents and our frigid house, I am somewhat use to this. We all showered, napped, and got dinner at a quaint restaurant down by el Duomo. We have two courses of plain Italian food—I wasn’t impressed. But I hope it will get better.

Hopefully all my other posts won’t be this long, but I thought I’d start off with a lot of details

Miss you all!

Ciao

Ladini