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