Interlaken, Switzerland

Had an amazing weekend up in Switzerland - the trip was organized by some eccentric Australian with an office in Florence; he spends his weekends carting study abroad students off to either Interlaken or Sorrento. Not a shabby day job.

Our bus arrived in Interlaken around 1am last Thursday morning, giving us almost three full days to enjoy the place. We certainly took full advantage of that: Friday afternoon my friends and I ... (drum roll) went SKY-DIVING!

Absolutely incredible and breath-taking (hah, literally). I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Saturday Michelle and I rented a scooter car and tooled around to see some spectacular waterfalls and a lot of the Swiss countryside. We were smack dab in the middle of the Swiss Alps so of course the entire area was absolutely gorgeous.

On Sunday I rented a bike and cycled around Lake Breinz, the lake east of Interlaken. As seems to be a trend on this trip, I got much more than I bargained for. Rather than just a scenic bike ride to pass the morning, I ended up mountain biking up and down hills, on gravel, etc. It was tough but very worth it. The last half was more open and much more scenic, giving me the chance to enjoy views on my whole way back to Interlaken, returning just in the nick of time to squeeze in a shower at our hostel before busing back to Florence. All in all I biked 40 kilometers! Whew.

This last week in Florence has been full of seeing sights that I didn't get around to earlier, wrapping up school and welcoming Jenna in town. Highlights of the past few days include Carmina Burana at the Boboli Gardens, multiple trips to Hemingway (Florence's amazing chocolate shop - drinks, platters, milkshakes... decadent and wonderful), and aperitivo at La Dolce Vita.

All of my apartment-mates have already left town, and as of tomorrow Jenna and I and another friend will be doing more traveling of our own! Let the adventures continue...

Taking a vacation from our... vacation

Last Wednesday Grace and I decided to continue our 'We're in Europe so we're getting cultured' spree and go to the ballet. Get this: Romeo and Juliet (Giuletta e Romeo) was performed on an open air stage at Fort Belvedere, an old stronghold that looks over the city. The setting was spectacular and the dancers were amazing, so basically it was a perfect evening.

My class was cancelled on Thursday, and I took advantage of the unexpected free day and dragged myself out of bed at 5am to hop on a train to Venice. I had heard mixed reviews, but the city was well-worth the trip. Traveling down the Grand Canal is the perfect way to see the city - and the front door-steps opening directly out onto water, and the gondolas, and the eclectic mix of Byzantine and Renaissance architecture, and the romantic arched bridges, etc etc. Since my water bus (what a cumbersome sounding name) was super crowded going from the train station to the Piazza del San Marco the first time around, I stayed on it - to the amusement of the driver - and rode it all the way around, this time with a perfect front row seat.

In line to see the Basilica I fell into conversation with the two girls in front of me and ended up spending the rest of the day with them. We gaped at the stunningly intricate mosaics covering the Basilica's interior and then made our way to a tucked away glass shop where we were again impressed, this time by a glass-blowing exhibition. Those artists have only three, maybe four minutes to shape the glass into its intended shape, and apparently it takes a good fifteen or so years to truly master the art. Sorry guys, don't think I'll be returning to the states a glass-blower extraordinaire.

Venice is an interesting city beyond the obvious canal aspect: since tourism has kind of taken over the place (although with Venice's history of being a major trading city and all, I think that the tourism actually sort of fits) basically all there is to do is shop for clothes, carnival masks, Venetian glass, and food (I splurged on some delicious marzipan). Melissa and Gena had visited before, so they took me to their favorite cafe and we wandered the streets and window shopped and just generally enjoyed the atmosphere. I can't imagine the place on a weekend... the insanely narrow streets were challenging enough to navigate on a Thursday.

I bid farewell to my new friends and somehow managed to find my way back to the train station, where my train ride back to Florence was livened up by the addition of a Spanish guy in my compartment. We spent the whole way back each with a headphone in an ear, sharing our music with each other. Precious.

Friday morning was another travel day: Michelle and I boarded the train and got to Rome no problem. The train to Naples was another matter altogether. After heading out of the Rome train station, we slowed down and came to a stop, sitting there for almost an hour before pulling back in to the station because the train had mechanical problems. Just to clarify, when we were back in Roma Termini and everyone was de-boarding, a voice came on over the loudspeaker and announced in English, 'This train is broken. Please get off.' Hah.

We finally got to Naples and then Pompeii where we spent two hours walking around the eerie formerly buried city. How incredible to think that that place used to be full of people working and playing and loitering, until Mount Vesuvius sort of got in the way. Thanks to the train delays, our time in Pompeii was not nearly long enough (at least we got to walk through the brothel in, according to some overly stereotypical French guide passing by, 'ze Red Light district!') and we had to dash back to Naples and unfortunately walk all the way from the train station to the port. Naples is not an enticing place, but luckily we were soon sailing away from it all to the beautiful island of Capri.

For being told how much of a 'resort island' Capri is, it was pleasantly more down to earth than I was expecting (although that doesn't mean it was cheap). We stayed in a sweet little hostel up in Anacapri and Saturday morning took a chair lift up to the very top of the island to check out the gorgeous views (I realize that it sounds like everywhere I go is to check out the pretty scenery below... guess that's a default of being in Italy?). Back down at the Marina Grande, Michelle decided that her emergency/travel expenses credit card was appropriate to be used for renting a boat for a couple of hours to tool around the island. Best. decision. ever. The two of us went out in this little boat, got a twenty second tutorial along the lines of 'This is the steering wheel, this is neutral, this is go, this is reverse, here's the anchor and there are the life-jackets' and were off. Michelle's done some sailing before so she was in charge of the complicated stuff (because as long as you have a credit card you're golden - comforting, no?). I lounged in the sun and kept an eye on the map. We dropped the anchor a couple of times and at one point went swimming through the Green Grotto (so named for the way the water reflects off the cave ceiling). We even drove the boat a distance away from the island and swam around in what felt like the middle of the Mediterranean, and I tried my hand at driving it back towards the island.

Once we returned the boat, we grabbed some food and spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out on the beach. I couldn't get over how many people were crammed on this tiny strip of pebbles (nope, not even sand!), but the water was of course refreshing and salty enough that I was bobbing around like a cork.

After another decadent dinner on Saturday night - Capri is apparently known for its caprese and we took full advantage of its claim to fame - we had quite the eventful evening, ending up in an interesting night club and being treated to drinks by the Italian natives. We eventually made our escape, laughing about the characters at the bar the whole way home.

Sunday morning we took a bus down to the Blue Grotto (Grotta Azzura) and got there early enough that there were only a couple of us down there - basically me, Michelle and two other guys who happened to also be studying abroad in Florence. The water was extremely choppy so tour boats were hardly even around, but John convinced me to swim into the grotto. It was beautiful in there, and the waves were so intense that they kept covering the tiny cave opening to get back out. I was in there for a while by myself (incredible) just swimming around, and Tony and Michelle eventually decided to brave the water and check it out for themselves as well. Very cool. As we left we met a whole slew of tourists on their way down - again with the impeccable timing!

The four of us decided to go to this crepe place that Michelle and I had seen down the street from our hostel, but when we got to it (after running into Alexa and Cristy - need I say small world?) they informed us that they didn't start making crepes til 5pm. They must have seen the dejection on our faces because the woman looked around and then picked up a container of batter, saying, 'We made this last night - we can make them for you.' We got tailor-made crepes and the store-owner even brought out little chairs for us to sit on. It was fabulous. Interactions like that make me love this place even more.

Back in Florence this morning I went to a couple of churches that I hadn't seen before, Santa Maria Novella and Chiesa di Ognissanti. I continue to be awe-struck by how much talent and effort went into the creation of those buildings. (Although some tourists most definitely aren't: the other day, as I was walking past the Duomo I heard an American dad say to his two teenaged sons, 'I tell you what, there ain't nothin like America. Places like [Italy] have been around for a long time and they're doing something right, but America's got a lot that the rest of the world doesn't have.' Excuse me... You're standing in the shadow of the Florentine Duomo. Yeesh.)

Cinque Terre, or The Never-Ending Hike

Time is really starting to run away from me here - so much still to see and do before I leave!

This past Thursday actually brought about a brief break in the weather; good because the city was truly an oven, but very unfortunate because I was scheduled to go on a hike in the Apuan Alps the next day. Since it was still raining Friday morning, the hiking didn't pan out, so instead I spent the day at the Galleria degli Uffizi. That place has an amazing collection of art; it's pretty much the place to go for a comprehensive look at how art developed through the middle ages. When I say I spent all day there I seriously mean that I spent about four and a half hours lost in artwork... and I definitely plan on going back.

One of my roommates and I went to hear vespers up at San Miniato, this beautiful cathedral on a hill near the Piazzale Michelangelo that most tourists don't bother with since it's such a hike from the city center. That was beautiful, but the mood was completely broken when a bitter Italian woman unfairly berated us for blasphemously treating it as a performance rather than a religious experience (obviously not my intention). She turned a deaf ear to my protests that I was, in fact, Catholic and left me feeling rather stunned that someone could be so hurtful and unwelcoming (and in the sanctuary itself, no less). Luckily I then met up with some other girls to wander around Florence's vintage market and then experience the yumminess of The Cat and the Fox (unlimited foccaccia, yes please!).

Saturday morning a big group of us were up and at the train station early. We arrived in Cinque Terre mid-morning and immediately felt refreshed by the beautiful ocean views and charming colorful buildings. All of us slowly hiked to the fourth town, and with the last - and toughest - hike ahead everyone but me and Michelle decided to splash around there for a bit. Good thing the two of us went ahead without consulting a map or anything... What was supposed to be an hour and a half hike right along the coast turned into a grueling four hour trek along the mountain ridges themselves. We had misgivings but the few people we met along the way kept pointing us forward, so eventually we found ourselves hundreds and hundreds of meters above town 4 (Vernazza) and still miles from Monterosso. Although we thought we were possibly going to lose our minds, we couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation. Finally we came to a hotel where we were told that Monterosso was 1.5 km away. All lies: since we were starting to struggle (with my goosebumps and freezing cold hands in spite of hiking in 90 degree weather for eight hours, I'm pretty sure I was experiencing the onset of heatstroke) we flagged down a taxi shortly thereafter and it took the driver a good five minutes to drive us all the way down into town. That completely made our day, though, because we got out and started to pull out a few bills as he shook his head, told us ciao and drove away. According to Jenny (who has been travelling around for the past few months) we 'must have really been in a bad place' because taxi drivers just don't do that.

Michelle and I have decided that our hike was 'character building'. Definitely. The next day the whole group went on to Pisa, except for Cristy and I. We weren't ready to tear ourselves away from Cinque Terre, so we found a beach around the corner from our apartment and spent a few hours there. The place was hidden from view and felt very isolated. Swimming in the Mediterranean and lounging around on the pebble beach was wonderful, and perhaps my favorite part about it was that not until the last few minutes we were there did I hear anything other than Italian from the surrounding people.

Last night after class, Grace (a friend from class) and I headed to Art Bar for apperitivi during happy hour. Some other friends joined us - this will be happening on a regular basis - and then Grace and I went to Piazza della Signoria for a free Phillip Glass concert. To hear Phillip Glass is pretty terrific in and of itself, but outside in one of Florence's most famous plazas? For free? Needless to say I really enjoyed myself.

World Cup, Baby!!!

The Azzurri did it: 2006 World Cup CHAMPIONS!

No words can describe how elated the entire city of Florence was last night. I'll just say that getting to watch the final World Cup game with thousands of cheering fans (there was an enormous screen set up in the Piazzale Michelangelo) and then going absolutely wild with jubilation for the rest of the night has never been a life goal of mine, but I just amended my list.

I'm also willing to claim without hesitation that last night was, hands down, one of the single most exhilerating things I've ever been a part of. Ever.

I LOVE ITALY.

My life as a Florentine

So, now that I've been in Italy for just over a full week I'm sure the burning question on everyone's mind is: What has she actually been doing there??

The start of this study abroad program (SAI) was pretty convenient, because it just overlapped with Jenna (from Sils) and her friend\travel companion Rebecca's visit to Florence. Last Thursday morning I met up with them on the steps of the Duomo and spent most of the day with them. The cathedral is a really remarkable piece of architecture; aside from its aesthetic flawlessness (I had no idea it was such a colorful building, but the facade is composed of green, pink and white marble) it seems to crop up everywhere in the city. I was getting worried that I would be late when I stepped out of a side street and there it was, as tall as the sky. Amazing.

We went inside and marvelled at the Duomo's frescos, then climbed its 487 steps and checked out the beautiful view of the city. That's something I'd like to see again, especially now that I'm getting familiar enough with this place that the second time around it would be fun to pick out places I know. Next stop was the Museo de Bargello, a medieval prison\stronghold-turned-museum. Chock full of Renaissance relics, my favorite displays were of the middle eastern tapestries, the clocks and the gigantic skeleton keys (and I thought the ones I used were complicated...). I also saw my first Michelangelo sculpture, something he fashioned around the age 0f 22. Looks like I have a bit of catching up to do before I can consider myself an accomplished person.

This past Saturday I booked myself a spot for a bike ride ambiguously titled 'Chianti Bike Tour'. Glad I took the gamble, because I had a terrific time. A group of us met in Florence at 10 that morning, drove out to the Chianti countryside (the region of Tuscany between Firenze and Siena) and after getting fitted for bikes, went just down the road for a tour of Machiavelli's house and winery - complete, of course, with wine tasting. One of the women on the tour was from Raleigh and turned out to have a daughter that goes to UVA (this is rare enough as is, but to meet her in Italy?! The world shrinks daily, I swear). We biked a bit more, stopped in a quaint town for lunch where we ate and ate... and ate... and ate... and then biked the longest and most challenging stretch. It was tough, but biking along, I became aware of the huge grin plastered across my face as I watched the Tuscan hills roll by. Good default reaction, no? (Also very glad that during my week at home I dragged Ainsley out of the house to bike around the neighborhood with me so I could get some embarassingly-needed practice.)

Early Sunday morning found me on my way to Siena, just an hour away, for il Palio. This is a horse race that's been around for hundreds of years and still takes place in the sizeable main town square - Piazza del campo - twice a year. I went to mass in Siena's Duomo (an interesting mix of the familiar and not-so) and wandered around the place with some friends I've made in my study abroad program, but a few hours before the race some of us set up camp in the piazza to ensure a seat. By 6:30pm or so the place was officially packed (with other UVA students that I happened to run into, might I add!) and by packed I mean there were probably 15-20,000 people crammed in this space. Standing room only... After over an hour of parades and pomp and circumstance, the horses were off; three of them riderless after rounding the first sharp corner. What a spectacle. Another instance of how terrific this trip's timing has been.

This week has been full of me getting more familiar with the city and all it has to offer, celebrating a friend's 21st birthday, starting class, watching tons of World Cup games and spending a lot of time in any one of Florence's multiple piazzas just people watching, picture-taking, eating, reading and writing. The place is just bursting with life and the tourists can be a bit overwhelming (especially when I accidentally get caught up in one of the enormous tour groups and have to fight my way out... trust me, it's a struggle) but for the most part even they add to the place's charm.

This morning I went to the Mercato Centrale for some grocery shopping, and I went back to the same shops that I visited last Friday. The fruit and vegetable vendor must have recognized me (and my valiant attempts at Italian), or maybe he just felt generous, but in a really charming act he gave me - upon my request for two peaches and one tomato - four peaches and five tomatoes. He charged me what I would have paid for the three pieces of fruit, so I didn't notice until I walked away and became aware that my bag was abnormally heavy for such a small purchase. I think I'll be back at his shop many more times in the weeks to come.

Victory!

Returning to my apartment late last night found me physically drained but mentally pumped. After a grueling 90 minutes of regular play and into double overtime, Italy beat Germany in the World Cup semi-finals!! We were watching in the Piazzale Michelangelo (an elevated plaza that offers a gorgeous look at the city below) and the atmosphere was unparalleled. I felt like I was at a huge concert - we were clapping just as if actual people were onstage - but for the gigantic tv screen set up at one end of the piazza. Imagine the practically tangible excitement when Italy scored not one but two goals just moments before the game would have gone into penalty kicks. Unbelievable. I wish I could bottle up this enthusiasm to pull back out whenever it's needed.

Even around 2:30am I could still hear vespas racing down the streets and horns honking madly in the distance. My favorite mental snapshot of Italy so far is of a vespa with a driver and rider sitting behind, holding up an enormous red, white and green Italian flag (this sight was repeated over and over again last night). Of course they'd be honking furiously as they passed, because Italy just won! Forze Azzurri! Abbiamo vinto! Forza Italia! Seriously, the atmosphere was practically crackling with energy from the crowds. Impromptu sparklers went off at the end of the game - looks like us Americans got our 4th of July fireworks after all. My friends and I found ourselves dancing and singing our way down the streets last night, part of the crowd surging ahead to celebrate, giddy with the excitement of victory. There's nothing like hugging total stranger after total stranger because you're just that excited about something so much greater than yourselves.

Wow. I remember thinking in Ghana (as anticipation built for their World Cup debut) how fantastic it was going to be to be in Italy during World Cup fever, but I'm only now appreciating just how incredible and perfect the timing is.

England

It's crazy to think that this time two weeks ago I was frantically packing (again) and getting ready for departure from the States. Colby and I left RDU for Manchester two Tuesdays ago now, after a nearly sleepless night for me of making last minute travel plans and then finally starting to pack. (Really, I'm surprised that I still haven't noticed any gaping holes in what I brought with me.) We made our way to Boston - flight delayed, to Manchester and then via train to Skipton, arriving earlier than expected. We were too antsy to sit around and wait at the train station and I thought I remembered how to get to the Tuck household, so Leslie and Jem were pleasantly surprised to open their door to us and all of our luggage that Wednesday morning.

This time around in England, what with Leslie on maternity leave, Jem off of work because of a bit of knee surgery and most importantly, the new member of the family - Mr Bramwell Tuck! - we didn't do the touristy thing at all. Instead we hung out with Bramwell, took Meggie the dog on long walks around Embsay Reservoir, watched World Cup games and visited a few people I met last summer. Highlights include the Saturday walk to Bolton Abbey (ruins of a 900+-year-old cathedral and monastery that sit along the beautiful River Wharfe) and that evening especially: Leslie got her friend's college-aged son, Nick, and his friend, Richard, to take me and Colby out for a night on the town. Who knew that such a little place had such a happening night life... A good six or seven hours into the night, I found myself with five British blokes (we had just taken Colby home) at Skipton's notorious night club, Bliss. Haha, classy I know.

We also got to go to the Broughton Game Show (Anneka and Gary joined us) to ride the carousel, watch falcons in flight and witness the hilarious terrier races. My last day we went to the upper Dales, climbed the Malham cliffs, picnicked and saw the house by the river that I visited on my favorite day in England last July. Even though the UK weather didn't really cooperate this time around it was still a beautiful sight. (No joke, I wore a wool sweater - over top of multiple other layers - all week and was still cold.)

That night I raced to the train station, took the train to Newcastle and spent a rather uncomfortable night in the airport since my flight was leaving at 7:30 the next morning. Or so they claimed... As it turned out, the flight was delayed by three and a half hours, so I ended up trapped and twiddling my thumbs in that miserable place for a good twelve hours. It's never any fun when you're trying to waste (an indeterminable amount of) time and have to stay completely vigilant about your bags simultaneously. At LAST we took off, I landed in Rome, took a bus to the city center where the main train station is located, rushed to buy a ticket and got on the next train headed to Florence. The station and train was an experience in and of itself: after I used my Italian to make the ticket purchase I headed to my platform. There was a bit of a learning curve for me while I figured out that my ticket actually had an assigned coach and seat. I finally arrived -much later than expected - in Florence, exhausted, sweaty and flustered, but come on. I was in Florence!

That night consisted of meeting my apartment-mates, unpacking a bit and walking down the street with my roommate, Courtney, to buy some fruit. Since it's Florence, and there's beauty and stunning architecture tucked in every corner of the city, how could we have been surprised to stumble upon a cathedral just a block or two from our apartment? The next morning we both woke up around the same time and her first words to me were, 'Look out the window. We live in Florence.' WOW. :)

Stay tuned: more Florentine adventures to come...