update from paradise.

I'm a little bit in love with Alicante. First of all, they have a Subway, so I was able to eat my first veggie sandwich in over four months. Second, this city has the most beautiful beach I have ever seen, hands down, bar none. The sand is soft, the water is SO blue, the sky is cloudless, and there are endless palm trees. Need I say more? The only thing that went awry today was the lack of attention I paid to my rear end as far as sunscreen goes. Whoops.

Pictures from Spain tomorrow. For now, I'll finish off The Week with the Parents edition of the blog.

Wednesday, we traipsed out to Pompeii, the excavation site where an entire city was buried after Mount Vesuvius erupted in the year 79 AD. It remained covered until 1700's, I do believe, and even today is not fully excavated. I distinctly remember having a book about Pompeii as a child (my mother corroborates this. She herself is fascinated with the city and tried to get us kids excited about it, as well. Apparently her plan worked, since I still remember the book 15 years later).

I honestly don't remember what most of these buildings are. Couldn't tell you if my life depended on it.

This one is famous, though. It was a house with this mosaic in the entry way that reads (in Latin) "Beware of Dog"

They also restored a lot of gardens as they would have been back in the days of Pompeii.

This one's the amphitheater. It held over 20,000 people which was a big deal back in those days (but coming from a school with a stadium that can house over 90,000, it takes a lot to impress me. Kidding.) This was used for gladiator fights, and was apparently shut down once upon a time after a fight broke out between fans from opposing cities. Good to know that the human race has evolved...not.

Teeny tiny doorway. I would have hit my head a lot living in Pompeii.

This was in the Teatro Piccolo (Small Theater) which was reserved for musical performances, readings, and the like. There was also a larger theater that we didn't get to go in.

Wednesday night, we returned to Sorrento from Pompeii starving, so we decided to head town to the Marina Grande, where our B&B owner had told us we could find some good seafood restaurants.

We got there a little early (read: before 7 PM), so we had to kill some time while we waited for the trattoria to open.

As soon as I saw Trattoria Da Emilia, I remembered that it had been recommended in one of the guidebooks we had picked up here. It did not disappoint! My mother and I split a plate of spaghetti alle vongole (spaghetti with clams) and pesce alla griglia (grilled fish). The grilled fish actually turned out to be...a whole grilled fish. With its head and bones and everything. And even after being warned about sneaky, dangerous fish bones, I still managed to swallow one. Whoops.

After dinner, we went to Gelateria Il Davide, which is apparently rumored to be some of the best gelato in Italy. I totally envy whoever's job it is to hand out that title, by the way. Can you imagine just wandering around Italy tasting all of the gelato you can get your hands on?

Well, I don't know if this is REALLY the best in Italy...I've been to so many places...maybe if you let me try a few more flavors I'd be able to decide...

That is banana, crema di nutella, and "Oreo" flavors. I'm predictable. I definitely wouldn't say it's the BEST gelato I've had in Italy, but honestly, at this point, I think it would be impossible to decide.

Thursday, we had to catch a train back to Naples around 4 PM, so we tried to take a quick trip to Amalfi which ended up being even shorter than we anticipated. We didn't get off to the quickest start that morning, and then the bus ride took WAY longer than anticipated.

Note to readers: If you are ever travelling the Amalfi Coast by bus, be prepared to fear for your life. Drivers apparently have little to no concern for human life as they take hairpin turns that leave you looking over the edge of a cliff at nothing but water at breakneck speed. They also have no concern for the width of the road as they speed by cars, motorcycles, people, and even buses going the opposite direction.

Legit, the only pictures I took in Amalfi. We were there for all of an hour and a half, but did manage to get in a quick tour of the paper factory, for which Amalfi is famous. They make their paper out of cotton instead of trees, even to this day. I, of course, had to get a pretty piece with some dried flowers pressed into it.

After a bit of a disaster catching our train in Naples, we did manage to arrive in Pisa safe and sound that night around 11 PM. We spent a few hours Friday in Lucca, then taking the necessary touristy shots of the Leaning Tower of Pisa upon our return (but you'll have to ask my Dad for those shots...I didn't take them on my camera). We killed more time by having some pizza and gelato before the parents saw me off on my train to the Pisa airport, and they returned to their hotel for their last night in Italy.

In spite of all of the mishaps (read: stolen wallet, missed trains, etc.), I hope that the parents enjoyed their week in Italy as much as I enjoyed spending it with them. Great food, great company, great sights, great country...what more could a girl ask for?

when in rome...

...do not do as the Waagners do. Because if you do it the way the Waagners do, you will end up realizing that someone stole your wallet on a crowded Roman metro.

True story.

Anyway, sorry for the unoriginal title, but there is a helicopter-sized mosquito (or five) buzzing around my head, and my computer is about to die because it literally took an hour to upload these ten photos, so quick and dirty is all you get.

Theme for the week: Cats. There will be many, many more of these lovely feline photos to come in the Sorrento installment of The Week with My Parents, but for now, just one.

This photo is dedicated to my brother Travis, who apparently became obsessed with cats sometime between the time our cat died two years ago and now.

We took a walk to the Vatican...

Then to the Colosseum, where my dad had to, of course, touch everything. And know everything about every kind of rock ever used to build the Colosseum. Apparently, along with learning basic Italian, I am expected to know about the building techniques of the ancient Romans. Whoops.

Mom throwing her coin into the Trevi Fountain...

Then we went into the Piazza Navona, where there was some sort of mini-festival set up, and they were sending up these shapes made out of BUBBLES up into the air!

See the star?

And the "EU"?

Playing with bubbles.

We also saw some Roman catacombs...

Sunglasses + scarves = family resemblance?

Anyway, I apologize again for the lack of substance in this blog but I will say it again: it is not my fault! I'm looking at you, Blogger.

Tomorrow, the parents and I are off to do Lucca for the day, then my flight departs for Alicante at 8:55 PM from Pisa. Hopefully, my hostel will have internet so that I can catch up on the other happenings of this past week, and show you pictures of what are assured to be the most blissful three beach days of my life.

still kicking in sorrento.

Well, hello! I am sure that you have all forgotten by now that I even HAVE a blog, but my absence has not been my fault, not even one tiny bit. Most of the hotels we have been staying in have lacked internet service, so when I do get on at internet cafes and such, I get to stay on for about 10 minutes before it is time to move on.

Just to quickly recap, my parents and I left Florence around 11 AM on Saturday morning to head to Rome, where the weather was uncooperative, pickpockets were plenty, and our lovely hotel was located in the ghetto, to put it nicely. We still managed to have a great time exploring the Colosseum, the Palatine, the Roman catacombs, and the Pantheon. Pictures and details to follow, as soon as I can get onto my own laptop.

After a disastrous last day in Rome, in which my father got his wallet stolen (after failing to heed advice from both my mother and myself), we took a train to Naples, where we caught ANOTHER train to Sorrento, where we have been for the last two days. Sorrento is such a nice little town...very quiet, laid back, relaxed, and SUNNY, which is a weather condition I forgot existed. What, you mean it is possible to have a day sans rain and clouds? It is located just under an hour south of Naples by train, near the famed Amalfi Coast, favorite vacation spot of the rich and the famous. Sorrento is a little less hyped than that, but beautiful, nonetheless.

We arrived Monday night, but pretty much just ate dinner before collapsing into bed at our little B&B. Yesterday, we took a boat out to the island of Capri where we took a boat tour around the island and rode a chair lift (yes, an actual chair lift) up a mountain to a view overlooking the entire city of Capri. My nose got a little singed, but other than that, it was a perfect day, capped off by the most incredible dinner experience I have had here in Italy.

The owner of our B&B had recommended this restaurant that was supposedly located "up the hill" (read: mountain) from us, so when we decided to go, they sent a car to personally pick us up. From there, we drove and drove and drove up some very winding streets up to the most beautiful vineyard slash farm you have ever seen. There were lemon trees, chickens, dogs, but above all, an insane view of Capri and the coast. The waiter told us up front that we would not be ordering from a menu, but that everything would just come to us. From there, we were served a traditional Italian meal, all four courses, that even my father proclaimed the best he had eaten in Italy (and for those of you that know him, you know what a big deal this is). The meal was capped by my parents' first experience with limoncello. Afterwards, we were again personally driven down the hill to our B&B, where we were unable to do anything except sleep.

Today, we are going to visit the historical site of Pompeii before spending one more night here in Sorrento. Tomorrow, we are taking a train back to Florence, where my parents will stay until they depart from Pisa on Saturday. I will be taking a train to Pisa Friday afternoon to catch my flight to Alicante, Spain where I will spend three days laying out (and trying to catch my tan up to my friends'...I am looking at you, Kaley Goodfellow!) and relaxing.

I hope to provide pictures from everything that I just described above at some point over the next couple of days, but I make no promises. Internet here is even rarer than back at The Palace.

drawing to a close.

Am I going insane, or is it really May 12? That can't be possible, since yesterday was January 25. I just arrived in Florence, right? There is no way that I have been here for nearly four months already.

Sadly, that is the truth, though. My time abroad is drawing quickly to a close, and until today, I think, I was a little bit in denial about it. As ready as I am to go home and see my family and get out of this tiny apartment, I am going to miss Florence, living abroad, my roommates, buying fresh food, and a million other things that I could never recount.

Things might get hairy over the next couple of days as I finish my final exams, pack everything up, and attempt to cram as much Florentine culture into my days as humanly possible, but I hope to update again before I have to leave my apartment on Saturday. After I move out, my parents and I will travel to Rome, Naples, and Pompeii before I return to Pisa to fly to Alicante, Spain for three days. Then, I'll go back to Pisa to fly home on Tuesday, May 25. It's sure to be a whirlwind of a week, but I suppose that it's a fitting close to my whirlwind semester.

Speaking of whirlwinds, it seems like it was just hours ago that Gillian and I returned from our second trip to San Gimignano (when in reality we went last Saturday).

For those who don't remember, San Gimignano is a tiny gem of a Tuscan town, located a little over an hour south of Florence close to Siena. It's known for its beautiful scenery, medeival feel, and, of course, the world champion of gelato: Pluripremiata.

Unlike last time, it was actually open [and crowded, to say the least.] I was a happy camper.

Remember this?

The line was nuts and the girls working behind the counter were...brusque, to put it politely. But I walked out with a giant cone of joy, in the form of tiramisu, banana, and nutella gelato.

It only costs 3 euro to make my day.

Then Sunday, my parents arrived in Italy after a hectic series of plane rides that finally ended in Pisa. I spent the better part of Monday showing them all of the major sights of Florence, and we managed to hit two restaurants I've been meaning to try: Acqua al Due and Trattoria Casalinga. I was quite impressed with Casalinga, and while Acqua was a fun night, the food wasn't quite what I expected.

My parents first Italian gelato experience: Grom!

In front of the Ponte Vecchio on Monday.

The parents.

At the Piazzale Michaelangelo.

My dad treated the whole city like a museum, stopping to inspect every little detail. He was particularly fascinated by the vehicles, including this little toppolino, or "Little Mouse". In this picture, a woman is telling him not to lean on the car or it might dent! Whoops.

Tuesday, I woke early to eat breakfast with my parents before they headed to the Galleria Uffizi while I took two of my finals. I feel comfortable with how I did on both. After that, the parents and I went to Mario's, where my mom finally got to experience ribollita after all of my chatter on this blog about it.

Mom&Dad departed Tuesday afternoon (in the pouring rain) bound for Cinque Terre! I haven't heard from them since yesterday night, but I hope that the hike went well. As far as I know, they are headed for Siena tonight, and will return to Florence on Friday night to help me move out on Saturday morning.

Today, I met up with Bethany and Mary for our last Wednesday lunch at Sergio's :[ It would have been a sadder affair, but the restaurant was hopping, and we had to eat quickly. No time for nostalgia when it's Italian lunch time! Gillian and Sam met me in the San Lorenzo market after that to finish up some last minute souveneir shopping...no matter how much I shop it just seems like my list keeps getting longer and longer!

Then, Gillian and I finally took on lampredotto, a Florentine specialty made from a cow's fourth stomach. [I can tell that you are salivating at the thought!] We were both a bit intimidated by it, but we absolutely HAD to try it, so we decided to just buy one sandwich to sample.

Looks innocent, right?

My first bite...

Sam digs in...

Bethany gets in on the fun, too...

Verdict?

I personally liked the taste, but couldn't get over the combination of my mental block about eating cow's stomach as well as the very SLIMY texture. Gillian and I each braved another bite, trying to give it another chance, but it was a no-go. We tossed over half of it in the trash. Oh, well! At least we gave it a shot.

I finished off my Wednesday with my final practical cooking exam, in which my teammates and I prepared a bruschetta as well as a panna cotta. Both turned out great, and we were all pleased with how it went. Since I've been feeling a bit under the weather this week (sore throat, congested, headache) I decided to rest up tonight in preparation for our final days here. I actually packed one of my suitcases and started in on my big one...as soon as I do laundry, I should have no problem finishing up Friday night!

I hope to write again before I leave, but be assured that I will update a few times while I'm travelling if I don't get to. Ciao!

are you going to eat that tentacle?

I know you were all on the edge of your seats, waiting to see how I spent my Friday night. Marissa, Sam and I decided to go out and get some gelato (shocker) before heading to the Odeon Theater to see the only movie that was showing...The Fantastic Mr. Fox (with Italian subtitles)! It was...strange to say the last, but the roomies and I had a good time laughing at it. Plus, I didn't stay in on a Friday night and I got to pratice my Italian!

I did go to bed pretty early, though, because Gillian and I had a culinary extravaganza planned for today!

We took the train to Florida! Sorry, fam, no time to stop in and say hello.

Obviously kidding.

But I did keep having deja vu all day! With all of the palm trees and the bipolar weather, I was sure that we must be in the Sunshine State. In reality, we were in Livorno, which is so much better than Florida (sorry).

Livorno is Tuscany's third largest city, behind Florence and some other unidentified city. It is a port town, and is actually well known for its population of immigrants! Way back in the 16th century, Ferdinando I de'Medici acquired Livorno and sent a whole bunch of exiles and immigrants to live there, including a whole lotta Muslims and Jews who were being ousted from their home countries at the time. It remains one of Tuscany's most diverse cities today!

Gillian and Sam actually went to Livorno over spring break, but since I missed the trip and really wanted to try cacciuco (you'll see what that is later...), Gillian agreed to go with me again (what a sport!).

After a slight train mishap (we missed both of the 11 o'clock trains and had to take the noon one instead), we rode for an hour before arriving in the beautiful palm-tree filled city. We went to one of the only restaurants that was open. Apparently the entire city of Livorno takes its siesta at 2 PM, which was exactly when we arrived. Whoops.

Fortunately, Gillian and Sam had declared this place a gem. White bread was obviously necessary, as we were starving.

We decided to go big and split an antipasto. Good call! This was the best antipasto in the history of antipastos. It included: mussels, smoked salmon, two kinds of frutti di mare (seafood salad), shrimp in a kind of tartar-y sauce, and the star of the show, crostini (bread) with some kind of mussel-seafood topping. WHOA!

The last time Gillian came to this place, they were unfortunately out of cacciuco, which is a typical Livornese dish. I thought that we had heard good things about it, but looking back, it seems like most people just wanted us to try it..not necessarily because it was delicious. Somewhere down the line I had gotten the idea that it was a soup (think Mario's and Sergio's). I was very, very, VERY wrong, and after they brought out this dish, I was in shock for the rest of the meal. Heck, I'm still in shock!

It turned out to be a kind of...um...well...a seafood stew, if you will. But like mystery stew. You had no idea what you were getting when you pulled something out. And there was an entire, large shrimp sitting on top of the whole thing, staring at me. It still had its claws. The entire dish was coated in this thick, almost barbeque-y sauce.

Gillian performing surgery.

Why, yes, that is a tentacle! What, you never eat tentacles for lunch?

This dish was an experience. This is the kind of thing I came to Italy for: to experience the culture. And cacciuco is definitely full of cultural value (and octopus. I probably ate the entirety of Ursula from The Little Mermaid). Gillian and I could not stop laughing the entire time we were eating this...it was the kind of meal you never forget. I really don't know what else to say about it, except that it wasn't bad...it is just something I'll probably never order again.

There are no words.

After we picked through the...um....stew, the waiter brough us each a GIANT shot of limoncello, which is typically served as an post-meal aperitif, to aid in digestion. I have tried limoncello several times before this, but I decided to give it one last shot. Plus, I kind of wanted to wash the taste of octopus out of my mouth. (Kidding.)

Turns out, I just don't like limoncello. We'll call this little montage The Faces of Limoncello.

Here I am, ready to give it one last good-faith try...

The initial shock of the super-sweet lemon...

And the bitter aftertaste of the alcohol.

After lunch, we were both EXTREMELY full (despite my ragging on the cacciuco, we did some serious damage). We walked toward the harbor, since, like I said, Livorno is a port city.

Note the clouds here.

And here.

More clouds (and sailboats).

Then, BOOM! Clear skies.

Are you sure we're not in Florida?

We probably walked around the city for a good hour and a half (there may or may not have been some gelato...) before heading back to the train station. Look how pretty!

We both slept most of the train ride home, the octopus weighing heavily in our stomachs. A successful day, methinks.