Warm Days and Walks

After Spring break, second term classes started and things started to become extremely hectic (especially for us lazy college kids who wanted to enjoy Certaldo's gorgeous weather).

All I can remember from the past two weeks is waking up a half hour earlier than last term, being stressed about finishing projects, wanting class to be outside almost everyday, being frustrated with enameling, loving walks down to Basso in the afternoon/walks to the hilly park, naps on the hills, visitors, picnicking in the rain, learning more about Certaldo, learning that Certaldo is a magically invisible kingdom, HOUSE, Florence/museums/shopping/hot/familiarity/freedom, draught, pancakes, Mexican, Easter cakes, three-day weekends, and constantly thinking of how I should be working on projects instead of ___.  Ok, so that's a lot wider range than I thought, but it's been a blur of amazingness. I'll break it down as chronologically as I can:


The first week back was work...lay in the sun...work...lay in the sun. I truly enjoyed that week even though I was slightly stressed about all of the new projects and the fact that we only had a month and a half left.  Also, Marissa's brothers and older brother's girlfriend came to visit so it was great meeting them and hanging out for a while. OH! How could I forget?? I finally went STARGAZING with some people on the hills in Certaldo!!! It was amazing and I can't wait to go again.  It was also registration week so I was able to sign up for classes and ended up getting all the classes I needed. Pressure off.  PLUS....WE GOT A HOUSE (duplex) !!!!!!!! Caitlin, Brooke, and I decided to live with each other next year and we had been searching for a place for a while and it finally happened! So happy. Now to sublease my other apartment...


The first weekend back we went to Florence from Friday to Saturday and finally went to the Uffizi museum and the Accademia (where Michelangelo's famous David sculpture is).  Unfortunately, I was airheaded and forgot my camera entirely.  We saw so many gorgeous sights that we hadn't seen before and walked A MILLION stairs up to this church on the other side of Florence to watch the sunset.  It was an amazing weekend and I tried my hardness not to dwell on how ridiculous I was for forgetting my camera.  It was a freeing and trapped feeling all at once. But it didn't bring the trip down!


Sunday, March 25: Picnic with Alfred! 

we saw this car run off the road on our way to eat...we made up a lot of fun stories as to why it was there and no people were in it

Alfred took Marissa, Charlotte, Emily, Paige and I to a little shaded area off the road where we could picnic with a view.  






It sprinkled on and off while we ate and then as soon as we moved directly under the giant trees is poured! This was actually a really good thing, though because Certaldo was in the middle of a draught and in desperate need of wetness. 



We left after the rain stopped and grabbed an espresso or cappuccino at a nearby cafe before heading to an old farm/olive oil factory/vineyard. 

It was so amazing and intriguing.  I would happily move here permanently and become a farmer. Also, there were horses and sheep and cats and chickens all about. 

Then we saw a giant rotting, but amazing oak out past the vineyard.  Such a wonderful day of new explorations and getting out in Tuscany a little more. 

 

drying prosciutto 

another giant tree

Second week: lots of work and sun bathing and work and sun bathing... It truly is amazing to be just sit in the studio courtyard and soak up the sun in between classes (or even during class).  Photography started this term and things are going well with that, but my favorite part about the class is that we randomly get to go out during class and photograph different things/practice the new things Jim (our instructor) has taught us. 

gelato truck in Alto!

Wild hare pasta...yum

All week basically consisted of work, walking, and sun. Great week. 


This past weekend we had a three day weekend and instead of traveling I decided to stay in Certaldo, get some work done, and relax.  Except on Friday when Caitlin, Emily, and I went to Florence to grab some gifts and run some errands. 

delicious pizza with spicy salami, potatoes, and mozzarella

It was a nice leisure day without having to worry about being back home at a certain time.  Saturday I made pancakes in the morning for my roomies and worked almost all day until that night when we made delicious Mexican tacos and feasted in happiness without any mention of Italian food.  Then that night Caitlin, Marissa, and I made cookies but we didn't have vanilla so we just hoped for the best. 





They were actually pretty great.  





Sunday I worked more and...did some photography homework. 

Italian Easter cake! (or at least I think it's only Italian...)

So far this week has been gloomy with gray skies and rainy weather, but I guess it can't be beautiful all day everyday. 


Now it's time to catch up with all of my communication and work a ton more on projects. 


I'm predicting that April showers will mean lots of gray days and longing for naps.

So much traveling.

The past week and a half has been so ridiculously busy from traveling and sightseeing and enjoying the cities of Naples, Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, Ravello, and Sicily! So I will do as brief a summary as I can for this past Sprink break...

Day 1: We went to Naples straight from Certaldo (with a lunch stop at an auto grill, so cool!) 

lunch at the auto grill with a wee little nutella

and had a small bus tour plus we parked on the side of the road up the mountain so we could see the arial view of the city.  

Fancy waiter at our fancy cappuccino break in Naples

After that we spent a little while in the city walking around to different places and it was pretty cool, although a little windy for my pleasure because it was about to rain. 





Seriously, we all thought a hurricane was about to come through the winds were that crazy. Afterwards we rode another hour or so to our hotel in Vico Equense and unpacked before dinner which was delicious, as I posted about before. 

View from Vico

Day 2: We intended to go to Capri for the day with a boat tour but the winds were so bad that we wouldn't be able to make it across the water on those waves.  Instead we pit-stopped in Sorrento before turning around and heading to Pompeii for the day.  

by the water in Sorrento

Pompeii was pretty awesome...lots of buildings and roads and open areas.  








It was cool walking through the town thinking about the fact that people used to live that and walk the same streets.  

I mean, all of the cities in Italy are ancient anyways, but when modern people are living in them it doesn't seem as ancient.  

person covered and preserved in ash from the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius

We also got to see replicas of ash-covered people who died during the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.





After Pompeii we had a free afternoon so Charlotte and I took a walk in Vico Equense and decided to stay a while for the sunset.

Day 3: We tried for Capri again, but the water was still too choppy so we decided to take a public bus to one of the cities off the Amalfi Coast and spend the day there.  

After spending a day in Positano, I can safely say that as of right now it is my favorite place in the whole world.  








I spent my day relaxing, ate some delicious pizza, and sat on the rocks above the clear blue water all afternoon with the warm sun beating down on me.  





It was fantastic.  





On a side note, Emily did lose her jacket in the water due to a huge gust of wind, but Morgan played superman and jumped in to get it for her (he really just wanted to get in the water).  





Day 4: We took our tour on a private bus through the Amalfi Coast and stopped at a few places including this awesome area with a family owned ceramic shop and a cave boat tour! 





It was so cool! We just circled this little area, but still, the cave was awesome and the water beautifully clear, not to mention there was a tunnel under the water in the rock so there was a burst of light shining through the water.  





After an hour there we went to the town of Amalfi for lunch.  Amalfi was really cute, but I wish it had been warmer.  





Fortunately, I was able to climb and explore some rocks (always a winner).  After Amalfi we stopped briefly in Ravello where we saw a limoncello factory with free taste testing.  I had no idea there was such thing as melon cello, but it tasted like medicine; however, the limoncello and cream cello were pretty nice.  Then, on the way back to the hotel we stopped on a mountainside to take pictures.

















Day 5: EARLY rise to the Rome airport and departure for independent travel! SICILY! Palermo wasn't what we expected (more urban and port, less seaside)


 


but it was still a great city to walk around and explore, and our hostel was adorable! 

(these were taken literally a minute before we left because I kept forgetting to take them)

little hobbit door that we had to step into and duck for 

That night Paige accidentally found an amazing restaurant with delicious food at a really good price (we ended up going back two more times).  The dish I ordered was a linguini surrounded by muscles with little clams and shrimp mixed in the past, and all for 8 euro. 

How awesome.  





The best part was that the owners of the restaurant were Indian.  Who knew Indians made such amazing Italian food?


Day 6: In true Spring Break fashion, we hit the beach on our first full day in Sicily.  We took a bus to a small town called Mondello and soaked up some sun almost all day.

Seriously, beside lunch, dinner, walking through the sidewalk market, and the little details, that's all we did on day six. 

People in Italy like to lay fully clothed on beaches...it's quite entertaining

this thing was called something like an African cream/chocolate pastry thing

Day 7: Some people went to the Valley of the Temples on day seven and I intended to, but the previous night I passed out before I even finished setting my alarm (with the lights on and ipod in hand ready to set the alarm...tired much?).  So I woke up at 1:30...how did that happen? I have no idea, but a few of us went to Modello again for a late lunch and to hang out on the beach again.  

sunset on Mondello beach behind the houses

Dinner at the amazing Indian-owned delicious Italian food place again.

HAD to get calamari while in Sicily. It was delicious.

Day 8: We spent our last day in the adorable fishing town of Cefalù.  






It was also the warmest day!! SUPER PLUS!  We ate authentic Sicilian pizza, 

I had my first cannoli, 

and then we walked towards the beach where I found perfect climbing rocks! 






It was an amazing adventure in the warm sunny sun. 

I was a happy camper. Then we laid out for a few hours in the soft sand.  Great day.  

Day 9: Craziness trying to catch a bus for the airport, finding out we couldn't take a bus and taking a taxi, flying to Pisa, waiting in Pisa for hours because there was a train strike, being exhausted...not a great day. Although I did enjoy my last cannoli for a long while






I was just ready to be back in Certaldo and needed a break from the end of our break.


Spring Break is over, second term has started, classes are rushing, and we're all trying to get back in the groove of things.  Luckily it's getting more and more beautiful outside!!!


Yay warm weather!!