Michael comes to visit!!!! =]]]

Hey bloggers!!
  Sorry if my last one was a little rushed:) I might have been a little excited to get to this one:) And yes, this one is going to be a little sappy, but this is my blog, and I call the shots:)
    So when I got back from Greece, I had the night to do some laundry and get everything cleaned up for when Michael got here the next day:) I woke up really early and went to the airport, really really early so I was positive I wouldnt miss him:)
  Finally he came through the sliding doors and I got to give him a hug for the first time in 9 weeks. Let me tell you people, I will never go that long again. I missed him, and already miss him so much. Anybody who has done distance, especially distance between two different continents, you know what Im talking about. Communication is such a challenge, trust, and patience, and everything is such a challenge. But its so worth it. Being away from one another has been one of the greatest things for mine and Michaels relationship. I honestly think that. We have done so much maturing and growing together through all this time apart. Bah Im making myself tear up just writing about it:)
   So anyways he got here safe and sound, starving and exhausted, but he was here and I have never been happier:) What an incredible blessing he is, and that he had the chance to come visit me=] I feel so lucky that he could come be here, not many couples get to travel, let alone get to spend a week together in beautiful Firenze:)
   I wont put you all through every step that we took and every sip of cappuccino that we had, but we had such a good time. I dont want to speak for him, but honestly this week was the greatest of my life=] I showed him all of my favorite spots, and we walked all up and down the Arno, which is my favorite part of all of Italy. We ate all my favorite foods, and got to cook together, and go grocery shopping together, it was perfect. We sat in multiple parks and just talked and it was perfect:) The weather was perfect. Everything was perfect:)
   So the point of this blog is the story:) So I guess Ill get to it:) Monday we woke up and were going to go out and walk around, the weather, like I already said, was unbelievable. Michael insisted that he bring his backpack, which was a little silly I thought, but he brought a lock and he hadnt let me see it yet so I thought he was just being sneaky and trying to keep the lock hidden till later. A little background on the lock thing: On the Ponte Vecchio, which is the most famous bridge over the Arno, which is right where I live, is well known for having locks all over it. All different kinds, but mostly padlocks. The old tradition is that you put a lock on the bridge representing you and your loves relationship. And then you toss the key into the river so that the lock will be on the bridge forever, aka your love will last forever. I had told MIchael a while ago that I wanted to do that while he was here. Its touristy and cheesy but I love it:) So he (without me knowing) bought a lock and brought it with him. When he told me he had brought a lock I got a little teary:) I didnt think he would have even remembered me talking about doing the lock thing. But alas, my precious boy remembered and brought one with him:) So he was keeping it a secret what it looked like, he had told me where he went to get it, and that it was really old, and the brand doesnt even exist any more and all of that. So anyways, thats what I thought the backpack was about. It was a little silly that he bring the whole thing, but it was precious that he wanted to keep it a secret:) So we walked a while, and found some sandwiches that we got and ate on the river:) Then we kept walking because I wanted to show him this really pretty park that I found while running. So we walked and walked and got to the park, and all the benches were full, so we walked to the very end of the park, and there was our bench:) There is a picture of the bench on my facebook if you want to see it:) And we sat down and just talked for a while, just sitting with that boy is the greatest=] Finally he reaches over to his bag and asks me if I want to see the lock. And he pulls out this really old beaten up box with the lock in it and hands it to me, and I open it up and guess whats locked on this beautiful padlock? The most gorgeous engagement ring I have ever seen. And I ask him whats on the lock and hes talking about how its a big deal and how I really need to think about it becuase were about to toss the key in the river and something something (its a little bit of a blur, because at this point im crying and so excited I can barely hold myself together) and he asks me to marry him=] He asks me to marry him!!!!! =]]]] Of course I say yes, I have never wanted anything more than to spend the rest of my life with Michael Weller=] So I unlock the padlock and get the ring off and since then, it has been sitting on my finger=] There are pictures of the ring on facebook too=] Im telling you people, I have never seen a more gorgeous ring, or heard of a more precious proposal, I might be a little biased but I think my story wins. I am the luckiest girl in the world=] My boyfriend came to visit me in Italy and left, my Fiancé:) I got to spend the week with my best friend without any kind of schedule or time constraint. We climbed to the top of the Camponille which is the tower next to the Duomo. We ate the most delicous sandwiches and sat in the park and talked about everything. I get to marry Michael Weller!!! I feel like I could do cartwheels for the rest of my life=] So right now, hes flying home:( I miss him so much already:( I really really hate being away from him, but I am so confident that we can do this. I know that we are already so much stronger for having gone so long and now we only have a couple of weeks till we have a whole summer together:) I get to plan a wedding!! I get to marry my best friend=] I am so happy=]
   Thank you everybody who had any part in this, whether you kept it a secret or helped in any way:) This week could not have been better=] I cannot wait to come home and spend the summer with him=]
  I love you Michael Joseph, I can't wait to grow old with you, and learn and serve this world with you as my partner and best friend=] Thank you for being patient with me, and being so willing to make this work even when we are so far away. I have never loved anyone like I love you=]]]
 
 Ill blog soon, but I don't know that ill have anything that can top this one:)

Ps I miss my sweet Fiancé Michael=]]

 

Greece!!!

Ciao Bloggers!!
 I know I know its been a long time again, but I have good reasoning:)
   First off, I was gone, in Greece for Spring Break:)
   Second...well we can get to that later:)
 So Spring Break, oh heavens, I dont even know where to start. We started off really early Saturday morning, and left on a bus to get to a boat to get to another boat and then another boat in order to get to a bus to get to our hotel. Long story short, this trip was a whole lot of traveling, which is totally fine, it also meant a lot of opportunities to look out the window and see everything. So anyways, Ill try to hit the highlights without rambling for too long. The overnight boat, the cruise if you will, was alright, the boat was really hot, like temperature. I dont know if that was a ploy to get us all to fall asleep so as not to feel the very boat-moving-in-the-waves feel, but it was warm and it did make me want to sleep. The cruise wasnt anything special, we were in chairs like on a plane, so sleeping was an adventure. I ended up on the floor, cuddled with somebodies suitcase, but that was fine:) It was absolutely beautiful to watch the sun set over the ocean and see the stars from the deck of the boat. After we got to land, we had to switch to another ferry to get to the actual port where we would catch our bus to the hotel. Finally we made it to the Pink Palace, I dont know if I can do this place justice in words or pictures. Think pepto color, in building form. If you really wanna see it, look it up:) It was fine, very much a "spring-break" hotel for college age people. It was nice, and pretty clean, and each morning we had breakfast, and each night we had dinner, which was already paid for. That was such a plus, paying for food on these trips can get so so expensive so the already done dinners and breakfasts were perfect. The view was unbelievable. Once again, I dont think any of the pictures that I took do it justice. We were on the Island, Corfu. It was beautiful. It was almost kind of creepy though because the whole little town were the hotel was, was abandonded, I think we caught it before the warm and springy season, so non of the other hotels were open, all the restaurants were closed, nobody was around. Creepy. But beautiful. And there were so many lemon and orange trees, and luckily, because nobody was around, I picked a lemon:) Didnt get to eat it, but it was pretty and it smelled delightful:) So after a few days at the pink palace, one of those being filled with the most incredible four-wheeling adventure Ive ever been on (granted, ive only been four-wheeling once before, but this one was insane) We were on four-wheelers for nearly 6 hours, seeing the whole island, going up to the highest point on the island, going down on the beach, it was absolutely beautiful, Ive never seen anything so beautiful. The four-wheeling might be my most favorite part of the entire trip:)
  So from the Pink Palace, we left I think it was Wednesday night after dinner, and rode an over-night bus to Athens, traveling overnight is not my favorite. It does make sense so were not wasting any time during the day, traveling, but sleeping sitting up is not my thing. A few benadryl cured that though:) We arrived in Athens and had some rest time before we took a walking tour which was really really cool. Saw a few ruins, as well as a changing of the guards ceremony. We got to see the Parthenon which was really cool. From up on the Acropolis you can see for miles and miles, and Athens is absolutely massive. It makes Florence look like a little baby neighborhood. The city is like an ocean that just goes on and on. Its so cool that Ive gotten to see so many different cities, Ive learned what I like and what I dont. Athens is cool, but it wasnt what I pictured. It has a lot of square, not very exciting buildings, and the streets are dirtier and filled with people that are in a hurry. The grafitti was sick, but other than that, it gave me an appreciation for Florence:) But dont get me wrong, Greece is beautiful, and I would love to go back:) I dont want to sound like Im complaining:) That night, we all went out for a huge family-style greek dinner. Oh. Greecian food is SO GOOD. I dont know that I could eat it all the time, but it is soo good. We ate so much, it was all unbelievable, except for the weird dessert. I dont even know what it was, we asked our tour guide if he knew what it was, and he said something to the effect "I dont know whats in it, and I really dont like it" So I didnt feel so terrible, not enjoying a traditional Greecian dessert if a local didnt like it either. But other than that, the meat, the salad, the pita, the Feta, Ive never been a fan of Feta, but let me tell you American friends, the Feta youve eaten, is NOT feta. Come to greece, youll want to eat a whole chunk of it. Oh and the olives, and the sausage, writing about it is making me drool.
   ANyways:) The next day we had some free time, we went to the Acropolis museum, as well as the archeological museum, both of which were really cool. I think we were all really worn out at this point. All the marble statues and stuff started to run together:/ But it was really cool to have the opportunity to go and see all of that. On the way out we ate the most amazing Greek yogurt. Im telling you. Greek yogurt is going to be the next big thing in America. I know everybody already loves the little cups of it from the grocery store, but im talking this is the new self-serve fro-yo. I got to pick the toppings I wanted and they had a light option for the yogurt. I had plain greek yogurt with little chunks of apple, and corn flakes, and honey (there were like 4 options of different honeys). IT WAS SO GOOD. So good. Oh i want to go back just to eat the yogurt. That night we got kebabs for dinner, a little greasy but so tasty. Go to Greece people. Oh funny joke, on the boat on the way to Greece after not showering for a really long time, one of my friends said "I feel Greece-y" Haha, it makes me laugh because that food was so greasy, get it? Punny right? :) Oh what so little sleep will do to you:)
   I think it was the next mornign that I left early, I flew back to Florence so that I could get Michael Weller from the airport:) That morning I went from metro, to plane, to bus, to train, all in one day! All by myself. I was so proud, scared to death that I was going to mess it up along the way, but I made it! I am officially a fairly capable traveler:)
   So I guess that brings me to my next big blog:)
  Ill make a new one:)
    Keep reading peeps!

ps. I miss my Michael so much (but just wait for this next post) =]]

Paris!!

Hello Blog people!!

   I know I know its been a long time:) Life is busy in Italy:) I even had a test today! My first test thus far in my Italian adventure. I know, lifes hard. 

   So last weekend, which is what I want to talk about, we went to Paris. Just hopped a flight to Paris, you know:)

   This adventure, oh my. I dont even know where to start. So we left on Thursday night, we took a bus from the Florence bus station, to the Pisa airport. Before we left, we went to school to check in and print our plane tickets. We printed our tickets and had time to run to McDonalds for a cheap pre-trip cappuccino. We got on the bus, we drove an hour to the airport. Everything was fine and dandy. We were told to check in at the desk before we tried to go through security. So we did. And guess what? We were supposed to check in before 4 hours before the trip. I dont remember when our flight was but lets say it was at 6, this means that anytime after 2, theres no possible way to check in a print your tickets. Guess when we checked in and printed our tickets? About 3 hours and 45 minutes before our flight. Awesome. 65 Euros a piece. 65 EUROS A PIECE!!!! down the drain. I have never been so mad, or so sad. Thats how much the flight cost!! Absolutely ridiculous, especially because thats just a cheap excuse my French, BS way for the airline to make money. They charged us each, 65 euros to print our boarding tickets at the airport because we hadnt done it within their anal time limits. The lady at the desk was extraordinarily rude. It was just a terrible moment. But you printed out your tickets before you left, you say? Yes, i did print a ticket, the ticket to come home. I didnt even look at the date. I hate my life. 

   But after that small meltdown, we realized we had no choice. We paid the money and ended up getting on the flight and everything was fine. Let me tell you, I will never, not read the small print in an email confirmation, ever again.

    So we fly to France, and then have to take another bus, an hour, into Paris. I saw the Eiffel Tower, freaked out and woke up all the sleeping people on the bus. Sorry guys. Im really not good at not being an obnoxious American. So after some metro rides, some gypsy dodging, and asking some French people for help. We finally got to the Hostel. Then long story short, I ended up getting jipped 10 dollars there too. I promise Mom and Dad, I am not frivalous with the money you have given me. I hate money. I hate it with a passion. Its so stressful. But we made it there alive. Then ran out in the city around midnight looking for food. The only thing open was this little cafe bar thing, the lady came outside and told us that the kitchen was closed but that she could make us some cheese on bread. I have never loved a stranger so much as I did in that moment. She reminded me of the mom from Parent Trap. Sweetest lady ever. 

   I have to say that I went into this Paris adventure with a bad taste in my mouth about French people. I have no idea why,  I feel like a horrible person for even saying that. I clearly got it from some steryotype. But honestly, they were so nice. The restaurant lade, offering us some food when she clearly had no reason to do so. We asked a girl on the street for directions. She got out her Iphone and plugged in the Hostels address and gave us detailed directions. The cars stop for you to crosst the road. Generally just a gracious people and i really was so so thankful for that. Especially after a stressful start to the trip. 

   So fast forward to the morning, we got up early and ate our free breakfast at the hostel. The hostel by the way was really cool. Really artsy and hip, reminded me of NoDa for anyone who lives in Charlotte or knows that art-district. The bathrooms left a little something to be desired. I only took one shower the 4 days that we were there. That says something about the showers. I love to shower and to be clean, so for me to do that, well...yeah they were pretty bad. But were college students so we have to stay in little hostels in Europe right? 

  So anyways, I keep getting off on these tangents:) In the morning we did the whole metro thing and went to the Louvre and figured out that we could go in that night after 6 for free! How awesome is that, so then we just kind of wandered around the city, walked along the river, saw Notre Dame, it was so amazing. I honestly think Paris is my favorite place so far. I love Florence, its become a home away from home but Paris was beautiful. It didnt feel very touristy. It was clean and open and the architecture is amazing. I love it there. I took a bunch of pictures so check facebook for those:) Then for lunch I had some ratatouille:) Delicious. Then we went to the Eiffel Tower and just kept wandering. I feel like thats the way to see the city is to just walk around:) Then that night we went to the Louvre. We didnt end up having a whole lot of time. But thats ok. That museum is absolutely massive. I felt so overwhelmed knowing that I wouldnt be able to see anything, but I think putting a time limit on it helped a little bit. It was incredible to say the least. The next morning we went to the Musee d'Orsay. This museum. Oh I cant even describe my love for this place. It was everything I love in one place. This building was exploding with Impressionst pieces. I was dying. So so so many Monet, Manet, Caillebot, Seurat, Da Vinci, Degas, Renois. Oh I cant even put it into words. We spent so many hours there, my feet were dying but it was so worth it. I wish I could live in that place. I took a lot of pictures there as well, got yelled at a few times. But it was totally worth it:) I still am just so excited that I got to see everything that I did. After that we came back to the hostel and just rested for a long time. Travel wears you out. So we all just rested and ate 300 free crepes that the crepe lady made at the hostel every afternoon. Then that night we went to the grocery store and got some baguettes and cheese and apples and made dinner in the hostel which was great:) It was relaxing and cheap! 

   The next morning, Sunday morning we overslept:/ But then finally got packed up and checked out and headed for the Eiffel Tower. We then proceeded to climb up the Eiffel Tower with all of our belongings. It was cheaper that way, plus we had to burn off all those free crepes:) The view was insane. If you ever get the chance, I say climb the tower:) Then we wandered some more, I ate an eclair and we headed towards the bus station to catch the bus to the airport. It was a fantastic trip, and after a double espresso in the airport i wasnt even tired anymore:) 

   So that was Paris, we leave for Greece on Saturday for Spring Break. I am really excited to see Greece, but I cant lie, I get to see Michael Weller a week from Saturday and that thought is making me happier than anything has in a long time. I cant believe its already Spring Break, but at the same time it feels like ages since Ive seen him and Im so so excited that I going to be able to share this incredible place with my best friend:) I also forgot to add my little corny "ps I miss my Michael" bit to my last blog:/ Shoot I hate that I did that:( So to make up for that:

 Ps. I miss Michael:)

Ps. I miss my Michael:)

I love you, I love you, I love you, thank you for being my best bud=]

  

I know its sappy. You try going 9 weeks without seeing your best friend and then we can talk. 

:)

  

Ciao! I will blog soon!! ...at least I will try:)

Rome, and some other stuff:)

Hello blog people!
Oh geeze... I know I called this correctly when I started up this whole blog thing:/ I dont know where time is going! I really dont. These weeks are flying by. So anyways, last week...good grief, I really should be blogging more cause I cant even remember what happened. I guess last week was Valentines, which was nice. I wish I was on the same continent as my Valentine, but soon enough I suppose:) We made several dinners, and didnt really do anything super out of the ordinary that I can remember. And then over the weekend, we went to Rome, which I do remember so I can elaborate a little on that:)We woke up early on Friday and caught a train out of Florence. Before our train we went to McDonalds, I know I know. How could we? It had to be done:) A cappuccino and a brioche for 1.90? That is the greatest price Ive seen thus far. And you know what? It wasnt the worst cappuccino Ive had since Ive been here. Then we ran accross the street and bought our tickets. Its so simple here. You just punch in the time you want to leave, and it prints your ticket, and then the ticket is good for pretty much any trip that is the same price, as long as you validate it before you get on the train. Theres a good story that goes along with the ticket validation, but well get to that later:) So then we got to Rome like 4 hours later. And Shelby, Madisons friend who is studying there, picked us up and we went to her apartment. On the way we ate our first Suppli, a traditional Roman dish, basically a friend all of rice with cheese and red sauce, only the most delicious and fattening thing youll ever eat. Shelby studied in Rome for a semester last year as well, so she knows a lot about the area. She took us around on our own little tour, we saw the Pantheon, The Four Rivers fountain, Vittorio Emanuele (typewriter), Roman Forum, St. Peters, and the Trevi Fountain. The typewriter is a massive white building in the middle of Rome, that the Romans call the typewriter because its so big and clunky in the middle of everything. It also isnt ancient like the other ruins, it was finished in the 1930's so its just kind of out of place. But nevertheless, pretty sweet. So after that busy day, we got a little bit of sleep and got up the next morning and went to the Vatican Museum. Holy Cow. So many tourists. Have I mentioned how badly I HATE tourists. I dont know if its just me, but I have this amazing skill. I can look down, at my phone, at the cobblestone, and still see whats in front of me you know what Im talking about? Peripheral vision. LOOK WHERE YOURE GOING YOU RIDICULOUS ASIANS!!! Oh ive never been so frustrated with my own species. So Sally and I pushed and shoved, litterally, I was shoving people to get through and see what I wanted. Which included the Sistine Chapel, twice:) Yes twice because the Vatican Museum is like Ikea. They make you walk through everything before you can see the Sistine chapel and whatever is before it.

     So theres my illegal picture:) Thank you Iphone with a flip camera:) I also touched the wall, I dont know that that is illegal, but i touched it. I touched a wall with ancient frescos on them. We saw some other cool pieces, and a whole load of tourists. Did I already rant about tourists? I hate them. Everybody in that museum was taking pictures of everything, I guarantee you 90% of the people in there, possibly more, have no idea who any of the artists are that are in the museum, nor could they tell you anything about the historical content. So in that case, GET OUT OF MY WAY. Bah.
   After the museum, which took a while. We got the most incredible gelato. Three flavors, on a huge cone with whipped cream. For two Euro!! I got coconut and coffee and nutella flavors. So delicious. While we were sitting on the corner eating our gelato. We watched a local drive up and squeeze his tiny car into a tiny spot and squeeze out of his car and get the same gelato that we got and then drive away. For a local to brave the traffic and park and get gelato and go home? Thats a sign. Get on a plane. Eat this gelato.
   That night we made dinner, well Shelby made dinner:) Risotto with veggies and chicken and sausage. Sooo good:) The next morning Sally and I went to St. Peters in attempt to go in, however. It was Sunday. Why did I not think of that? On the plus side, we got to see the end of the Sunday service and....drum roll...see the Pope!!!! He blessed us and the other 2 million people squished in the square. It was pretty awesome. So then we headed to the train station, left in plenty of time to catch a bus to the train station. Ps if you ever buy a bus ticket or metro ticket, and put your money in the machine and then nothing happens, check the slot where the money would be spit back out if there was something wrong. People put cigarette butts in the slot so that it catches the bill and confuses me so that I leave thinking the machine is broken. And the bums that rig that, gain the 10 euro bill that I slid in. Luckily Shelby caught it:)
   So anyways the bus took forever, we arrived at the train station with literally 7 minutes to purchase our tickets and get on the train. We are running. Sprinting, we buy all of the tickets and run through the crowds to our train, which of course, is the farthest possible point away from the train station entrance. Great. Were sprinting, pushing more ridiculous people. Crying, cursing, laughing. Long store short, we miss the train. Awesome. However, and heres that story I was talking about earlier. We were in such a rush that we didnt even remember that we needed to validate our ticket. If we had gotten on the train without the ticket validated, we each would have had to pay a 60 euro fine. So it was such a blessing in disguise that we missed the train:) We wasted some time, went to McDonalds and ate a Baci McFlurry. Delicious.
   We made it back to Florence in one piece. Its so funny how much I miss Florence when were away. Rome was great, it was beautiful but it felt like such a big city. Florence is more quaint and lovely:)
   So now, good grief Wednesday is already almost over. We leave for Paris tomorrow. I feel like such a little traveler:)
   Last night, I made a lasagna for our weekly group dinner:) It was pretty good, I dont wanna toot my own horn but it was pretty dang tasty. There was none left in the pan so Ill take that as a good sign:)

   Theres a map that was on a tray at McDonalds. Take a look at that all you North Carolinians. NOT ok. NOT ok. And thats my latest Batik scarf:) I thought it was pretty cool:) Each color required a layer of wax and a separate dying and drying. So its taken a while, but I am pretty proud.
   So anyways, I have to go to class now. I dont want to go to Creative Writing. Ok im going im going. Ciao blog peeps!

i know:/ its been a really long time:(

Ciao blog followers, if I still have any that is:/
Good grief I know its been forever and I know I promised that I wouldnt go more than 3 days:/ Im so sorry:( Time is flying people. It feels like the last time I wrote something was yesterday:/ I know its been a week maybe even more than that:/
   Im trying to think of anything cool weve done that is out of the ordinary:) Weve been making a lot of dinners in, its been so freezing outside, weve been avoiding that at all costs. We did go to a place called "The Diner" its basically a little American diner, I had a burger ( I know that is usually not something I would eat in America, let alone in Italy, but i had to go for it:) It had spicy pesto on top so that was pretty delicious, and I also had a cup of drip coffee. A weird combination, but I love and miss drip coffee:) We also went to a little bakery over the weekend, it was across the Arno, they also had drip coffee with free refills. Yes, free refills. Clearly an American joint, but also, oh its making me happy thinking about coffee with free refills:) I also ate a homemade english muffin with peach jam on top. Oh my heart:) It was so delightful. I would go get another one, it is just a little bit of a walk, and in the wind, the distance something is to where I am, has a great effect on my choice to go or not:)

   Today for lunch I made homemade chicken noodle soup and a grilled cheese with pepperocino cheese, which is like pepper jack, and then Sally, my roommate had the brilliant idea to sprinkle cinnamon sugar on the bread while it was in the pan. It sounds weird but im telling you, do it. Sprinkle just a tiny pinch on your next grilled cheese, I swear you wont be sorry.
  Some other things I have discovered that I absolutely love lately: lemon jam, I bought no-sugar-added lemon jam to try to supress the raging Nutella addiction I have, and let me tell you, its working. This stuff is amazing, there are pieces of lemon zest, oh its so good. Ill bring some home:) Also, coffee or hazelnut flavored yogurt. Again, it sounds weird, ITS INSANE! I want to eat it all the time, its so good. And they also make this kind that comes with a little pouch of crunchies, I dont know what it is, probably just cookie, but its delish. And lastly (for now anways) hot tea, I know thats not really a strict Italian thing, but I have been downing some hot tea lately, its yummy, its basically just water, its cheap and most importantly its warm. Ive found that the only successful way to stay warm in an apartment where the heat is off for most of the day is to have a constant intake of warm beverage. Its working:) Ive also found that I can get 2 or 3 cups of tea from one bag, you know youre in college when youre triple steeping a bag of tea that you left out the night before:)

   Ive been running more lately, Im getting back into my normal running groove:) Its been so cold, like snowing cold. My face burns but underarmor is amazing:) I love running, especially on the Arno. Today I was up at one of my farthest bridges and stopped to take a picture for the blog:) And the water was frozen over and there were birds walking on the water. It was just such a funny sight to see birds walking around on the Arno:)
   Honestly the cold has kept us from doing anythign super crazy outside. Walking by the Duomo every morning is like a joke. The wind whips around the whole circle of the Piazzo and its abosolutely insane how fast the wind blows. My face is slightly chapped but thats alright:) We did go to the Lindt store on Sunday, oh people. You would not guess how many flavors of overpriced truffles are in that store:) I ate 6 in one sitting:) There was a nocciola one, which is basically nutella:) And a coconut one, which tasted kind of like sunscreen but i still liked it:) And my favorite was probably orange, just get on a plane and come it for yourself, I cant do any of the food here justice trying to describe it:)
   Classes have been good, again, time is flying. Ive been able to work some on the wheel in ceramics which is great:) I love sitting there with the clay but im so terrible at it, I worked today for about an hour and a half trying to center one blob of clay, its so hard, and its so difficult on your arms and shoulders to work the clay like you have to. Batik has been going well, I just kind of do my own work. Our teacher has been super spacy lately, just doesnt seem to know whats going on or anythign. Thats ok, luckily, that class is pretty much just solo work with some instruction from her. I dont need her every class. I finished my first Batik, i have a picture but its pretty bad. I didnt realize how out of proportion my ladies head was:/ oops thats ok, its my first Batik ever after all, It couldnt be perfect:) And Ive also started working on my second, its gonna be a bit harder and were doing a different dying technique so Im excited for that.
   The weeks seem to go so fast here, its hard to describe, maybe its the 4 day, school week thing. Maybe its just because im here, i dont know:)
   Ok I think im getting a little sleepy, watching the superbowl and not getting in bed till 4 am Sunday night kinda messed up my sleeping schedule, but thats alright:) Im in Italy right? No regrets:) I honestly will try to post more, I dont want to forget this trip or any of the things weve done, so for no other reason than to document, I will try to write:)

Ps. I miss my Michael
pps. but guess what weve made it more than half way through the time till I see him!!! =]

Another fabulous weekend:)

Hello blog followers!!!
   Look im posting another blog in less than 5 days!! Youre welcome mom:) I officially love weekends in Florence. Theres no question. Not having class on Fridays, combined with not having a schedule is the greatest. Yesterday was Saturday, we got up fairly early and were gonna "hike" We had no plan, no idea where we were going to go, but that was ok:) We met some of our friends that we were going to "hike" with and got some sandwiches from a little stand that our cooking teacher told us about. There is like 50 different choices and theyre all 2.50 euro! How awesome is that?! My favorite out of all the ones we got was a proscuitto with soft goat cheese and arugula. Oh it was insane, the roll that it was one was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, not too bready not too cheesy. It was perfect. So then we started walking and I remembered this place that I had seen while I was running that just looked like a bunch of zig zag steps up into the woods so we did that. We started walking and got to the top and there were some Native American musicians (random) and you could see the entire city, the Arno and the Duomo and everything for miles and miles, it was incredible. There are a few pictures on facebook, but none of the view pictures do it any justice. Then we just chilled for the rest of the day, bought some new nail polish, made a tiramisu that actually turned out. It only took me babysitting the pan for about 24 hours while the cream turned into cream. It was wonderful:) And then today we slept in a little and woke up and went to yoga which again was fabulous, I went for another Italy run along the Arno. It was wonderful:) The only thing that is missing from this place is Michael Weller. If he was here, it would be perfect. But guess what!!! Only 40 more days! Im so excited to see that boy=]
   Ok I think its time for us to watch Ratatouille, so I can be even more inspired to cook:) Thank you for keeping up with this crazy blog thing. I will absolutely take a picture of my Batik tomorrow and maybe some more prints in photography if we do that tomorrow. I shall post soon!

ps I miss my Michael

Yoga, pizza and some cow mats:)

Hello bloggers!!
Good grief, I know youre all mad because I havent been adding to this:/ Oops:/ Sorry Mom and Dad:/
This week has flown, its been great, classes were great, nothing too exciting. Oh besides the fact that I made my first real print in the dark room! Hooray!! Ill put pictures on facebook:) I also finished my Batik for the most part still adding more dye but its looking good:) We didnt do anything too noteworthy during the evenings, just chilling:)
   But today, oh the greatest of days. We slept in, which again was fantastic, no class on Fridays is one of the most fantastic things Ive ever made happen. After we slept in, I made some coffee and then Sally and I just sat and read for the longest time, I swear it was so fantastic. We sound lazy but it was so wonderful. Just sitting, reading, being quiet. Do it. Youll feel like a new person:)
   After our reading time, we got dressed and went to get lunch at a pizza place that our cooking teacher told us about, oh I forgot to tell you about cooking on Thursday, ill talk about that in a second:) So we went to this little hole in the wall pizza place. Oh. My. Heavens. This pizza... im trying to think of the right words. You would not believe how delicious. We got two smallish pizzas and split them between the three of us. A margherita pizza and then an O' Vesuvio pizza, which is the name of the restaurant, it had some spicy something on it. But they were incredible, I will put a picture of those on facebook and on here if I can figure out how:) But anyways, the pizza was amazing, I cant even describe it. You should probably buy a plane ticket and come and eat some of this pizza right now. So I was going to tell you about cooking class, which I think was the last one that there is:( But it was amazing as usual. The teacher was hysterical, talking about her "very good looking ride home" She made eggplant parmesean and another kind of white bean side, the white beans sound weird but they are so good. Apparently a classic dish. She just said she mixed the white beans with read sauce and sage leaves and heated it up. Oh I cant even tell you how delicious. And how frugal! I love this place:) And then she made pears in chocolate sauce for dessert. I want to move in with this woman.
   So anyways, back to today:) After I ate my weight in pizza, we went to two grocery stores, one of which where we scored some free cow placemats!! Huzzah!! After we went shopping, ps I attempted to make tiramisu last week, and it didnt turn out so hot. It tasted great but the cream never got creamy, it was very liquidy. So anyways I bought more supplies to attempt again:) We then stopped to get a cappuccino at our little corner shop and read some more:) After more reading, we went to yoga!!
   Our roommate who has been here for a semester already, told us about this awesome yoga studio and the teacher speaks english. It was amazing!! Im running out of positive adjectives:) She was so sweet and so helpful and encouraging, she just let us join in for free and go along with everything. It was amazing. She went to App state for a little while so we had something in common, I love this lady. And I love yoga. Were making it a regular thing:)
   So now im here, eating some bruschetta planning spring break, not worrying about a thing. I love this peaceful place. The only way it would be better, slash the only thing that is missing to make this place perfect is Michael Weller. My plan is to come home, collect him and come back:) Kidding, I miss High Point but I hopefully I can come back one day:)

   I promise I will try to blog more often, Oh and I be on the lookout for pictures of my first print and my pizza:) Or maybe ill try to attach them right now:) There they are:)
Ok goodnight readers! Thanks for keeping up with my trip!

p.s. I miss my Michael