Verona and Venice are Oh-So-Wonderful

Alexis M.: Verona and Venice are one-hundred percent to die for. Verona, with its lovely charm, is known as the "City of Love." Upon arrival you can immediately feel this to be true. After all, the house of Juliet is located here. The buildings look somewhat like buildings in Tuscany, but they're unique in their own way. Venice, on the other hand, is completely a world of its own. The city is literally a maze of alleyways and canals, small and large. Water is the central theme of this amazing place, and it justifies Venice as "Queen of the Adriatic."

 

This weekend was by far my favorite weekend out of all the ones we've had on this trip. It was busy yet very relaxing at the same time. Our train plans may have gone awry on Saturday, and we may have gotten a little lost in Venice, but all in all this was a perfect weekend. We were able to see a world-famous opera in an arena that dates back to 30 AD, pretend we were there to witness Romeo and Juliet's balcony scene, view incredible glass blowing on the island of Murano, and take a fun water taxi excursion around Venice.

One of the many piazze in Verona

On our way to see Aida!

Glass Sculpture in Murano

Right by St. Mark's Basilica!



Oh, it is love.

I'm so sad this trip is about to end, but it's been the trip of a lifetime. I've made lasting friendships and some crazy, awesome memories. Arrivederci and Grazie, Italia, for everything you've blessed me with! I'll love you always.



“Come si Dice ‘Gong Girl’”

         As the trip winds down and I start to think back on the first couple of days I was here in the beautiful Tuscany region, I laugh at the first impressions of friends, the worries I had coming on this trip and the memories that I made and will never forget. As sappy as that is (which is so out of character for me), I would like to think I have grown and matured a little while being in a foreign country and semi-relying on me, myself, and I. I say “semi” because if it weren’t for my friends and the professors, I would be in a ditch somewhere or in a country I couldn’t pronounce far far away. These past six weeks have made me uncomfortable, nervous, patient, and more excited and passionate to explore the world more than ever before. But I digress…

            

           This past week was absolutely unforgettable. To start off, we did not have a free moment to spare. Between field trips to Florence and Assisi and the final classes, it was insane. But finally on Saturday we left for the much-anticipated Verona trip where we stayed in a hotel and got to watch the opera Aida. After a little hiccup with our tickets, the gang and I finally made it to Verona and had an hour to get ready for the opera—a little hectic to say the least but we made it. My class and I walked around the city and we saw the Letters to Juliet wall. Unfortunately it was closed, but boy would I have loved to see it. I will come back! Then my professors and some of my classmates had a delicious dinner in the town square right next to the coliseum where the opera was to be performed.

            

            Ok, so we knew there was a chance of rain, but I like to take chances. None of us had rain jackets. We got to our seats (a little late I might add) and then oh did it pour. The opera was delayed an hour and didn’t start till about 10pm. The opening was grand, and to see how important the opera was to Italian culture was so stinkin’ cool!

My favorite part was that during the intermissions, a girl with a huge gong would come out to indicate how much time was left for people to come back to their seats. The first time would be to indicate ten minutes left, and the second to indicate five minutes. Oh how I would love that job. Can you imagine anything better than living in Italy and getting paid to be front and center and bang a huge gong? That is my dream job. Although my education might semi-go to waste…that job is ideal.

The opera ended at about 2am which made for a super late night considering a group of eight of us were waking up at 4:30 for an early train to the Dolomites. But oh, was the early morning worth it. The view even from the bus there to our quaint hotel was unbelievable. Not gonna lie, I teared up when I saw the huge mountains and the spectacular snow at the very tops of them. The peaks were kissing the clouds, and I have never seen anything so grand. There is something about seeing something so big and feeling so small that is just an indescribable and unique feeling. After getting to our hotel (one of the best I have stayed in this entire trip) and a little sprinkle, we ventured out on a trail that lead to the most spectacular view of the valley down below and the enormous mountains in front of me. Being from Texas (and College Station especially), seeing something that green is rare and is not taken lightly. The view was incredible.

After a relaxing night watching the Holland vs. Mexico game in a little restaurant and having an incredible three-course dinner, I woke up with the expectation that today would be the day I get to check paragliding off of my bucket list. Unfortunately, after getting all the way up to the mountain, we learned that it was too windy to paraglide, but it left us with most glorious view of the mountains—I’m talking unreal. All you can do when you see something like that is stand there with your jaw dropped…and then obviously take a lot of pictures.

This was my view from the top of the mountain. No filters added I swear. 

To say the Dolomites was the most incredible weekend trip to end on is an understatement. Not one city has been similar to another. Not one day has been a copy of the other. Not one memory resembles another. These past six weeks have been the most rewarding of my life. Italy, you will be missed—but since I threw a coin into the drained and fenced in Trevi Fountain, I will be back. Cin Cin! 

                                                                                                               - Piper W. 

                                                                                                         

"High in the Dolomites"

KP: Our last weekend in Italy was wrapped up in perfection. Never have I ever seen mountains so green and lush and snow capped with a backdrop of the most beautiful blue sky and its patchy clouds scattered throughout it. Myself and seven others from our class headed to Canazei in the Dolomites for one night this past weekend. The town of Canazei is a small ski resort type of town, consisting of the most adorable family owned hotels in the valley of a fantasy land. The window sills of every building are full of potted flowers and the sidewalks are lined with planters of colorful blooming flowers. In order to get there we took an hour and a half bus through the winding streets along the sides of the mountains.We passed rivers, lakes, ski lifts, and quaint little towns; the views never ceased to keep me awake and observant no matter the lack of sleep I had gotten the night before. As soon as we arrived in Canazei we checked into the most friendly and adorable hotel and then headed out to explore the town. It was raining, but there was nothing that could keep us from climbing the mountains as the clouds rolled over them. On the mountain side we found a pasture consumed by horses, chickens, and goats and didn't hesitate to feed and pet them. They were the most beautiful horses and the backdrop only helped the incredible pictures that we captured. We continued on and hiked through the blanket of fog with our footsteps breaking the silence of the forest. It really felt as if you were in a fantasy land. The ground was covered in luscious greenery and vibrant moss, making the view that much more picture perfect. We spent the next morning at the top of a freezing mountain with the view of the valley we spent the night in, fields of wildflowers, snow-capped mountain peaks, and a gigantic blue sky. The weekend was a fairy tale.

The Boboli Gardens (or The Medici Family Strikes Again)

The Boboli Gardens in Firenze are an exquisite site to behold.  They are located behind the Pitti Palace, which served as the main seat of the Medici grand dukes of Tuscany at Florence.  The Boboli Gardens were created in the 16^th century at the orders of Cosimo I de’ Medici for his wife, Eleonora di Toledo.  The Medici family have quite a few sights stamped with their name, but in my opinion, this is one of their neatest.  We walked through their seemingly-never-ending mazes for over an hour and hardly scratched their surface.

I found this row of animal head-shaped carvings particularly interesting.  Originally they were fountains used to attract birds to the area next to it.  The area next to it, a ragnaia, had nets in which the birds would get trapped, where they would then become hunting game for the Medici family and their guests.

 The grottos throughout the gardens were absolutely beautiful.  This large one I enjoyed particularly.  Rock formations from the walls and portray scenes of farm animals, people tending to their animals, and landscapes, creating gray, rocky scenes that look as if from a dream.  In a room adjoining the first room of the grotto, a cylindrical-shaped wall surrounds a statue of a woman in a shy pose.  Softly-painted frescoes adorn her surrounding walls and depict trees, with a ceiling housing woodland creatures.

 Fun fact: In English, we derive the word "grotesque" from “grotto.”

-Macy Hicks

The Real Deal: Gelato Exposed

"You can't buy joy, you CAN buy gelato!" ~ Unknown

Gelato, a staple of the Italian culture, is an everyday indulgence for the students studying abroad in our program as well as tourists from around the world. Gelato shops are everywhere you turn in Italy, making the choices seem endless. However, what many people don't realize is that a lot of the gelato out there, up to 80 percent in Rome, is fake! You know it when you see it. If it LOOKS too good to be true, it probably is. This impostor gelato is a trap for tourists who are drawn in by the brightly colored, fluffed up, fruit-garnished mounds in the window. The task might seem daunting, but a few helpful tricks can help you to spot genuine, homemade, all-natural gelato and avoid the counterfeits.

Real or fake? You be the judge!

1. Observe the color

Neon colored gelato is not natural. In general, look for light, muted colors. Red flag flavors include Mint, Banana and Pistachio. Pistachio should have an earthy-green tone, Mint should be white, and Banana should be a light crème color. 

2. Evaluate the Shape

If gelato is presented in heaping mounds then it is fake. This fake gelato is puffed up with air and holds it's shape thanks to chemical additives. One of the best qualities of "real" gelato is the thickness. It is made using a slow churning process that results in less air content than it's counterpart, ice-cream, which is whipped. Real gelato should lay flat in the container.

Triple scoop: Coffee, Mint, and Dark Chocolate

3. Consider the seasonality of fruits 

To be sure that you are getting the best product possible, take a close look at the gelato shop's selection of fruit flavors. Different fruits are in season during different times of the year. You do not have to have a background in Horticulture to observe what is sold in supermarkets during different times of the year. If you cannot find a locally grown product on the store shelf, then the gelato maker cannot either. If fruit flavors are available out of season, they are either fake mixes or made from fruit that was shipped from halfway around the globe. 

4. Spot the ingredients list

Roman law mandates that gelato shops post an ingredient list in their stores. The ingredients labeled E140 and E141 are natural additives, but other coded additives beginning with E and followed by a number are artificial. Even if you are not in Rome, check for a posted list or ask to see one. It is a red flag if one is unavailable or hidden.

Vanilla and Chocolate already starting to melt!

In addition to finding the "real deal," it is important to know what to order. In Rome the gelato shops are required to give the customer two flavors if they ask, no matter what size. Your flavor combination can actually be denied, however, if the flavors do not pair well.

Do not let dietary concerns prevent you from enjoying a cone every week, everyday, or even after every meal! Gelato is actually a much healthier alternative to ice cream. Gelato has two to three  times fewer the fat content of ice cream because it is made from milk instead of crème. It only contains a minimum of two to three percent butterfat compared to the ten percent that is found in ice cream. 

I recommend trying many flavors and combinations until you know what you like the best. My top choices are coffee/dark chocolate, mint/chocolate, and lemon/frutti di bosco (mixed berry). Some flavors are stronger than others and should be paired with a more subtle flavor for balance.

Frutti di Bosco is delicious at the "100% Gelato" shop in Castiglion Fiorentino!

"Real" gelato is diet friendly, delicious, and an entirely Italian cultural tradition. Absolutely do not miss out on the flavor experience of gelato next time you find yourself in Italy! 

Ciao for the last time from Italia!

-Jules

Family Time in Cortona

Emily K: This afternoon, Abby, Meredith, Aly, Jen, and I went to visit Abby’s family at the villa they are renting in Cortona. We laid out by the pool for a while just enjoying the sunshine, the gorgeous mountainous view, and each other’s company. After we freshened up we wandered into town and ate at a cute little restaurant called Bottega Baracchi. The food was amazing, as well as the wine! We just got a bottle of the white table wine, but it was delicious as pretty much all table wines are here in Tuscany. For dinner I ordered the pesto penne pasta, and it was one of the best meals I’ve had thus far. All the fresh ingredients used in dishes here have spoiled us! The pesto sauce used tonight was surely made from basil grown in Italy, and I’m sure the olive oil and other ingredients, such as the tomatoes, were made or grown here as well! To top off a perfect dinner, we were right on the edge of Cortona, and were able to enjoy the view overlooking the large balcony the entire night. It was an absolutely wonderful evening spent with great friends and a sweet family! It was definitely a much-needed excursion. 

Gardens and Opera

AA: This past Friday we went to Florence for the last time and visited two different Medici gardens. The were able to meet up with a man who is perusing his doctorate degree in horticulture. He showed us around a few of the main areas of the gardens and pointed out different plants that are very applicable to our lives! One of the first places we walked around was a small garden filled with real jasmine, lavender and different kinds of herbs. We then went up into another section of the gardens to see the pond where water once flowed from and irrigated the rest of the gardens. The view from up there overlooked a large portion of Florence and it was beautiful! We came back down and spent a lot of time looking at the citrus plants. The terra-cotta pots that the plants were in where the biggest pots I've never seen! Apparently, they weigh over a ton!   We were able to spot  a mutation of one of the plants that produced a fruit that was a mix of lemon and orange, the slices alternating throughout the fruit! It would have been so interesting to open it up and see the inside of it!

 Afterwards we walked over to a smaller palace that belonged to the Medici family and got to see more Italian style gardens that had for the most part stayed as close to the original design as possible! We were able to go inside the palace and take part in a short tour which I thought was really fascinating! They had most of the original furniture still in tact and still in the same location as it has always been! Each room had a different feel/theme based on who spent the most time there. We also were able to see a statue of Venus that was supposedly really rare to see being that she traveled all overt the world and was seldom in her rightful place at home.

From there we wrapped up the tour pretty quick because it was well past lunchtime and everyone was fading pretty quick, but our wonderful host didn't forget to tell us about internships that are available! I just might have to do a little more research on that!

After we got back from Florence we ventured onto Verona were we were able to try spritz, get rained on, see the opera Aida, take cool pics with the Juliet statue at her house and get a nice morning jog in all before we left to go to Venice! We had almost a whole 24 hrs in Venice to ride a water taxi, spend a few hours in Murano, have a nice dinner, see St. Mark's basilica and get utterly lost! But that's ok! I wouldn't have spent my last weekend in Italy doing anything else!

Veggie Tales

CRM - This past weekend, our last weekend in Castiglion Fiorentino, all of my friends went to the Dolomites. Instead, I ended up taking a 6 hour train by myself from Verona back home. Sounds boring, right?

Well, it wasn't. It was actually wonderful.

One of my favorite things about train travel across Italy is that you see so many different things. The terrain changes between every town it seems like. There is never a moment when I feel bored or unentertained. The entertainment is the scenery all around me!

When I got back to Castig, one of my local friends was waiting for me with his vespa. He ended uo driving me through Tuscany, which was a completely different (and better, in my opinion) experience than traveling by train. We rode all the way up to the very top of one of the hills, and up there was a big park. I felt like I was about to go camping or something, because a bunch of Italian families were up there picnicking and playing. It seemed like the kind of park my family would've pitched a tent in back home.

Valentino's family was there too, celebrating his father's birthday. It was such a neat experience geting to celebrate with a local Italian family. We sang happy birthday in Italian and immediately after my arrival, his aunts and uncles shoved all kinds of Italian food in my face to try. It. Was. Awesome.

One of my favorite things that I tried was a type of pickled green tomato that they ate as a side salad. It was so yummy! I love tomatoes. I liked them back in America but being here in Italy, my affection has grown and grown. The produce here is always so fresh and delicious. I'm going to miss all of the assorted fruits and vegetables that they have here!

A Perfect Weekend

CRM - The weekend before last, my friends and I took a trip to Cinque Terre. It is the place I ‘ve been looking forward to seeing the most and let me tell you, I was NOT disappointed. Cinque Terre is absolutely, stunningly beautiful!

Before we made it to the coast, we woke up early on Friday and took a train to Pisa. The only real reason why we wanted to go there was to take a picture with the leaning tower. I was surprised to see that the rest of the city seemed to be pretty dead. They had a ton of shops and tourist-y things to do but not enough people there to do them. It was so strange! Either way, I enjoyed getting to take a picture with the tower. I mostly just laughed at how funny other people looked while trying to pose with the tower. It was pretty hilarious to see all the poses. 

After Pisa, we had another two-hour train ride to our stop in Cinque Terre. Once we started to see the ocean from the windows of the train, everyone started getting especially restless. We were ready to be swimming and laying out in the sunshine! The water was the bluest water I’ve seen in Italy yet. It was gorgeous. All the colors were bright actually, from the water to the smallest flower on the sidewalk. I felt like I was inside a rainbow.

We got to our hotel – it was actually more like one huge beach apartment – and immediately put our bathing suits on and headed to the beach. We spent the rest of our day lying by the ocean and catching the last bit of rays before the sun went down.

The next day was our first full day in Cinque Terre. My friends and I woke up early again and went on a hike through the towns. The hike was one of my favorite things that we’ve done so far on this trip. It was really hard at times because we’d walk uphill for what seemed like forever but even so, the hike was completely worth it. The views were amazing. I had no idea we had walked so far up until I got the chance to look down. The boats and houses along the ocean kept getting smaller and smaller. We could see everything! 

During our hike, we saw lots of plants. I remember seeing a ton of lemon trees terraced into the side of the mountain. Cherry trees were popular as well. I was so amazed at how the farmers would be farming literally on the side of a mountain! There were flowers everywhere, all different kinds, but some that I recognized as characteristic of Italy, like poppies, for example. I wished that Dr. Leo or my friend Keith were with us so that they could explain more about the plants we passed, like they did in the Roman botanical gardens.

Once we hiked to Monterosso, we ended up buying a beach chair and a strawberry daiquiri and laying out for about three or four hours. It was a perfect day, and a perfect weekend!

Garden Party

CRM - This past week, our class took a field trip to Rome. It was so fun! Our time there was jam packed with things to do and places to see, and I loved every second of it.

One of my favorite places that we visited was the Vatican garden. I had been to the Vatican many years before, but I don’t remember ever touring the garden. I think I would have remembered such beautiful landscaping and plants! I wish we had more places like that in Texas.

Every color in the Vatican garden was so bright. I wanted to take pictures of everything I saw. My favorite feature of the garden was a crest that they had made out of different colors of flowers. It was so intricate and perfect and I still have no idea how they can shape plants to form something like that.

My other favorite feature was the rose garden. I wish we could have gotten to walk through it in the evening because it was scorching hot in the afternoon. But the rose garden had a big fountain in the middle of it and the water was ice cold. I took off my shoes and stuck my feet in the fountain, as well as washed my face with its brisk water. Instantly, I was comforted and refreshed. 

The Vatican garden wasn’t the only garden we visited in Rome. It wasn’t mandatory, but Dr. Leo took me and a few of my classmates to some botanical gardens during our free time one day.  I LOVED THE BOTANICAL GARDENS. Because I went with many horticulture majors, it was so fun to be able to walk around and them point out different things about different plants. I learned lots of fun facts that I had never even heard of before! For example, my friend Keith taught me that there was a certain cactus that you could break open and use the fibers inside as string if you ever needed to stitch something up. Also, there was another cactus that produced bright purple fruit that you can eat. Keith picked it off, carved off its outer layer of skin, and I was amazed to see something that looked kind of like the inside of a plum. It tasted like a plum too! I really enjoyed getting to learn a lot of new things there about horticulture.