Buon Appetito

I am taking a cooking class and it is absolutely my favorite class EVER!!! It is so fun and we make a delicious four course meal every time. We have class once a week, which is probably a good thing because I eat SO much food!

Spinach ravioli made from scratch

Tiramisu... we made it with orzo instead of coffee and it was so good

I wasn't a very good cook before but I have a feeling that I will be pro by the time I come back!

Off to Florence

Our first day trip after getting settled in Siena was to Florence.  I think that it might be my favorite city thus far! (not including the coast)  It is so beautiful!  We went to the famous Duomo and climbed to the top of the bell tower where there was the most incredible view!  

Another advantage of Florence.... TONS of cheap markets!  (Thats why it's my mom's favorite)  We are going back two more times as a group and I can't wait to get a lot of cheap stuff! 

Half way up the Bell tower

At the top, over looking the whole city 

So Happy to be there 

We took a break going down the forever long staircase and took pictures in these tiny window holes  

view of the tower from the bottom 

awesome souvenirs 

Walking around the market 

Home sweet home

I am now living in the amazing city of Siena!! I absolutely love it here.  I still can't believe that I'm actually living in such a beautiful place.  McKelle (my roommate) and I live in a cute little house with a 35 year old woman named Manjola and another Italian student named Barbara... she is 17 years old and going to high school here.  Manjola is so cute and is an amazing cook.  McKelle and I feel like we got very lucky with the whole host family situation, I couldn't have asked for anything better!  Here are some pictures of our first day.  I don't have any of Barbara or Manjola yet but I'll put some up later.  

Right after we got off the bus in Siena

Saying goodbye to the group (it really wasn't that bad... we still see them everyday) 

This is our cute room.  McKelle and I have since pushed our beds together and thrown all of our stuff everywhere ... it doesn't look as clean anymore

Our window with cute green shutters that over looks the street 

Piazza del Campo... the main square in the city 

Seriously the BIGGEST piece of pizza I have seen and yes, I did eat the whole thing by myself 

The bell tower in the Campo 

There was some kind of parade when we were there.  We didn't really know what was going on but there were a lot of men in tights walking around waving flags... it was awesome 

My first gelato in Siena... sooooo good! 

I still can't believe I'm here!! 

McKelle's Blog

I added a link to my roommate McKelle's blog.  We are always together and doing the same things so check hers out too... just click on the link on the right side bar.  

Back to the coast!

The next place we visited was a small city on the coast called Minori.  I was so happy to be back on the coast!  It is seriously the most beautiful place I have ever been.  We were there for two days and spent most of our time hanging out at the beach.  It was so nice to relax after our hectic weekend in Rome. 

photo cred to McKelle

Dancing on the pier

The duomo in Amalfi 

Titanic pose... on the ferri going to Amalfi (a neighboring city of Minori) 

We met these cute girls while jumping off of the pier.  They asked us to play a game with them so we learned all of their names and had fun practicing our Italian 

We ran into them while walking around at night

The pier that we jumped off of 

We're not even really sure what this means but we think its funny 

I LOVE  the coast of Italy!!! but our next stop is SIENA... I can't wait to see my new home! 

Herculaneum and Pompeii

On our way out to the coast we stopped and spent the day in Herculaneum and Pompeii.  These two cities were covered by pyroclastic material when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.  The ruins were really interesting and it was amazing to see how much of the city they have been able to restore.   My parents visited Popeii a couple of years ago so I couldn't wait to see it for myself. 

Being statues.. 

It was SO hot and we were SO thirsty

Mt. Vesuvius

taken by McKelle

meditating on the ruins

This is a mold of an actual person that was killed during the eruption... it was really fascinating but sad at the same time 

I love Pompeii

We had some extra time so we had fun taking pictures with McKelle umbrella 

Walking in the streets

It was a very HOT day but really fun and I learned a ton!