Ciao a tutti!

Hey everyone,

So it's come to my attention that I've been slacking in my blogging. I hope I haven't lost everyone's interest! I do, however, have a couple pretty good excuses. I also plan to make amends by adding some sweet pictures to this post. Be prepared for a marathon! (Skimming is totally appropriate)

First off, let me state for the record that I made it through the earthquake safely. I am extremely sorry for not posting right after -- we didn't realize here in Italy how much international news the event was or even the extent of the disaster for a long time. Here in the pensione it's very difficult to get access to the news because we only have one tv and it's technically not for students to watch (though I sometimes watch X-factor, an American Idol-like show, with Marco, my friend who runs the front desk at night). In any case, we are totally safe. I'm told a couple people felt the quake, but I slept right through it (it was at 3.30am). The crazy thing though is that we were in Rome the day before it hit, where it was felt immensely but no real danger occurred. It has really been a horrible tragedy though. Several mountain towns are completely decimated, the number of homeless is somewhere near 28,000 and the death toll is over 200. So awful. We really are blessed to have not been there.

Being in Rome, however, was really wonderful! We had a whirlwind two day mini-vacation for our one-year anniversary of when we began dating. We hopped a train early last Friday morning, found our hotel, and spent the rest of the day wandering all over everywhere. It was a gorgeous day, and I would bet we walked over five miles just seeing and enjoying the sun. We got to explore the fortress we missed out on last time and ate dinner outside in the beautiful Campo de Fiori (flower market) piazza.

That night was quite the adventure, though not our normal exciting kind. We were awoken very, very early in the morning to persistent knocking on our door. I got out of bed and finally answered, and a woman had mistaken our room for someone else's and hadn't gotten the picture that it was the wrong one after over five minutes of knocking. After that the loud noises of the breakfast room next door kept us up, so there wasn't much sleeping. Very frustrating. The next day we ended up heading back early after another six miles or so of walking across town, as we were exhausted and the weather was getting bad. All in all, it was a really great trip though. Rob and I both agree that Rome is our favorite European city so far :)

Rob enjoys videotaping Rome a little too much :)

Monument to Italian Independence. The Italians call it "The Wedding Cake." They hate anything that is 'fake,' or in older style but built in the last 100 years.

The Spanish Steps were PACKED while we were there.

Twin Smart Cars! I wish I could parallel park this way.

Statue in front of the justice department.

French couples eating on the terrace of the fortress overlooking St. Peter's.

On top of the fortress with St. Peter's behind us.

It's finally spring!

Last week was a very hectic one for school. I had to give a presentation, write a paper, and submit a video audition online for a play back home all for Monday, and then for the rest of the week I tried desperately to fight off a cold that, unfortunately, attacked me in full force anyway. This weekend Rob and I had planned to go to the Amalfi coast, but the weather forecast was bad and the travel group we'd planned to go with was all booked up, and doing it all on our own was lots of work and pretty expensive, so we ended up staying in Florence. Though at first we were both bummed, it ended up being a really good decision.

Thursday we hung out at home, watched movies, and slept (finally! much needed.) Friday we took it easy, went to have some breakfast out by the Duomo and got completely ripped off (bad food, bad service, expensive place), and then took the bus up to Fiesole. Getting out of town was a much needed break. The weather was GORGEOUS, and we found a really lovely park with views overlooking Florence. We read some Harry Potter (in Italian) and even got to see a wild lizard! Quite exciting. On our way home, the bus was a bit more crowded. Five minutes or so into our ride, a woman near me gestured that I should watch my bag and pointed at Rob. I assumed she meant he should watch his bag as well, but apparently she thought he was trying to pickpocket me! So funny. Rob definitely looks like a sketch character though, you know, since he can't grow any facial hair and seldom looks over the age of 16.

That evening we headed to Sra. Russo's (our Italian teacher) for some Italian conversation and typical light dinner. It was lovely. Over wine, cheese, meat, and bruschetta we talked about our lives and Italia and the study abroad program. Really nice. Unfortunately it started pouring just before we left, so we ran to the bus stop and waited about ten minutes, only to realize that the last bus to take us home had already passed. The other women at the stop said the next bus coming through would take us closer than walking though, so we hopped on that one. Unfortunately, it got halfway and decided it was done (yes, they can do this in Italy. GR), leaving us further from home than before. So we walked a half hour home in the pouring rain. Not great for either one of our colds, although kind of fun, since it wasn't too cold out.

Saturday...oh, gosh, what did we do Saturday? Homework and movies, I think. Saturday was both of our sickest days. Blech. I think we got out mid-day and did a little shopping at the market, but that was about it.

Sunday we attempted to go see the exploding cart (an Easter tradition in Florence), but we had the wrong time and missed it by half an hour, so instead we went on a three hour journey through new parts of Florence. It was really, really nice! We were still pretty sick, so we stopped every thirty seconds or basically every time we found a new piazza or bench. We got to play with people's dogs, hear a part of a church service sitting out on the steps, and generally just enjoy the sun. It was really wonderful :)

Monday was another homework day. I got out and did some shopping on my own, and did lots of post-grad research, since it's something I've been thinking a lot about recently. By Monday night, everyone was home from Easter break and it was time to get back to work.

Tuesday was one of the most fun days I've had since coming to Florence. I had classes in the morning, and then after lunch I headed down to a building down by the Arno, where my voice teacher's ex-husband lives on the fifth floor. He was my accompanist for this semester and we had a concert that night, so I went to his apartment to practice. We played and chatted about life for about two hours, which was very fun and very relaxing, and then I headed back to school to get ready for the concert. A bunch of students and professors came, which was really lovely, and everyone was really supportive. I sang a Handel piece, a piece from a Schubert opera that I did with my Music History professor, who was the solo clarinet player in the Teatro Comunale orchestra for twenty years, and then did two arias from La Boheme. In particular, Mi Chiamono Mimi went wonderfully, and everyone erupted in cheers after. It was the best feeling! I sure hate the anticipation before a performance, but I love the rush you get from doing it!

Anita is explaining our piece before we do it. That's the stage of La Scala, the Milanese Opera, projected in the background.

Yesterday was also quite a fun day. We had our year-end photo as well as a year-end barbeque. It was a wonderful break from Italian food, and everyone was in a great mood, so it was a really good time.

I'm doing my best to do everything this weekend I have left to do, but it's so hard to fit everything in! Tomorrow I'm going wine tasting with the girls in a Renaissance palazzo just outside of Fiesole (trivia fact: it's where the Pazzi family planned the conspiracy to overthrow the Medici, the ruling family of Florence during the 1400s!). We've got a big lunch planned as well, as we get to bring some wine home! (Oh, I can just see my bag getting heavier and heavier...) Saturday Rob and I have been invited to my music professor's house for lunch and a little bit of music. She's invited her friend over who is a music teacher here, and she's going to give me a few pointers. Then Sunday, we're headed to Cinque Terre to do the final hike between all five towns that we missed on Valentine's Day because of landslides. We'll make it home just in time for finals week, crazy packing, goodbye dinners, and our trip to Greece!

Oh wow, I can't wait. I'm at the point now though where every day is special and while I can't wait to get home, there's something awesome happening each day, so I don't want to hurry it up at all.

Speaking of awesome things, it's risotto day for lunch, so I better head out!