Lucca!

I'm a little behind on my blogging recently so I'm doing my best to catch all of you up and get back on track.  This past week was full of fun, busy days with the three of my roommates that were leaving on Friday.  They've been gone for a few days now and I feel like they took a piece of me and Florence with them. I miss them so much!

On Monday Amy, Jennifer, and I went to a town called Lucca that is a little over an hour train ride away from Florence. We were originally going to stop in Lucca to check the town out and then head to Pisa to see the tower and some live music that they do on Monday nights.  We ended up missing our train from Lucca to Pisa and just decided to spend the time in Lucca.

Cathedral in Lucca

Opera house

Lucca was a really pretty town that is enclosed by the same medieval walls from when it was built.  The town isn't very big but has a lot of flavor and good shopping.  It felt like a smaller version of Florence in a way, with a lot less tourists and more Italians however.  Everyone traveled by bike for the most part which was cool to see since there wasn't the hum of vespas zooming past on every street. Once we got into town, the three of us were pretty hungry so we went to find a bite to eat.  We found a cute little restaurant and all ordered their salmon gnocci... AMAZING! It was the first time I'd had salmon since I have been in Italy and it was to die for!

Salmon Gnocci 

After our late lunch we walked around the city and decided to rent some bikes. Something thats really great about the city is that you can rent bikes and ride around the city walls.  The trail was beautiful and you could easily see Lucca from up top.  There were tons of Italians out for an early evening jog and of course plenty of people riding bikes.  We rented a two seater bike and a regular bike that we all switched and took turns riding.  The two seater bike looked a lot more fun than it actually was because you couldn't really go faster than 2 miles an hour. But all in all it was a blast! We returned our bikes after touring the city and of course got gelato before making our way back to Florence. Perfect little Monday with the girls!

Amy and Jennifer on the two seater

Moi riding my little bike

Yummy cannolini with pistachio gelato!

Ciao Ciao!!

Xoxoxo Ash

Pesto, presto!!

Today was the first day of my Mediterranean diet cooking class.  So in theme of the day I decided to make a little homemade pizza.  I went to a few little markets in Florence to get my yummy ingredients.  Today in class, my professor took us to the main market in Piazza San Lorenzo that has fresh fruits, veggies, meat and pretty much everything you could ever want to eat.  And the best part is that most of it (fruits and veggies) were picked and delivered that morning, free of pesticides and all! Sad how our food back home contains everything but the basic natural nutrients. At the market we sampled olive oil and balsamic.  Different grades and ages which were all SO delicious.  I sampled a 3ml bottle of balsamic that was $300! It was worth every penny going down. Yum, yum! Below is a pic of my homemade lunch made of fresh pesto, mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes all on top of bread specific to the Tuscan region. Buon Appetito! :)

Older than Florence... Fiesole (Fi-EH-zo-le)!

A week or so ago I made the trek over to a little town outside of Florence called Fiesole. The town itself was founded in 6th century BC, making it older than Florence. In the city there are ancient ruins from the Etruscan period, which I had learned about in my art history class. Since I've been in Italy, I have made it my personal goal to try anything and everything and to try to see anything and everything.  Fiesole is a town that is free of tourism for the most part and is just a short 20 minute bus ride from Florence.  My professor had told me about a charity event that was going to take place in the town so I saw this as my chance to go check things out.

Clock tower in the main piazza

One of my roommates, Caroline, has a similar outlook on trying to see everything, so her and I along with our friend Adam went to check the town out.  We decided to pick up a few items to snack on once we got there because we knew that the city had an amazing view over all of Florence.  Once we got some cheese, salami and bread, we were well on our way!  The town was very quaint and had a lot of local flavor and charm.  It was nice to have a break from the city and spend some time around Italians in their normal setting.  We climbed the hill to reach the lookout and once we were up there we spent a few hours just talking and enjoying the scenery. It was very beautiful and relaxing!

Our picnic snack overlooking Florence!

Me, Caroline and Adam!

The charity event wasn't going to start until 10pm and cost 15 euro so Adam and Caroline decided to hoof it back to Florence. I wanted to stay because the event was actually Egyptian belly dancing and the proceeds benefited disabled people from another town on the outskirts of Florence.  The event was held at the Etruscan outdoor theatre built in 80 BC.  It's amazing that its still standing and used today for different events.  Because I am a dancer, I could appreciate the art of Egyptian belly dancing although the movements are isolated in just the hip area. I prefer dance that includes every part of the body.  All of the people around me were Italian and mostly elderly but I was loving every second of it.  There was a narrator in the beginning of the show, speaking in just Italian of course, but the screen on the stage had an English translation so I could follow the plot. It was definitely a cultural experience! Fantastico! :)

Etruscan theatre

Solo of the Egyptian queen

Group shot! 

(Not the best pics but the best I could get at night!)

Ciao Ciao!! 

xoxox Ash

Amalfi, I love you!

This past weekend was one of my favorites so far within my travels of Italy.  I know that after I come home from a weekend trip, I tend to blog about my "new favorite part of the country" but this time I'm being so honest (even though I haven't been lying in the past, promise)! The roommates and I decided to head down South to the Amalfi Coast.  We decided to book our trip through a student travel group better known as Bus2alps.  Before coming to Italy, I had already heard so much about this company and how amazing it is from a few of my friends that studied abroad in the past.  The trip was 4 days with a tour of Capri, Positano and Pompeii, while lodging in Sorrento. I didn't really know what I was getting myself into but had heard nothing but good things about the Amalfi coast so I was really excited to see what all the hum was about.

The entire Bus2alps group!

Day One:
We left Florence at 7:30pm on Thursday night in order to get to Sorrento by early Friday morning.  The bus ended up taking a total of 7 hours for us to get there which was rather long, but the crew had plenty of movies for us to watch and an amazing air conditioning system to keep us comfortable. I slept for almost the entire trip which was nice and snuggled into my bed at the hostel as soon as we got there. When people typically think of hostels, I feel like they imagine a dirty run-down place with lots of smelly Europeans.  This place was exactly the opposite! It was more like a 3 star hotel that just happened to have what they call dorm rooms and is known on a website called Famous Hostels. The girls and I shared a room with a few other girls that were on the trip and it was perfect.  The hostel had a roof top patio with two bars that looked over the city of Sorrento and you could see the water. It was great!

Day Two:
The day began a little too early for my liking considering the weird sleep schedule from the night before but as soon as I had a coffee in me, I was ready for whatever the Amalfi had to offer. After waking up at 6:30 we made our way to the water to catch a ferry over to Capri.  Being on a boat is one of the best experiences I think.  No one is really unhappy when they are on a boat, which is just lovely! :)  Once in Capri, we got on another boat that took us around for a tour of the coast line.  There we saw the Blue Grotto which is one of the 7 wonders of the world.  It was unlike anything I have ever seen before.  Amy, Jennifer, Kim and I got into a little row boat and headed into the Blue Grotto. The guide told us to lay down in the boat so we wouldn't hit our heads... we all just looked at each other with somewhat frightened and excited faces at the same time and did what we were told. The inside of the cave was illuminated by an electric blue reflection of the natural light on the white sand. It was unbelievable! Im so happy that I could catch the essence of it with my camera! At first I thought that the light was an electrical light, similar to a hot tub light haha but I was glad to be wrong!

The view from Anacapri... aka the top!!

Inside the Blue Grotto... one of the 7 wonders of the world 

My favorite girls! :)

After seeing the Blue Grotto, we saw the Green, White and Coral Grottos'.  Each one having a little something different to offer.  The White Grotto was one of my favorites with really interesting geological striations.  It was a trip down memory lane to my class of "rocks for jocks" aka Geology 101. Haha but I really appreciated the beauty of it! The Coral Grotto was interesting because right below the water line there was orange coral that was poisonous to human touch.  If you tried to touch it, it would burn your skin.  Bizarre. From there we saw more of the coast line with villas belonging to Sophia Loren, Giorgio Armani and Mussolini's Castle now belonging to the Gerber family.  The coast line resembled the land of prehistoric times and was so peaceful. After getting off the boat we cruised around the town for lunch and through the shops to buy some handmade leather sandals.  I bought a pair of black sandals and got a picture with the cute little man that made them for me! From there we spent a few hours on the beach catching some rays.  

The White Grotto

Lovers Rock-  You're supposed to kiss your lover as you go under it with hopes of returning! :)

Sophia Loren's Villa built into the cliffs

Little green man that is meant to say good-bye to boaters and hope for their return! Kinda looks like he's fist pumping tho ;)

Me with the man who made my sandals! :)

Day Three:
Saturday morning, they were a little nicer to us about the wake up time being at 9am and we left soon after for Positano.  Its a beautiful town on the coast similar to Capri.  Whats fascinating about the towns near the Southern coast of Italy and lining the mediterranean, they tend to resemble Greece more so than what I have seen so far in Italy.  I already mentioned in an earlier blog that something that I love about Italy is that each place has a different flavor and something that makes it so special in its own way.   We spent the whole day basking in the hot Italian sunshine and playing in the water.  Catching a boat halfway through the day, we traveled over to some cliffs where we got to cliff jump and swim in some caves. Im normally not a fish when it comes to being by the water but I absolutely LOVE swimming here. The water is so blue and the salt feels good against my skin... You can also float so much easier in salt water which is kinda fun too! I read my new favorite book by an Italian author on the beach as I perfected my tan. I could have stayed in Positano for forever.

Beautiful Positano!

Jumpin' in to go cliff jump! :D

Giving my toesies a nice little dip! :)

Me, our new friend Angela, and Kim playing in the water

Day Four:
Before heading back to Florence, we stopped in Pompeii to see the ancient ruins of the city.  I had learned about Pompeii in school a long time ago but had forgotten a lot of the details.  I love going around on the tours in Italy and learning all of the history that they have here. Pompeii was founded in the 7th and 8th centuries BC and most of the city is still there.  When the Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, 10,000 kilotons of ash hit the stratosphere before spreading over the city killing people immediately.  Once being discovered in the 1700's, archeologists dug up the town and discovered bodies, ceramic pots among many other things. We got to see a tour of the ruins with the guide showing us the different rooms and what they were for.  One of them being a spa, another being a gym, steam room, bakery and a brothel with ancient pornographic paintings. It was so fascinating to know that people have been living the same way since the beginning of time and all these things that we do on a daily basis today is just an innate part of being human.  I loved it!

Mt. Vesuvius

Pots and a plastur cast encasing the bones of a Pompeiian person

Our tour guide informing us of the ancient Pompeiian musical amphitheater

Roommates- Caroline, Amy, Me, Jennifer, Kim and our friend Angela :)

After Pompeii it was home again to beautiful Florence, which is feeling more and more like home. Every time we leave, it feels better to be back.  I love living here and feel like its now a part of me.  One of my favorite sayings in Italian since I was 16 is "la vita é bella" meaning "life is beautiful" and now more than ever, I can agree with that statement.

XOXOX. Ash

Ombré (no) you didn't!

Before I left for Italy I was absolutely in LOVE with the new ombré hair trend that had been flooding the celebrity scene.  I thought about running into Gene Juarez or Seven salon as soon as I could but was hesitant to touch my sacred virgin hair.  Well today I got a wild hair and thought "What the hell?! You only live once and have a summer in Italy once, so why not get your hair done in Italy too!" So after class my roommate Amy and I went to a salon down the street from our apartment that she had researched online.  From the reviews, it seemed to be a pretty legit little place.  I needed a hair cut extremely bad as well so I originally went in for that. Amy wanted to get her hair highlighted, which she did.  I was nervous about how it would turn out but am totally in love with it.  It was way cheaper than it would have been at home and is the perfect subtle amount to add a little kiss of sun to my brunette trestles.  And just in time for a weekend of fun in the sun down on the Amalfi coast! Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri, here we come!!

My inspiration... so sassy! :)

Before... sad, wavey, unloved hair today

During... scary! 

and After!! Subtle but I love it. 

I think before I come back to the States I might go a little more blonde. We'll just have to wait and see!

Stories on the Amalfi Coast to come! 

XOXOX. Ciao!

Back in the saddle again!

So I apologize for being so lazy about my blogging recently... I know I said that I was going to try and be better about posting but the truth is that its somewhat time consuming and there is just too much to see around me to sit inside on the internet. So thats good news, right!? :)

To recap this last weekend, it was one full of lots of fun but a little less traveling then the past.  The roomjobs and I were initially planning on going to Siena for Il Palio but decided against it since most of the trip would be consumed with standing in a crowded piazza unable to leave to eat or use the bathroom. Most of the time as in 9 hours in the sweltering heat of Tuscany, in the beginning of July.

BUT... what we did do was spend the weekend having fun in Florence and the Chianti region of Tuscany.  Saturday I spent the day working on a little bit of homework which would usually bother me but homework in Florence is more fun than work.  I had to visit the Baptistery in the city center near the Duomo to answer a few questions for my Art History class that I am currently taking. I've been meaning to blog and inform all of you about this sessions class but am waiting till I have some stellar pictures to accompany my writing, since thats the most exciting part anywho.

Inside the Baptistery 

The Baptistery, like many ancient structures in Italy is beyond beautiful and I find it hard to explain that in words. What I love the most about this class is that I'm learning so much and get to see all of it.  The ceiling of the Baptistery is covered in a mosaic describing the last judgement of Jesus christ along with the choir of angels, stories from the book of genesis, stories of Joseph, stories of Mary and Christ, and stories of St. John the Baptist.  I spent about an hour inside soaking up my surroundings like a sponge and thinking a lot.  I tend to think a lot all of the time but being in such a peaceful beautiful place made my thoughts louder in my mind.  I love being able to be more knowledgable about Florence while I'm here. It makes me feel like I'm more apart of the city rather then just simply living in a beautiful, historical place with lots of fun secrets and facts.

Sunday, the girls and I went on a tour through the Chianti region.  But this wasn't any tour, it was by horseback! It began with a two hour ride through the vineyards in Tuscany learning about the grapes and the wine that is so popular of the region.  The wine was red and white table wine in part of the region we went through and the guide told us about when the grapes were best to harvest.  The timing just so happened to be around my birthday in the beginning of October.  Good things come from that time of the year! ;)

Riding behind our guide... he said my horse was the body guard :)

Chapel within Monteriggioni

Once we got done with the horseback ride we went to an ancient castle in Monteriggioni, which is a midieval city enclosed by a 10 meter tall wall with 15 watch towers.  The original city is within the original wall of the town.  Just like many cities in that time period, it was built on top of a hill so when an enemy approached, they could be seen.  Within the city was the chapel and castle that still belong to the Florentine family that conquered the city from Siena in 1554.  We had lunch at a restaurant near the castle consisting of bread, apertivo of prochutto and cheese, followed by gnocci with meat and red sauce and fresh spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce. Of course the meal came with 4 bottles of wine and did good things to the 6 of us and the tour guide. After the main dishes we were served panna cotta which has been my personal favorite dessert- besides gelato of course! 

Signature label of the Winery...  On the shield is the fleur di les to symbolize Florence 

We all thought that the fun stopped here and thats when Peter, our guide, chimed in... "Are you all ready for wine tasting?!"  We all looked at each other with somewhat glassy eyes from the previous four bottles and said "Of course!" So over to the castle we went and down into the wine room where we tasted a white, rosé, and two reds.  The wine was delicious and from the vineyard right next to where we were.  They had a special on purchasing three bottles, so most of us decided to grab some to bring back to the states with us.  I decided to get one of each including the white, the lower grade red (if you can call it "low grade"), the reserve label and one of the nicest bottles that they had.  It was the most expensive but was barreled for 4 years before being bottled.  The sommeliers' name was John and he told us that this particular bottle of wine could be kept for 20 years or more before enjoying it.  I cant wait to try it... in all do time.  Maybe I'll enjoy it the next time I return to Italy or my wedding, we'll just have to wait and see :).  After the tasting we wrapped things up and headed back to Florence. Another amazing day in Italy!

This adorable little pup is a trained truffle hunter... rare and brings in a lot of money!

Overlooking Tuscany with my Tuscan wine!

Ciao Ciao!
xoxox Ash