Last Week at La Pietra

Last week saw a few things:

1) Across the Universe. Julie Taymor is a little crazyy... but that movie was Amazing! And of course any excuse to see a movie in an actually gorgeous movie theater is a good excuse to me!
2) The Flu? Or something like it. I slept a lot more than usual.
3) A paper written in one day. Not something I'm proud of, but something I am going to have to do again tomorrow.
4) Jewish Miracle of Lights!
5) Lot of RAIN!

So Italy needs a break from me, and the feeling is Mutual. It was very fun... But I no longer wish to wait 20 minutes for a smelly bus filled with catcalling romanians, eat crap cafeteria food, walk uphill both ways to class, or have to do any more reading about ancient peoples.
But I will most definitely look forward during my 5 weeks at home, to my roommates company , the gym downstairs, free bus rides that come right on time, Istanbul kebab, passing by the duomo like it was any other building, and reading about ancient peoples. Travelling to new places and meeting new people will also be a plus!

Anyway, as this will be my last post for a while I will include photos from this week as well as some greats from before that maybe didn't make it up yet.

Channukah Party!

Our Dradel Fest & (illegal) Menorah!

Me and my Dradel & Gelt!

Packing...


Movie Night!

FLASHBACK!
Trash.. On a field trip to Piazza Delle Curre.
The "Devon" Face in Piazza Santa Croce
Ew... Milano!
Shopping Outing!
The Magic that is Kanye West!
Keepin' it Gangsta at Kanye
The Gardens at La Pietra
Olive Oil Tasting agginn
Beaches at Viareggio!
Matching Coats

Gypsies by the Duomo
BUS RIDES WHAT WAHT!
Indie Night!
Mercato Centrale
love on spanish beaches
Arabic Writing at La Alhambra
BARCAAA!
rainy piazza crazziness
omg halloween!
Mr. Rogers hits Rm 113!
Newsflash! Africa found on shell of hardboiled egg!
My First Bagel in MONTHS! MANY MORE TO COMEEE.

Ciao, Ragazzi!

The Countdown Began...

With two weeks left in the semester... I am so ready to go home. I have my several Italian verb tenses learned and memorized, i have traveled enough Europe for one semester (many more adventures to come next semester!) This is my second to last entry from Italia...

Friday morning, Sara and I got up and ran for the bus, as we were going on a trip to Bologna (buh-loan-yuh) with our Cultural Foundations teacher. We met the other girls from our school at the train station and when the time came, boarded the train. Well they have this quaint little habit in Italy of having All forms of transportation go on strike at the same time... un sciopero! Non fa mai qualche cosa! anywayss... so trenitalia overbooked the seats and people already had sat in our reserved seats! So... it was 8 AM and I hadn't gotten much sleep... but I got an hour long nap in the calm of First Class! yay. So when we arrived I was pleasantly surprised by this town. Its NOT tiny by any stretch. In fact, it is the capital of Emilia Romagna. The region just north east of Tuscany.
A few facts I learned about it on our fabulous day-long walking tour:

1) Fights for the prestige of having the oldest university in Europe. Was started around 1100 AD by a large group of students! Half of the city today is made up of those associated in one way or another with the University.
2) 1/3 of the population died in the mid-1300's due to the BLACK PLAGUE.
3) Praised and treasured professors like religious or monarchical figures.
4) Has the closest H&M to florence.
5) Famous for their pastas and foood! (Spaghetti Bolognese? Ravioli? Tortellini? All of it came from there!)
6) Filled with TOWERS... during the medieval times building towers on the tops of houses showed wealth and prosperity of the family. Also used as defense mechanisms... and now stand to kick tourists ass when they try to climb to the top.
7) Has an old jewish ghetto (an italian word) where the jews would be locked up in before Mussolini expelled them all during WWII.
8)Has a long and extensive canal system underground. Another reason why what is called the "Dark Ages" in Europe was actually a golden age in Bologna! To this day a very left wing city, lots of "punk e bestia" (punks with dogs) walk around. Overall, must go back very soon. Lovely sights, not many tourists (i mean what kind of tourist would think to stop at a place called Bologna!?) and great food!

The rest of the weekend was spent lounging around save pomeriggio scorsa quando sono andata al centro, specificamente Mercado San Lorenzo per fare il shopping sto solo.... (yesterday afternoon when i went downtown, specifically the San Lorenzo Market, to shop alone.)
I can survive in Italian, i had a lovely conversation with a little asian italian woman who thought i was English, an older gentleman who sold me a pair of tennis shoes and some representative from an AIDS hospice. I could understand his Italian better than his english! haha...

Anyway! PICTURES!

--Yummy Bolognese Veggies!

Site of the First autopsy! Ewww... Check out the wooden figures holding up the balcony-detail... They're complete figures of the human muscle System! Made of WOOD, like.. 700 years ago!

Another Leaning Tower... And San Petronio, the patron saint of Bologna. This thing has quite the freaky lean to it.
A quote from Dante's "Inferno", which we read in class: "
“As the Garisenda looks from underneath
it’s leaning side, at the moment when a cloud
Comes drifting over against the tower’s slant”

The stairway to the top of the not-crooked tower!
View from the TOP! Birds eye view of Bologna, That big building with the small round windows is the main cathedral.
The Canal system, and a little bit of graffiti. A complex of 7 churches all built interconnected. They range from all times of christianity. The heptagon shaped one on the left dates back to the 4th and 5th century.. thats even before the new testament was canonized! Christmas Hits Bologna!
Me and Ginger, our resident Dutch Boy, Just chillin.
Me and Kellster replicating our favorite works of art: "Madonna con Bambino" (Virgin Mary with Child.) I am the angels that adorn her side in every work.

Andiamo a Londra!!

The theme for our weekend was one of "Hurry up and Wait." No matter how much we stressed about making a flight, a train, a bus, a concert we always made it to everything!

Firstly, London is Fuh-Reezing! We're talking like 2˚C (= 35˚ F) morning and night, not much rain, thank goodness.
Secondly, the Kanye Concert was AMAZING... I mean KanYe West is a true entertainer. He didn't just stand up there and spit his lyrics. He put on a show... 4 costume changes, a set, an amazing background screen show, great band, amazing DJ and a great crowd. We had somewhat of the nosebleed seats, but they were smack center so it was just too awesome!! I was up, dancing, singing, rapping along, crying along (almost) and everything else!
After being completely SHOCKED by the fact that everyone spoke my native language and finally realizing I didn't have to fend for myself in transportation and I could ASK people, we got on the subway to go to our friend's NYU flat for the night... well the subway shuts down just after 1, which is just cutting it to when the concert ended. So we only made one of the three trains we needed to get on to make it to our destination. And in our true fashion... we walked through London at 1:30am. We walked the london bridge, past the tower of london, St. Pauls Cathedral, along the River Thames, and all else...

After arriving at our flat we met some of the NYU London kids, and conked out. The next morning we made our way to the British museum, a stroll in the park, across the other side of town to Big Ben, through the theater area, and back. We cooked ourselves a Wonderful (Italian themed) Thanksgiving meal, cleaned up the flat a little, had an early night... only after we had a true UK experience and went to a pub for my first Guinness draft beer. What a meal THAT is!
Anyway, after our morning of traveling, we got back to school and went out to dinner with Dani and Sara's dads (at our favorite pizzeria, Antica Porta, of course!) Then tonight after a day of nada, we went out for another lovely dinner with Dani and the fam! Eating out in Florence is really tops, even if our cafeteria food is abysmal!

AnYway! FOTOS!!! (And Video?)

Thats the Leaning Tower of Pisa from the airplane!

Us on the airplane! (minus Lindsay!)

The quintessential London sight.

Gangsta Face b4 kanYe started!

A notable Native on the Tube

a blurry one of the venue

Kanye West!!

Me on the London Bridge after Dark!

Knocking for the Troll under the bridge...

St. Paul's Cathedral... Looks a little by the Capital Building?

Tower of London... sppooookyyy

English Breakfast tea!

The Pantheon of Rome in the British Museum

Egyptian Sarcophagi!

Easter Island statue, anyone?

"Feed the birds, tuppence a bag" Our Mary Poppins moment in the park

Streets

Theater tickets... ($2 = £1)

The Review of Kanye in the paper the next day... 5 stars!

Trafalgar Square

Kellster and Linds with the Eye of London in the background!

Me... I'm there I swear! and BIG ol' BEN!


Best Pasta Sauce Ever, I've learned at least one thing from Italy! Pasta sauce from Scratch!

Self-Timer Portrait at the dinner table...

Me and the Guinness I was carded for!

A little taste of the concert if you're interested!

And an older one with the Sabatini Fam! (when it was still warm out!)