Marzo Pazzo

I've heard the month of March called "Marzo Pazzo" all month, and now I believe it.
Just 6 days ago it was FREEZING, snowing, sleeting, cloudy and frigid at every hour. But today (and yesterday) None other than a wonderfully warm and sunny high of 21 celsius. Take that, Los Angeles! I fell asleep on the grassy hill on campus again, and although i woke up with beetles in my hair and red marks all over my arms from twigs and weeds, It was so great to just relax in the sun like the good old days. If there is one thing I can say about poor weather, it is that what it does for ones appreciation of good weather is stupendous and can only be thought of as a blessing. I know I have many, many a cold day ahead of me-- But It makes all the warm days after that much sweeter. Also, watching plants bloom daily and actually SEEING spring happen in front of my eyes us a spectacle to behold.

Anyway, this week/weekend were very chilled out. Some Australians that Lindsay and Ginger met in Switzerland were in Florence for the night so we showed them a good time. Even if we did spend half the night chasing a thieving gypsy.
Dani and I visited the Teatrino where our play will be staged later in April, the place is truly gorgeous.

In conclusion, I am turning 19 in 8 days, and it will be quite the monumentous occasion. Dani, Kelly and I are going to Sicily and planning only to lounge on the beach and drink all day long... God bless canolies and islands.

Hair Dye!

Ready for the Dorm Party!

Abandoned Farmacia on Cavour on our walk into town...

Castello di Medici courtyard

Kelly and Chiesa San Lorenzo

Kelly at the Il David Cafe

Tourist Moment at the Piazza Signoria

Piazza Santa Croce!

Our favorite club... No Party, All Closed

Tuscan Beans and Rice from the Cafeteria!

Like the Easter Miracle

It decided to SNOW today. And although all I heard was how much it WASN'T snow but in fact hail, or sleet or just really cold rain... I know the truth...

Judge for yourself:

First reaction!

More Properly dressed, crazy!!

Crazy Eyes
Yes, I wrote my name...

Buona Pasqua

Today, March 23rd 2008 has been filled with quite the range of religions, weathers, sleep schedules and chocolate.

Because I go to school in a catholic country, Easter is a pretty big deal. Also: Monday is especially important... and I get off school. My posting anything on here before my weekend is complete is a bit premature.. but the goingson at the duomo this morning are just too bizarre to keep from anyone.
Saturday night the ladies and I decided to make it "Winey Winehouse Night" Which means, we all got ridiculously dressed up as Amy Winehouse and drank wine and ate pecorino cheese and bread until we finally had to rest of weary beehives down for the evening. Please enjoy the masterpiece that was my hairdo. Assembled with: 1 pair mens boxer-briefs, less than 10 bobbypins and a lot of hairspray.

Totally Winehouse, right down to the feet.

Make up? Oh yes, and Ari.

The Amys

Then this morning we all woke up and made our way downtown to see the spectacle that takes place at Piazza Del Duomo between the baptistry and Santa Maria Dei Fiori... What was written about it in our Italian Midterm was... Some guys in the crusade era brought some rocks for some other guy. and when they banged these rocks together they made fire? And so... The tall and short of it is: the have a procession from some place on the other side of the Arno to the duomo where tons of people huddle together to watch (what used to be a real) bird fly by a wire from the altar in the duomo into this big cart thing rigged with enough explosives to decimate Kazakhstan. And then watch as the fireworks go off for no joke like 15 minutes, and then all the guys in crusader gear that were singing latin hymns before the fireworks walk away to some other location in florence.

It's all kinda strange and very very crowded. It sounded like major bombing going off and was just the most surreal thing i've ever seen. Unfortunately all I could do was fashion my own video of it... cause i was stuck behind a huge crowd of people and one completely inconsiderate chick who thinks she's a toddler and wouldn't get off her boyfriends shoulders... so i barely saw the show besides what i was blindly snapping pictures of...

The Italian Easter Basket...

A Big Chocolate Egg..

Wondering what the Sorpresa is?!?

The Wicked Witch of Easter?

Piazza Del Duomo, Easter Morning

This evening we went out to this apartment that is owned by the synagogue here. It was a "Psychedelic Purim Party" and was filled with Israeli medical students... future husband club?? haha... It was fun! But we got lost on our way there so we didn't stay long enough for the drunk latkas that come at 1 am... Just Kidding.

5 Days in Grecian Paradise

Tuesday night we returned from the most relaxing trip I've had all year. It was truly wonderful. Our original plans to stay in Athens at a friends apartment fell thru just days before our departure, but the hotel we got and the whole trip turned out for the better. As i was going through my almost 1000 pictures i realized there is just SO much to show... patience, please! :)

Our trip started in Rome where a friend of Bhargavi's picked us up from the train station and drove us to Fiumicino. We took the scenic route.

Grecian Countryside. We decided it was a mix between Isreal and... can't remember.

Our first encounter with the greek language.

Trying to find out hotel... walking through the ghetto.Welcome To ATHENS!!

Balcony View from Hotel Pergamos!
hot dog salesmanWatch stand in Omonia SquareWe learned that the Greeks REALLY like their puff pastry baked goods.

Food Market-- Beautiful Produce!
The Greeks also like fancy toiletseats with sealife in them.
Dinner on the Balcony at Sunset
Athenian Center! McyD's and Construction!
Acropolis/Metropolis/Subway and Ancient stuff.
"Statue of Goddess Perhaps Aphrodite- Early 4th Century B.C.E"
Making our Way to the Top of Athens
Kelly and Athens!
Athens Cityscape again.
Acropolis covered in Scaffolding
Me & The Ancient Ampitheater
Temple of Nike Athena
My best goddess Stand
International Bird flies by the Acropolis
Ladies & the Parthenon
(Me, Dani, Kelly, Bhargavi, Taylor and Lindsay)
Unexpected turtle friend at the Acropolis drew quite a crowd.
Cool grafitti in Plaka districtLooking for where to go.. a sum of the trips characters
Coolest bar i've never been inside of.
sponge lady
Athenian street artFor Dan: SKATEBOARDERS IN ATHENS!
Greek CokeChanging of the Guards... he was a hawtie
They had some ridiculous moves.
Street food... Tomatoe and feta filled pastries... YUM!
I think he liked us...
Street Singer and the usual Grecian Admirers
Byzantine art in the city center.
We were there for Greek Orthodox Carnival!!
A nice shop owner... Stratos.
In the kitchen of a touristy greek 'straunt.
REAL Greek salad... No Lettuce!
Baklava and Greek Coffee!
The Greek Leftovers... Ew.
On our Ferry to SANTORINI!
Feeling like Immigrants in the ships bowels.
View of Santorini.
Bharg and Kell sit at the Bus Stop.
Cucumbers and Stuft Vine Leaves!
Narly Shrimp... yum eyeballs.
CRISTOS the CAR and LINDS the DRIVER!
On the way to the Grocery store
SO proud of our baby!
Wooo!!! Beaches, Blue Car, and Beautiful Friends!
"The Church" Of Santorini?
Me and Taylor and the Black sand Beaches
Malibu and strawberry girlie drinks on the beach!
View from the Ancient City of Thira which we drove up on the
windiest one land road, ever.
A friend from the beach led us on his bike...
a View of Santorini
Church just feet from the red volcanic beach.
Sunset at Oía
More sunset.
Lunch, poolside.
Our hotel, "The Villa Manos" and their sadly empty pool.
Last shot in Greece before my camera died.

All in all, greece is a crazy place where they still smoke indoors. The last day in Athens was kinda rainy but interesting. There was a communist party march through the streets, it was on again off again raining and we found this most amazing junk store where if you go upstairs you find the most magnificent apartment flat in all of Greece, filled with cool junk. I saw a man selling American pennies and quarters for .50 euro cents. We had too many spanicopita's... spinach and feta filled pasteries... and coffee and too many catcallers. It was a little early for tourist season so the island wasn't all it could be, but driving around it in our little Cristos was amazing. We literally hit every end we could. including some scary prohibited military base we didn't know we were driving up to.
Something odd we noticed about Greece... there aren't any women. Especially on Santorini. All the women we saw were either tourists or old grandmothers or 10 years old. It was like they'd shipped them all off or kept them locked up in the home. The younger girls we did see in Athens and Santorini were dressed up in these wretched goth outfits with hair teased out beyond belief.
The country is an odd mix of eastern europe and the middle east, Bharg says it's what India strives to be... and I think the boys are too cute. Their feta cheese is truly superior... But if you're going to Greece to find hummus, you better look again. Cause they don't even know what that stuff is.

Happy St. Patricks day, Happy Birthday Mom and Happy Spring break to all those starting now!