Athena Blogs

In Rome they had a really cool excursion planned for us. We went to Umbria and got to cook Italian lasagna with a chef at his home. Then we went to Perugia and got to go to the annual chocolate festival. It was delicious.

The best part was the cup of melted hot chocolate because it was so cold out. I personally preferred the milk chocolate, but a lot of people got white chocolate instead. That was a really fun trip planned by LDM and it was free!!!

Finally in Florence and it is beautiful!!! My favorite city out of all 3 for sure and I’ve only been here a week. Classes are great. This school has 750 students WAY more than Rome and Tuscania. I went to L’Academia to see the statue of David. It’s a small gallery, but when you enter the room with David it is stunning. I was lucky when I went there because there were not a lot of people there. The ponte vecchio is a breath taking. Definitely make sure you see it.

The first week of November we had the week off. I went to Paris to visit my sister. I got an apartment outside the Eiffel Tower for 6 nights. We went to the Grave Yard, Cimetière de Bagneux where Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilide are buried. I ate escargot for the first time.

Definitely get it when it Paris it was delicious. On our last night we went to a soccer game Us v. France. France won but only by one goal. We sat in the US section and had a great time.

Hi,

Last week in Rome was a blast! My twin sister came to visit me and we did a lot of the sights. We went to the Sistine Chapel. Actually getting to the chapel was crazy. It’s around a 30 to 45 minute walk through the Vatican museum. Try to look around because the museum has a lot of really good art work, and some Chagall’s (my favorite painter).

Finally in the Sistine Chapel it is beautiful. There is no picture taking or talking so shhhh. The Colosseum was a lot of fun. Really steep steps though, but it is a real part of history and definitely worth visiting. My sister and I also went to the ballet at the Rome Opera House. It was fantastic!!!

Iris

Well I left Tuscania and went to Rome. I was so excited to get to go to Rome and see all the sights. Our apartment is fantastic. Right outside our building is a produce market. The food is so fresh and is definitely priced for somebody on a budget like students abroad. There is this one guy who has wine in barrels and its only 2,50 for 1.5 liter and it is really good wine.

Around our neighborhood is pretty expensive stores, but after a lot of searching we found a really good restaurant that kept giving us free food. The next day I went exploring on my own and went to the Trevi Fountain and San Pietro.

Being in Tuscania was nice to get an authentic feel, but being in Rome is surreal. Every time you turn a corner there is more to see. My parents came this week so I did a lot of sightseeing with them. We went to the Spanish steps and every night we had delicious food. We did leave Rome for 2 days to go see some wineries in the countryside.

We got a 4 hour tour of the vineyards and had some very good wine from San Marco vineyards. I have 2 days left before school starts again, and today I am going shopping for rain boots because the weather is starting to change. I already picked up a lot of fruits, veggies, and chicken from the market today and am looking forward to cooking dinner tonight.

This was my last week in Tuscania. This past weekend we the school provided a guided nature walk or you could go to the local market that is here on Fridays. I went to the market to get good deals on souvenirs for my friends and family. We all went to dinner at l'olivio because they have karaoke on Friday nights. It was fun singing Italian and American songs with the locals. It turned into a big dance party. The service was not the best and they over charged us and were rude, so although it was fun to sing and dance the students staying the whole semester said they would not go back.

We had our finals this week as well. We all studied a lot because it is a lot of information for a small amount of time. Ultimately, Tuscania was great. The people were nice, the atmosphere was very small town and authentic. Today we are cleaning the apartment and packing because tomorrow we head to Rome for our week break before new classes.

Hi,

So we took a weekend trip on Friday to the lake. The water was cool and clear. Everybody had a great time. We took a boat ride and then stopped in the middle of the lake for 40 minutes or so and just swam around. Then came back to the shore got lunch and tanned. Very fun trip. This week during school we got to go on a field trip to Tarquinia. There were ancient Etruscan tombs there and an Etruscan museum. Our teacher was our guide and it was a unique experience being able to actually see what we learn about in school. Although it was super hot out we had a great time.

Today we got lunch with some locals and went horseback riding. We all took turns riding the horses which I haven’t done since I was a kid. We just went for a short ride very slowly but cool nonetheless. Then we had lunch. Oh. My. God.

Here are the Courses:

1. Meats, cheese, and bread
2. Pasta with bacon and tomato sauce
3. Pasta with mushrooms carrots and oil
4. Beef
5. Pork
6. Salad
7. Pie

So delicious. Now I have to study for my midterm tomorrow.

Tuscania is a beautiful town.  It has a very authentic Italian feel to it.  I feel really lucky to be able to spend a month here and get a real Italian experience.  Everyone at the school is extremely helpful and already have given us two tours of Tuscania.  They arranged discounts at places around town to make it easier to live on a budget. 

The apartments are really big and beautiful, and it is nice having a kitchen to cook "family dinners" with your friends.  Apartments in Tuscania are a lot nicer than dorm rooms in America.  We started classes this week and it they are really fun.  It is a small group of people  on the tour, 12.  All 12 of us have History together in the morning and Italian in the afternoon.  

Because you are in a small class with all you friends, going to your lessons is fun. It is a unique experience learning the history of a region and actually being there and seeing what you are learning, we have a field trip planned for next week.  I am looking forward to a wonderful month in beautiful Tuscania!