Ravenna...San Leao...Venezia...

Ciao tutti!

I apologize for the delay, but there has been SO much to do here! We went on a day trip last Wednesday to Ravenna and San Leo. Good times...

Ravenna: What a beautiful city! We did not have much time there because we were in a rush to get to the next place. Anywho... the church there had a mosaic ceiling that would take anyone,s breath away...

San Leo: HOW COOL was this place? It was very cool. haha. It is a midevil fortress on top of a big hill complete with perfect views AND an actual dark torture chamber. SWEET!

Venezia: We just returned from this LONG trip yesterday, but it was well worth it. We stayed on the island of Lido. It was very cute with a nice beach. Then we went to Murano (one of the glass islands), Burano (my favorite place out of all of them... they make lace there and all the houses are brightly colored and beautiful. Apparently it is one of the most photographed cities in the world. I have tons of pics of it myself...hehe), F. te Nove (a cute island with THE BEST pizza ever), and Cimitero (a cemetery island... the ENTIRE island was a beautiful cemetery. It was really neat and erie)

Sadly, that is all the time I have right now but Wed. we are off tp Siena and Firenze and then Friday we go to Verona to see... TOSCA (a wonderful opera by Puccini) in the Roman Arena. I cannot wait! I will update it and let everyone know what an amazing time I am having. Haha.

Not to rub it in, of course...

Ciao!

Mari

Ciao Tutti!

So... it is quite warm here in the lovely Urbino... but after walking around Verona for a day, I cannot complain. We just returned from a 2 day trip to Padova and Verona. Padova was a nice town... a little commercial... but nice. St. Anthonys Cathedral is there and it was INCREDIBLE. His relics are in the church... yep, thats right... his jaw, dried up vocal chords, and practically disintegrating tongue are on display in the church. It is actually pretty neat. The church, itself was incredible. Then we went to the botanical gardens and it was so beautiful. They have very different flora here. The lilypads were about 3 feet in diameter! CRAZINESS!! lol. I loved it because, as most know, I am a plant nerd.

In fair Verona where we lay our scene... yes, I was there... the town of Juliet and Romeo. We even went to Juliets balcony while on the tour... of course, it wasnt necessarily HER balcony... considering it was a fictional story which may or may not have had an ounce of truth in it. BUT it was really cute. Below the balcony is a statue of Juliet. I noticed that her breast area was very worn from people touching them... apparently it is good luck to touch them. I, however, did not violate the poor dear.

Now we are home again and back to class. I had a quiz and did pretty well on it, so I do not feel THAT overwhelemed. I think we are going out to dinner tonight to the Ristorante Europa to have some Tartufi. It is a fantastic dessert that is... well... the best thing you could ever out in your mouth.

Yum.

Ok... I am off! Ciao!

Mari

FORZA ITALIA!

For those you you who might not know... ITALY WON THE WORLD CUP!! What a rush! It was insane. Jillian, Angela, Christie, Melanie, and I went to the Bar Degli Angeli to watch the game because they had a projectio screen outside. We were watching the game with all the Italians and it was QUITE an experience. Hah. They were flipping off the screen and yelling GO HOME in Italian. (In case you are wondering, I cannot find the quation marks on this keyboard.. haha) Anywho, when we won... people went crazy! Everyone was jumping up and screaming and singing the national anthem. Then we ran as fast as we could to the main piazza- Piazza Reppublica- where people were honking their car horns, waving flags, setting off fireworks, jumping into the fountain, hugging and crying--- it was INCREDIBLE. I cannot think of anything I have ever seen like it before in America. To think, Italy has not won in 24 years... and I was here to see them win. What an intense, exhilarating experience.

So... in other news...

We go to Padova and Verona (yep... Romeo and Juliet) this Thursday and we are very excited. While we are here we are going to try to see an opera in Verona in an outdoor amphitheater.... WOW. That would be another experience for the books.

I am going to go now... we have to get back for dinner (which will be fantastico, I am sure) and then study for a quiz tomorrow.

Ciao Ragazzi!

Mari

CIAO MONDO!

I am now in Urbino. It is such an incredible place. I am finally getting over the whole jet'lag thing. Here is a typical day for moi:

7:00 Wake up and go out on my balcony to stretch and breathe in the air. The view is absolutley incredible... rolling hills and villas as far as the eye can see.

7:45 Head to the Cafe Degli Amici for breakfast (included in the program cost...) for un Cappucino e un cioccolato paste (a chocolate pastry that is to die for).

8:30 Class out on the terazzo of one of the school buildings. Our classroom turned out to be the computer lab (not ideal for a language class) so our teacher decided class outside would be beneficial. You can guess there were no complaints...

10:30 Break during class. All of us go to the vending machine area and get coffee out of a vending machine... it is quite an experience.

12:00 Class is done and now it is off to lunch at the Mensa. This is no oridinary cafeteria, of course. This cafeteria serves things like Gnocchi, Pasta with clam sauce, Thinly sliced beef with olive oil and artichoke hearts, and grilled chicken with lemon. It is incredible!

1:30 Off to town! At this point in the day I usually go with some friends into town. Town is about an eight minute walk from the school. On the way there, there are some breathtaking views.

... Then we usually wonder around town and explore, get some gelato, sit in the piazza by the fountain, and eat Crescia (a specialty of Urbino).

At night we hang out in our dorms and do homework in a big group in the kitchen.

Oh... some quirky things about Urbino:

1. There is no toilet paper in the bathrooms... you have to bring it every time you go
2. People here do not smile unless they are happy. They do not just smile to smile and try to be friendly.
3. The keyboards are different...
4. There are not any public bathrooms in town... and the only one was locked when I needed it... haha

Ciao for now!

My time ran out!

Just Another Superhero

Last night I saw Superman Returns. It was about as predictable as pulling the fin of a shark. Some of the special effects were OK, but all-in-all, it was rather dissapointing. It reminded me of the movie, The Player. One of the many plots of the movie is about these two guys who want to make a movie where a woman is put in prison and she is sentenced to death. Someone finds out she is innocent and gets there just in time to see them electrocute her. It was supposed to be a dark films with unknowns... no Julia Roberts or Bruce Willis's in this movie. SO... at the end of the movie, they show the movie-within-the-movie that I just described and Julia Roberts and Bruce Willis are the stars. At the end of the film, he arrives just in time to save her and of course she says, "What took you so long?" GAG! Haha. Anywho, in Superman Returns, Kate Bosworth (another GAG) looks at Superman and says, "Will we see you around?" and Superman replies, "I'm always around." Then he flies off into the night.

UGH.

Anyway, I leave tomorrow morning! I'm quite excited. I'll miss everyone, but I'll be back fairly soon. Everyone have a great rest of the summer. I need to go finish packing my toiletries. I always have lots of those.

Ciao,

Mari