Perugia, Soccer, and a picnic
Knowing that this is our last fun week in Firenze before finals get in the way, we wanted to do one more over night adventure to somewhere in Italy. After spring break I knew that it would be fun to visit Roberto and Stefano one last time before going home so I decided to invite all of our friends from school to Perugia for the night. I had a lot of fun hanging out with the Italian guys and staying up all night again dancing and walking around Perugia.
On Saturday Azy and Olivia had the idea of a picnic in the Bobili gardens so we all went to the grocery store to pick up some food and headed over to Palazzo Pitti for the afternoon. Although it did rain on us a little bit, it was nice to be able to relax and soak up the patches of sun. I feel as though our group of friends became a little closer after the girls forced us to have a "feelings" talk and I don't think that I've been on a picnic for ten years so the whole experience was great.
The big thing that I've wanted to do sense we've been here it to go to a soccer game. We finally got the chance to see Firenze play Messina here in Firenze. The soccer game was one of the most memorable things we've done here. I can't tell you how crazy the fans get over a regular season game. It is just like you see on TV with rival fans yelling at each other, the whole crowed chanting songs, and fireworks. I will never forget that soccer game.
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New Information (04.21.04)
As the semester comes to an end, we have started to figure out where we will be backpacking this summer. Here is a tenative list of what will be going on throughout May and June.
- May 9-12: Denmark
- May13-15: Berlin
- May 16-17: Amsterdam
- May 17-19: Switzerland
- May 20-23: Firenze(meet up with Mel)
- May 20-June 3: Spain(meet up with Kiko and Jennifer)
- June 4-June 12: England and France(meet up with Drew and WSU people)
- June 13th: Come Home...maybe?
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Adventures in Italy
Adventurous things that I've tried while in Italy. Sweet and Sour: I don't know why guys always have to bet each other to do things but we do and every once and awhile someone will actually take the bet. I was playing with the Vinegar bottle after dinner at Oseria San Spirito (the same place where the girls and I went to for their last night) and out of nowhere Matt Koch dares me to drink half of the bottle of vinegar. Without even thinking I say no problem and grab for the glass. Of course Matt doesn't believe my quick answer so he bets me 10 euro. The sad thing was that for some reason I would have done it for no money and was planning on telling him that he can keep his money, but then I actually drank the vinegar and quickly changed my mind. I drank the vinegar in two swigs and every time I couldn't breathe for a few minutes after. I had no idea how powerful vinegar was because every time I think that I put too much on salads it still doesn't seem to be too bad. Let me tell you that a glass full of vinegar is not the best thing to drink after dinner. On the walk home I felt like crap but after sitting down and watching a movie I was ready to rock and roll. Italian Rally: I have to say one of the biggest things that I miss; besides family and friends of course, has been driving. I guess I use driving as an escape sometime back home and it has been really hard not to be able to do that over here. Down in Citta di Castello however, one morning dad and I went out into the country side so that he could look at 'Canadian thistle and new paved roads' (family joke) and I could drive. Mom and Pops rented a diesel Volkswagen Passat that had a manual transition. Let me tell you that diesel cars have some balls in the lower gears and that the Passat is a great car. I have to thank Meg though for letting me drive her car all the time so I could learn how to drive a manual car. If we weren't heading down to Assisi that day, I would have driven for hours, but my escape was short lived. Carnival Adventure:
So, sometimes you get these crazy ideas to go to Venice for the night with nine other people just so you can experience Carnival. Leaving after class at six, getting on the train for three hours, partying for four, then getting back on the train at 6:30 in the morning to make it back for class at nine on the following day. Yeah we did it. We had so much fun on the way and being in Venice that it is one of those things that you are really glad you did, but will never do it again. I think that by the time Friday rolled around I had finally caught up on our lack of sleep. But sometimes you've just got to say 'you know what, we'll never get a chance to go to Carnival in Venice again.' Just don't tell mom and dad. See the Stories and Fun Facts page for the whole story.
Monday Night Cooking Class:
Every Monday night eight of us gather around the kitchen and learn how to cook authentic Italian meals. The first night that we had dinner I ate one of the craziest things that I've ever tried roasted rabbit. Nope, it didn't taste like chicken. It was good but you get about three bits out of each breast. The biggest thing that I've learned out of this cooking class is that freshness is the key to good cooking.
At the Bars:
Mojito? One part vodka, one part run, mash up mint leaves, mash up strawberries, and pour over ice. Sounds great right? I spent the whole night picking mint leaves out of my mouth and all I could taste was dirt and mint. I've been told that I just got a bad bartender, but I don't know maybe a blender would help.
Karaoke:
I hate karaoke and I can't sing, but one night it happened. Bart, one of the roommates, plays at open mic night every Monday at the Blob. With his help, I was singing Under the Bridge, Extreme, More Than Words, and U2. Let's just say I won't be doing that again but I have to admit that it was a lot of fun.
Italian Style:
We thought that while we were in Rome for the weekend that we would hit up all the sales on clothes. If there is one thing to know about Florence it is that it is expensive. In Rome we were able to find great prices on everything including some leather shoes that I bought. I thought that they looked unique but when we got to class on Monday I realized that one of the girls had on basically the same shoes and that she had brought them from home (I bought girls shoes). So much for my unique, Italian fashion statement.
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Picture of the Week:
The first goal of the game by Firenze in the first minute!
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