Tunisia!!

This will probably be the most difficult blog post to write, just because it's so hard for me to put this trip into words. My 10 days were jammed packed. We got up early, no later than 7:30 every day and went all day long.

Around 70 students went on the study trip. It was through Loyola, so it was all taken care of with meals, hotels, transportation etc. As soon as we arrived in Tunis we went to the U.S. Embassy and met with the Ambassador which was really interesting. He gave us some background on where he has worked, all over the Middle East, and some background information on Tunisia as part of the Islamic and Arab world.

While in Tunis, we also got the opportunity to meet with Tunisian students who are studying law. We talked with them about the politics in Tunisia. One of the main conversation points is that Tunisia, as part of the Arab world, is much more progressive than other countries. Women have many more rights and can drive. Oddly enough one of the topics we ended up discussing with the students was abortion. While some of the women had the view point that abortion was not a controversial issue at all in the country, many of the men had more conservative views and were very concerned about it. Hearing these viewpoints and even witnessing the beginnings of heated arguments was interesting and not what I was expecting.

In Tunisia, the official language is Arabic and their second official language is French. It was so fun to use my French again. I was a bit rusty, but as the week passed I remembered more and more. Whenever we would go to one of the medinas (markets) I would use my French to the best of my ability to bargain. Of course it more or less turned into a blend of French, Italian, and English. The markets were incredible though. The first one we went to, was the most overwhelming, but also my favorite. It was a series of very narrow winding streets, with street vendors everywhere. Yelling at you, grabbing at you, saying, "Good price, good price for you. Come look. Come see." And when you decided to go "look and see" you better be serious about it, because if you showed the least bit of interest they would hound you. Tunisia uses the dinar. It was better than the Euro so we did pretty well. I have some of the currency to bring home.

Then there was my hair. I thought that my blonde hair would be a bigger deal in Italy than it is. Obviously no one looks at me and thinks I'm Italian, but I've been mistaken for a fluent Italian speaker multiple times. In Tunisia, I was stared at constantly. Everywhere I went there were a million head turns. The American, tall, blonde, pale girl stood out. I was very easily spotted. I quickly got the name Snow White from many people we encountered.

The other thing that really surprised me, though reflecting on it shouldn't have, was the shocked faces we received when we told people we were from America. Everyone assumed we were from England. A few thought I was Dutch, (which I am) but no one could believe we came all the way from America. The next statement that followed this shocked face was always, "Obama!" Of course we have all heard that Obama is loved internationally, but I don't think anyone really gets it until you see it. They love Obama. People were so much more willing to talk to us once we said we loved Obama too. It's clear to me that America has become more respected now that Obama is in office. I felt very proud to say I was from America and that Obama is our President.

I know many Americans are frustrated with him because they feel he has not done enough since being elected. But if it gives any peace of mind at all, internationally, his presence is such a huge step. Just being able to talk about America and politics with other cultures like this shows that this huge wall is starting to be broken down. I think the American people are starting to be seen differently. This makes me so happy and so eager for the future.

But there were so many other highlights of the trip. Riding camels in the Sahara was awesome! I mean really, I couldn't believe it. Having 70 people all on camels at the same time was also a riot, especially because we had our hair wrapped up and had to wear these robes when we went on the camel ride. My camel was tied to my friend Matt's, which ended up being a little scary, because Matt's camel, Jamie hated me. She was not happy with me when I tried to pet her. She made these very awkward camel noises and I thought she was going to bite me.

We were all forewarned that once we reached the desert, "operation save my camera" went into effect. The Sahara has the finest sand I have ever seen. The individual grains are incredibly small. In past trips our SLA's told us that it has caused multiple pieces of electronics not to work. But I had to have my camera. It is my life since I've been abroad. But I didn't take many photos while on the camel ride, one because I was on a camel and I'm pretty clumsy. Two, when the wind started to pick up it was difficult to see let alone take photos. Sand did get in my camera by the end of the desert, but it's alive and well. I've been able to get the majority of it out and the rest doesn't seem to be hurting it.

After the camels, it was time for the desert. Here's the funny part though. When you think Africa you think warm. Well, one full day while we were there, it poured! And I mean poured! I was drenched head to toe. And our bus decided to leak through the windows as well so even when we were indoors we were wet. So the day we were supposed to go to the desert, it almost got canceled due to the weather. Luckily, the weather cleared up and we went. I would have been heartbroken if we weren't able to go.

We had a campsite in the desert. There were people working there that pitched up the tents, which was a large blanket on the outside, and metal poles that were secured in the sand that held the blanket up. The blankets hung over the sides so the wind wouldn't get to us, but the bottom of the tent was just the sand. We put mats down to sleep though.

As we arrived in the 4-wheel jeeps, we all found a sand dune to sit on, hang out, and watch the sunset. We wrapped our scarves around our heads because the wind very harsh. At some points it was hard to see and my sunglasses became caked with the sand. The best part was when we would close our mouths and I could feel all of the grains of sand in my mouth. When I touched my skin, it was as if there was sand permanetely in me. When dinner came we all went into a small concrete building, sat on the floor and ate. At almost every meal while in Tunisia we had a similar salad to start off with - part of a boiled egg, cold potatoes with parsley, and a chutney carrot like substance, which was really good! We also ate this bread that we saw prepared with coals in the sand, as well as soup with garlic, tomato, and pasta. Delicious! During dinner one boy apparently got stung by a baby scorpion (my worst nightmare) but he was okay.

After dinner, we went out to the huge bone fire and danced and listened to the entertainment of drums and flutes with a belly dancer. When I see things like this I never know how "traditional" it actually is to the culture. Regardless, I enjoyed myself. At one point, with the smell of the fire in the background and listening to the music, I laid back and stared at all of the stars. I knew seeing the stars in the Sahara would be amazing. But it made me want to cry. I saw three shooting stars. The milky way was so clear to see and me and my friends had many debates on where the rest of the constellations were.

It was so peaceful. It was so beautiful. As I was there, looking up, so many thoughts were going through my head. Mainly, "I am in the Sahara desert, spending the night here, seeing the stars, never in my life will I do this again." I also thought about how it was still daytime in America and how I was looking at a completely different sky than the people at home, but how one point it will turn into the same sky and we will see the same things. Then I thought about how all of these stars are always present in the sky, it's just that we can't see them because of all the lights and pollution. The longer I would look and focus on the blackness, the more stars I would see. If I could describe the experience as anything I would say spiritual, because I felt at such peace with the world, with myself, with life.

We ended up singing all kinds of songs by the fire for hours. Everything from TLC, to The Beatles, and Third Eye Blind. As long as we were by the fire it was warm. But we had also been warned that the desert was going to get extremely cold. So when we finally went to our tent to sleep I had on my shirt, fleece, sweatshirt, and another jacket, hoods up, with gloves on, leggings, jeans, sweatpants, and two pairs of socks and my shoes with a scarf wrapped around the majority of my face. In the beginning I was okay. There were 10 of us in the tent, so pretty good body heat. But probably around 3 a.m. it got bad. My body just went numb. The temperature was probably around 15 to 20 degrees. I think I woke up every 30 minutes and I was so happy around 5:30 when the sun started to rise and we got up.

However, in the morning, my friends told me that I kept everyone up with my snoring. Oh god, I was so embarrassed! Whatever noises I was making were not normal and not typical, even from me. They said it sounded like some animal. Of course for the rest of the trip I made everyone tell me exactly what I did in the night to find out if this was some normal behavior, but alas, I guess I just saved that special noise up for the desert. But it will be quite the memory. At least everyone had a good laugh.

Now, being a movie person, this next part of the trip was pretty crazy! We got to go see where part of Star Wars was filmed! Yes, as in the actual sets they built for the movie, which are still up. They are in the middle of nowhere, but it was so awesome to see!

We saw a ton of Roman ruins. I wish I could go into more detail about them here, but at this point I would need to go through the schedule to remember all of them. But they were really cool to see. The best was the amphitheater in El Jem. It was fascinating to learn how the Roman Republic spread to Tunisia and to see the influence leftover from other civilizations.

One of the last days we were there we visited a mosque. After, we went to a store where there were hundreds of handmade rugs. The rugs ranged in prices between $200 to $15,000. The $15,000 rug took four years to make and was made out of pure silk. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it! Don't worry Dad and Julie I didn't buy one. But they were magnificent.

The hotels we stayed at were also really nice, for the most part. One night we stayed in a cave, literally. That was a little much. But the other hotels were beautiful. It wasn't warm enough for my swimsuit, but I know there will be more opportunities. But from staying in the desert to staying right on the beach, the hotels were unbelievable. One was a full resort, I was in heaven.

I bonded with so many people on this trip and made many new friends. Matt and I are now siblings, because of our blonde hair. The Tunisians seemed to think that we were related and that Tim and Marriam were brother and sister too. It will be a running joke for awhile.

We also have a million memories at every meal because as soon as we would get through the main course, we would rush to the dessert bar. Matt and I had a system by the end of the trip - to get all of your desserts (one of everything obviously) before you sit down. Then you don't have to worry that you won't be able to get dessert. It was a carefully planned strategy, which the majority of everyone did by the end.

I also always enjoyed the bus rides, to journal and listen to music. It always reminds me of the bus scene in Almost Famous, which always brings a smile to my face. There was a lot of time for reflection and lots of time for fun as well. I'm still leaving out a lot about the trip. But I have to leave something to talk about when I get back. :)

To conclude, it was the trip of a lifetime. A ton of fun with great friends. And memories I hope to never forget. For those of you who read this whole post, thank you. I know it was a lot. But I'm glad you read it all, because I wanted to share it with all of you! I took over 900 photos and though not all of them will go on Facebook, the majority will.

Much love,
Katherine

Chapter 3: Napoli (Pizza, Sunshine and Neopolitan ice cream)

While here, I keep feeling very clear shifts of time. Chapter three of the journey has definitely occured. It's no longer the beginning, it's no longer the first exploration, life here has become normal, natural. I awake and I feel that everything is in its place. I look forward to my days, I look forward to seeing my friends and the adventures that we will have. Overall, Rome, Italy, has become home. The idea of life in America feels so far away, mentally and physically.

This weekend, after taking a break from studying for midterms and applying for internships we went to Naples. Our friend Joe had already been there and kept raving about how wonderful it was. I had heard very mixed things about Naples. "It's so dirty!" "You'll get all your stuff stolen." "The pizza is incredible." Obviously, I had to go find out for myself. And my stance on Naples, is that it is wonderful. It's a real city. It feels alive, so much so, I thought the cars were going to run me over. It's very different from Rome, which I wasn't expecting. I suppose Napoli is just a bit rougher. But it's charming and I really enjoyed myself.

I did have the best pizza of my entire life. It was called the Carmela - sausage, mozzarella, and spinach. But what makes the pizza is the dough. It's incredibly fluffy, but extremely thin, with amazing flavor. You can just tear the pizza, it's so delicate using a knife just seems wrong. I want to go back to Naples just so I can have more pizza. We got to Gino's just as it was opening and by the time we left there were probably 75 people standing down the street waiting to get in and eat.

Of course I also had to get neopolitan ice cream in Naples too. "Voglio cono piccolo con chocolato, fragola, e crema." Delicious. Megan and I had it melting all over us, but it was so worth it.

Then we found these rocks right by the sea. We were there for over an hour, just relaxing, taking in the breeze, the sun, the sounds of the sea. It made me so happy. That moment will for sure go down as one of my favorites of the whole semester. It was just pure happiness. We each climbed down the rocks to stick our feet in the water. Megan was the first to go and a huge wave hit her, she was drenched for the rest of the day until we went to Zara and bought her new clothes.

Laying in the sun, listening to the waves made me that much more excited for Greece and Malta. My weekends for the semester are now booked. This is helpful because I have everything else planned out and can just go with the flow.

I really cannot believe it is March. I leave for Africa in just over four days. Amazing. I can't even wrap my mind around it, but it is for sure to be an incredible experience. Time here is a funny thing, I feel like my days fly. I think time overall moves so fast. But it's so hard to describe my life to people at home. I try my best to put it into words, but I don't think it will ever make sense. It wouldn't make sense to me if I wasn't living it. I'm just so happy to be able to have this experience. I know this is what my parents have always wanted for me and thanks to them it is possible that it has happened. Every day I am more and more grateful to have these experiences. They are once in a lifetime. Thank you for letting it be possible!

Florence, Pisa, good friends, and the tin man

Well calcio got canceled tonight. I know I can't complain about the weather here, especially compared to Chicago. (I'm thinking of all of you over there.) But it loves to rain here, all the time, I feel like it's monsoon season. The SLA's decided there was too much rain to play calcio. We didn't need more injuries than usual. This is probably good because I need to keep working on my Italian homework, the amount seems to grow larger every day. But of course I needed to distract myself and write a blog before I begin.

I'm not sure if my Italian is getting better, but my English is definitely getting worse. Sometimes it takes me a good minute to say sentences, because I get all the words out of order. Even typing my blogs and emails I forget letters and forget basic sentence structuring. But I figure it's good. My brain is learning in new ways.

Time is continuing to move fast here. I can't believe it is almost March. I have exactly 15 days until I go to Africa. Just saying the words Africa boggles my mind. Marriam and I like to insert the word whenever we can. "When we go to Africa..." "When we get back from Africa..." "When we are in Africa . . ." It gets me even more excited, if that's possible.

As far as planning my other trips, it is a slow process, but one that will hopefully get figured out soon. I'm trying to stick to my budget I've made myself, because I have a long way to go still...I don't want to be broke in a month. So far so good.

This past weekend I went to Florence. The best way to describe Florence, for me, was calm. It's a great little city. We learned our way around really fast and I was really happy to just be there with three others. Traveling in smaller groups is definitely much less hectic. Me, Marriam, Adri, and Josh saw all the great sights. My favorite - Michelangelo's David. Spectacular. Everyone has said "You just can't believe it." But I figured it's just a statue, I'm sure it's cool, but not out of this world. It's out of this world. I stared at it and stared at it and stared at it. Everything about it just put me in awe. I can't wait to go back when my parents come to Florence. I know my dad will love it. Julie has already seen it and I know she is really excited to see it again. 

The hostel we stayed at in Florence was also super cute, it was called Leonardo's House. And Leonardo was our guide to Florence. He was rather goofy, but very helpful. And even told us to change our train tickets from Florence to Rome to Pisa to Rome. We did this because on Sunday we went to Pisa for the day and then just came home from there.

There is really nothing to do in Pisa though. I mean we went to the Leaning Tower, that was cool. We ate lunch by it and I laughed really hard at Adri because she was terrified of the pigeons. But other than that Pisa was dead. We were going to go see a movie, but the theater wasn't open. The only thing they were showing was Avatar. Not going to lie, I would have really liked to have seen that in Italian. But instead we sat at a cafe and ended up paying way too much for overpriced sandwiches.

So the top things that happened in Florence:
 - Josh cut his hair . . . a random decision he made so he could look good in a hat he wanted.
 - I bought a very cute leather purse that I bargained down from 45 to 28 euro!
 - We ate amazing waffles, pizza, and fantastic Mexican food.
 - Josh and I kept everyone up snoring. And Adri smacked me in the face in my sleep.
 - We took lots of pictures of the tin man, but I forgot to bring Dorthy to Florence. It was really sad.

All in all a fantastic trip. I am really looking forward to making it a Rome weekend though. There is still so much to do and see here. Also it is exhausting to travel. Everyone needs a break and to save some money.

Ciao for now!

Calcio e Cappuccino

Two things that I've learned to love in Italy that I would have never experienced in the States. . . Calcio (soccer) and cappuccinos. I told myself that when I got to Italy I would make myself like cappuccinos. Turned out it wasn't as hard as I was expecting. Now when I go to sleep at night I think, "I can't wait to get up so I can have another cappuccino." The cafe downstairs is the best, Rinaldo and his wife Nella are so precious and make us great food. With my cappuccino I love getting nutella filled cornettos. They are delicious!

Calcio has never been my sport. I have always loved and played basketball. But I'm really excited to be playing, it's a lot of fun. I am the Navy team, we are awesome. Tonight was our second game and we won again! 2 - 0. Lots of people are getting hurt though, I pulled a muscle, the least of the injuries. Some people are getting smacked down. But it's all fun. We move from court to court and watch everyone's  games. It gets really intense.

We have games every week on Wednesdays and then there are the playoffs. I'm pretty sure it will just get more intense as we go along, but it's a blast. Love my team and love the sport. I also got my favorite number, 11! I should also be going to a Roma game in a couple weeks, so excited!

Chapter Two

Chapter one of this journey has closed. The routine has definitely set in and I'm on to the next portion of this grand adventure! Haven't updated in quite awhile, sorry about that. But I suppose it's good, better to have too much to say and not enough time to say it than the other way around.

So, let me backup. The last weekend in January I went to Barcelona. I was thinking I was going to go to Madrid, not Barcelona, but a bunch of people were going so I jumped on it. I can imagine that the cities are completely opposite, as I've heard from Adri and Jessie. But I did love Barcelona. I fell in love with all the art. We went to the Picasso museum which was fantastic! I also loved seeing all of the Gaudi work around the city. The Sagrada Familia was only one of the many wonderful sites we saw. We went to a Flamanco show one night, which was really remarkable. I had the best tappas in the world and had fantastic sangria as well.

Barcelona was also my first hostel experience. Overall, it was a good/fine experience. Except the first night when we arrived really late we thought we could try and sleep with our coats because we didn't want to pay for blankets. (I didn't think I would have to pay for blankets, that surprised me.) But around 4 a.m. when we all woke up because we were freezing we ended up getting them. Very good decision! But the hostel was in a great are of the city, with lots of shopping, and we felt really safe at night.

I think Barcelona is a lot more like America though, at some points I thought I was walking down Michigan Avenue. This, bothered me. It made me more homesick, because at points my mind thought I was home. But besides that I loved the city! Such a beautiful place!

This past week I've been sick, but have finally recovered. I hate being sick and what ever I have likes to keep appearing, since I've been dealing with it November. I did get to a farmacia though and bought some vitamin c, so that should help.

One of my best friends came to visit Rome this past weekend to see me and Josh. His name is Woj (Mike) we had a great time running around Rome and we went up to the top of the Vatican. I'm learning my way around the city more and more. I even went downtown by myself for the first time a few days ago. The adventure started out well, but then I couldn't find the correct bus to take for my transfer, wandered around for about 40 minutes, then it started to rain, and I eventually gave up and got a cab. It was still a good experience though.

Classes are good for the most part. Italian is really hard. My future self tells me this is a good thing so I can get a lot better, but my present self feels overwhelmed and frustrated. I literally have to sit with the dictionary when I do my homework. I just wish languages came easier to me. I'm still speaking more though, my broken Italian can get me a long way.

Last night watching the Superbowl was such an odd experience, it actually made me homesick. One, it was the first TV I've seen since I've gotten here. Two, it's the most English I've heard in a long time. It felt like I was watching America watching the Superbowl, it was very surreal. I've never been able to "see" America like that before. I did miss it, it's really hard to explain why, but I think something clicked while I was watching it and it really did set in that I'm in a different world over here. I love it though, but it's just an odd thing to realize.

I adore Rome, I love it more every day. I love it's bad parts and good parts. There is always something to do here and something to explore. Florence this coming weekend is going to be so wonderful! And I am counting down the days till Africa. I can't believe all of this is happening to me.

Picking up speed...

The semester is really starting to take off. In the last week I feel as if everything has started to settle more and get more exciting. I feel like I'm learning my way around the city, even though I might not actually. I bought a Rome map and I spend so much time looking at, following my steps of where I've been and where I still want to go.

I'm really starting to fall in love with this city. Everyone has said that Rome is very dirty and parts of it definitely are. However, the neighborhood we live in on via massimi, is really nice. The city can be very dirty, but it doesn't bother me that much. There is a lot of graffiti in the city as well. At first when I saw it, it kind of bothered me. All of these beautiful buildings covered in graffiti, but some of the graffiti is really beautiful. Now I'm seeing it as telling a story of that building, of that history, of the city. Not only does the art and architecture and Rome tell a story but so does the graffiti and the hardships the city has encountered. I think it all makes it more beautiful.

Classes are beginning to really start as well. I'm not in school mode at all. I should be reading for history right now, but I thought blogging was a better idea. :) However, I do like my classes, I think all of them should be really interesting. I'm the most excited about the Italian film class, of course.

I've also signed up to play calcio (soccer) with a bunch of other students. We will have games every Wednesday night for the rest of the semester. Basketball has always been my sport, but calcio is the game here and I am really excited about playing.

There are so many exciting things going on. I've planned two trips so far. This coming weekend I'm traveling to Barcelona with a group of girls. I am so excited! It's going to be a fantastic trip. I wasn't planning on going, but last minute plans are always fun. I've never been to Spain and just love the idea of moving country to country. I'm in awe that this is my life right now, it seems so surreal. I've also planned a trip to go to Florence in a couple of weeks with a few friends. Florence is supposed to be amazing. I can't wait to see it and go to all of the museums.

People are traveling everywhere all the time. I know people who are going to Poland, Germany, Spain, and Paris all this coming weekend. Flying in Europe is pretty cheap, but we will see what kind of fees Ryan Air throws at me. If anyone has any tips about flying in Europe they would be greatly appreciated.

The other really big news is that I am officially going to Tunisia for Spring Break. I wasn't sure if I was actually going to get it, because they didn't have enough spots for everyone and it turned into a lottery system, but I got chosen. I can't even begin to express how thrilled I am. The idea of traveling to Africa for my Spring Break overwhelms me with excitement. I will get to sleep under the stars in the Sahara desert. It's moments like these when I know that I am truly getting an amazing experience, one that will never come again.

This evening on the campus, we had an Italian/English speaking party, where Italians who are learning English at the school come to meet us. I met the sweetest woman, Giusy (spoken like Jucy). She is 28 years old. It was so much fun to talk with her. A mix between Italian and English, more English than Italian, but I was still proud of myself for remembering how to say things and understanding things she said. I talked to her for awhile and then she said, "I want to introduce you to my husband." So then we met her husband who was also at the party. His name is Fiore. I was so tickled to be talking to them and then when they told me they wanted to keep in touch with me and we exchanged emails I felt even more special. It made my day.

I'm starting to not feel "gone" anymore. I know this is my big adventure. But it's also times like this, when I feel so lucky to be where I am and doing what I'm doing, that I feel so awful for what is happening in Haiti. I'm not trying to feel sorry for myself, but I do need to keep things in perspective. It's such a tragedy. Maybe I've been thinking about this more because I'm outside of America, I'm not sure what it is, but I've been quietly thinking about it in my head.

Then again, every day different thoughts roll through my head. But I guess being abroad and studying in a different country is supposed to make you think differently and see the world differently. I know I'm not doing a good job at putting this into words at the moment. Maybe they will come to me in time.

As far as my Roman sites go, seeing the Vatican, was in short, amazing. I didn't even go inside, but I plan on returning many more times. I'm not even Catholic, but that place is out of this world. It was when I walked into St. Peter's Square that it hit me I was actually in Rome, well technically then I was in Vatican City, (but you know what I mean.) I still have much to see and I'm very happy to have so much time left in this city, because I feel like it's a big maze to explore.

Hope you all are well. Much love from Roma,
Katherine

Assisi and beyond

Ciao,

It seems like forever ago since I wrote and I don't even know where to begin on what to say about everything. Things are good. The trip to Assisi was a great time to bond with everybody more on the trip. It was such a small beautiful town and lots of fun to explore. People's names are starting to stick in my head more, but there are still a lot to learn.

It will be interesting how the next couple of weeks pan out with classes starting. My first day of classes is tomorrow. I have three, History, Italian, and Film. I'm also taking a Roman Art class, which I'm pretty excited about as well. I bought the majority of my books today. I also went to the Post Office to turn in all my paperwork to officially be legal in the country. And we might also have to go to the Police station in a couple of weeks to get fingerprinted. Lots to do.

I've been down in the neighborhood a bunch more now and slowly learning my way. I like going out in the city. It can become overwhelming at points, but it's fun to explore, get lost, and then realize where you are. I bought a map and have been looking at all the places I want to go and see. A few of us tried to find the Pantheon tonight, but were not successful. I'm thinking it will be good to go during the day though. I just need to dedicate a whole day to Rome.

The Rome Center is becoming a bit more like home. I like having Marriam as my roommate, I know I have a little place I can come back to at night and just breathe. Right now a ton of people are downstairs in one of the main hang out areas, Rinaldo's. It's where everyone gets WiFi. So I am successfully on my Mac, but I still haven't been able to upload any of my pictures to Facebook yet. I'm going to put a few in here as well, but I want them to go up so everyone can see them.

So I have officially almost been here a week and on the one hand it already feels like I have been here for a month, but on the other I can't believe it. I think there is still lots of adjusting going on for everyone, but Rome and Italy are so beautiful. I loved traveling from Rome to Assisi, listening to my music on the bus and looking at the countryside. Assisi was so beautiful! I would love to live there. We went on a 3 mile hike all uphill on Monday, it killed my legs, but the view from the top was spectacular.

At night, we found this great wine bar in one of the main piazza's, where a ton of students were. It was a lot of fun as well.

But going to start getting ready for my first day of classes tomorrow. Wish me luck! I will update and upload photos as soon as I can.

Love

Katherine