Si, sono americana

After living in Florence for the past few months it seems normal to look back, reflect, and decide what I've learned. So what have I taken from this experience? I am an American. Profound, I know. Now, you may be thinking, "Um, Lauren, I could have told you that and saved you a lot of time and money." but I don't think I really understood what being an American was until I was presented with the opportunity to try something else on for size. Not that I ever really became Italian here; I tried to integrate, but there are some things people do here that just aren't my style.
Examples:

1) I've never liked smoking. Everyone smokes here. Old people with skin that looks like a rotted peach, teenagers with braces, and even a very pregnant woman I saw on the street (I stopped in my tracks and stared at her dumbfounded as she walked past me. I glared. She put on her sunglasses.) The constant cloud of smoke is something I will never get accustomed to or like.

2) I don't drink coffee. I don't like the taste. Go figure.

3) I like American breakfasts. I swear that a typical Italian breakfast is coffee and a cigarette (see #1 and #2). When I get back I'm making myself a ridiculously huge omelet.

4) I don't wear make up on a regular basis. Italians look like a million euros whether they're on their way to the grocery store or to a wedding, but I just don't really care to try that hard every single day. I'm a naturalist of sorts. Laziness may also be a factor.

5) My accent will give me away every single time. Even if I do use perfect grammar when speaking Italian (which is rare) they always know that I'm American, and often just respond to me in English.

6) I enjoy running outside. Italians think that this is absurd. It's part of their whole fear of being seen in an unattractive way (i.e. in workout clothes and sweaty). So running in Florence means dodging all of the people on the sidewalks who won't move out of the way for some silly American. It also meaning dodging dog poop (they don't clean up after their dogs here) and trying not to die. If I'm not tripping on the uneven and narrow sidewalks, I'm probably almost getting hit by an aggressive driver, or trying to catch my breath in the midst of the pollution and cigarette smoke. Florence a beautiful city, but not conducive to running.

7) Don't try to walk fast either. I am a fast walker, but for as fast as the Italians drive, they walk very slow. La dolce vita, right? Yeah, I'm a little too type A for that. I like to get where I'm going, although, this is one that I'm trying to work on. Walk slow, drink it all in... we'll see.

8) Male shovanists. Now, I never thought of myself as much of a feminist, but I do respect myself. And if I hear one more Italian mama's boy say something demeaning or degrading to women, I'll flip. It's hard here, because if I show that it makes me mad, that just makes them happy, so I have to keep my thoughts to myself. I don't do well with that.

Now, these are all of the things that make me American, but there are certainly things that I would like to bring back with me. Gelato? Best. Idea. Ever. Love, need it, gotta have it kind of food. (It's a wonder I'm not 500 lbs). Pesto? Ditto. Bottom line? Italians know their way around food. I hope to bring back some knowledge and possibly recreate what I've been eating for the past four months.
Wine with dinner? Yes, please.
Leather goods? I have definitely jumped on that bandwagon. (sorry PETA)
Euro fashion? This one I'm still sort of on the fence. I have an appreciation for the fashion here, but I don't think I could pull off half of the outfits that people wear here. Some are just plain weird. However, I've adopted a few things here and there. Thanks for adding a touch of sophistication to my wardrobe Florence!
It is very easy to be cultured here. I've found that I really like museums, art, and the like. Florence definitely a good place to live if you like the idea of going to a museum on a whim. Finished with psych class? Why, I think I'll go pay the David a visit. I'm going to miss that.

So I left in January an American and I will return... a more cultured American? OK, I wouldn't go that far, but I've definitely learned a lot. I'm so very lucky to have been able to do this, and I'm going to miss Florence very much. Sooner or later, I'll have to come back.

Tapas and other adventures in Madrid

Sometimes stepping out of your comfort zone can really pay off. This weekend was one of those times.
I decided way back in January that I was going to visit my friend Sarah in Madrid. We figured out that this would be the best weekend to do it, so I booked tickets and a hostel, and then didn't really think much more about it. As it got closer, I realized that I was going to Madrid. All by myself. Of course, I was meeting Sarah there, but I was still pretty much on my own. However, it turns out that I really enjoy traveling by myself, and I'm competent enough to do so. Yay!

So Thursday I got into Madrid around noon, dropped things off at my hostel, and got straight to exploring. Madrid has a wonderful public transportation system, so taking the metro was a breeze. I found El Retiro, which is Madrid's central park and wandered around there for a while. Luckily, the weather was nice.

during a nice stroll in the park


After that I found the Reina Sofia Art Museum and explored that for the rest of the afternoon. This is the museum with more modern works; lots of Dali surrealism and Picasso, including his Guernica. Some of them were odd, and I am not artsy enough to appreciate them, but there were definitely some others that I liked. Here's link to my favorite:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVc-nkOo9VTTi5uG4HkcGdIgCRVQ3sU_08NpuhsZu3rFqRKTFRAtVJngs_XwAbddZ088phpQXFVvPLwWXmsCr8E_8NCpwmE2vEKPF198cslOpb4UqwOPcGMKQ6GMIImN0z4qInyM3pLvpf/s400/Anglada+camarasa.jpg

Art? I don't know...

After the Art Museum Sarah was done with class, so we met up and grabbed tapas for dinner. We went to a place called Museo Del Jamon, which literally translates to the ham museum. It's a chain, but they had great food, so we had a nice dinner. After that we wandered around for a while and she showed me more of the city.

Friday I got up and met Sarah so that we could go explore Palacio Real, the Palace in Madrid. We had a great time looking at all of the ornately decorated rooms and the extensive collection of armor.
In front of Palacio Real

Then we went next door to the Catedral de la Almudena. This is a really interesting Cathedral; the decorations are very non-traditional.

Oooo, bright colors Sarah had class in the afternoon, so I went with her to the Universidad Complutense to see where she went to school. While she was in class I wandered around the area and found the Museo del Traje (Fashion Museum). I really enjoyed this one; they have clothing from the 16th century all the way up to modern day. Plus it was free for students- score!

The Breakfast at Tiffany's dress! I still had time to kill before I met Sarah at the Prado, and after walking around all day I was looking for something low key. I ended up at the Starbucks across the street and read a newspaper. I felt like such a sellout resorting to Starbucks, but I haven't had a chai tea latte in close to four months! However, I did read a Spanish newspaper and understood it (for the most part). That's got to count for something, right?
Sarah and I went to the Prado and took advantage of their free admission from 6-8pm. Sarah's taking an art history class that meets at the Prado once a week, but she had only seen a few of the rooms, so we wandered and she told me stories about the pieces that she had studied.

Witches flying? I forgot who did this one... Ribera maybe?
We went to dinner at this little place by the Palace and ordered great bocadillos (little sandwiches) and then met up with some of her friends later for drinks and tapas. The places were very crowded, but authentic and delicious. I'm a big fan of sangria.

Saturday Sarah and I went on a day trip to El Escorial, which is about an hour outside of Madrid. They have a monastery there that is huge and fun to walk around. It's really seemed like more of a palace. We saw some pretty intricate tombs, a huge library, and lots of art. Not exactly what I expected of a monastery, but a good visit nonetheless.

in the courtyard at the monastery
We then took a trip up into the hills to Valle de los Caidos (Valley of the Fallen). Francisco Franco had a basilica built in the mountain, and when I say in I mean IN the mountain. They carved it out of the side. It is huge, and very eerie, mostly because it was dark inside and has no windows. Plus the style was very somber. However, the view outside was gorgeous. I can see why they wanted to build there. Above the basilica is the world's largest cross. Seriously, it is. It's unbelievable.

Sarah with the beautiful view in the background
The Basilica and the Cross with ominous dark clouds behind them. It later hailed. When we got back to Madrid, we split up for a bit so that Sarah could eat dinner with her host family. I was thinking about taking a nap, but then decided that I can sleep when I die and I should explore Madrid instead. I was staying in an area called Malasana, which is sort of a young artsy area. I walked around a bit and did a little shopping.

Calle Espiritu Santo, the street where my hostel was- cute right?

Then shops started to close, but I still had a lot of time before I had to meet Sarah, so I went to a place near Plaza Mayor and got a bocadillo. I watched the Andalucia vs Real Madrid soccer game and enjoyed my bocadillo for a while before walking over to Sol to meet Sarah.

Side note: When I bought my plane tickets, I didn't really think through the logistics, I just bought what was cheapest. Unfortunately, that meant that my flight left at 7:10am on Sunday. Which meant I had to check in between 5:10 and 6:30. The airport is just outside of the city, and the metro doesn't run that early, so I sort of put myself in a predicament. I asked Sarah for advice and her solution was to stay out all night and take the night bus to her place (she lives in a residential area in northern Madrid with a family). Then if I took a cab from there it would be much cheaper. So that is what we did. If there is anywhere you can stay out all night, it is definitely Madrid.

So anyways, we met up around 11 and then went to a Karaoke bar with her friends. Sarah said that most nights they play a lot of English songs, but for some reason the night we were there they were mostly Spanish. No problem. We chatted for a while and ended up singing along with everyone else. It was a lot of fun.

Recap: Art Museums, a monastery, and an all-nighter at a Karaoke Bar. All in all a very fun weekend.

Buona Pasqua!

That's Happy Easter to all of you non-Italian speaking folks. This past week was a lot of fun with Thomas and Taryn visiting, plus a few others as well as Easter festivities.

First things first- I saw Sarah last Monday! Sarah is another Marquette student currently studying abroad (for those of you who don't know her) and she is living in Madrid. She was just in Florence for the day, but it was great to see her nonetheless. I am visiting her in Madrid this coming weekend, so I will have more quality Sarah time then.

Me and my little Madrilena in front of Ponte Vecchio

Sadly, Sarah left but then Thomas and Taryn showed up and we had a great week. Taryn's friend is also studying here and she is a grad student majoring in Renaissance Art, so she was an excellent tour guide in all of the museums. The four of us went to the Uffizi one day and the Bargello the other and had a good time learning random facts from Stephanie about all of the pieces and the artists.
On Friday Thomas, Taryn, and I went on a day trip to Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre translates to five lands, and that is a pretty accurate description. It's these five mini-peninsulas that jut out into the Mediterranean and each of them have a small town. There is a trail that connects all five towns, so we decided to go for a day of hiking. I think we underestimated the difficulty (it was much steeper than I expected) but luckily we are healthy young people who can handle a little exercise. We only did two of the trails, but it took us about three hours, so we were satisfied with ourselves. And, while it was difficult, it was also absolutely gorgeous. Yet another place that doesn't look real. So, of course, my pictures don't do it justice, but they still turned out nicely.
Thomas and Taryn at the beginning of the hike- before we knew what we were actually trying to do
Vernazza, the town where we stopped for some food (and a breather)
Notice the faint trail that goes up the side of the mountain. Yeah, we climbed that.
We had a nice day of hiking around in the beautiful weather and the next day they left to go back the states. I had a great visit with the both of them, and I'm so glad that they came.

Saturday I didn't have any plans, and it was weird. I'm so used to traveling every weekend, that it was nice to have a day in Florence to do whatever I want. I discovered that, when left to my own devices in Florence, I shop. It was a bit dangerous; the weather was great, I was in a good mood, I was doing a good job of haggling with the vendors... you get the idea. When I decided that I had done enough damage (don't worry Dad, not too much damage) it was time to hike up to my favorite place in Florence: Piazzale Michelangelo.

On the way I had to cross Ponte Vecchio. Note the ridiculous amount of people on the bridge. Tourist season is officially here.
Once I got to the other side of the Arno (Altroarno for Florentines) I stopped at a fruit stand for some strawberries and then made the trek to the top. Then I sat and read for my literature class.

Here's a picture from my reading spot.
So, Saturday was a nice relaxing day, but Sunday was Pasqua (Easter). Florentines take their Pasqua very seriously. They have an odd tradition where they attach a mechanical dove to a string that leads from the altar in the Duomo to a cart in the Piazza outside of the Duomo. This cart is rigged with all kinds of fireworks and when the dove hits the cart they explode. If all of the fireworks explode, it's supposed to mean that it will be a lucky year. When I first heard about this tradition I thought it was odd, because it has nothing to do with the resurrection of Jesus. Then I remembered that we hide eggs from children and blame it on a bunny, so I guess I'm not one to judge.
Anyways, my friends and I woke up bright and early to go to the Duomo and see the dove/fireworks show. We got there an hour before it started. We should have gotten there three hours before. It was absolutely packed, but I still managed to get some decent pictures.

All of the important people in costumes on the steps of the Duomo. They were playing drums and tossing flags

The cart all rigged and ready to go (Note how close it is to the Duomo. Does that make you as nervous as it makes me?)

The Italian children next to me with the olive branches that were passed out
(I got one too. Score!)
Fireworks! It's going to be a good year.

So, the whole time I was there, I couldn't help but think, "Man, they would NEVER do this in the U.S." Why, you may ask? Well,
1) They allowed people EXTREMELY close to the fireworks. I was back in the crowd several people deep, and I still have never been that close to fireworks.
2) They set the fireworks off in between the Duomo and the Baptistery, two of Florence's oldest/most significant/most beautiful/most irreplaceable buildings.

Lesson for the day: Florentines like to walk on the wild side.

Brie on the Beach

I spent this past weekend in the South of France. It is arguably the prettiest places that I have been thus far in Europe.
See: exhibit A
exhibit B
One thing is for sure, this was definitely the most relaxing place I have been in the past few months.
The first day we walked around Nice; exploring the open air market (I bought a mini baguette and raspberries for lunch) and climbing up a hill to see a waterfall and a good view (see the photo above). That afternoon we drove farther inland and went whitewater rafting. It was so much fun! I thought the school might have signed us up for some drift down a lazy river- this was definitely not the case. We were in two-person blow up kayaks and we spent the entire time dodging large rocks and fearing for our lives. It was great. Here's a picture of all of the girls in our wetsuits- I'm in the back.
The next day was tres relaxing. We went to Cannes and hung out on the beach. All. day. long. I did a little bit of shopping at an outdoor market, so I got a tasty lunch and a few cute souvenirs. It was funny though, we were definitely the only Americans there. We ended up playing whiffle ball baseball and got some funny looks. Apparently, that was just too American for the people in Cannes.

Spectators.
The last day we went to Monte Carlo. It doesn't look real. It is so perfectly manicured, and the people have so much money there, that it seems fake. It's not, of course, so we had a great time wandering around. Here's a good picture of it. Me, hanging out in Monte Carlo.

So, Southern France was a beautiful, relaxing, and fun weekend. I returned to Florence well-rested, happy, and tan!