Video

Ciao a tutti!

 

We are FINALLY at the end of the fall semester!  I am in the middle of finishing final projects and studying for exams and wanted to share this video with you all.  I made it as part of a final project for my language class and thought you all might enjoy getting to see Florence this way - as I see it every day.  It documents my daily walk to class and highlights a few points of interest along the way.

 

Enjoy!

 

Merry Christmas!

Hello everyone!

It has been over a month since I posted...I apologize for that!  I'm currently on Christmas break in Greece at my friend's house and will be catching you up on all that has happened over the past four weeks. ;)

Merry Christmas!  Buon Natale!  καλά χριστούγεννα και χρόνια πολλά!

Blog Updates + Lots of Photos

Ciao!

This is my second post this week because I wanted to share a few more things with you all:

1. I have now added labels to my blog.  On the right hand side there should be a list of all the topics I have covered.  If you want to see what I wrote about churches, click on the label "church" and you will get a list of all relevant posts.  This makes it easier if you are trying to search for a previous post.
2. Orientation finished about three weeks ago and I wanted to share some photos from my weekend trips with you all.  Enjoy!

I live far from il centro (the center of town) but close to a small town called Fiesole.  Fiesole was an Etruscan town originally and is full of Roman ruins....which are noticeably absent from Firenze and which this Classical Studies major really wanted to see.  It also has splendid views of Florence!  The first time I didn't get to go into the archaeological site but I recently went again last week during "culture week" so we got a reduced entrance fee which made us very happy.  It is a beautifully maintained site.

Fiesole: Street View

View towards Florence on a cloudy day

The Roman theater

Tuscan countryside view from the archaeological site (looking away from Florence)

 The next weekend my friend and I went to the Expo Rurale on the opposite side of town.  There was lots of food, plants, and animals to be petted and photographed. :)  It was a fun Saturday afternoon activity that also let us explore another side of town.

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selling salame

Having fun with Pinocchio

Another Friday after class we went to Settignano, which is another small town that is easily accessabile by bus.  There wasn't as much to do there as in Fiesole but we admired the view and enjoyed being away from the hustle and bustle of the city.  There seem to be good hiking trails here...when the weather cools down I need to convince my friends to go with me! ;)

A picture my friend took of me taking a picture :)

 The next weekend we took a trip to Viareggio beach, which was very relaxing.  To get there we had to take the train from centro at the Santa Maria Novella station.  It was the perfect time go to as it wasn't crowed with summer vacationers but it was still sunny and warm enjoy to enjoy the beach.

Santa Maria Novella train station (www.florence-on-line.com)

Viareggio beach with mountains in the background

Our final weekend was full of studying for our language and art history finals and spending quality time with Bubu:

Surprised Bubu

Lazy Bubu

Napping Bubu

So that's about it for orientation!  I am definitely more confident with navigating around the city and speaking Italian most of the time.  From now on we have class trips about twice a month and I will be posting about those.  Last week we went to Ravenna -- I'll tell you all about it in my next post!

Ciao!

Blog Instructions

Hi!  Welcome to my blog!

As I prepare for my trip to Italy, I thought I'd give you some instructions on how to use this blog. 

1. First, you should bookmark my blog address so you can easily access it.  Make sure you have the correct spelling!  www.isabellasinitaly.blogspot.com
2. Commenting: The great thing about a blog is that we can all participate.  I'll post pictures and musings and if you have questions or just want to say hi, you can comment on my posts. To post a comment, follow these simple steps:
• At the bottom on the post there will be a link that says how many comments have been posted.  Click on this.
• Type your comment in the text box.
• You will see "comment as" and then a drop box of choices. You can select either "Name/URL" and type your first name (leave the URL blank) or select "anonymous" and then sign your name in the text box. Either way, make sure you have signed your name! All comments are moderated by me and if your name is not on them, I will think it is spam and delete it.
• Click publish and you're done! Your comment might not be immediately visible because I have to approve it, but fear not, it shall appear within a day or so.

Hope that was helpful!  Check back next week for my first post and pictures!  I don't want to make any promises until I see my schedule in Italy but my goal is to post at least once a week :)

Ciao,
Isabella