Firenze, Pisa, e una cascata

This past weekend was jam packed with road travel (a nice break after all these recent train rides..). Alex, a guy I met on CouchSurfing.org, invited me on a quick roadtrip to Florence (which was then expanded with a quick stop in Pisa), and then on an adrenaline-building hike to a gorgeous waterfall just a few hours from Bologna.

Alex, Mayra (a German girl staying with Alex for the weekend), and I spent a good chunk of Saturday wandering FlorenceFlorence was everything I expected- a relatively small city with beautiful buildings and delicious food!

We went straight up the hill to Piazzale Michelangelo, where the gorgeous view of the whole city was well worth the steep hike!

Alex, me, and a replica of Michelangelo's David!

First stop down at sea level- Piazza de Pitti, an old Castle

Another European city, another Arc!

lots of tourists and some cool statues

the writer of Pinocchio was from Florence! stores like this were everywhere!

Ponte Vecchio- my second favorite thing, next to Piazzale Michelangelo

A statue in Ponte Vecchio

Santa Maria Novella- I love the combination of the old architecture and the modern glass benches in front!

most amazing pizza I've ever had @Gusta Pizza. the restaurant came highly recommended by a good friend in Berkeley, and I'm so glad I tried it!

Alex & Mayra anxiously awaiting the pizza

new friends! the GustaPizza chefs were so nice and invited me into the kitchen when they saw me taking a million pictures of my pizza

The little note we slipped under the glass of the table! International friends enjoying delicious food!

We only stayed in Pisa for about an hour, because once you get there, you realize there's absolutely nothing to see beside the famous tower and a few souvenir booths. We had a fun time taking those typical leaning-against-the-tower pictures though!

these three buildings are pretty much all there is to see in Pisa, correct me if I'm wrong!
had to capture some of these hilarious moments. do these people know how silly they look?

...but then of course we had to join in!

Alex got creative..

...and I couldn't help myself!

The next day I rejoined Alex, his friend Daniel, and another new CouchSurfing/Au-Pairing friend Rebecca. It was nice being with Rebecca, a fellow native English speaker (but from England), and an au-pair. She had a lot of crazy stories to tell me about her pretty weird host family who has her working around 11 hours a day, and has only given her 5 days off in the past 6 weeks! Her stories made me feel really blessed to be staying with such an awesome family, who understands that I'm not only here to help out around the house and with the kids, but also (and more importantly) to experience the culture here in Italy. Once we got over the Au-Pair banter, Becky and I had a hilarious time making fun of each others accents & national stereotypes. Anyway, here are some proper funny pictures.. Tally-ho!

before we knew how much hiking was ahead of us..

first waterfall! about 1/4 of the way up

second waterfall, where the boys were brave enough to dive in. Alex noted that the water seemed even colder than that of the Norwegian sea!

Finally made it to the top!

dangling on the edge of a massive cliff, risking my life for a cute picture

a funny sighting on the car ride back, but the picture of these German guys offer me a perfect transition.. I'm off to Germany tomorrow! Will be back and blogging next week :)

Miss you all back home, XOXO

..still alive! bologna, milano, bologna, milano, and back to bologna!

Again, my excuse for not blogging this past week is that it has been far too hectic! Also, blogging is becoming so much more of a chore now that I have to reach in to my seemingly distant memory to recall the details of the past few days, as most days are packed with adventure!

Eve's visit last week was great. We enjoyed some pretty phenomenal food for lunch @Osteria Dell'Orsa, and amazing gelato @Sorbetteria Castiglione, as well as surprisingly good 3Euro pizza, and of course watermelon and sangria to celebrate America's birthday! We had a nice little dinner at the home of some new friends in Bologna (in the backyard, under some lantern-lit vines) followed by a hilarious dance party in the living room, which soon felt like more of a sauna.

appetizer- CROSTINI!!! (toast, salami, cheese, and balsamic)

umm.. we didn't expect the sliced meats to be THIS raw

amazing Pasta Ragu (commonly known as Pasta Bolognese)

incredible gelato

Sangria time, my favorite time..

dance party with new friends! YAY AMERICA

HMM.. what else? oh, just two separate last-minute trips to Milan! When I got to Italy a few weeks ago, I contacted a friend, Florent, who I met when I was in Milan on a quick exchange program in high school. He was a beyond amazing host and had me over for two nights over the weekend, and then another night after his crazy math exam was over. It was great catching up with him over his tasty home-cooked meals, and just as fun getting delicious apertivos and hitting up the Milano bar & discotheque scene. We also enjoyed a nice walk through the park, amazing Panserotti @Luini's, and after a long day of walking came home to fall asleep watching Pulp Fiction. Being with Florent was so refreshing, especially after so many terribly uncomfortable situations with random aggressive Italian men. Somehow, Florent and I didn't manage to get any pictures together through both trips, but I took a few snap shots when I was out wandering as he stayed at home to study. It was amazing being back in the first Italian city that captured my heart, and funny to see how quickly and vividly all of the memories came back to me.

Castello Sforzesco
best gelato I've ever had @Shokolat
me at the Duomo last week..

...and me in front of the Duomo in February, 2008

reading a good book in front of a gorgeous monument will never stop being surreal
I was gonna pick you up a sports car or something dad, but I figured this photo and a mention of you in my blog would be better :) hehe
Asians on a shopping haul @the Galleries.. Prada, Gucci, MuiMui, oh my
"wouldn't he get bored just carving vegetables all day?" -Florent

I do love the duomo, but is it the ideal place for wedding photos with all the pigeons and fanny-packing tourists? absolutely not.

i hunted for this highly-recommended bakery for an hour, only to find it closed :(
Milano Navigli- gorgeous canals

the one non-solo pic i got- with Issou at the "Old Fashion" Discotheque (same one I went to three years ago!)

returned to Bologna to find this delicious home made chocolate cake. Thanks, Michela!!

Some other random things that happened throughout the week:

Took another little walk to "Little Venice" in Bologna, this time with some new Berkeley friends, Brie & Maybelline!

The kids and I had some fun in the park..

Edo practiced his hair styling on me

I was shocked when Michela gave me horse meat to give Edoardo for lunch, and even more shocked when she told me to serve it to him uncooked!

Mati and I passed on the raw horse and opted for pasta instead

we're still easing our way into summer homework assignments!

Mati and I really enjoy our girly afternoons when Edoardo goes off to swim lessons...

...like styling our hair...

...and making LEGO princess castles

I found my new favorite cafe, called ITIT, which serves frozen espresso shots and organic sodas. YUM. (wi-fi access= added bonus)

Watched another free movie in the Piazza.. this time it happened to be based on the book that I'm only halfway finished with, John Steinbeck's East of Eden. Since it stars James Dean, I obviously had to stay for the first few scenes! Yum, look at that face..

...and now it's the weekend, and I'm heading off to Florence around 7 am tomorrow morning.. will try to post again soon!! xoxo

Also, feel free to leave comments, so I don't feel like I'm just writing this blog to myself.. hah (but really)