Landmark! First weekend in Genoa

Hi everyone!

I don't really have much to say today, except that we have successfully completed our first full week here in Italy! On one hand, I feel like the time has flown by, but on the other, I feel like I have been here for a year already.

We didn't end up going to Cinque Terre, like I mentioned in my last post. Everyone decided it would be best to hang out locally this weekend, get settled in and really explore the city. I think it was a great idea because I don't think I'm fully adjusted to the time difference yet. I still somehow end up awake until 3:00 in the morning!

We spent the weekend exploring and shopping for souvenirs for our friends and family back home. We live right next to the pier, so it's a really busy area. They have little tents set up every day and they sell all sorts of goodies! In fact, this weekend was some kind of cultural festival, so we've been hearing music from all over the world 24/7. As I'm typing this, I'm listening to someone playing Native American... flutes, I think? They're beautiful. The great thing about being right next to the pier is that we get to hear all the noise! It's also a bad thing though.

Today was mostly a day to catch up on homework for our assignments due this week. I also did a little exploring on my own, on orders from my professor. I ended up wandering through some side streets by myself. It was fun, until some girl and her boyfriend started hassling me for money. I just kept walking and eventually they left me alone. Scary!!

On that subject, there are a LOT of people on the streets trying to sell you stuff. Over by the pier you have to be really careful because there are guys who will come up to you and ask if you want a friendship bracelet, then they tie it on your wrist before you can say no and they won't take it back, refusing until you pay an outrageous price for it. They do the same thing with flowers and a few other things too. I have been followed and one guy tried to physically force it into my hands!! You have to be very firm with them to get them to go away.

Also, funny story for today: Natasha and I went to get gelato at a little shop down the street from our apartment. Obviously everything is in Italian, so I just pointed to a flavor that looked good and asked the lady for one scoop. She put it on a cone for me and started saying something to me in Italian, and of course I couldn't understand her. So I just nodded and she gave me the cone. After we paid for them, I went outside and took a taste of mine. It wasn't even gelato: it was literally frozen nutella! Not nutella-flavored gelato... ACTUAL nutella. What a waste of 3 euros!! I'm pretty sure the lady was trying to warn me. Man, I need to learn some Italian.

Anyway, that's all I have for updates today!

(P.S.... I JUST HEARD THUNDER!!! I have a feeling it's gonna be a good night. Anyone who knows me should know that I LOVE a good thunderstorm. Mmm mm mm!!)

Here are some random pictures from my adventures this weekend:

We walked down the coast to Boccadasse last night and the moon was so beautiful!

This is the only beach within 20 miles that you don't have to pay to swim at. All the beaches are rock, not sand! So weird!!

Me and Natasha! On our walk down the coast.

 Just a beautiful view of the signs on the big pier building.

If I remember correctly, this is a statue of Genoa's patron saint, San Georgio! Either that or it's Christopher Columbus. He was born here, in case you didn't know.

A beautiful lighthouse on the coast.

This picture doesn't do this building justice, but it was an ENORMOUS palace that we passed. I wanted to go inside so badly!

To be honest, I don't know what the heck this thing is. But it's a landmark of the area. I think it's like architectural decoration or something. Either way, it's beautiful! Especially right after the sun sets like in this picture.

Ciao for now!! Arrivederci! :)

Exploring Genoa! Pictures galore.

Ciao ragazzi! 

It's day 4 here in Genoa, Italy, and the first day of my first weekend! We were up until four o'clock this morning (the rest of the girls were out clubbing and I was reading a book because I couldn't sleep - nerd alert), so we all slept in until almost 1 in the afternoon!! 

When I woke up, my roommate Sahar came into our bedroom to tell us that there was a 5.1 magnitude earthquake here this morning!! All I have to say about that is it was a good thing I was sleeping because earthquakes are one of my top two biggest fears (the other being tornadoes). If I had been awake when it happened, I probably would've dropped dead of a heart attack. 

After we got ready for the day, we decided to head out and explore unknown territory. So we set out through Old Genoa and started picking random side streets to follow. We ended up finding a beautiful palace/cathedral and a really gorgeous park along the way. 3 hours of walking!! I think in the past 4 days, I have walked a combined total of something like 15 hours! Sooo much walking!

Anyway, long story short, Natasha and I ended up getting lost trying to find our way back to Portofino, the area we live in. We ended up on the wrong side of the aquarium (the area of town where our Italian guide told us to avoid at all costs). Of course, neither of us speaks italian so we couldn't exactly ask anyone for directions. Eventually I caught a glimpse of something that looked familiar and WHAM! We popped out literally right next door to our apartment building. Haha. We were proud of ourselves for successfully finding our way home! 

I think tomorrow we are going to make a little group trip to Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre is a group of colorful villages along the coast of Italy. Nobody owns cars there, from what our Italian advisor told us. You can only get there by foot or by ferry. So I think we're planning on taking a boat along the coast to see all the beautiful villages and maybe do a little hiking. Giulliana said that there is nothing more beautiful in the world than Cinque Terre, so I am really excited! I'll be sure to post lots of pictures when I get home. 

For now, enjoy the pictures I've taken in the past couple days! 

Natasha and I went to the supermarket and bought a bunch of food to eat, including this delicious Italian frozen pizza! A lot different from the frozen pizza back home.

While on our exploration, we found this beautiful park that wound up a huge hill, complete with caves and waterfalls and breathtaking views of the city.

This picture and the next picture are of an Italian public watercloset! Or bathroom, whichever you prefer. Anyway, I was so impressed by it!! Basically you push a green button and the door slides open for you. Then you go inside and the toilet is already running. You have 15 minutes to do your business. Motion-sensored water, soap, and air dry your hands. And then you push another button, the door slides open for you, and you step out. Then the watercloset cleans and sanitizes everything before the next person can go inside. GENIUS!!!

This picture was actually to send to Grady, but I decided to post it anyway because that palace is so beautiful!! 

We saw this guy yesterday. And then today we were walking and he was pretending to be a statue in the middle of the square! We watched him scare the crap out of quite a few passersby. He didn't have those awesome shoes on today though. Haha

Yeah, they sell octopus in the frozen food aisle here. *gag*

A beautiful arc we found in the center of New Genoa. I'm in the picture too! Waaaaaaaay down there at the bottom. See me?

The view from the terrace of our classroom. Simply beautiful!

Here's another picture of that arc we found. I don't know what it's called. But you can see a good chunk of Genoa stretching out into the hills behind it. The picture really doesn't do it justice. 

Thanks to anyone who is actually reading this! Grazie! 

See you all soon! Ciao!

First Week: Planes, Trains and Automobiles. And Jetlag.

Buongiorno!

Well, we finally made it to Italy. It is now just the end of day 2. And I gotta tell you.... I'm just exhausted.

It has been a blur of activity since we got here. I can honestly say that I underestimated how scary it is to be in a foreign country and not be able to speak or understand the language. As a matter of fact, just today Natasha and I went to the grocery store and bought a bunch of stuff since our bags are still lost. And we spent forever in line and we finally got to the front. I went first and the cashier started going off in italian, angrily gesturing at the bag of apricots I had bought. Finally I understood that he needed me to weigh them. So I ran back to the produce section and had to enlist the help of an impatient man and his son using hand gestures to help me with the measuring machine. I held up the entire line for a good ten minutes and I don't think they were happy. I felt bad!!

All in all, though, it's beautiful here!! And although I'm a little homesick, I'm so glad I took the opportunity to come on this trip.

Here are a few pictures of my adventures so far:

The Piazza De Ferrari. It's the center of Old Genoa and our group's main meeting point.

The HUGE calzone we had for lunch. So delicious!!

The awesome key to our apartment!!

On our way to a fancy restaurant for our welcome dinner with our Italian foster mom.

Actually, the restaurant we ate in was housed in a building that was built in yhe 15th century! It was gorgeous. Giuliana (our italian foster mom) told us a story about how they found the building and restored it. There is a room called the anniversary room. It's built over a 15th century well and the floor is glass. The room is actually in a little cave and all that fits is a little 2 person table, lit by candlelight. It is simply gorgous!! I wanted to get a picture of it, but it was occupado. :(

Anyway, it's one in the morning here so I'd better get some sleep.

Talk to you guys soon! Ciao ciao!

Things I Have Learned From 4 Days At The Airport

This is day 4.

Four days spent at airports.  Here are a few things I have learned:

1. Pack 3 pairs of clothes in your carry-on. And for heaven's sake.... PACK EXTRA UNDERWEAR.

2. Just because a hotel is cheap on expedia does not mean you should book it when you are stranded overnight. (Below is a picture of the window in our seattle motel room.  Broken and duct-taped back together.)

3. Every airport should have free wifi. GOOD free wifi.

4. Airport food is overpriced and it makes you sick after a while.

5. Delta customer service people can be VERY rude. Especially when you have gone to see them 8 times.

6. Of course your bags will get lost as you bounce from airport to airport. Don't count on them to follow you.

7. Bring a pillow. You will need it.

8. It's okay; snore away on the floor in the corner of the airport. Nobody will spare you a second glance.

9. Nothing is more exhausting than sitting in an airport all day doing absolutely nothing.

10. Hydrate. Even if you think the water tastes gross. Or you will regret it later.




The good news is, there's a pretty good chance we will get out on a flight to Milan this afternoon! After that it's only a short 90 minute train ride to Genoa. The bad news? Our bags are in Amsterdam.

Wish us luck!

The Truth About Flying Standby

...... IT SUCKS.

As I type this, I should be getting ready to get on a plane to Rome. In reality, however, Natasha and I are sitting in the Detroit airport, contemplating the fact that we will NOT make it to Italy (or even anywhere in Europe) today. In fact, we may not even make it tomorrow.

Flying standby is extremely cheap, but sometimes the other costs are pretty high. Like high stress levels, hopping airports all over the US, and maybe being days late for your trip, all because the flights fill up at the last minute.

That's what happened to us today. We thought if we didn't make it to Rome, we would still have two chances to get to Amsterdam and one chance to get to Paris. Then at least we could buy a "cheap" ticket to Italy.

Instead, every single flight over-booked and it has had a snowball effect.

So Natasha and I will most likely be spending the night in the Detroit airport tonight and flying to Boston tomorrow morning to try it all again. If we don't make it out tomorrow, we'll be late for the program.

Saw this one coming!

Flying standby is tricky, people.

Just a warning for those who want to get a buddy  pass!

Adventures await!

Hellos, Goodbyes, and Pre-departure Preparations!

Buon giorno, everyone! 

As is obvious by this blog's existence, I'm going to Italy to study abroad for a month this summer. Starting in 3 days, actually. So soon! 

Since everyone and their dog blogs about their study abroad experience, I figured I should hop on the bandwagon as well. Besides, it's a cool way for everyone to keep in touch with me and my goings on while in Italy without me having to email the same story a million times to a million different people.

Anyway, like I said, I leave in 3 days, and I feel like I'm more stressed than excited. There's so much to do before I leave! I have the majority of everything packed. 

Here's a picture of my bag as it was half-packed. :)

I used a tip from Grady's mom and used vacuum-seal bags to pack my clothes. I fit like 10 million times more stuff than I would have otherwise. I was actually really impressed! Although my friend pointed out that because I wasn't necessarily careful putting all my clothes into the bags, they are probably going to be REALLY wrinkled by the time I get to Italy. Eh, whatever.

I have so much to do before I go. Tomorrow is my last day of work, then I'm going to get a final mani/pedi with a friend tomorrow night. The calm before the storm.

Thursday, the day before I leave, is going to be the craziest. Let me just tell you my whole schedule: a farewell breakfast in the morning, run home to finish packing/clean my room, drive to Bountiful to visit family visiting from out of state, drive to Stansbury to visit/say goodbye to Grady's family, drive to Tooele to visit/say goodbye to my family, drive to Sandy to go to the midnight premiere of Man of Steel, drive back to Tooele, sleep for a few hours, and then leave for the airport at 6:00 Friday morning so we can catch our flight at 9:00. 

It is going to be a crazy couple days!! We are flying standby, so there's a good chance we will end up bouncing all over Europe before we actually make it to our final destination. We have a reservation at a hotel in Rome Saturday night, and then we have to get up early Sunday morning and catch a 4-hour train to Genoa so we can meet the rest of our group. 

 I've been having nervous nightmares for the past few days, imagining everything that could possibly go wrong. Fingers crossed that everything somehow goes smoothly. 

Arrivederci! Talk to you soon!