Fifty bug bites, fifty new scars. I hate mosquitoes. Every morning our
class kills about 10-20 mosquitoes that are flying around our room, all I can
think about is four more days until no more waking up at 6am and walking two
miles to get to class, no more trekking through the 95 degree weather with
humidity and being all swody.
Anyway, this past weekend five girls, our friend Brian and I went to the seaside of Italy to a town called Viareggio. We left after class on Friday and had a two-hour train ride with no AC- it was miserable. I have come to realize that I have been spoiled by living near the water all my life.
Anyway, this past weekend five girls, our friend Brian and I went to the seaside of Italy to a town called Viareggio. We left after class on Friday and had a two-hour train ride with no AC- it was miserable. I have come to realize that I have been spoiled by living near the water all my life.
Viareggio was
a semi small town, it reminded me of Venice, California with the palm trees,
piers and sandy beaches and the stores right on the sea front. Danielle and I
stayed at Hotel Liberty which was literally two minutes away from the beach.
Friday we got there in time to watch the sunset and walked around the rest of
the night exploring the town. Saturday we woke up early and met with the other
girls and went to their beach. Every hotel has an agreement with a different
private beach; sadly you have to pay to rent a chair, bed or umbrella to be out
on the beach. It was the best feeling to finally relax, not think about
anything, to not be in a rush to get somewhere or have my attention on a tour
guide.
After the beach we split and got ready for dinner. Danielle, Brian and I ended up going to a horrible restaurant where their Prosecco was half Prosecco/half white wine and servings were small. We were not happy so we went to an Appertivo that was a bit better. We finally made out way to the rest of the group and got to enjoy good food and bit of the night life of the town. There was a little flea market selling jewelry and hand crafts and hand blown glass. On Friday night when we walked around, the streets were very family orientated. On Saturday it was filled with teenagers and young people our age. Viareggio is not a very popular place for young people because there is no clubs near the beach, only sit down bars with live music. It was different but I liked it, it was nice to get away from the hustle and bustle that Florence gives you when you’re walking around. We didn’t stay out too late Saturday night; the sun really wore us all out.
Sunday we woke up early, and everyone came to the beach that was linked with our hotel. We ended up cutting our day short because one of my colleagues ended up having a panic/anxiety attack with a mixture of dehydration and we ended going to the hospital. It was scary dealing with a situation like that in another country where you don’t know what the doctors were saying. I’m just thankful that they’re ok now. Got back into Florence and it was soooo hot. It was miserable. Our train ride was 106 degrees inside the train. I can’t wait to be back to my rainy city. Once we got home we showered and went out to eat at Osteria dei Pazzi. We went there the first week and it’s been the best place I’ve ate at so far. The dinner was sooo good. I had bruschetta, papa pesto which is the small spiral noodles in pesto sauce, and then pork loin with a side salad with mozzarella. I love this restaurant, every employee is so happy and they make sure you feel welcomed whether you’re a local Florentine or a tourist. We have to do a group presentation in class where we pick 3-5 restaurants and describe how they run them and Danielle and I chose to do that one. We interviewed Laapo, the teacher from Apicius that we met in the beginning of our trip.
So now I’m facing the last week of class, we have our Italian oral presentation tomorrow (Tuesday), we get into groups and have a conversation at a cafĂ©, restaurant, train station etc.. Wednesday is our written Italian final, Thursday is our group presentation for food and beverage management operations and then Friday is our Wine lab. Then on Friday Danielle and I leave for Sardegna! It’s an island Northwest of Italy. I’m so excited to spend 6 days on white sandy beaches and pure blue water and not have to worry about annyythinnng, not returning to Florence for school just returning and hopping on that flight home!
That’s it for now, I know I haven’t caught up on everything, I still have plenty to write about from our trip to Parma and Modena, where we saw how Parmesan cheese, prosciutto and balsamic vinegar were made.
Here are some pictures from this weekend’s trip, until next time!
After the beach we split and got ready for dinner. Danielle, Brian and I ended up going to a horrible restaurant where their Prosecco was half Prosecco/half white wine and servings were small. We were not happy so we went to an Appertivo that was a bit better. We finally made out way to the rest of the group and got to enjoy good food and bit of the night life of the town. There was a little flea market selling jewelry and hand crafts and hand blown glass. On Friday night when we walked around, the streets were very family orientated. On Saturday it was filled with teenagers and young people our age. Viareggio is not a very popular place for young people because there is no clubs near the beach, only sit down bars with live music. It was different but I liked it, it was nice to get away from the hustle and bustle that Florence gives you when you’re walking around. We didn’t stay out too late Saturday night; the sun really wore us all out.
Sunday we woke up early, and everyone came to the beach that was linked with our hotel. We ended up cutting our day short because one of my colleagues ended up having a panic/anxiety attack with a mixture of dehydration and we ended going to the hospital. It was scary dealing with a situation like that in another country where you don’t know what the doctors were saying. I’m just thankful that they’re ok now. Got back into Florence and it was soooo hot. It was miserable. Our train ride was 106 degrees inside the train. I can’t wait to be back to my rainy city. Once we got home we showered and went out to eat at Osteria dei Pazzi. We went there the first week and it’s been the best place I’ve ate at so far. The dinner was sooo good. I had bruschetta, papa pesto which is the small spiral noodles in pesto sauce, and then pork loin with a side salad with mozzarella. I love this restaurant, every employee is so happy and they make sure you feel welcomed whether you’re a local Florentine or a tourist. We have to do a group presentation in class where we pick 3-5 restaurants and describe how they run them and Danielle and I chose to do that one. We interviewed Laapo, the teacher from Apicius that we met in the beginning of our trip.
So now I’m facing the last week of class, we have our Italian oral presentation tomorrow (Tuesday), we get into groups and have a conversation at a cafĂ©, restaurant, train station etc.. Wednesday is our written Italian final, Thursday is our group presentation for food and beverage management operations and then Friday is our Wine lab. Then on Friday Danielle and I leave for Sardegna! It’s an island Northwest of Italy. I’m so excited to spend 6 days on white sandy beaches and pure blue water and not have to worry about annyythinnng, not returning to Florence for school just returning and hopping on that flight home!
That’s it for now, I know I haven’t caught up on everything, I still have plenty to write about from our trip to Parma and Modena, where we saw how Parmesan cheese, prosciutto and balsamic vinegar were made.
Here are some pictures from this weekend’s trip, until next time!
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