Vineyard!

So my first week of class is done(on thursday!!), and right now all of us freshies are cooking together. Chicken soup and burgers... all with fresh ingredients.

So last week, we went on a vineyard wine tasting trip, and did a photo scavenger hunt around the city. The vineyard. OMG it was beautiful. It was called Verrazzano, and was the home of the European explorer who found parts of America. After a tour, we had a meal with a sampling of 4 different wines that they make. We learned how to sniff, swirl, test color, and sample... Now im a pro :] The food was amazingly fresh and delicious..... So we started with a white wine, and then a red, then an olive oil they make, with freshly baked bread. Next they served a PERFECT pasta sauce, after that was fresh prosciutto, salami, and eggplant with fresh mozzarella, tomato, and capers. DELIZIOSO! Everything was SOOOO FRESH and amazing... Then we had a different red wine, and cheese. Last we had biscotti, with a dessert wine... sweet and very strong. We dipped the cookies in the wine, which was served in a shot glass type of glass. We left with our tummies full, and very happy.

My School Schedule

Hey Hey! So here is my class schedule... I start off tomorrow with italian at 12:45. i'm a little nervous, but I have the class with a bunch of my friends.


WRI 180 F College Writing II 3
Teacher: Goldpaugh Thomas Location: Firenze - Via del Giglio, 15
WED 3:00 PM-5:30 PM Room: Raffaello
Prereq: College Writing I or equivalent.
101
ITL 101 F 3-Credit Italian Language Beginning 3
Teacher: Melita Maureen Location: Firenze - Via Faenza, 43
MON 12:45 PM-2:00 PM & WED Room: L
12:45 PM-2:00 PM
107B
ART 180 F Introduction to Art History 3
Teacher: Giardino Lucia Location: Firenze - Via del Giglio, 15
TUE 9:00 AM-11:30 AM Room: Raffaello
101
PDM 130 F Principles of Drawing and Composition 3
Teacher: Gambassi Filippo Location: Firenze - Via del Melarancio, 6/R
MON 3:00 PM-5:30 PM Room: Pontormo
101
HIS 250 F The Quarters of Florence: History and Culture 3
Teacher: Bellini Marcello Location: Firenze - Via Faenza, 43
THU 9:00 AM-11:30 AM Room: N

Italy so far........

OMG Wow. On my first night in Florence, i was terribly tired, but I still took in all the activity going on around me. Speeding Fiats, Vespas, and buses to large for the crowded streets, people walking in large groups, joking and feeling safe in well lit paths. The aged buildings surround the area, encapsulating you in the history, giving chills when you think of all the people who have lived inside their walls.

So every night there is a carnival that goes on in the plaza down our street. It was going when I arrived, and I could here it through out my apartment. The classical and carnival type music was so exciting, and after a cold shower and and a peak around my new home, I laid in bed, just content to be in a new place, so different than Santa Barbara.


more to come... heres the link to my photo album! check back for more pics!!!



http://picasaweb.google.com/saschiferl/OnMyAdventureFlorence?authkey=Gv1sRgCIu6sqPf9-aeZA&feat=directlink

Outside my window the 1st night.... A tower of il Duomo

Outside my window... Via del Corso

I'm Here!!!

Hello Italia!

So I will start my story at the LAX airport. Inside a Lufthansa plane. I have a window seat, and I am very excited. It's an older lady next to me, she's German (well we ARE going to Frankfurt) and doesn't seem to bad. Well across the aisle from me is a middle aged man, and in his hand is a bag of ice. The flight attendant asks "ARE YOU SURE YOU ARE OK? WE DON"T WANT TO TAKE YOU IF YOU'RE NOT FEELING WELL!" and I was like ohhhh great. A sick guy on a plane. He insisted he would be fine..... Well we pull out of the loading thingy, watched the whole safety video (in German AND English alllll the way through TWICE) and then the plane starts going BACK in to the gate!!! The message from the cock-pit: "Sorry everyone. We needed to unload a passenger... and take his bags out of the plane for security reasons..... so it will just be a few minutes. hahahaha so Mr. Sick guy WASN'T ok. Soooo, after a litttle bit mire time, we took off, and it was smooth sailing.

I was flying economy, and I wasn't expecting anything special, but Lufthansa is great! Each seat back has its own touch screen, with a choice of many movies, tv shows, and radio stations. Food wasn't to bad, and I got dinner and breakfast. I slept for a good chunk of the time, and it wasn't bad at all. Flying to Florida in the spring seemed longer... hahaha

Well, got to Frankfurt, got the graaaaaaannnnnd tour, I had to walk the entire airport to get to my connecting flight. i had to do a passport check, and security AGAIN. Got to the next gate in

just enough time, and finally got on the plane. They fed me again (lol) and then at the end of the hour.... Landing gear pops out, we start pulling in, and thennnnnn...... TURBULENCE! annnnddd the plane pulls UP. So the local Italian woman next to me says that this happens all the time because Florence is a valley, and the wind makes it crazy to land. Oh well..... So we were off the Bologna.... a "1 hour" bus ride, aka 2. I ended up meeting some other American students studying abroad, and thank God I did it was muchhhh better. It was CRAZY.... we got off the plane, and waited for our luggage for 40 mins, then thy didn't tell us where the BUS would be to pick us up, so we had to venture around, me in a 45 pound backpack, dragging a 50 lb rolley one, and a 20 lb carry on. funnnnnn stuff. Oh, and it was 90 degrees. and humid. But, I hopped on that bus, got to Florence (around 10 pm) when I was supposed to be there @ 6:30. Ohhhh well, at least i got HERE! :]]]

Lufthansa touch screens! :]

Ciao, California!

Lufthansa!