Friday, November 16, 2007 Friday, November 9, 2007
Wow, this week went FAST! I can’t believe I will be home in one month from tomorrow, crazy! This week was so busy that I didn’t even have time to write in my journal.
Let’s see, I should start with last weekend.
On Friday I arrived at the Frankfurt-Hahn airport and Irina and her friend, Katja, picked me up and then drove 4 hours to her house. The drive was a pain but it was so nice to see her family! Her mom was so sweet and made a big meal and waited for us to get home. We sat around at the kitchen table with her parents and sister and just talked. Actually, I listened to them speak German and smiled as if I knew what was going on! Irina and her sister Olga did translate for me though! On Saturday morning we got up early and had breakfast and then went into town and did a little shopping. There is a great (and cheap!) shoe store in Germany that I love so that was our first stop. Then we walked around her town square and bought some hair dye for me! In the afternoon, Olga’s boyfriend made lunch and then we dyed my hair! It looks redder than I would have liked, but nonetheless it is still cute. Plus, I will be home in a month so I can get it fixed then! Around 6 at night we went to her cousins 30th birthday party and I met her dads side of the family. On Sunday we had to leave around 9am because we had the 4-hour drive back to the airport.
Irina came back with me to Italy and spent the week in Florence.
We finally got home around 7 at night. It was perfect timing because Alex was cooking dinner for us as well as Emily and her Aunt that was visiting. It was another fantastic meal made by Alex and Irina really enjoyed meeting my roommates. On Monday’s I don’t have class until 3 so we walked around town and took a lot of pictures. Tuesday we climbed the Duomo (all 463 steps!) and went to Fiesole to see the sunset. Unfortunately it was foggy so we didn’t see much of anything. Wednesday we did a little shopping and went to Piazza Michelangelo so I could show Irina the wonderful view it has of the city. At night we had dinner at Il Vope e Il Gatto (the cat and the fox) with my roommates, it is one of our favorite Italian restaurants. Thursday Irina came with me to my History of the Mafia class and then we had dinner at home with 2 of my roommates and 2 other girls from upstairs. By Friday it was already time for her to leave. So, we took the train to Pisa a little early and walked around so Irina could see the leaning tower. We left each other at the train station and I headed our separate ways. We had such a fun week together and the time flew by! We talked a lot about how fast time goes and we can’t believe all the things that have happened to us since finishing High School. We agreed that if we could we’d press pause on our lives so everything would stop happening so fast!
Hopefully I will get back to Germany for one more weekend before I leave, but it depends on the ticket prices.
This weekend has also been as exciting as the week!
Well maybe Friday wasn’t as exciting as I thought. Emily and I stayed in to do homework and fell asleep by 10. (we are such grandmas!) ?
Saturday morning we left the apartment around 9:30 because we signed up to go on a free wine tasting and Tuscan lunch with our study abroad program. The trip ended up being amazing! There was a tour of Castello di Verrazzano and their vineyard where we learned about the wine making process. Our tour guide was hilarious and said something really inspiring at a toast that I still remember. He said, “Eat less but eat better, drink less but drink better, find happiness in all that you do and surround yourself with good friends.” After our hour tour, we had an amazing four-course lunch and had the opportunity to test 5 of their wines. During lunch our tour guide made us put the extra virgin olive oil that they had just bottled 12 day earlier on our bread; he said to spread it around with our finger and then lick our fingers like the Italians do. Everyone looked so silly, but like he said, it was something little we will never forget doing. The castle we were at was in the Tuscan countryside and so beautiful! I got a lot of great pictures so make sure you check them out.
Today, Sunday, I have to write a paper and study for the 2 quizzes I have this week.
Next week is going to be busy because my roommates and I are making our own Thanksgiving dinner. Plus, my friend from elementary school, Andrea we will be here from Thursday until Saturday. My roomies always make fun of me saying I’ve pretty much had one visitor after the other here! It sure has been fun though!
Well, I should get that paper about St. Anthony started!
Ciao Ciao,
Katie
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