Berlin and Athens!

So my program ended Friday and Saturday morning I left for Berlin with a friend for a couple days. It was really really cold, but at least no snow. We took a 4 hour walking tour and got to see SO much of Berlin. We saw the Berlin wall, Hitler's old bunker, the House of Parliament, the Jewish Museum, and much much more. And the food was great! I tried their famous warm spiced wine and of course I tried German beer and bratwurst. There are lots of Christmas markets set up in Berlin right now, so we visited a few. They were beautiful, but were very very crowded. I really enjoyed Berlin and would like to eventually see more of it someday.

Now we're in Athens and I love it here! We got up early and walked all day long taking in as much Athens as we could. We saw the Acropolis, the Erectheon, Zeus' Temple, Hadrian's Gate, the Plaka, the House of Parliament and my personal favorite, the Olympic Stadium! I got a great picture of me doing a handstand in front of it. That's probably the closest I'll ever get to the actual olympics. =) And I have been loving Greek food! Today I had a traditional dish called "Mousaka". It's a layered dish served in a bowl with potato, meat, eggplant, cheese, and lots of Greek spices. It was delicious! We have a few things left to see tomorrow before we head back to Italy. I wish we had longer to stay here, but I'm so glad to have gotten to see these two amazing countries!

See everyone soon. Be home in only 4 days!

Last Day in Siena =(

So today is my last day in Siena and I've been really really sad all day. =( I had my oral exam this morning and my culture final this afternoon, so that kept me busy, but I can't believe I'm leaving tomorrow. By this time tomorrow, I'll be in Berlin and a week from now, I'll be on my way back home.

I'm a little nervous to be coming home. Of course I'm excited to get to see my family and friends at home, but I'm worried about the adjustment back to American culture.

So I figured out a better solution: my friends and family will just all come here, so I won't have to leave Siena =) Maybe I should run it by my parents first. There are just so many things I'll miss about Italy. And honestly the thought of coming back to visit doesn't help and I just figured out why: if I ever come back here, it will be on vacation. I most likely won't ever live in Italy again like I'm doing now. (But I still do want to come back of course!)

The pictures I posted are of a beautiful sunset from the Fortress in Siena the other day, a picture of the Christmas tree just recently put up in one of the piazzas in Siena, and the last is a picture of my Italian family last night during our last dinner together =( I'll miss them, but honestly, it'll will be nice to only have one brother (instead of 3!) and to not have constant chaos and yelling in the house! The last time I lived with a 3 year old was when I was 5, and I guess I forgot how annoying 3 year olds can get! But I really have enjoyed living with them, and I'll miss the family.

Tonight is the farewell dinner with my program. We have awards, a slideshow, and a viewing of all of the final video projects we had to make for class. It should be really fun, but we all know at the end of the night, we'll all have to say goodbye to each other. We've recently been exchanging US numbers. (So weird to be exchanging real US numbers as opposed to Italian numbers!) So it will most likely be an emotional night and emotional day tomorrow leaving beautiful Siena.

Tomorrow I leave for Berlin and then Athens and then back to Rome for a couple days before flying back to the US. I won't be able to upload pictures while I'm gone, but I'll try to at least post a blog or two.

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at home soon!

Well last week was another busy week. Monday I had a trip to the Enoteca Italiana (Italian wine bar) in Siena, where we tasted some excellent wines. There was also a news station there filming, so I was on TV! Unfortunately I didn't see it, but when I got home, my Italian family was all excited to see "Whitiny" on "la T.Vu". So I think that pretty much qualifies me as being famous in Italy. Guess my job here is done =)

Then on Wednesday we visited a local cheese farm, where they make "Pecorino" cheese. Pecorino is cheese made from sheep's milk and we call it "Romano" cheese at home (even though it doesn't even come from Rome!) I got to hold a baby sheep too! Unfortunately that picture is on my friend's camera. But I did add some pictures of the farm and the magnificent view from the farm and factory. (They're the bottom 5 pictures.)

I also added some pictures I had been meaning to show everyone. The top two are pictures from the Deviole Winery we visited last week. The third one is a view of the Ponte Vecchio from the Uffizi gallery in Florence. The fourth picture is of the "Teatro Rozzi" where I saw the piano concerto last week. And the next three are just pictures of Siena during the holiday season. Siena set up a Christmas festival in one of the piazzas, so it's very festive around here. Even my Italian family put up a small tree and some decorations.

This week is my last official week here in Italy. We have finals all week and a farewell dinner on Friday. I'm so excited to go home for the holidays, but at the same time I am going to miss Siena and all of the people I've met here so much! As I told my mom yesterday, I've been so excited about coming home, I didn't really comprehend that fact that coming home means leaving Italy. Blonde moment I guess, but it hit me hard, that I'm not coming back. Of course I hope to come back to Italy in the future, but it's not like going home for break then coming back here. I'm really going to miss it. The friendly people, the food, the laid back atmosphere, the fashion, the espresso, the gorgeous Tuscan landscapes. I'm sad to go, but I am so incredibly appreciative of the opportunity I've been given. It has given me a new outlook on life and has renewed my excitement and determination to travel after college while I'm still young.

Well enough of being sappy ;) I hope the holiday season is treating everyone well. See everyone soon!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

This last week was pretty busy. On Wednesday we had a class trip to the Uffizi. We had a tour and packed in a lot of artwork in only 3 hours. I would have liked to have stayed longer, but we only had so much time in Florence. Then on Thursday, I went with my Food & Wine class to a winery in Chianti. I'm not sure if I've mentioned that class, but we started last week as our last culture class. It's harder than I expected. We go way into detail about the chemistry of fermentation and mixing certain wines with certain foods. But I really like it. I never thought I'd actually enjoy drinking wine. We got a tour of the cellar and the vineyards and got to taste 5 different Chianti wines as well as fresh olive oil and Pecorino cheese (sheep's milk cheese, very popular in Tuscany). Friday I had a huge test, which I think went well, and then Friday night I went with some friends to a classical concert. Two pianists performed at the "Teatro dei Rozzi" in Siena, which was gorgeous! The theater itself was beautiful and the concert was amazing. It really made me miss music. And made me miss listening to my mom practice piano at home. (She denies she can play, but I love listening to her.) My two favorite concertos were Bach and Rachmaninov, probably because I'm the most familiar with them. I love how music is so universal. During one of the pieces, they displayed the music on the screen in front of the two pianos, so we could follow. I think it's so cool how everyone can read music, regarless of what language they speak. There's another concert next Friday. I probably shouldn't spend anymore money, but I might just have to go!

Saturday and Sunday I had a mellow weekend in Siena. Saturday I had a girls night out with a few girlfriends and Sunday I met up with my class to work on a final project we have coming up. I also walked around Siena, enjoying all of the Christmas decor. They set up a Christmas festival in one of the piazzas, and have decorated the streets and buildings with lights. It's very tasteful. No blow up Santas or singing reindeer like you'd find at home =)

For some reason, I couldn't upload pictures to my computer, so I can't post my new pictures of Christmas decorations in Siena, but I'll post them as soon as I can. So for now, I just posted a few I just got from Joel from when we were in Rome. The top one is of Joel and me in front of the Trevi Fountain. The middle two are of the beautiful sunset one evening at the Vatican. And the last one is of Joel and me at the Colosseum!

Happy December! Hope all is well at home. See everyone in a few weeks!