The winery overlooking Sweetwater near Apricale.
The beach in San Remo.
This picture is of my feet in the Mediterranean Sea for the first time :)
Sorry I haven't been able to keep up with this blog--it's been challenging!! We wake up very early and don't get back to the hotel until very late at night. There is usually only one computer available in the hotel and it seems to always been in use. One of the hotels (in Padova) only had a computer with internet for a fee so I chose not to use it.
Today is our day off in San Remo. The hotel here is a beach resort--absolutely beautiful! We overlook the bottom of the Alps and the Mediterranean Sea. There's a pool here but the weather has been iffy. Today it is in the 60s and cloudy, with rain off and on. Since it's a day off many of us have just decided to lounge around the hotel or go into town to sit on the beach. It's a little cold for the beach, personally, so I went into town to window shop this morning and am spending the afternoon at the hotel. I need to research a presentation I have on the opera for next Wednesday. We're attending an aria which is a combination of famous opera songs---a little taste of everything! The opera is planned for Rome on our second-to-last night. I can't wait...I've never been to an opera!
Since I haven't been able to update this since Florence, I will explain what we've been doing. Our two days in Padova were relaxing. The main attraction is, of course, Venice, which is only about 45 minutes away by train. I've never been on so many trains in my life as in the past week and a half! We went to Venice on June 1st. It was really something I never expected. The town is actually sinking since it was built on a sediment spot out in the middle of the water. I have some cool pictures of stairs that are almost completely covered by the water. Gondoles (Gondolas) are the prettiest boats...they are much bigger than I expected. Very expensive to go on a ride!! No one from our trip went---it's anywhere from around 200 to 400 dollars!!! Venice is known for its blown glass made across the water at the Murano factory and its decorative costume masks. Sunset is Venice is definitely something everyone should see!
The second day in Padova was a non-instructional day. I traveled with a girl in my group about an hour and a half by train to the town of Verona. Verona is famous because of Shakespeare and the Romeo and Juliet story. I visited Casa di Giuletta (Juliet's house) and Tomba di Giuletta (Juliet's tomb). Very cool! The house had a long walkway covered in graffiti from everyone writing in their lover's name. The house has a balcony where it is said that Romeo would come to visit Juliet. The town itself had many other interesting attractions--a big Arena and many piazzas to name a couple.
The first day in San Remo was mainly spent traveling. Six hours total on two trains to get here! That was a bit disappointing but the beauty of this town makes up for the hassle of traveling. The first day we walked down a long (very long) steep (very steep) hill into the town and walked on the beach. I dipped my feet into the Mediterranean for the first time!!!!! That night we had dinner at the hotel, thank goodness it was included in the trip because everything has been so pricy. This is because Italy's economy is awful, and so is ours. I had a delicious dinner. The first course was pasta with eggplant and marinara. The second course was a whitefish with mussels and shrimp in a cream sauce with roasted potatoes with rosemary on the side. Dessert was creme brulee, one of my favorites! In Italy they usually have the antipasta (appetizer) first, then a first course of pasta, then a second course of meat, followed by salad and a dessert. The only thing I still reaaaally want to try is a canoli. I haven't really seen them in any pastery shops, I guess it's an American thing!
Yesterday, June 4, we got up early and had a private bus rented all day. We toured the Hanbury Gardens, but unfortunately it rained. I still have some nice pictures and sketches from the gardens. Our professor usually makes us sketch at least one thing in our sketchbooks each day but at the gardens we sketched 4 different things. After the gardens we traveled to a 2,000 year old Roman bridge and saw a show at the Visionarium. At the Visionarium we had 3d glasses and watched a 20 minutes show on the changing seasons of this region. Afterwards, we visited a winery! In the U.S. wine tasting is usually just that-- tasting. At the winery we went to here it was unlimited white and red wine. There was also plenty of food including breads with olive oil, olive spread, bruscetta, and many other interesting finger foods I tried. It was a great event!! We ate and drank wine on a terrace overlooking a river. Afterwards we took our bus up to Apricale, a town literally built on the face of a mountain. We ate dinner at a very fancy restaurant. The first dish was a pasta with pesto and the second was either a rabbit with beans or a potatoes and mushroom lasagna with a cream sauce. I had the potato dish and really enjoyed it. The dessert was a sampler-- it had a raspberry sorbet, a rum flavored gelato, and a small piece of tiramisu. I don't even know how to describe how delicious the whole meal was. That day was definitely one of my favorites on the trip!!!!
Now I've caught everyone up with what's going on. I hope everyone is doing well at home. I'm anxious to hear about election coverage when I get back (just kidding) as I know the primaries are now over. I'm home in one week!!
