Started the day by practicing a little bit of Italian, when a group of 8 and I went to a nearby cafe to eat breakfast... Got a citrus, jam-filled croissant, un (one) cafe late, e (and) a small, naturale acqua for the road (finally, some cold, refrigerated water) for only €3.60 ($5.18). It was a good deal, and the manager was pretty accommodating. What I noticed though these past few days was that Italians are not very fond of ice-cold water, except for a restaurant we went to earlier...
We all gathered near a huge round table for our morning lecture, which actually just consisted of going over the course syllabus. We were also broken down into groups and acted some Do's and Don't's in reacting to the Italian and American culture differences. Afterwards, Señora Angela taught us how to ride the train to and from different sites, such as Roma and Cinque Terre (5 Italian cities).
Imagine having a group meeting while eating Italian ham and cheese sandwich, while sitting on the steps of a nearby church... There, we had a group meeting and decided which of the two we would like to go to next weekend... Lucca was closer to these tourist spots, compared to Vicenza, where we would spend the second half of our exploration seminar. My heart wanted to go to Cinque Terre, but only a small number wanted to go and a majority raised their hands when Rome was called out. I then realized that Roma would be a better choice, as it would take us 6hrs to get there by train, if we were to travel from Vicenza... A group and I would be traveling together and would be staying overnight first in Florence then spend the rest of the weekend until Monday morning roaming Rome! There we will visit St. Peter's Basilica and be at awe again once we see some Italian paintings!
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| [View from the tower] |
After lunch, we climbed a I-can't-remember-but-super-tall-crazy-numbered-stairwell-filled tower to capture the picturesque Lucca by mid-afternoon. The breeze was so cool after every floor and once at a top, i just could not help but take pictures of every site! The ground was covered with red-orange tiles when hit by the afternoon sun. The tall, clock towers embraced the clear sky. I turned after taking pictures of my classmates, and I noticed San Lorenzo Church we visited yesterday. The view was just spectacular from above! As the space was tight and bodies bumped into each other, and since we walked from one corner to the next, we then gathered around the stairwell heading back down. I spotted Professor Lenart, the program lead and asked a friend to take a picture of us. Another then took a picture with her and yet another until she had no choice but to hold the smile until the last one came. Afterwards, one by one, we called out our names as Señora Angela translated them into Italian names. Mine, as I thought, was "Cristina." Other names were tough to translate such as "Tolle," so Señora just asked her to pick a name. Then first word that Señora mentioned was Sophia... And Tolle agreed. By 5:15pm we bade goodbye to the cool breeze and beautiful view for our itinerary for the day was done.
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| [with Emme] |
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| [Atop Lucca (pic by Mandana)] |
Before coming back to the hostel, Anu, Heidi, Yen, and I dropped by a nearby Pharmacy, which could be spotted blocks away due to the neon green, cross sign that popped out amidst the brick-walled shops. Unfortunately, she could not find Benadryl and the pharmacist instead recommended another brand, which was €9 (double that for $!) Instead of buying, we left the store, said Grazie, and ended up in front of another gelato place. Surprisingly, a small cup of any two flavors (I had mint and caffe) only cost €1.60, which was cheaper than the other gelato places we've visited in the past! As I chugged the last drop of acqua in my water bottle, we dropped by a fountain, which had constantly fresh, spring water flowing. The residents bring extra large bottles of water and would line up to get them filled there. I was skeptical at first, but as I needed to quench my thirst further, I ended up deciding to bring my extra large bottle, the second time around.
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| [Eating pesto pasta with Anu, my roommate] |
For dinner, the other three girls and I sat down at the small sit-down restaurant near the fountain. I ordered basil pesto pasta, and it's nothing like then ones made in the U.S. The pasta used was firmer,chubbier, while the cheese simply melted and blended well with the fresh, olive oil. The dish seemed to be oily, but in a good way, as the mixture was just right! The plate-filled pesto cost €5.20, while the company was priceless! Heidi also ordered a lemoncello, somewhat like a lemon shot with alcohol. We all were able to try it. As I anticipated an acidic taste, surprisingly a sweet burst landed on my taste buds followed by the strong alcoholic punch. I was glad I did not order one shot, or they would have dragged me back to the hostel.
As we headed back, I rested for a while, organized my things, and took a well-deserved, cool bath.
Tomorrow, we'll be gone the whole day and would visit another site by bus.
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