Author Archives: dec5091

Catching Up!

I am terribly sorry for my lack of blogging, I have just organized all my pictures from the past few weeks, and will be able to provide a thorough blog on all of our extended trips we’ve taken the past three weeks tomorrow – I promise! In the meantime to tide you over, here’s a bit of what we’ve been doing around Todi.

michelecooking.JPGOur brother, Michele, preparing dinner… He’s a chef at a restaurant in Tuscany, so we absolutely loved this pizza.

cookinglesson.JPGOur mother, Rita, giving us a Friday night cooking lesson… so much fun, and the food is always delicious.

tiramisu.JPGOur tiramisu we made during cooking lessons! Delish

baldo.JPGBaldo (the bigger one) & Pepito, our dogs! Absolutely adorable

1.2.JPGSerena and I with our brother, Lorenzo. The other girl is Tracy, who was also studying at the Language Center in Todi for a few weeks… She actually stayed with our family in 2007 on the same trip!

IMG_0569.JPGSerena and I with our dad at a dinner this past Saturday night!

I love the little Italian family we’ve made here with the Rellini’s. I love all of the friends we’ve made, the food (although that’s a given), the houses, parks, buildings, art…. everything. Our program ends on Friday, meaning that we leave Todi bright and early that morning. I will be then spending the day in Rome, then taking a train to Pordenone that night, and then will be staying with some of my family in northeastern Italy for 11 more days. I can’t believe we’re this close to the end of the trip already! It seems like just yesterday we were Rome, all meeting each other for the first time, and doing our first days of touring. Here we are, nearly seven weeks later, ready to leave. So even though the program is almost done, I’m lucky enough to still be here for two more weeks!

I promise more catch-up entries, with plenty of pictures from Florence and Venice! 🙂


Location: Todi, Italy

Todi Lovin’

As I sit in my host families house, trying to stay out of the rain, I figured it’d be a great time for an update on Todi.

IMG-20110605-00148.jpg
We started our classes this week, and I must admit that getting back into the schedule of waking up early for class after a month break was not an easy task. Our classes seem to be fun though. We have Italian in the morning, form 8:30am – 10:30, a 45 minute break to get coffee, shop, or whatever you like, then Art History from 11:15 – 12:45pm. All of us go back to our houses for ‘pranzo‘ (lunch), then return for Art class in the afternoon from 3 – 6pm, and then go home for dinner. We only stick to this schedule for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. On Thursday’s, we have Italian in the morning, then a couple hours break, and then we take a day trip to a nearby town, returning that evening. On Friday’s, we will be taking all day trips to towns which are a bit further away.

Last week, we went to Perugia on Thursday afternoon, and took an all day trip to Siena on Friday. We were only in Perugia for a few hours, but we got to visit a pretty cool art gallery. We went to the Galleria Nazionale Dell’Umbria, which showcased tons of paintings from the 13th to 18th century. It was neat to see the art in person which we had studied during the week in Art History class. We then had about an hour a free time before, so we got to walk around visiting some of the cute stores they had, and of course, got some gelato. Perugia was a really cool town, and since it was just about 30 minutes away, it is a great place to visit again on one of our free weekends.

IMG-20110602-00126.jpg perugia!

Thursday night, my roommate Serena and I went with our host mother to an archery tournament at a castle that was about 25 minutes away. Our host father and brothers are a part of the Todi Archery team, so we went to see their tournament, which was really cool to see. I had only ever done archery in high school gym class, yet my experiences with it here seemed to be much different. Tuesday and Wednesday after school last week, Serena and I went to the local archery practice field where our host father and brothers go everyday to practice. Our brother Lorenzo set us up with our own bow and arrows (which they happen to carve and make themselves, no big deal), and Serena and I shot arrows for about an hour. It was so fun! Hopefully we’ll be able to make it back there a few times during the rest of our trip.

IMG-20110602-00128.jpgnot the clearest picture, but this is from the archery tournament!

Friday, we took an all day trip to Siena, located in the heart of Tuscany. We met at 7am (so. early.) to leave Todi, and just about two hours later we had arrived. We visited the Duomo and Palzzo Pubblico. We had free time for lunch and shopping, which we took full advantage of. We got back to the bus in the afternoon just in time, as it started pouring as soon as we drove away. 

IMG-20110603-00134.jpg
IMG-20110603-00133.jpg

IMG-20110603-00135.jpgso intense!

After our trip to Siena, our whole group went out to dinner at a pizzeria here in Todi. We got at least 10 different types of pizza, one more delicious then the next. I keep forgetting to take pictures of the food, but I definitely need to start doing so, because there hasn’t been a single dish that hasn’t looked incredible. After dinner, we came home, relaxed a little, and went to bed early, it had been such a long day   
 
This was a kind of lazy weekend, which is exactly what I think we needed since we’re usually always on the go. Saturday was the perfect relaxation day. We got up and had a later breakfast, did a little studying, had lunch, then studied outside and relaxed a little more before dinner… sounds stressful, right? After dinner we went into Todi with our family and got gelato…. so. good. We were going to go to the Tango Festival, but it ended up being kind of expensive, so we just went to a local bar and our whole group hung out for a little while. On our walk home, we always pass Santa Maria de la Consolacion, or the Consolacion as we all call it. It is a local church in Todi, and is the dome-shaped building on the left side of the picture above. It was super foggy last night, so when we saw the church it looked almost creepy with all of the fog hanging around it. So we obviously had to take a picture…..

257742_10150199084094360_731599359_6676012_5132474_o.jpgsee, isn’t it kinda creepy looking?

Today, we had a delicious lunch (as per usual), and we’re now studying and watching movies with our family. This week, we have regular school Monday – Wednesday, & then we leave for a four day trip to Florence on Thursday! I think everybody is pretty excited to go, it is supposed to be beautiful there. I’m not really sure what we will be seeing, however I’m sure our days will be full of visiting incredibly amazing places! Can’t wait! 🙂


Location: Todi, Italy

Arrivederci Roma, Ciao Todi!

To say that the past week has been a whirlwind would be the biggest understatement ever. Although I have only been in Italy for a week, I feel like I have been here for a month. Having spent the first week in Rome, we were constantly been on the go, seeing something new and amazing everyday. Now that we have finally settled into Todi with our respective host families however, I have much more time to write a proper entry about our first week in Italy!

I arrived in Rome last Friday afternoon, and after settling in a bit and taking a short nap, I met up with the rest of the group who had already arrived. We chose to meet at the Colosseum, which is an extraordinarily beautiful part of Roman history. The small group of us then went out to dinner, where we enjoyed delicious pizza, pasta, wine, and even had a couple people playing the accordion for us right next to our dinner table. It was literally the perfect dinner to have on our first night here.

IMG-20110520-00065.jpg

Saturday, we went Ostia for the day, which is a beach town near Rome. We spent the day laying on the hot sand next to the Mediterranean Sea – which was a little cold, but felt great during the hot day. I was surprised to see how clean and calm the water was compared to the Atlantic Ocean I usually swim in back home.

Sunday, we finally met up with everyone else in the program, took a walking tour of some churches and other well-known sites in Rome, and then went to a late lunch. We unfortunately got stuck in a sudden downpour, and were all soaked from head to toe! I think the lack of sleep and jet lag had finally caught up with me, because as soon as we got back to the hotel, I fell right asleep!

Monday was our first day of touring as a group, and we visited the Roman Forum followed by the Colosseum. We then had the afternoon to ourselves, so we grabbed a bite to eat then did some shopping around the Trevi Fountain. Later Monday night, we all found a restaurant, Taverno Flavia, where we were once again treated to delicious food, wine, and live guitar playing. A few of us then wandered around Rome a bit, to get a feel for what was around the hotel area.

240129_10150259230128834_699513833_8694103_485807_o.jpgDSCN6094.JPG

Tuesday, we went to the Vatican Museum and St. Peter’s as well. All of the artwork in the museum was beautiful, and at the end of the tour, we saw the Sistine Chapel… it was absolutely gorgeous. We also climbed all the way to the top of the dome in the Vatican… over 1000 stairs up and back. It was a bit tiring, but so worth it. The views from the top of the church were breathtaking, you could see all of Rome. It. Was. Awesome.

IMG-20110524-00074.jpg

IMG-20110524-00088.jpg

Wednesday, we went to the Borghese Gallery, where we saw a variety of beautiful paintings and sculptures. We had the rest of the afternoon free, so a group of us walked to the Spanish Steps and then grabbed lunch at the McDonald’s nearby… Judge if you want, however this McDonald’s was nicer than many restaurants back home… Tile floors, marble walls, semi-circular booths, and a great decoration style. It was by far the classiest looking fast food restaurant I have ever seen. We then went back to the hotel to rest a bit, and we all went out to dinner at a restaurant we had come across earlier in the week in Rome near the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain.

Thursday morning, we left Hotel Montecarlo, and were en route to Todi, where we will be living for the next six weeks. On the way, we stopped at Villa d’Este, which has beautiful gardens and fountains. We then had our first semi-art lesson, and each had to do three different drawings in our sketchbooks, including a close up and architecture.

IMG-20110526-00112.jpgWe arrived in Todi Thursday afternoon, and met our families in town. We all left with our host families, and got all settled in. Pictures of Todi are not yet uploaded to my computer, but will be up soon! I am living with one other student, Serena, kind of a little ways out from town but still beautiful. I’m so excited for all the adventures Todi has in store for us, more to come soon!

Ciao!


Location: Todi, Italy

I’m Leaving On A Jet Plane

1.1216757820.a-british-airways-777.jpg

Well, it’s official, I’m leaving for Italy in matter of hours! I’m a mixture of happy/sad/excited/nervous/anxious all bottled up into one. My suitcases and carry-ons are packed, and hopefully I didn’t forget anything. I said all of my goodbyes to my best friends from home the past few days, and it feels so weird – this is the first summer I won’t be spending with them practically every day. I know that I’ll still be able to talk with them semi-frequently over the summer, so it’s not necessarily bad, just different. I also am saying goodbye to my parents today, and it just dawned on me that I think this will be the longest I will have ever gone without seeing my family or friends… weird. In a good way, but still weird.

DSCN5966.JPG

 
my family last weekend at a phillies game.

DSCN3227.JPG

my best friends from home, circa 2009.

I must admit though, that my biggest concern right now is that I’m going to end up on the plane either a) next to a crying baby; b) next to someone who won’t stop snoring; c) someone who talks to me the entire flight (don’t get me wrong, I love to make friends on airplanes… but I’d like to be able to catch some z’s on the red-eye tonight); d) next to an anxious flier, who jumps or yelps at every patch of turbulence; or e) next to someone who smells terribly. Now obviously these are all worst case scenarios, and I have yet to really encounter any of the above – knock on wood – for long periods of time, & there’s a first time for everything… ha. But really….

So I will spend the next couple hours doing last minute things (IE: making ipod playlists, making sure I have food for the plane, charging my phone… you know, obviously the most important things), and then I’ll be on my merry way to Philadelphia to board British Airways Flight 66 to London, then to Rome. Meaning this will be my last post from the United States! Ahh. I still can’t believe that I’ll be in Italy tomorrow… totally unreal!


Location: Philadelphia, PA

Ciao!

Hi! My name is Danielle, and I will be a Junior in the fall, studying Sociology and Crime, Law and Justice with a minor in History. I will be studying in Todi, Italy this summer, and cannot be more excited. Todi seem like an idyllic, smaller Italian town, which I think will be perfect to be spending my summer in. I have never been to Italy, but have wanted to go for as long as I can remember, so I think this will definitely be a fantastic experience.

Through studying abroad, I really want to not only improve my Italian language skills, but also become more knowledgeable about other cultures as well. I have never really heard anything bad about Italy, so I am unbelievably excited to be leaving for this trip of a lifetime. We are starting out with a week in Rome, then heading to Todi, where we will all be living with host families. We will also be traveling to Florence and Venice, and hopefully many other places. I will be ending my trip with a week long stay in Andreis, a very small town about 45 minutes northwest of Venice, where my grandmother’s family still lives today.

I fly from Philadelphia to Rome tomorrow night – it’s crazy to think that in less than 24 hours, I will be on a plane to Europe! In between now and then though, there is still a lot of packing to finish up, as well as just getting any last minute things I may have forgotten.

I have never blogged before, so I hope you continue to check back for new entries about life in Todi!


Location: Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, USA