Thursday, May 31, 2007
some pictures!
so I made a Florence album on Picasa...but for some reason the school wont really let me download the full version of Picasa and I have to do the slow uploader thingy...so I have just picked some of my favorites so far! Hopefully I will get other albums up from the other amazing places I have been but for now here is the link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/laura.mohead/Florence
And there is also a link down on the side with my other links!!
Enjoy!
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
"...a gastronomic tour of Italy" and the Duomo!




that is a loooong way down!!

FLORENCE!! OK i took a whole lot like these up there, but I will spare you! haha

the very very top!

me on the top of the Duomo!


Monday, May 28, 2007
rainy...
It has been raining all morning...and I guess I can deal with it, because I am in Italy..but it sucks! haha it is not just rain. it is hard, cold rain! But it is still much better than being hot! So I am ok with it. But I went to class without anything, and then it started after we were in class. So I bought an umbrella on the street and ran back to my apartment after class. I was quite proud of myself also today because I went to the Duomo all alone to meet up with Jananna and Kelly (friends from UTC that are backpacking through Europe!) It was really great to see people from home!! We got lunch and visited for a while.
Then my friend Anna Margaret and I went on a quest to find our textbook for our class. There was one specific store we were instructed to go, so we were searching with the map, in the rain, throughout the streets of Florence. We finally found it and got out book!
Oh yeah, the thing about cobblestone streets in the rain, they puddle up...everywhere! So my toes are basically icicles right now...but it is OK! haha
Well off to my last class of the day and then a Lorenzo de Medici (my school) welcome dinner!! Yay for free food!!
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Wonderful Weekend!
Italy is seriously amazing...but I have been running around and packing as much as possible into each day that I am exhausted!! This weekend was great though! Yesterday a group of girls and I took the train to Pisa! It was my first train ride ever and I was quite excited!!
Pisa was beautiful. It was a much calmer and seemed to be less touristy city. It was crowded around the tower and Miralce Square but after we explored there for a while, we wandered other streets and it was so fun! The tower was in fact, still leaning and I realy was impressed with it!
While we were wandering the streets and checking otu shops, etc. we passed a street vendor that had several brightly colored carved animals. I spotted a really cute little owl and was pumped! I asked the vendor how much. He told me 12 euro...I said No grazie and walked on...he quickly told me he could drop to 10 and I still said No! He asked how much I had and I lied and told him I only had 5 euro. He quickly put the owl in a bag, handed it to me and said OK 5! I sheepishly pulled out my 10 euro bill, reminded him he said 5, we both laughed and he gave me change for the owl!! I was soo excited about my first heckling purchase! My friends were impressed too! haha
Today we went to an English speaking church and it was exactly what I needed! It was such an amazing diverse congregation! I loved it! The church itself was so pretty! The time during the service where we recited the Lord's Prayer was particularly special. Everyone spoke the prayer in their native language, and I was just completely moved! I felt God so much at the moment in that amazing church with so many people with different backgrounds and stories. It was quite refreshing!
Speaking of refreshing, it rained today and we really needed it! It helped cool things down a lot!
We went to a soccer game this afternoon too!! It rained on us for a little while, but eventually let up! The game was soo great!! THe fans here are so intense!!
AHH ok, the internet cafe card i have just told me i only have 5 minutes left so I am going to have to close...
but I will post again soon with more details and pictures!!
Oh yeah class starts tomorrow and I am really excited!!
Ciao!!
Friday, May 25, 2007
Fotos!
this was my first gelato in Italy! My roomie and I went strolling through Rome after we napped at the hotel after our flight.
This is the beautiful sunset over Rome as we were walking around after dinner the first night there!
This is me in front of the Trevi Fountain!!! haha just had to throw one of these in there...don't worry, I pretty much have a picture like this in front of every important spot in Italy so far!
The very massive, beautiful, historical, and in another country (the Vatican), St. Peter's Basilica!! I have so many more of this and inside too...


The rest of our apartment...and Beth checking out the sweet view! haha

OK that is all I am putting up for now...because this computer is really slow and I am really tired!! But I hope these give you a little better idea of what my life has been like this past week!! AMAZING!! I love it here! and I love taking pictures haha
Thursday, May 24, 2007
OK...update so far!
Florence is a lot smaller than Rome, but still quite busy! When we were entering the city yesterday one of the API staff members, Ellen, said "I hope you like Florence, it is a really small town...like 500,000 people." That's not quite so small to me!!! And she also said that there are around 90,000 scooters in the city!! haha I totally believe it and I have only been here one day!! The historical center is mostly closed to cars and busses but the scooters still make their way into the streets! You always have to be aware of what is speeding up beside you!
I am really enjoying the people I have met and been spending time with. The girls that I hang out with are a lot like me so we all enjoy our time together. Rome was amazing. The second day of touring we went to the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica. We had a tour guide named Fabrizio and he was great! We walked all over the Vatican and then to Castel Sant' Angelo. These were both so amazing!! Words cannont describe how impreseive the St. Peter's was...wow!
After our organized tours, we had free time in the afternoon and some other girls and I went exploring Rome. I really wanted to find the Mouth of Truth, and that started our 4 hour adventure around the city! We found it and I took many fun pictures! Along our way we also stumbled upon many other great sights. We continued around the city towards the Spanish Steps and again, took many memorable pictures (that I sadly haven't been able to upload, even though we got a tour of the city today including the site of the API office and the Lorenzo de' Medici school, both where we were promised internet access, but found out not until MONDAY!! haha) We wandered through streets and alleys with our one little map of Rome. I was quite proud of ourselves for navigating the city all alone!! There were several highlights of the Roma tour...one in particular that I was completely happy about was that while we were on our way to find the Mouth of Truth we ran into a couple that was from Memphis!! They were chaperoning their daughter's senior trip, but they too were looking for the Mouth of Truth!! So we walked most of the way with them, had great conversation, I told them where I was from, and we tried to find connections we had! It was so cool so hear a little about home so far away!!
Also on the walking adventure I was nearly decapitated by a pigeon...It was scary...We were just walking along a flock swooped by and I just happened to duck in time before a crazy bird hit me in the face!!! Some of the other girls were impressed with my reflexes, but I then explained my fear of birds. It was funny, but at the same time not, because the pigeon was really close to my head!! I literally felt the wings brush against my face!! AHH!!! yes...there are lots of pigeons in the cities here. i do not like it. my friend jean said maybe i will conquor my fear of birds while I am here...I'm not so sure! haha
tonight i had dinner at a great little Trattoria right across from my apartment...it was a lot of fun and I had some great bonding time with my roommate Beth. Everything is just so great right now! I am really loving Italy!
Tomorrow we go on our first excursion on our day trip of touring Tuscany! We will go to Siena then on our way back we will stop in a village and get a tour of an olive oil mill!! I am so excited!! We will get taste the olive oil and everything!! It should be pretty interesting!
OK...I guess I am going to go for now! I hope you all are doing great and I will talk to you soon!
Ciao!
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Firenze!
our apartment is beyond AMAZING!! it was newly renovated so everything is nice and new and clean and fresh! and there are 3 bathrooms for 6 girls! and our kitchen is huge and all brand new appliances! and we have a good size common area! and my roomie and i drew the biggest room! and when i say big i mean huge!! and our window overlooks the busy piazza del mercato centrale...one of the fun markets here. i can literally look out and see scattered ristorantes and random shops...the only thing i would change would be to get a screen for our big window to keep out the vicious pigeons. thats all. but we had a beautiful dinner tonight after our orientation from API on a terrace that overlooked the city. it was so perfect!! i am making great friends with some girls here! tomorrow we get a walking tour of florence and then another orientation for the school!
i am tired and slightly dirty from being all sweaty moving in...yes it is hot here and even though we are on the "first floor" we have to go up 4 flights of stairs to get to our apartments!
so for now i am done and more than likely tomorrow i will be able to upload pictures at the API office!!
bueno sera!
(it is close to 11:00 p.m. here!)
(bueno sera means good night)
Monday, May 21, 2007
"When in Rome..."
OK I tried to get pictures off my camera but I can't do it here at the cafe...hopefully I will get some up in Florence!! Get ready, because there are some fun ones!
And I hope everyone realized the Anchorman reference for me naming this post...and yes I have already said it outloud and lauged at myself!! I AM IN ROME!! amazing...that's all
oh yeah, and sorry if things are mispelled...I clicked the spell check button and everything was highlighted because it was checking in Italian...oh well, "When in Rome!" haha
Friday, May 18, 2007
tomorrow!!!
Please keep me and my travels in your prayers...I don't do well with flying. Found this verse though and what perfect timing:
"This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
- Joshua 1:9
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Are there lightning bugs in Italy?
At this point I am beyond excited about everything! But I have so many questions about so many things...Am I going to make friends fast? What if I get lost in the airport? Are my classes going to be ridiculously hard? Will my apartment be air conditioned? Am I going to get lost in the many unfamiliar streets and alleys? What do I do if I get sick? Am I going to be wired on espresso? What clothes am I going to bring? Where will I wash my clothes? What if all my clothes get lost on the flight over? What if I get stuck by someone who doesn't speak English on the plane? Am I going to have time to just explore? Will I meet the Italian man of my dreams? Am I going to be able to figure out the currency? Will it be really really hot? How much time am I going to actually spend studying? Will I gain lots of weight from all the wonderful food? Am I going to lose lots of weight from walking and sweating everywhere? What kinds of people am I going to meet? Will I learn the language and be able to communicate? Will I have enough room in my suitcase to bring new stuff back? What if I get kidnapped by a family of gypsies? What time will I get up in the mornings? How late will I stay up at night? How much will I be completely on my own? Will I acquire the taste of wine?
Is Florence going to be as wonderful as I'm hoping? Am I going to be taken away by the beauty of the country? How will I interact with all these new people from all over the world? Will God teach me things about myself that I never knew? Where will this adventure lead me? Will I have the courage to really do this? What if I want to stay? Are there lightning bugs in Italy?