Italy...Chapter 2

As you’ve probably noticed, I’ve officially become as horrible at blogging as I am at other forms of long-distance communication. Life is so crazy/exciting/exhausting/exhilarating that it doesn’t surprise me that I haven’t logged on to give everyone an update since nearly a month ago. There are so many stories to tell, adventures to relive, and photos to share that it makes my brain hurt...I don’t even know where to start. This particular blog, however, is about something a little bit bigger than weekend trips to Rome, Milan, and Venice. I would probably even say that it’s about something bigger than my spring break trip (Rome, Prague, Brussels, Bruges, Bologna, Rimini, Ancona...in 9 days). Yes, this is about to be an epic blog...mostly because my life is absolutely unbelievable right now. If you’re not already salivating in anticipation of the news I’m about to deliver, there might be something wrong with you. Hold on to your britches, kids. My life is outrageous.

So as most of you know, my semester technically ends May 1st. My plan all along (mostly because my parents taught me at an early age that money doesn’t grow on trees) has been to come back to the states as soon as I am done with finals. Over the past two months though, I really believe that I’ve started to fall in love with this place. The people, the language, the pace of life, the food, the wine, the landscape...it all just feels “right.” Don’t worry Grandma(s), I’m not staying here forever...I just won’t be back in May. 

This past week, my family came to visit - AMAZING. Words cannot even express how nice it was to finally have them here in Italy, seeing and experiencing what I do everyday. They’re on a plane right now heading back to the US, and I’m sure you will all get a complete rundown of their vacation in the days to come (which will undoubtedly be supplemented by the thousands of photos we all took...maybe seven cameras was a little overkill? nah). 

On wednesday the six of us boarded a train and headed off to Tuscany for a little wine tour/tasting day trip. Sweet vacation, I know. We were met in Florence by a tour guide who then carted us off to Chianti...our destination: Castello del Trebbio, a castle that’s nestled up in the Tuscan hills about 45 minutes outside of Florence and surrounded by acres and acres of vineyards and olive groves. 

The castle is home to a family (mom, dad, and three children) who produce and sell wine and olive oil. As part of our trip, we got to tour a section of their amazingly beautiful home (40-some rooms, some with original pieces by Raphael and Donatello...no joke), meander around the estate, and partake in a little wine tasting. After we had sipped up all the vino we could get our hands on, I took a little stroll out across the property. I remember the exact place in which I stood: in the middle of a dirt road, lined on both sides by towering cyprus trees, with the sun setting into the hills beyond the vineyard. The air was gentle with a cool breeze rolling through the valley. I stood there for a while. Not moving, only thinking. This place felt so good...not “good” in the sense that I wanted to snap a photo or grab a postcard. Rather, it was the kind of “good” in which I never wanted that moment to end. I wanted to freeze the world for just two minutes, press the pause button so I could soak all of this in for a just a little bit longer. 

I cannot even explain to you the thoughts that were going through my head from this point on...mostly because I’m not really sure what in the world I was even doing. What I can tell you though, is that I turned around, walked back to the castle, and found Alberto, the man who coordinates all of the business operations for the estate. I approached him, introduced myself, and told him I had a pretty random question. I asked him if they ever hired outside help within the castle or winery....for the record, I’m not even sure what answer (if any) I was looking for. Alberto looked at me a little funny, cracked a little smile and replied, “Perhaps....[long pause]....What is your story?” I proceeded to tell him my “story”: who I am, where I’m from, what I’m studying, why I’m in Italy, how quickly I’ve fallen in love with this beautiful place, and how I have no idea what the next few years of my life will look like. We chat for a few minutes before he looks at me very simply and says, “I have a proposition for you.” 

Long story short (yes, I’m about to finally tell you what in the world this whole scattered blog is about): I have been offered a summer internship at Castello del Trebbio. The family will allow me to live in the castle from May until the end of July, and I will spend most of the work day helping Alberto organize and execute wine tastings. Since some of the regular staff speaks only Italian (namely Mario, the adorable 82-year old gamekeeper who has worked at the castle for more than 50 years and wears a feather in his hat every single day), I will be going down into Florence a few days a weeks for some serious italian lessons. This also means that my academic schedule from now until May just got a little more intense, with fluency now on my list of things to quickly accomplish. 

With my parents and siblings (and Ashlee too) in full support, I’m about to accept the position. This is the opportunity of a lifetime, and while I’m still having trouble convincing myself that this is not a movie, it is seriously my actual life, I know that there is no way I can pass this up. It’s scary knowing that my little eurotrip just got extended by a few months and that I now have to start re-making arrangements with the Italian government so that I don’t get deported or anything. And it’s also scary knowing that one of the requirements of the job is that I get an international drivers license so that I make solo trips to and from Florence when required....the thought of driving a car in this crazy country stirs up enough fear inside me to make me poop my pants. BUT...again....this is the opportunity of a lifetime. 

After yet another teary goodbye (or a “salty leave” as Kalin would say) with the fam, it’s back to the “real world” - back to classes and homework and friends and fumbling my way through countless moments of ineffective communication. Yes, my life is crazy. And yes, I think it’s starting to hit me how incredibly lucky I am to have this craziness. Thanks to my fellow Davi for such a great week - my italian experience wouldn’t have been complete without you all being apart of it.  

Ok...now you are SEMI caught-up with my adventures. This is definitely the longest blog you will ever see posted on this interesting little website I have....but thanks for hanging in and reading til the end. I told you it would be juicy : )

I love you all so much

-Sarah

God, give me strength. 

World, watch me go. 

Travel Channel

The aforementioned Travel Channel show will be called "Watch Me Go"...

It just came to me...I felt the need to blog it. 

Yes, I'm still alive.

Hey there! 

Sorry for the lack of email/blog/skype lately...needless to say I've been just a little bit busy the past few weeks. Had a bit of a reality check when classes started (oh yeah...I'm here to go SCHOOL...), but so far I'm really enjoying all my courses. In addition to my italian classes, I'm taking a class on the Roman Empire, one on Human Development in Culture (mostly compares family/cultural dynamics in the US and Italy), and one on Italian Renaissance Art.  Definitely a little different from what I'd normally be doing at CU this semester, but the change is oh SO welcome. 

The past few weekends have been jam packed with traveling/sight seeing/getting lost/getting found/eating/more eating/wine/more wine/etc....pretty much livin the dream. I've made a couple trips to Assisi, a neighboring etruscan town about a 20 minute train ride away. Assisi was the home of St. Francis, and has some of the most beautiful architecture I have ever seen. The Basilica there is absolutely unreal - words cannot describe the enormity and beauty of this church. The moment you walk into the upper church and see the bright blue vaulted ceiling dotted with gold stars, it's as though you become a part of this town's amazing history. Quite the experience.

Assisi is perched up on the west side of Mount Subasio (424 meters) and the highest point in the town is about 30 minute hike up to Rocca Maggiore, an ancient fortress rebuilt in the 14th century over an earlier fortification dating back to the time of Charlemagne (in other words, its really really really old). You have GOT to check out the photos I put up on Picasa...holy smokes, guys. We timed it perfectly so that we reached the castle right at sunset. Pretty much enough to knock your socks off. I admit that I'm a complete sucker for sunsets, but this one has got to be at least in my top 5. 

Last weekend Julie, Hannah, and I decided to have a little adventure and take a trip to.....*drum roll*...VENICE! The train ride was pretty brutal - almost 7 hours...all I'm going to say is THANK GOD we were on a EuroStar train. 1st class was a great investment. 

When we arrived Friday afternoon, the weather was unreal. 65 degrees and sunny...we seriously couldn't have asked for a better weekend. Venice is one of those places that you've always seen pictures of and always dreamed of actually being there, but once we stepped out of the train station and saw the all the canals and water taxis, it honestly did not feel real. Honest to god, my first reaction was that I needed to call up the Travel Channel and arrange some sort of contract so they can document my UNREAL life. It would be a hit, I'm sure. 

We pretty just meandered around Venice for our first day, not really sure at all what we were doing. I'm convinced that there's really no such as thing as being "lost"...sure there are detours and maybe less than efficient routes, but with no map and no idea at all as to how Venice was laid out, the three of us pretty much rocked that city. We of course hit up Saint Marks Basilica/Square/Bell Tower and all the surrounding major sights. Our second day we also made a little trip to Murano, the island that is famous for their blown glass. Got to watch a couple demonstrations by a few different artists and of course (half just because of my mom and her obsession with glass) bought some souvenirs. 

Ready to hear about the highlight of the trip? The part that I'm sure is going to seal the deal for my contract with the Travel Channel? Saturday afternoon we walk into an enoteca, buy bottle of champagne, pop it in the middle of St. Marks Square, do a nice little cheers in the midst of alllll the pigeons, walk down to the grand canal, and hop on gondola. Yes, this actually my life. And no, it doesn't feel real. So for about a half an hour the three of us sipped on champagne and listened to our gondolier (dressed of course in the black and white stripped shirt and that cute little hat) give us a history of the canals. I'm telling you, my show is going to be a hit. 

So as most you know, my favorite part of Italy is the fooooood, and Venice definitely did not let me down. Seafood there was to DIE for....all I will say is ravioli with mussels and scallops in a shrimp bisque. So good I wanted to roll in it. I am salivating right now just reminiscing. 

So there you are...you are almost caught up to date on my life. Right now, i'm battling a beast of a cold and have almost completely lost my voice, but I'm sure I will survive...hopefully at least long enough to enjoy a couple more italian meals and a couple more glasses of wine. Oh, and long enough to at least shoot my pilot episode for the travel channel. I'm off to go drink a gallon of OJ and take some random medicine that the crazy pharmacist gave me yesterday. Livin the dream, my friends. Livin the dream. 

Ci sentiamo

-Sarah

Cortona, Italy

Hey everyone!

Today we ventured outside of Perugia for the first time since arriving and headed for Cortona, Italy. It's a small town in Tuscany and about a 45 minute train ride away from "home." If you've ever seen the movie Under the Tuscan Sun, you've seen Cortona; the entire movie was filmed there.

There were about 8 of us that decided to go, and our first adventure with european transportation actually went fairly well! Considering we had to use a mini-metro, a train, and a bus to get there, we were all pretty proud when we arrived without any major glitches. 

Cortona is perched up on veeeeeery steep hillside, and we definitely got an incredible workout just walking around town. We grabbed some lunch at an incredible little restaurant that overlooked the valley below and of course enjoyed a couple glasses of wine :) I can honestly say that I have yet to have a glass of wine here that was anything less than amazing. This country definitely has its priorities straight. 

After lunch we ventured towards La Chiesa di Santa Margherita. Its an absolutely beautiful church located just short of the highest point in town. It took us about 30 minutes to walk there (which isn't too bad), but holy smokes....I thought Perugia was hilly, but it is nothing compared to this place. I might as well have been climbing mount everest. Some advice: wait until AFTER your "hike" to enjoy the vino. Ouch. 

Perched even higher than the church was the Fortezza del Girifalco, an ancient Etruscan fortress which was first used by the Goths and later by the Lombards. The view was so absolutely INSANE from here, it felt like we were on the top of the world. Check out the pictures, please...even though I know that no photo can even come close to capturing the enormity of the landscape. Seriously breathtaking. It felt like a dream. 

On our way back down to town we passed through a beautiful little park. Conveniently it was right at sunset and we ended up staying there for quite a while, just trying to soak it all in. Again, please look at the photos. Words cannot do this justice. 

All in all, it was a fabulous day. You can't help but feeling like the italians know more about having a good time than we do. It's a simple kind of "fun," but it honestly warms your soul. Despite the chaos that comes with being in a foreign country, and despite all the confusion that comes with TRYING to speak in a second language, I feel absolutely at peace here. Never before have I felt so grounded with such an enormous challenge in front of me. While I'm sure there will be difficult days in which I miss home so much it hurts, there is no doubt in my mind that I am doing something incredible. I wish you all could be here. And I can honestly say that the thing I look forward to the most is the day that my family arrives in Rome.  I can't wait to share everything with my fellow Davi :)

Love you all enormously. Talk to you soon (hopefully!!!)

Sarah

www.picasaweb.google.com/SarahLiz00

Buona sera a tutti! 

So it's been a week since I've been here and...oh my goodness...SO much has happened, I don't even know where to start, so bare with me if my train of thought seems super random :)

Our second day in Italy I moved into an apartment with my friend Julie (we took italian classes together in Boulder). We live on a small street called Via del Melo about a five minute walk from the center piazza. We're the only students from our school on our street (and probably within the couple "blocks" surrounding us) so it's definitely very different than living on the hill in boulder or in on-campus housing! It's been fun though trying to get to know our neighbors who of course speak only italian. We certainly have an interesting and homey little apartment: there's one biiig bedroom for the two of us, a living/dining room, a kitchen, and one bathroom. The furniture is definitely a little quirky and I have never seen such tiny kitchen appliances in my entire life, but the view from our balcony/windows is absolutely breathtaking. We look northeast towards the Apennine Mountain Range and I pretty much have to pinch myself every morning when I wake up and look out my window. It is definitely the highlight of the entire apartment.

If I had to describe Perugia in one word (besides "amazing," of course) it would without a doubt be HILLY. Oh my stars. One of the streets that takes us to the center piazza is a 23% incline. My legs are like noodles by the end of the day...which is probably a good thing: perhaps it will counteract all the actual noodles I've been eating since we arrived. All the hills make for amazing views of the city once you finally reach the top, but geeze-louise...they kill me. 

Difficult terrain aside, this town is amazing. It was actually built by the Etruscans and was first mentioned in writing around 310 BC (!!) so just the history alone is enough to blow your mind. Every morning I walk through a 2000+ year old arch on the way to school...just a little bit different from Boulder, CO :)

Though this probably goes without saying, we are spoiled rotten here when it comes to food (and wine). Just today I had a pizza with prosciutto and carciofi (artichokes), amazing spumante, a cappuccino, a caffe marocchino....all before 3pm. It is heaven. It's taken a little bit of effort getting used to grocery shopping though. Who knew there wouldn't be a safeway or whole foods in italy!? :) Since this is a fairly small town, we have to do the majority of our shopping at tiny hole-in-the-wall grocery stores, most of which are owned and operated by the cutest old italian women you'll ever see. Every saturday there is a huge open air market, so we're headed there tomorrow to stock up. The fresh seafood is supposed to be amazing....so perhaps it's time for me to learn how to cook. Wish me luck...

I've got to head out for now...but I promise more "blogging" is on the way. Also, check out my Picasa page...I've already uploaded tons of pictures for your enjoyment :) 

Ci Sentiamo!

Sarah

Photos

Just got done with our first attempt at grocery shopping (we made complete fools of ourselves) and I don't have tons of time to write since we're having people over for dinner tonight, but I wanted to let everyone know that I've posted some photos on Picasa. I'm sure there will be TONS more to come, but I uploaded a few pictures of our apartment and a couple different areas around town...just in case you're interested. Check it out and I miss you all! 

-Sarah

www.picasaweb.google.com/SarahLiz00

Oh, and I originally posted the wrong skype name....I corrected it, but just in case you want it: Sarahliz4688

Home Sweet (Away From) Home

Buona Sera! 

After the longest two (three?) days of my entire life, I am finally in Perugia! All I can say is no more plane rides please...at least for a while. Our flight out of New York ended up getting delayed, so we didn't leave the US until around midnight yesterday. My seat was sandwiched in between two very nice italian businessmen, who enjoyed asking me questions and watching me botch my way through answering. Not the most impressive display of communication, but entertaining nonetheless. 

I must say that when it comes to in-flight meals, AlItalia seriously trumps anything I've ever seen. We had dinner (with a couple glasses of wine, of course) and breakfast (with espresso, of course), and everything was delicious. United Airlines has some catching up to do, to say the least. 

Once we arrived in Rome, we all loaded onto a charter bus for a three hour ride to Perugia. We were all absolutely exhausted, and I couldn't help but take a little naperoo - but from what I saw when I was awake, this country is fantastically beautiful (no surprise there). 

We're staying at Hotel Gio tonight, which is right in the center of town. We have a big welcome dinner in an hour or so, and then we're all probably going to hit the sack. My roommate Julie and I get to move into our apartment tomorrow morning around 11, so photos will follow soon after! 

I am absolutely exhausted though, and looking at my computer screen is seriously making my eyes burn. Hope everyone is doing well and managing SOMEHOW to go on without me there, though I know it must be difficult :) Talk to you all soon

-Sarah

P.S. Skype me! Sarahliz4688 

P.P.S. I highly recommend flying over the Alps at least once in your life. Breathtaking to say the least.