Strolling through Siena

jmj
Trying to decide where to go each weekend is hard when you have so many amazing options! I knew I wanted to stay close to Florence, but I didn't know where to go... Naples, Milan,Venice...Hmmm... The options were endless! Thanks to my awesome roommate, Becca, and the tantalizing description of Rick Steves, myself and 5 other girls decided to go to Siena, the heart of Tuscany! We had planned to go to San Gimignano (try to pronounce that one and sound pretty, its hard to do!) and Siena, both in one weekend, but because of crazy confusing bus schedules we settled on Siena for Saturday and Sunday. Not a bad decision at all!

The bus ride to Siena was uneventful other than being full of other American University students. There is something so comforting about understanding others' conversations, even if you aren't apart of them. Otherwise I just think they are talking about me... Paranoid? Maybe, but its still a reasonable thought.

We got to Siena and strolled through its wonderful, pedestrian friendly streets all day long. The weather was perfect for a tour of town so we took advantage of it. We spend a lot of time at Il Campo, which is basically a huge town square. It was great for people watching. We played a new game called "Guess the Americans." Basically you just try to guess who is an American tourist. Sadly, it's pretty easy. There were also a few weddings that day and the wedding parties were celebrating in the square so we got to join in their joyous celebration. They know how to celebrate!

A lot of the day we employed church hopping between Santa Maria Provenza (where a statue of Mary is kept that has many conversions attributed to it), San Domenico (where the in-corrupt head of St. Catherine of Siena is kept. Pretty crazy stuff!), and the Basilica di San Francesco (more on this later). There were a few other smaller churches but those were the main ones.

We wanted to take advantage of the fact that we were in the heart of wine country, and go wine tasting! Unfortunately, our original plan of visiting a vineyard, didn't pan out, but we were able to taste 6 different flavors of olive oil (truffle was everyone's favorite), and visit a wine bar where we tasted different wines from the local area and Italy in general. They were so good! We are all excited for school trip to go wine tasting. Hopefully we will learn more about the art of wine tasting then!

One of Becca's friends told her to visit the Basilica di San Francesco, and to see the Eucharistic Miracle that is kept there. I was pretty excited to see it, but didn't know how we would be able to see it. Her friend told us we would have to ask the priest if we could see it and then maybe he would let us see it. So Sunday morning we got up early and headed off to the basilica for mass. We arrived at the church an hour early because yours truly messed up the mass times =] but we got extra time for prayer before mass so that's always good, right?

 During mass I was getting nervous thinking about asking the priest to see the Eucharistic Miracle. What if he said no? What if he didn't understand what we were saying?... All this was cycling through my head as I was trying to concentrate on translating the mass into English. Needless to say, I wasn't doing a very good job.

Well, I had no need to worry, because, to my great surprise, at the end of mass Father set up adoration on the altar for the whole congregation to adore the Eucharistic Miracle! It was incredible! I didn't know much about the miracle before, but afterwards I read more about it. It is truly incredible! If you check out the link above you can learn more! The short version is they are 230 consecrated hosts from 282 years ago! Crazy! I love being Catholic! It was a beautiful start to the day and end to the weekend.

Here are some (ok ok, a lot of) pictures from out time in Siena.

House in Siena where I would be Ok living someday. Rooftop garden: Check!

This isn't Siena, just a beautiful sunset in Florence on Friday evening that I wanted to share! Enjoy God's splendor!

The many levels and colors of Siena

We stumbled upon and Classic Car Parade in Il Campo.  

One of the 4 couples that we saw getting married on Saturday! Wedding bells were ringing everywhere!

More classic Cars...

Me and the girls (minus Becca) next to the well that was here when St. Catherine lived here. The newer parts  of St. Catherine's house were built around it.

Courtyard outside of St. Catherine's Sanctuary. 

St. Catherine's room and a statue of her.

Amazing views of Siena everywhere!

Another Duomo!

Kendra and I enjoying Apertivo (happy hour)! Lovin' Siena night life =]

Night out on the town!

Ready?

Take 2!

Adoration with Eucharistic Miracle! The True Presence!

An adorable mom and daughter enjoying lunch on Il campo this Sunday afternoon.

Night view of San Domenica. The city at night takes on a new character.

Enjoying the views of Siena all lit up.

Our cute hotel located right next to St. Catherine's house. 

The outside of the Basilica di San Francesco, where the Eucharistic Miracle is kept.

I hope you enjoyed that collection of pictures, in no particular order.... There are so many sites to share! I wish you all could be here to see them with me!

Overall, I have such a love for St. Catherine and all she did for the Church. I really want to learn more about her now. Also, I love the colorfulness of Siena and the lively atmosphere. It was a young city that was enjoying life and the traditions that have been passed on for generations and generations.

Another weekend is gone, and only 8 more to go! Crazy how time flies when you are having fun!

God's love and blessings for you and your families!
Michela

La Dolce Vita // Living the sweet life.

jmj

"The sweet life," as Italians call it, is quite an adjustment for this American girl. Please bare with my while I state the obvious: Life in Italy is so different from life in the States! Ok, thanks...

This semester has already taught me to appreciate different customs and cultures. I still have so much more appreciating to do.

I am loving learning Italian. Yesterday in class we reviewed everything we had learned in 10 days and it is quite impressive. I can introduce myself, ask where you are from, and order a coffee or beer in a restaurant! Haha ok maybe not that impressive, but still exciting. I have 2 whole months to improve.

Practicing Italian in real life is nerve-racking. Pronouncing the words correctly is where the big struggle is.It is always humbling when you think you are asking for a hamburger and a fry and they give you three hamburgers and no fries. Not fun. But I just need to get over my embarrassment and pride and dive into the language. Whether or not my verb tenses are right, I will improve just by practicing!

Life in Italy happens at a different pace than life at home. At home (or school) when I have free time I always have something I need to be doing. "Be productive!" is my mentality. Here it doesn't seem to fit. When I have free time all I want to do is sit outside and enjoy the fresh air. I don't want to be doing anything. Something in the atmosphere evokes the desire to just "be." Be in the fresh air, be with people, be yourself. I think this is a good lesson for me to learn.

I have decided that I want to spend a lot of my travel time this semester in Italy. You will notice this as you see pictures being posted from my weekend trips. The main reason for this is because I realized in Rome that I have this amazing opportunity to really dive into a culture and a way of life that is unfamiliar to me. If I was to be traveling to different countries every weekend I would not fully be able to appreciate Italian culture.

As my dad so wonderfully put it, "If you travel to all of the cities and countries you are talking about you will be a tourist and will not have the kind of penetrating experience that will stay with you long after you leave." I know this is not true for everyone who travels abroad, but I have felt it on my heart that this is the kind of experience that I will learn the most from. Thanks Dad for putting into words what I was feeling!

I am excited to dive into "la dolce vita" and all that it has to offer. What I really want to do is to spend time with Italians and try speaking with them. Pray I can meet some nice Italians that have patience for choppy Italian =]

As always, God bless and continue loving and living boldly! 

Michela

So apparently they collect license plates from the US too... This one made me feel at home.

View from Piazzele Michelangelo. It took my breath away! Partly because the intense walk up the hill, but still it was amazing! 

It's amazing that chalk and black pavement can be used to produce such vibrant colors! Didn't see the finished product, but already the street is looking better!

p.s. La dolce vita could come from the fact that they eat chocolate and sweets here like it's their job. This custom is not so hard to adapt to. =]

Florence: A Breath of Fresh Air

jmj

Ciao!

At last I have arrived in Florence. Well, actually I arrived on Monday... And I have been loving it ever since. Arriving in Florence from Rome was like a breath of fresh air. Don't get me wrong, the Eternal City is unmatched in many respects! Florence is just more to my taste.

The village where we are living and studying is in the hills surrounding Florence. It is a quaint little town, pretty quiet most of the time, with a little church right in the middle. We are surrounded by green, rolling hills which are great for hiking, but they definitely make running more work (as I found out yesterday).

The Villa is so nice too! Here are some pictures and the view from my window...

My window that opens out to the Tuscan hills. Every morning a rooster cock-a-doodle-doo's at 5 a.m.. through this window. Gotta love it. 

Two of my adorable roommates sitting on our little stoop. It is going to be a great semester with them!

The view from my roomies' room. So beautiful. Looks right into the city and onto the Duomo.

Another picture from my window. Wish I could look out onto this in Atchison.

This is my room! Roomie Theresa and I are enjoying our quaint little abode in the Tuscan country hills.

(insert pic of dining hall at later date)

(insert pic of patio soon)

(insert pic of chapel when I get a pic)

Our first jaunt into the city of Florence (population 400,000) was to Santa Maria de Fiore, or as it is most commonly known, the Duomo. We hiked (literally hiked) up 200-plus stairs and hallways no more than 2 feet wide at widest point, to see the city of Florence from above. It was amazing! Here are a few pics from my phone (of course I forgot my camera that day!). Not the best quality but you get the picture.

My view of Florence from the Duomo.

Disclaimer: It was super windy and super bright up there! Hence the crazy hair and squinty eyes. Don't judge.

The front of Santa Maria de Fiore. If you want to know why it's called St. Mary of the Flower please ask! It's an amazing analogy!

We had a pizza/Welcome to Florence party after our trip into Florence. It was complete with live Italian music, good company, tiramisu, and good wine.

Oh! And yes, we have started classes, in case you are wondering. Life isn't all fun and games over here. We have 3 hours of Italian class every morning (Monday-Thursday) and then 2 1/2 hours of Theology class in the afternoon and then a few times this semester we will have 2 whole days of Italian heart and culture. I promise it really is Study abroad, not just holiday abroad =]

God bless!

Michela

P.s. Here is an excerpt about pilgrimage from our reading in my Theology of Pope Benedict XVI class. I thought it was applicable considering the sort of pilgrimage I'm currently on, and we are all on here on earth...

"The more we turn our eyes and our hearts to the earthly Jerusalem, 

the more will our yearning be kindled for the heavenly Jerusalem, the true goal of every pilgrimage,

 along with our eager desire that the name of Jesus, the one name which brings salvation, may be acknowledged by all (cf. Acts 4:12)."

P.s.s. Pics of our trip to Cinque Terre to come soon!

Make it a [lil sibs] Date #2

jmj

Sibling [Double] Date #2: Gabrielle, Annemarie, & Michela

Just a Lazy Sunday turned into the perfect day for a date with Gabrielle and Annemarie!

Started out by using all of our Baskin Robbins Gift Cards for a very satisfying and free snack! 

Exhibit A: Two very satisfied girls...

 Exhibit B: Three very satisfied girls...

Exhibit C: My favorite. 

After our {ice cream} adventure we headed to the movie theater to catch "Brave." I'm not big on going to the theater and paying a bundle "for the experience" so this was a big deal. We all really enjoyed the movie though! Towards the end I hear Annemarie sniffling next to me. I couldn't believe she was crying! And then I realized, "Yeah this is really sad! Why am I not crying?" Again, my cold heart inhibited me from crying during a movie. Oh well! She is just much more in touch with her emotions I guess =]

Cute picture, minus the glare. The little brothers were my favorite! 

 Look at my beautiful little sisters! Cute, right?

Well that was the end of our Double [Sibling] Date! It was a ton of fun and I love spending time with them! 

I am really trying to appreciate the time at home with my family. I know that I will not always return to Las Vegas for the whole summer so I'm trying to live in the present (trying). God has given me this time to really invest in my siblings. I need to enjoy every minute of it while we are all here. 

God bless and thanks for reading!

Make it a Date! (lil sibs edition)

Lately, I have seen so many cute Date ideas for couples posted on Pinterest and different blog sites. Being single myself, my first thought is wishing for a special someone to go do all these fun/romantic things with. Even though that is not in God's plan at the moment, that doesn't mean I can't go on a date! That's where the lil sibs come in...

One thing that I have noticed as I have gotten older is that spending time with my younger siblings (8 in all) is not as easy as when I was 7, 8, 9, 10 or even 12. Life gets busier and sometimes I think "grown-up things" are more important (they really aren't, I just think that sometimes). 

So, this summer I am trying harder to spend one-on-one time with each of my siblings. I have added it to my 101 things in 1001 days and  my goal is to have one "sibling date" with each lil sib this summer. That's going to be kinda hard since Matthew has already left for WestPoint Basic Training, but I will make it up to him by the quantity of letters he will receive from me.

Let the fun begin!

Sibling Date #1: Julianna + Michela 

Julianna and I had a rather spontaneous sibling date. We were goinging to go golf on the putting green with some friends but it didn't work out. We had already gotten all dressed in our sporty, golf-gear, and I was not about to let my outfit change go to waste. So instead we took our dad's gold clubs, and took pictures in our front yard of us "golfing" (Note: No golf balls were actually hit during this adventure due to the close proximity of cars, people, and houses).

Then, since Julianna got her permit earlier that day, I took her driving for the first time! I drove to the church parking lot (classic first lesson spot) and then handed the wheel over to her. I have to admit I was kinda nervous. As my heart rate was increasing my thoughts increased as well, "This is what my mom and dad went through with me," "I understand why dad always seemed so stressed when I was driving," "I can't believe I have been driving for 7 years now!" "I can't believe my dad took me on the freeway the first time I went driving!!!" "Why did we take the nicest car we own?" "I've never been in an accident before...." Needless to say, we survived! And had fun on our first sibling date/driving lesson!

Good work, Julianna! I'm so proud of you!

-jmj