An Opera in Verona

First off I'd like to apologize for not posting anything since September! I was extremely busy this past month and I've finally found some down time to write.

I went to Verona in early September to see Romeo and Juliet at the Opera festival! When we first got there, we did a walking tour of the city. Here are some pictures of the arena, which is the third largest coliseum in Italy. This is where we will watch the Opera later!

Posing in front of a heart statue!

 The main stop on our walking tour was the Casa di Giulietta, or Juliette's house. In the walkway, people usually leave love notes and messages on the walls. I guess now they decided it would be cool to write on band-aids. Kinda gross, yet effective.

Once we got into the courtyard there was a statue of Juliette, and a wall of locks where couples "locked their love." For good luck in love, everyone rubs the left boob of Juliette, so obviously we copped a feel.

Then we went into the house and walked up to the balcony! I felt like I was in the play it was so cool.

After the house, we continued our walking tour around the city. The architecture was amazing. Here are some photos of houses and buildings I saw.

This building is actually said to be Romeo's house! The family who owns it decided they didn't want to open it for tourism though, so I only could take a picture.

Next we went into the church pictured below. The art on the inside was so beautiful, especially the ceilings!

After, we walked towards this cute river and saw some great views of the city.

(I just liked this window)

After the walking tour, we grabbed a quick dinner and headed to the arena to find our seats.

^This is a picture of the square outside of the arena.

The set was really cool; it was a circle of ladders (the symbol of the Scaligheri family that controlled Verona for a significant part of the city's history) that opened up to reveal numerous actors and choirs. They even used the steps of the arena behind the stage to put out props, such as back drops or candles. The opera was in French so I couldn't understand anything but it sounded beautiful.

The opera was about 4 hours long (and 5 acts) but my favorite was the final act. Overall, I had an amazing time at the Opera in Verona!

A beautiful Sunday in Cinque Terre

We left Florence around 7am and set out for Cinque Terre! Of the 5 little towns, we visited 4: Manarola, Vernazza, Corniglia, and Monterosso. 

We started off our trip in Manarola, where we walked through the town and climbed up this hill to see some great views. 

After Manarola, we headed to the next "terra," Vernazza. Here we walked through the little town and got some lunch. The towns are famous for its focaccia bread and pesto sauce because it was invented in this region! It was absolutely amazing.

After lunch we began our hike. We started off in Vernazza and hiked along the mountainsides of Corniglia. Here are some views during the hike.

The hike was really tough! The first 40 minutes was just straight uphill and the Lord knows I hate uphills. However it was totally worth it!!

On the way down the mountain, the stairs were so steep that my legs were trembling! However, the beach at Monterosso was awaiting us at the bottom!!

After a great hike, we all got some fresh fruit daquiris and relaxed on the beach for the rest of the afternoon. Some friends and I even went paddleboarding.

It was such an amazing day! I love Cinque Terre so much! 

First Weekend in Florence!

After a long orientation day on Thursday and my Italian placement test on Friday morning, I was ready to have some fun! Babbo (my host dad) took my roommates and I to the beach on Friday afternoon!! I'm not sure what the name of the beach was, but it was only an hour away near Pisa. When we finally got there the beach was so beautiful. The water was a bright blue and the weather was perfect.

After sitting on some lounge chairs and taking a quick nap, Babbo decided to rent a boat and sail out to this little island in the ocean where people anchor their boats. When we got there we all jumped off the boat and went for a swim. The water was so refreshing and warm, it was awesome!

After the swim, we all just tanned on the boat and hung out. It was so relaxing!

After the boat ride back, Babbo treated us to some pizza, and then some Nutella pizza. Both of which were amazing. On the ride back, we all fell asleep because we were so tired. It was a great day!

That night, I went to a pub crawl with some Bentley friends and that was also a blast. We went to a couple of different bars and danced literally the entire night. It was so fun!

The next day I got to sleep in a little, and then Valentina, the oldest daughter took my roommates and I to Lucca, which is cute little city in Tuscany. The buildings were all very old and the architecture was amazing. We started off our afternoon with some lunch, and I went for gnocchi with mozzarella and tomato sauce. It was AMAZING! I'm a huge gnocchi fan. The restaurant was so authentic too because instead of having cooks there was just the one nonna (grandma) cooking all the food and bringing it out to people. So cute.

After our lunch we went on a walk though out the town. The city is completely surrounded by a wall, but the walls are flat and wide on the top, so people climb up and walk along the top. It was really cool!

After our day in Lucca we headed home and then got ready to go to Flo, which is an outdoor bar in Piazza Michelangelo. Once we got there Zef and I were able to get into the VIP section and we got to see the incredible views of Florence at night.

By the time we got home we were able to get 2 hours of sleep before heading to Cinque Terre the next day (post to follow). Overall it was an awesome weekend!!