the clampets do italy....

Sooo after my last post (i know its been awhile sorry) a lot has happened! Our last week in Florence flew by faster than you could imagine. We were all busy studying and working on our finals and once school was done we all kept busy till we left. The Thursday before we al left I made a smart decision while leaving a bar to try to jump a chain fence...tripped and fell onto a curb. I sprained my ankle and then had to be carried to the hospital because all the cabs didn't speak english and assumed i was too drunk to walk. Then the night continued as Natalie, Micah, and I waited till 4 in the morning for the Italian Hospital to help me. No worries during these 4 hours at the hospital some strange characters made an appearance in the emergency room. The first was this drugged out boy and his girl friend. He has "passed out" and slashed his head open and while he was getting stitched up, his girlfriend went behind the receptionist's desk and was stealing things. Then his friends decide to show up and one of them has a joint....lets just say those friends were kicked out. Then this homeless guy walks in and starts talking to us about elvis and memphis...then all of a sudden when the nurses start getting his information a flip switched and he starts going crazy.He starts punching the walls and pushing the nurses, finally the nurses move me to a different room. And go on to tell me that my ankle isnt broken only after putting this cast on my ankle...

The next day my parents got to Florence, only to find the humor of me hurting my ankle to day before we leave. Then Saturday turns into the worst/funniest days ever, the package store was turned out to be closed after my mom and I walked half way across florence with my 30 lb. package to send home. Then my parents' hotel tells us that we can't keep our 7 bags at the hotel so we have to fit all the bags in our rented volvo...we looked like the clampets ha

Our next stop was Tuscany, which was just as beautiful as everyone says it is. We went to Volterra...no biggie it was where New Moon was based :). Then we went to a wine tasting at this amazing little vineyard. Sienna was not as amazing I was hoping, even though we got to climb to the top of this old church and got to see all of Sienna.

Our third stop was Cinque Terra, we stayed in Riomaggiore at the same hotel we stayed at before. As we were getting off the train in Riomaggiore Bugs pulled the handle out of her suitcase so the already inpossible climb to our hotel became even more of a disaster with al our luggage. The second day we were there we hiked to all the islands, but me and my gimp ankle couldn't make it the whole way so my dad, mom and I took the train to the last town. Our nest stop was Milan. AMAZING!!! everyone told us that all of us would hate it but it was a cleaner cooler version of Soho in NYC. We saw the last supper and had some awesome dinners. We the took the midnight train to Sarento....none of us will ever do that again. One of the weirdest and worst experiences. Now we are finally in Sarento and trying to make the most of the 4th of July even though we aren't in Knoxvegas!! Tomorrow my dad rented a private boat to ferry us around to Capri, Positana, and Almafi Coast...needless to say we have a hard life hahaha

See everyone soon!!! I'll be back Wednesday night!!!

School is almost over

Well ladies and gents...its been awhile! I have been quite a busy bee, working on sketches for my illustration class, traveling to Venice and Verona, and getting to go to Pitti Umomo(the biggest men's fahion trade show in Europe...no biggie). This past weekend API took everyone to Venice and Verona. I really enjoyed Venice, the seafood was aweosme and the city was beautiful. Not goign to lie Verona was kind of a let down, especially since I saw Letters to Juliet before I left haha. Verona was just semi dirty and way to touristy for me. Not saying Venice wasn't, but I expected Verona to be this tiny little town on the hills of Italy...nope. This past week at school has been real hectic too. I had my mid term for my Illustration class due, and everyone LOVED my drawings. We also went on 4 different feild trips within both of my classes. The most exciting one was of course the Pitti Uomo. I was litterally in heaven. It is in the famous fourtress in Florence and there are over 500 different designers. We walked around from 10-1 and still didn't get to see half the booths. Pitti Donna is also started to get more popular each year....yes the women's fashion trade show...I was freaking out. The women's included various vintage booths, and then around 50 other designers. Surprisingly the women's booths were much nicer than the mens. We also got soooo much free stuff!!!!

Anywho, all the other girls left this weekend to go to Switzerland and go canyoning. I was really jealous because I couldn't go because they left Thursday night and the Pitti Uomo was on Friday. Tonight, however, I am going to this famous restuarant in Florence that is known for its steaks. Can't beleive my time in Florence in almost over, but I am really excited to my parents and start traveling around Italy with Bugs and Molly!!! Ciao

Hard Life

This past weekend Florence, Margaret, Natalie, Caitlin and I all went to Capri and Sarento. Probably the prettiest place I have ever been. School has been crazy, I have my Fashion Buying concepts midterm on Thursday! And my illustration is going to be unbelievable. I have learned how to draw different figures in different positions in only one week(pretty big deal). But anywho, more important matters, Capri and Sarento are on the Amalfi Coast about a 4 hour train ride away. We stayed at this amazing hotel right on the marina in Sarento. Saturday we headed over to Capri and spent the whole day laying out and touring the island by boat. Saturday we went back to Sarento and had an amazing seafood dinner and then continued our night at this awesome local bar/restaurant that had this hilarious Italian band that played only classic american rock music. Needless to say our dancing skills made some of the Italian ladies a little jealous. We got back last night around 6 and had to get back to reality and do some homework.

We have discovered the most amazing restaurants in Florence. We all have been getting a wee bit sick of the same ole Italian food. So we decided to find some different restaurant. Our first discovery was Tijuana, this legit mexican restaurant. You have to make a reservation before you go...yeah its legit. Then we found this awesome Chinese restaurant, Hong Kong. Reall good food for real cheap prices :) We have also ventured out and tried Florence's famous Gelato place, Grom. I got a double scoop with Crema with biscuit and chocolate, and Mint with honey and hazelnut....it was love at first bite no joke. So far all is well in the Firenze!!!

A LOT has happened....

Soooo I know its been forever since I've posted but I've been pretty busy all day everyday. Florence is incredible!! We have moved into our apartment...much nicer than we all expected. Every room has a bathroom and we have a huge living room and a hige kitchen with two refrigerators. We have had all our school orientations and I am super excited about my two classes. We have discovered Florence's jewel...no not the David by Michaelangelo...Club Twenty One. Epic nights have gone down in that iunderground club/bar. Including some major dance sessions and funky drinks. This past Friday and Saturday we traveled to Cinqua Terra. Probably the most beautiful place I've ever been and the best pesto I have evert eaten. Florence, Natalie, Caitlin and I hiked through 4 of the towns, all along the coastline. We start school tomorrow and all of us couldn't be happier. We all need to start have a schedule. We have a cooking class tonight so be prepared Knoxville for some epic Italian cooking at the long house once I get back. A lot of Knoxville boys came in town last night and we all went our to dinner. Thats where we met GorGio, the love of my life. The cutest 70 year old man who was our waiter. He not only was the perfect waiter but he broght us free lemonciello shots!!!! We then made our way to Twenty One, and danced the night away. Another great week in a great city with aweosme friends.

Last Day in Roma

Today was our last day in Rome and all of us are finally ready to head of to Florence. However, we have all enjoyed our three days in Rome. Yesterday we went to the Trevi fountain, where Molly and I threw in some coins for our two wishes. The fountain was incredible, everything I had pictured it to be. Next we went to the Colosseum, which was unbelievable. The massive structure blew our minds. I also saw the actor who plays Jacob's dad in Twilight, which I thought was really cool haha!! Anyways, we ended the night back in the Campo d' Fiori square with an awesome dinner and wine. Our next stop was Sloppy Sam's, and "american" bar even though we were someof the few people who could actually speak English. Today our first stop was the Vatican. Then we went to some famous castle, can't actually remember the name of it but anywho. Then, the six of us went to the Sistine Chapel, little did we know it takes like an hour of of hallways and museums to get to the actual chapel. So, finally after 5 hours of continuous walking, we were all so hungry and tired that we found the first restaurant in sight. Then we all decided it would be smart to get a taxi back to the hotel. Flo, Molly and I attempted to flag down a taxi, we succeeded. Tonight we all went to dinner, and all the waiters and hostesses kept going about how beautiful us american girls were. Then we got three free deserts, and then the hostess slipped Natalie a note with his number. I guess there are some positive aspects about being American girls in Italy. Tomorrow we are finally headed for Florence, hopefully I don't topple down the stairs with my two massive suitcases. Ciao!!!!!!!!

First Day in Roma Italia

Well the day started off a little stressful, including our flight from Knoxville to Charlotte being delayed due to a "maintenance" problem. So Margaret and I decided to get a bite to eat, little did we know that once we got back to the gate the plane had been delayed till 5:50. This would make it impossible for us to catch our connecting flight to Rome. And about five minutes after the worker told us we couldn't get to Rome today, and I had a panic attack, the plane was fixed and we were on our way to Charlotte! Eleven hours later we are officially across the big lake and landed in Italia. It seems that my two suitcases are going to be a slight problem carrying across Italy. We continued to our hotel, where all of us discovered that Molly and I must have lucked out and gotten the honeymoon suite, because our room is twice the size of everyone else. Margaret, Molly and I first stopped by a local restaurent for pizza and wine. Life is hard. We then continued to walk about 3 miles and officially became acqainted with Rome, including it's 30 million gelato places. I ended my first night in Rome with 6 great friends in the Campo d' Fiori Square with two bottles of wine and bruschetta. Great start to a great summer in Europe!!!

Packing...doomed experience

I leave Saturday for Florence, but my packing isn't going quite as planned. Still have yet to put anything into my two massive suitcases. My dad continues to hassle me and my mom continues to tell me the amount of clothing I am not allowed to take. Busy week, hopes of getting everything done and be ready for my 2:00 flight to Charlotte Saturday. In Rome till the 25th and then Florence bound!!!!! Get ready