It-Alli-a: Ciao!

Now that I've been here almost a week It is time to update the world on my travels!

Lunedi, Gennaio 25:

The day I left for Italy! I had to be at the airport in Kansas City by 6am for our 8:05 flight to Washington D.C. The morning had a few snow flurries but mostly fog, so unfortunately no aerial pics from the plane. In D.C. we had a 5 hour wait for our fight to Roma. Laura, Amanda, Heidi and I rode a 'Mars Rover/Star Wars' looking shuttle to the main terminal and had lunch at Fuddrucker's (what an American name!) where I, of course had chicken strips, a farewell to my favorite meal for the next 4 months...)
The flight to Roma was turbulent for the first 4 hours (kinda fun actually! like rollercoasters!) I kept myself busy with some in flight movies like the 'Informant' and Michael Jackson's 'It Is Time' and my favorite pass-time, NAPPING!

(the 'Mars Rover' Shuttle)

Martedi, Gennaio 26:

The day we arrived in Roma!...After a 9 hour flight. It was chilly and rainy. We all made it through customs in Rome's Fiumicino Airport. It went so quick and without a word, it hardly seemed legit! We waited in the airport for an hour or so for our bus to arrive to take us to Castiglion Fiorentino. While there I made an interesting discovery! (apparently in restroom stalls, I guess green means occupied, not open like in the US! That could have ended badly for some unsuspecting Americans, but luckily no one else was in the bathroom!)
When the bus arrived, we had about a 3.5 hour ride to Castiglion Fiorentino. Most of the class (including me) slept the whole way. I guess the beautiful Italian countryside isn't enough to keep tired travelers awake. In CF it was still cold and raining (we heard some the townspeople were upset that it was such a bad day to welcome us to Italy. Aren't they charming!). A truck met us at the bus stop in CF to take our luggage. After the 3 block walk to Santa Chiara we had a quick lunch, got checked in, unpacked, and went on a short walking tour. On the tour we stopped at Hermes Cafe, where Enzo the owner gave all of us free pastries! His cafe is a little taste (no I don't mean the food) of home decorated in K-State (and other universities) flags and memorabilia.After the tour we made our way back for dinner. 'Cena' was spaghetti, pork roast, salad, and fruit.

(Hermes Cafe aka: Enzo's)

Mercoledi, Gennaio 27:

Wednesday was more orientation in the morning. I was able to get online to update the world a little on facebook during my free time before lunch. For lunch we had bean/lentil soup, fried zucchini, potato and egg casserole/kiesh, and fruit of course. After lunch we had a short studio meeting and then walked around town for a couple of hours. I walked a total of 2.3 miles, saw some cute cats (which made me miss my Milo and Smokie), some interesting driving situations, olive groves everywhere we walked, and intricate, detailed doorways. I also said 'Ciao' to a nice old man walking his dog and he said 'Ciao' back. It was all very nice until he started talking more Italian that I couldn't understand. (I felt bad) I wish I could understand him though!
Before 'cena' we watched a terribly cheesy video (we've all seen these videos in school, no need to waste more time talking about this). For cena we had penne pasta, roast (of some sort), salad, and fruit. After dinner, we all went to a local bar called the Velvet Underground (our group has dubbed the 'VU' for short) and had Limoncello's. A lemony drink that came in a shot glass. We then proceed to take the 'shot' which we find out after wasn't a shot at all! It is meant to be sipped.....Ooops! I guess we gave the Italian bar tenders a funny story to take home!