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Pizza Man, Opera Nights, Tuscan Rain

2/2/2014

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With the next few months being booked up with travel, visitors, and other plans, I have stayed put in Florence this past week or so taking advantage of as much as I can while having to deal with some rainy Tuscan weather.

And after spending the last weekend in Rome, I was able to enjoy some more Florentine specialties this week.

On Monday night for my Cultural Literacy course, my professor brought our class out to what he considered to be some of the best pizza in the entire city. There was definitely some hesitation when he let us know that the name of the restaurant was “Pizza Man” and not something a little more authentic sounding, but the final product definitely held it’s own against some of the best options we’ve tried so far.

“Pizza has never been excluded from any group for socioeconomic reasons,” said my professor to the class. “Since it’s creation, everyone has enjoyed pizza. From the very rich to the very poor.” Considering how poor I feel after every new trip booked, this made me feel especially better.

Later on in the week though, my quest for total cultural immersion took one giant leap past pizza into the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. That’s right, on Tuesday night I went to the opera. 
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I’m not sure that any of my friends or I really knew what we were getting ourselves into, but when we saw the opportunity to check out a different kind of show we jumped at the opportunity. The show we went to was called “Nabucco,” a retelling of a biblical story through an opera that was written over 150 years ago. 
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The songs and presence on stage throughout the story - at points there were over 50 people on stage at once - were more than I ever could have expected from such a show. It was also a lifesaver to have English and Italian subtitles scrolling across the top of stage for the entire show, without which the show may have gone way too over our heads.

But at the risk of rambling on in this week’s post, let me just throw some quick points to further round out the shape of my most recent Tuscan week:
  • The best meal I had this week easily came at a restaurant down the road from us called Acqua al 2. On recommendation, we got their famous blueberry steak, which was as delicious and confusing to the taste buds as we could have imagined.
  • With February comes the promise of starting to play soccer through some school and other organized leagues. It’s been a while since I have played consistently, so I’m scared and looking forward at the same time to getting some refreshers and wake-up calls.
  • Tonight my roommates and I are planning on staying up until the early morning hours to not let a six hour time difference get in the way of watching the Super Bowl. Many red bulls and late night espressos will be had.
My next few weekends in Europe will bring me farther into my travels elsewhere in Italy and throughout the continent including the Swiss Alps next weekend, Amsterdam the weekend after that, and then Venice for as much Carnivale fun we can get our hands on. 

Sometimes it really seems crazy to me how antsy my friends and I get to leave Florence and explore. After travelling so far away from home and settling down in a new city only a few weeks ago, the itch to travel is coming out strong, and I couldn’t be happier about it.
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With a good group of friends, old and new, with me for every new destination we set our sights on, it makes me feel pretty good about the fact that I won’t see a full Florence weekend again for quite some time. 

I’d like to close with another line my Cultural Literacy professor dropped on our pizza night out. In talking about pizza’s history, he admitted that the history of its creation is a little murky (The French and Greeks may also have some claim). The Italians may not have been directly involved with inventing it, but that wasn’t really a worry to him.

“Italians may not have actually invented pizza. But like everything else, they certainly made it better.”

Arrivederci for now.

(For more pictures, check out my Facebook)
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Just missed the Pope: Weekend in Rome

1/26/2014

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I am currently writing this blog post from our Via Del Moro living room absolutely exhausted from a blast of a weekend in Rome.

I’ve made it outside of Florence twice technically with school trips since arriving a few weeks ago, but planning a trip by ourselves with a big group was all the more satisfying (I’m such a world traveler, I know).

But in Rome we were able to see as many of the main sights as possible within the 48-hour window we were working with. On Friday, we were able to see all of Vatican City and its museum which ended up at the Sistine Chapel. And having already seen the chapel before in my life, I was amazed with how much it was still able to take my breath away. There was a strict no photo policy, but it’s safe to say that Pat was still able to sneak in a selfie with the ceiling in the background anyway.

On Saturday we took a huge walking tour that they offered right out of our hostel. It really seemed like it hit every monument and cool spot in the city that you would want to see, but our tour guide Lucas may have been the best part of the whole thing. Born in Brazil, fluent in five languages, and now working at a Roman hostel definitely made his perspective on some things very interesting, and his historical knowledge was one that may just rival that of my brother Ralph's. (Just kidding, Ralph.)

But what made our weekend in Rome so unforgettable were the two nights we had as a group when the sun went down. My spaghetti carbonara at Da Tony's in Rome's Trastevere district was one of the best meals I've had since getting to Italy. The whole atmosphere of the restaurant and area just felt so purely a part of the city, and it was a nice added bonus that the owner seemed so happy to have a big group that he brought out more and more wine bottles as soon as our glasses were half empty.

The Roman nightlife was a blast too as every big piazza and street was beaming with life from the start of dinner until all the late night stops closed down. The first bar we stopped at Saturday night, a classic gathering spot for visitors called The Drunken Ship, was packed with people drinking, dancing, and even playing beer pong in the corner (a nice American throwback). Within five minutes of arriving, Kevin, Pat, and I were splitting a pitcher of Sex on the Beach...it just seemed like the appropriate "When in Rome" kind of thing to do.

Our walk back to our hostel from the bars on Saturday night was easily the best highlight of the weekend though. Pat and I headed out first and were looking for some of the main spots that we had seen earlier in the day when we came across a guitar player in Piazza Navona. When we recognized some of the songs he was playing we started dancing and singing along with him, and what made it even better was that the guitar player seemed to be loving it even more than we were. If he started playing a song that we didn't recognize, he would immediately apologize and start playing another one. 
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And when Kevin met up with us in the piazza after about twenty minutes of dancing, he immediately taught the guitar player a few new chords that let him play some Beatles songs to end our late night experience together.

But after our fun in Piazza Navona we continued on throughout the city to keep finding as many of the spots we remembered from walking around. Finding the Trevi Fountain again, which strangely had no other visitors around it for the majority of the time we were there, was the best though. Sitting on the steps and taking in the fountain and the surrounding area just by ourselves in the middle of the night nears the top of the list of most surreal moments I've had so far this semester.

It has now been about two and a half weeks since I arrived in Florence for my semester abroad, and it is now finally just starting to sink in that I am not really just a tourist vacationing in a new country. Yes, I can still get picked out as an American from a mile away, but it has definitely become more of a reality that the next three months of my life will be spent exploring and taking in as many aspects of a different culture as I can.

And on the eve of our weekend trip to Rome, I was looking at my calendar of events for the next few months and decided to do a quick count. As of last Thursday, I had exactly 100 days left in my young study abroad journey. Knowing that might not really change anything, but it does put my time here in another perspective. 

I have 100 days to see as many cities and countries and try as many new things across Europe. And at the same time, I'm still here in my new city working to immerse myself into Florentine life as much as I can.

 I’m beyond excited to continue on with these adventures, and I can't wait to keep sharing them in turn with as many people as I can.
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Chianti, Siena, and finding our way home

1/23/2014

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After two full weeks in Florence, there are times that it seems like it was just yesterday since I said goodbye to family and friends and there are times where it feels like I've been living in my new city for months. All I do know is that I have officially been here long enough to fall in love with Nutella, something I don't plan on eating scarcely this semester from now on.

These past seven days have been another jam-packed week of seeing new sights and figuring out where the real best spots in this city are hiding, starting with a few day trips outside of the city itself. Our first stop last Friday was to Villa Vignamaggio in Chianti, the vineyard that has hosted Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa, the wine that it's named after, and a good hundred drunk spiders covering the centuries-old walls.

We were given a tour of the facilities by a woman who could have been the blonde cousin of my grandmother. She showed us around the giant wine containers, the gardens outside (Which had awesome views all around even with a little bit of rain), and then led a wine tasting before and during lunch! 

She explained to us the whole wine examination process, quickly followed by her letting us know that swirling around your wine glass for hours at a party won't make you look sophisticated, just stupid. Noted.

The next day we were able to sign up for a bus trip to the nearby towns of Siena and San Gimignano. Siena, in a word, was gorgeous. In a way it almost seemed like a mini Florence with a large Duomo of its own and some more amazing Tuscan views, but it had its own special charm about it that definitely makes me want to return one day. After a quick tour of the main square, the Duomo, and the Museo Civico, five of us decided to climb massive bell tower in Palazzo Publico to try and get the best view of the city we could. It didn't disappoint.
After Siena we made our way over to San Gimignano, an even quieter Tuscan town about an hour away from Florence. The views there were once again amazing, and if not for the intriguing looking torture museums lining the streets, the whole scene could have been out of another century. 

(We ended up checking out one of the torture museums. It was interesting, but I didn't care too much to take pictures in there and remember anything too specific.) 
If there was any time where the rain really got in the way last weekend though it was in San Gimignano, but we were still able to take in the whole visual impact it had to offer. And since that it has been another crazy week going to classes and somehow still getting lost coming back to the apartment from different spots in the city.

For even more pictures, if you haven't seen them yet, please check out my Facebook page where I'll be posting the best hundreds of photos out of the thousands that I do take.
To close this chapter though, I'd like to share I line given by one of my favorite professors on the trip so far, who is so far great with one-liners that can sound both randomly strange and beautifully philosophical at the same time. When asked about tips for navigating the city, he said, "For Italians, the quickest way from point A to point B is never a straight line. There is always a much prettier way."

Arrivederci for now.
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Allora: Thoughts on the first week

1/16/2014

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PictureA shot from our walk home our first night in Florence.
As I write this post regrouping from my first full week of classes, I finally feel like I have enough time to breathe and reflect a little bit on my past and future experiences so far in Florence.

For starters, as mentioned in my last brief post, this past week has been an incredible amount to take in. It has kept bringing me back to the way I felt freshman year in college where everyone was just looking to meet new people and try new things as often as they could. That being said, so much has happened this first week that it has felt more like a month. It's still a blessing every time I make it back to my apartment without getting lost but I am already getting comfortable calling Florence my home for the next four months.

Classes have been a great experience so far. My schedule is surprisingly more busy than I had anticipated, but the routine in itself is enough to help these days feel a bit more normal. And it helps that I can honestly say I love all of my subjects and teachers. It has been inspiring to hear about some of their experiences that have led them to teach American students in Florence, and the cultural miscommunications are always funny for both parties. Some highlights:
  • My entire Sociology of Art class got to experience our professor's mind being blown in front of us as we explained to him who and how popular a cartoon named Spongebob Squarepants was.
  • In an attempt to translate the Italian phrase, "Once you have seen Naples, you can die happy," our European Union professor shared a more ominous, "You go to Naples, and, how you say, you die." This was followed up by, "Luxembourg is very boring. There is a bridge in Luxembourg that is very famous. For suicide. Because of all the boredom."
  • After letting out a loud laugh in our first cultural workshop, the professor asked if that was how my laugh sounded normally. After confirming that it was, he nodded and let me know that that will just be one more thing to add to the list of things that will make me stand out here.

But after our first full week, I am definitely starting to feel a satisfying feeling of content knowing that I've already done so much yet still have so much left to do.

Our first weekend led us to climb both Florence's famous Duomo and the accompanying Giotto's Bell Tower. 

And if there was any piece of advice that I so far wish I had paid more attention to, it's that we should have climbed both during the week when there were less tourists.
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You can tell we were all still pretty jetlagged.
The stairs leading up to the the top of both were wide enough to fit maybe one fat  guy, which made things difficult when too many people would collide trying to go up and down. But each view was like something out of a postcard.

We also made it up to Piazzele Michelangelo which is on the other side of the River Arno from our apartment and quite a ways up some Florentine hills but also provided one of the best city views I've ever seen. What makes me most excited about exploring new spots and finding new exciting areas is the prospect of sharing them when friends and family come to visit. Hopefully by the time my first guest stops by I'll be able to plan a full itinerary of the best places to go and see.
I'd hate to ramble on in these blog posts so I'll only touch upon one more thing this time: Food.

I unfortunately haven't taken my camera out on the town since this weekend's explorations since we've been very busy getting used to our new schedules, so with limited pictures of all the food I'm eating you'll just have to take my word for it at the moment that almost every meal we've had has been unbelievable.

It's been difficult finding consistent breakfasts that we're used to (They're not big on that over here so we've been relying a good amount on cereal and pastries from cafes when we're on the go) but the lunch and dinner options have been reliably amazing. My most authentic experience so far has been at a panini shop near one of our campuses called The Prosciuterria. On the way back to our apartment, Kevin and I stopped in and tried the store's namesake with some mozzerela. Our waiter immediatley grabbed some meat the size of my abdomen that was hanging from the wall, butchered it in half, and sliced about a quarter pound of it onto my sandwich. It's safe to say I'll be stopping by there pretty often.
One of the biggest lessons I've learned since being here is one that I staunchly denied when I was told before leaving: You really can't live on pizza and pasta alone. It's absolutely going to be much more of a staple here these next few months, but after the first few days of carb loading to the extreme, I was brought back to life by the smallest piece of chicken. Lesson learned.

Still, the pizza and pasta have been amazing. So far the best pizza we've had has been from Gusta Pizza, a popular place also a short walk across the river that's known for giving heart-shaped pizzas to cute girls (I have to say I was a little insulted when mine came out in regular circle).

But in closing, I have to again recognize how lucky I am for getting this experience in the first place and all that's come since. From the food to the classes to the sights to the great guys that make up Apartment 3B, it's already been a crazy fun ride.
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This margarita stood no chance.
Needless to say, thank you again for stopping by. To my friends, I can understand that with so many people we know studying somewhere else beautiful in the world, one more blog may come off as white noise. But it has been all of your support and best wishes that have helped to make the transition into a new place all the more easier.

Expect my next post to cover this weekend's day trips that we have coming up. Tomorrow we are heading to Chianti for a tour of the city and some of it's vineyards (Hopefully the expected rain will hold off for a bit) and then to Siena and San Gimignano for the entire day Saturday.

Arrivederci for now.
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Our Florence apartment

1/10/2014

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PictureCostello's face invading a shot of our apartment door.
I have been thinking about how to frame my first blog post from Florence since I arrived Wednesday afternoon, but the overwhelming nature of our first few days in a new country has left me too in awe to really focus in on one specific matter.

To start things off though, I'll share a little about our Via Del Moro apartment in Florence's historical center.

The neighborhood we're in seems like a great location. We're in the midst of busy streets a few blocks away from the Duomo and the Arno River. We're also only a few blocks away from Palazzo Rucellai, which is where about half our classes will be held when we start Monday.

Our apartment itself, after a considerable stair climb, is the perfect setup for everything we'll be needing for this semester including a full kitchen, a living room with a couple couches, two bathrooms, and four bedrooms for the seven guys who will be living here for the spring. Not pictured below is a picture of our balcony (Which is strangely where our washing machine is located) overlooking the apartment complex's center because I keep forgetting to take a picture of it during the day.

The apartment is made up of three UConn guys (me, Kevin, and Pat), three guys from Penn State, and then the one guy studying abroad in Florence from Quinnipiac. All weekend we've been exploring, taking boy band style pictures on top of the Duomo (Photos to come), and getting to know our new city as much as we can.

Hopefully, Italian wifi willing, I'll be posting some of the hundreds of photos from this weekend's adventures.
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All packed up and almost ready to go

1/6/2014

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PictureEverything that will (hopefully) fit into my backpack and carry on.
If you're reading this then you are probably a good friend considerate enough to check out my study abroad blog. Well hey, thanks for stopping by!

There are now less than 24 hours until I board my flight to Florence for four months of studying abroad with some of my best friends. Although the stress and anxieties that come with leaving the country for a semester are in full swing, the excitement that comes with the new possibilities and exploration overseas are still the dominant feeling.

Thankfully, I have already crossed a the majority of items off of my pre-departure list including:
  • Enjoy some last meals from Taco Bell, Garden Catering, Little Nick's Pizza, and my mom's home cooking.
  • Return sweatshirts and other clothing items to friends before they collect dust in my closet for four months.
  • Take Chaseman for one last walk to Cranbury Park (Him getting lost from me for a good 10 minutes provided enough dog excitement for a semester, too).

What may be making me the most anxious is that there may not be much to do except play the waiting game now until my flight tomorrow. Granted, my final suitcase packing list still needs to be scrutinized by everyone in my family at least one more time before it makes the final cut, but hopefully that process shouldn't be too stressful.

With many more updates to come, thanks again for checking out my blog! Arrivederci for now.

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    Mike Corasaniti
    Mike is a junior UConn student studying abroad in Florence in the spring of 2014. Follow the Roadless blog to track his latest adventures across his town, country, and continent.

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