Week 2

Week 2 was my first full week of classes. I am taking Drawing on Location, Marine Biology, History of the Mafia, and Archaeology. During the first part of this week I mainly went to classes and field trips. My history of the mafia class took a day trip to Naples, where we got to see the the historical sites of the Camorra Mafia. History of the Mafia is not a typical class you hear about; however, by being in this class I have learned so much about the culture and growth of Italy, especially in Naples in Sicily.

Since Sant'Anna in right on the coast, my friends and I also like to take quick dips in the water before classes. Living in a costal town has provided so many unique experiences like this. The class schedules in Italy are a lot less intense than in the states, so it is much easier to go stroll the streets or have a beach day in between classes.

Another amazing thing that happened this week was my best friend and roommate Megan's 20th birthday! So on Tuesday night, we baked her a dorm cake and made some cards to celebrate. Trying to bake a cake in Italy was an experience in and of itself! Typically in the states, you can go into the baking isle of a store and pick any flavor imaginable plus any type of icing you want. It is not like that in Italy! The only box cake flavor was Chocolate, and trying to make one from scratch seemed practically impossible. The icing is also very different. It comes in a package that you have to boil and spread over the cake. Once it is spread over the cake, it hardens into a thin layer. Although this was not the cake we expected to be making, it was such a fun process and it came out amazing. After cake, we went to dinner and then clubbing (yes on a Tuesday night)!

Saturday, we had another birthday to celebrate! Caroline, one of my best friends, was turning 21. So we decided to do a weekend trip in Florence. We left the school at 5am on Friday morning and took the train to Naples. Once we were at the Naples train station, we got on a fast train to Florence. The fast trains are more expensive, but they are so worth it! Florence was about a 7 hour train ride, but by using a fast train it was only 3 hours. Once in Florence, we went to see the Uffizi, which is a worldwide famous art gallery. It is known for its ancient paintings and sculptures. Some of the most famous painting there include The Birth of Venus. Primavera, and Medusa. There is also art from many other well known artists like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. We spent about 3 hours here, but I could have stayed longer! After the Uffizi, we went to lunch and then rested in our Airbnb. That night for dinner, we wanted to have a little taste of home so we cooked Tacos and drank some Italian wine. Once Saturday hit, it was officially Caroline's birthday, and we had a whole day planned. During the early morning we went to The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. We spent about an hour there and then got ready for our wine tasting tours.

For the wine tasting, we were transported to Tuscany, and got to visit two different vineyards. At both vineyards we learned about and drank Chianti wine. In order for a wine to be considered Chianti, it has to meet many qualifications. This wine must be grown in Tuscany and be at least 80% Sangiovese, with a minimum 12.5% ABV, and needs to undergo at least 24 months of ageing. This wine is considered one of the best quality wines in the world. After a few hours of wine tasting, we came back to Florence for dinner, birthday desert, and clubbing. The girls got Caroline a fruit tart, and we sang happy birthday! We then went to a club called XO which is located in the heart of Florence. While at XO we met other students studying abroad from all over the world! The next morning we went to the Accademia Gallery and saw Michelangelo's David and many other beautiful pieces. We then spent the rest of the afternoon strolling the streets, walking over the Arno river, and eventually went back to Sorrento.

Next week I have many more activities planned, including another birthday, tiramisu making, sunset yoga, parasailing, and exploring Piano, Italy.