Florence! A Brief History!

Florence: A Brief History

Florence a large and historical city near Arezzo that we visited multiple times during our trip. Florence is on the western side of Italy in the region of Tuscany on the Arno River. Watch this video to learn more about the geography of Florence.

Florence is a very important city in all of history because of its role in the Renaissance. The Renaissance was a revival in art and culture that brought Europe out of the Middle Ages. Florence was ruled by the Medici Family during this time and they were patrons to artists like Michelangelo, Donatello, Rafael, and Leonardo da Vinci. A patron is when a rich person or family sponsors an artist so that they do not have to worry about money and can focus on art.

The word "Renaissance" literally means "rebirth." The Renaissance is thought of as a calling back to the "classic" times of Greek and Roman architecture and art. Florence was so important to starting all of this because of their love of the arts that were able to fuel the innovation that took Europe out of the Middle Ages.

Visit to Rome

Before I began studying abroad in Arezzo, Italy a few of us decided to go a few days early and spend a day exploring Rome.

Although we knew that we would be back in Rome a few weeks later we decided to go look around the city. My friends and I bought tickets for a hop on/hop off bus for 18 euros that took us around Rome.  Their was a tour guide on the bus that pointed out all of the historical spots of Rome. We were able to get off where ever we wanted.  We stopped to get off and look at the Vatican, Colosseum, Spanish Steps, and the Trevi Fountain. We did not go inside the Vatican or the Colosseum because we will be doing that in a few days, but being up close and observing these amazing places was incredible. Even though it rained the whole day we still had so much fun. Below is a link that is useful when looking for bus tickets for the hop on/hop off bus.

ìmage found at: https://www.tiqets.com/en/rome-c71631/hop-on-hop-off-bus-rome-p974339?gclid=CO6zsfaYm80CFUJmGwod-1cMDg

https://www.tiqets.com/en/rome-c71631/hop-on-hop-off-bus-rome-p974339?gclid=CNaA4ePlms0CFcO4GwodrYkMHQ

My favorite part about Rome was the visiting the Trevi Fountain. It is a tradition to throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain. People say that if you throw a coin into the foutain you will one day return to Rome. Below is a video that I took of my friend throwing a coin into the Trevi Fountain.  

This is a great link to look at to learn about the Trevi Fountain. 

http://www.trevifountain.net

Before visiting Rome I would consider looking up fun things to do in Rome. There were so many things in Rome that I did not know even existed. Here is a link with great ideas. 

https://www.withlocals.com/experiences/italy/rome/?gclid=CJfN0Lfkms0CFagy0wod2QIOug&pagesize=30 

Do's and Don'ts of Planning a One Day Trip

Do’s and Don’ts of Planning a One Day Trip

DO check the weather before you embark on your journey. You’re going to need to know to wear shorts or possibly bring a jacket.

*Want to check the predicted weather for the rest of the week? Use this link!

https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/Arezzo+Italy+ITXX0251:1:IT

DON’T walk on a random road where you can’t see the end. It might possibly be a highway that you’re entering on, and if it is, you have to turn around and go back. Good signs that it’s a highway are: 1) cars are beginning to speed up 2) there is a ramp you have to cross (even if there is a narrow sidewalk) or 3) you’re walking slightly uphill.

*Want to know exactly what some of the road signs in Italy mean? Here ya go!

https://www.italybeyondtheobvious.com/9-road-signs-and-one-strategy-you-need-to-know-about-before-attempting-to-drive-in-italy

DO look at a map before you reach your destination. Although you might feel confident at first blindlessly navigating your way through an unknown city, you can become exhausted and stressed within just a few minutes of your journey.

DON’T just get off your train and start walking. First check your surroundings for a map or taxi service. This could save you a lot of stress in the end.

Here taxis wait by the Duomo in Florence!

Image found at : http://tuscantraveler.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/P1290245-499x388.jpg

DO stop into any random, good looking restaurant. You never know if it’s going to be a hidden gem, and it could be some of the best tasting food ever! Plus, they might have milkshakes! And it might be a 1950s American Diner!

DON’T leave the train station until you first see what time the train ride home is. You might not find a restaurant that has wifi, so looking up train rides home can become problematic really fast.

*Want to see how to book a train ticket? Follow the link below!

http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en

DO enjoy every second! Sure something might go completely wrong, but that is the joy and fun of traveling! Take deep breathes, keep an even should on your heads, and laugh about it all with a friend! Mariah and I had a great time with many stories to share.

Want to see exactly what you should NOT do when planning a one day trip? Watch this short clip for some good laughs!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HVL40Mg_dI

*Disclaimer* We got lost for 3 hours trying to locate the beach. We didn’t use a map, taxi, or have wifi. It was fun for a little while, then got stressful! Use the handy tips above so you can enjoy every second of your one day trip!

Day Trip to Orvieto!

Day Trip to Orvieto!

On May 24th, my friends and I took an afternoon trip to Orvieto after class! Orvieto is a city located in southwest Umbria, Italy. The city is located far up on the top of a hill and has incredible views! My friends and I took the train to Orvieto and then took a gondola to get up the large hill to the city! Here is a video that I took on the gondola ride up the hill!

After reaching the top of the hill we found an old fortress called Pozzi di San Patrizio and it had great views! We walked up and took a bunch of pictures! The views were incredible! You could see everything! The fortress overlooked a town and you could see for miles! We also got to the fortress around 5pm so it was a very beautiful time of the day for pictures!  

After explore the views, we walked up the streets of Orvieto heading to the famous Church called Duomo di Orvieto. The church is a huge gothic style cathedral built in the 1300s! We only were able to look at the outside of the church since it was closing soon, but wow it was incredible! 

After taking pictures at the church we walked around the streets made some friends with some other tourists from the US. We found a yummy place to eat dinner and then had to head back to the train station to make sure we got home in time for class the next day! I wish we would have had a little while longer to explore this beautiful city, but I am glad we got to visit even if it was just for a little while! If we ever come back to Orvieto I would like to do the following! 

Explore Orvieto underground! 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g194843-d3664573-Reviews-Orvieto_Underground-Orvieto_Province_of_Terni_Umbria.html

I would like to take a tour of the vineyard Decugnano dei Barbi and take a cooking class!

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g194843-d1829798-Reviews-Decugnano_dei_Barbi-Orvieto_Province_of_Terni_Umbria.html

I would like to visit the Museo delle Maioliche Medievali e Rinascimentali Orietane! 

http://www.orvietoviva.com/en/medieval-ceramics-museum-orvieto/

My Cousin Rachel

Did you know college students take field trips too?

Today me and my classmates took a field trip to Piazza Grande. Piazza Grande is a medieval style square, that is used as a marketplace today. We did not have to travel far, Piazza Grande is only five minutes, walking, away from our classroom

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arezzo#/media/File:Piazza_Grande,_Arezzo.JPG

This may not sound like an interesting field trip. We did not take this visit to explore this historic location. We walked uphill to watch a movie being filmed. YES! a real motion picture. We witnessed a scene of My Cousin Rachel being filmed.

 

June 6, 2016

My Cousin Rachel is mystery/ romance about an English man who seeks revenge from his cousin Rachel. The movie is based off the book  My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier . Click the link to learn more about this book ( http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18869970-my-cousin-rachel )  The film original movie was released in 1952. They filmed is projected to be complete in 2017.The two main characters of the film are Rachel Weisz And Sam Claflin
For more information on the film please click the link below.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4411596/

 

 

Rachel Weisz is a 46 year old English actress who has performed in 53 productions. She is mostly known for her roles in The Mummy, Runaway Jury, and The Fountain, just to name a few. She is also, currently married to Daniel Craig, who is known widely for his role as James Bond.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/rachel_weisz/

 

 

 

 

 Sam Claflin is 29 English men, who was born in Ipswich, England. He has had roles in 19 movies. His most popular works include Hunger Games, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and Snow White and the Huntsman. We witnessed Sam trying to flip his water bottle in-between takes. Once he was successful, we applauded him, and he pointed and smiled at us. This little gesture of kindness and recognition really made our day!
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3510471/





We really enjoyed our field trip and would love to hear about some of your recent field trips! CIAO!

The University of Oklahoma College of Education students. 6/6/16

 

 

Traveling through Europe!

      This weekend my friends and I traveled to beautiful Athens, Greece for a long weekend! We had to travel by train and by plane in order to arrive in Athens from Arezzo! I'm going to tell you some information about how I traveled from Italy to Greece.

     The first step was finding plane tickets for us to fly to Greece. We searched for flights through this website: Googleflights.com. We had to find a time that worked for us after our classes! We found a flight that left Rome at 9:50pm on Thursday June 2nd and we arrived in Athens at 12:50am, because Athens is an hour ahead of Italy.

This was our gate area information for our flight! 

     The next thing we had to do was find a hotel for us to stay at in Athens! We searched the internet for good places to stay in Athens. Finally we found a website that helped us book a hotel room in Athens! It was getaroom.com, it was very helpful and helped my friends and I book three hotel rooms for all of us! We had to email the hotel to tell them we would not be checking in until late in the night, to make sure they did not give away our hotel rooms!

     The next thing we had to do was buy train tickets from Arezzo to the Rome airport. We had to take a train from the Arezzo train station to the Rome termini station (one of the major stations in Rome), from there we had to get on a train to take us to the train station in the airport!

    Finally all we had to do was get on the trains to take us to Rome and then get onto the plane to fly to Athens! My friends and I had such an amazing time in Athens! On the first day we were there we went to a beautiful beach about an hour outside of Athens called Legrena Beach, we were able to swim in the Mediterranean Sea which had crystal clear water, and got to lay out in the sun and relax!

The beautiful Legrena Beach (photo taken by: Christina Cole) 

Then on Saturday we got to do all the sight seeing in Athens! We went to the Acropolis, which is where the Parthenon is located, we visited the Acropolis museum, the temple of Zeus and the panathenaic stadium, where the first modern olympics were held!

 

                                                        (everyone at the ruins of Zeus' Temple)

The wonderful Parthenon which is under preservation and restoration efforts 

   For lunch on Saturday we had a traditional chicken gyro! It was so amazing and everyone loved it! Here I've included a recipe on how to create your own traditional greek gyro! Greek gyro

Italian Train Transportation

How To Get A Train Ticket in Italy

Traveling around Italy to all the different cities is very fast and easy with the Italian train system. They have tracks that go through almost any city at all different times (here is a link to see a map of some of the major train tracks throughout Italy). If you want to learn more about the train system in Italy and some helpful tips click here!

So If you do not buy your ticket online, here is a step by step instruction guide to get one at the station.

1. First walk up to the self-ticket kiosks. They will look like the picture to the right!

2. To begin the screen will look like this with different language options at the bottom, so choose whichever one you want! But I will do English for now

3. Next let's say you want to just buy a ticket for a day trip then choose the button in the upper left corner that says buy your ticket.

4. The screen to the left will pop up and you can choose your destination. If it is not one of the ones listed below then you can choose to type in a station with they button on the bottom that says other station. But lets pretend we are going to Rome!

5. So after we chose Roma Termini the screen will show us the different options for the day with the time and prices. Press the shopping cart button for whichever works best for you!

4. This screen will then pop up to allow you to buy more than one ticket, or if you are traveling with kids or even animals! Then press the forward button.







 5. The screen will show you if there would be assigned seating which there is not for this train, but if there was you could pick your seat out. Then you would continue forward and purchase your ticket!

6. The last step is the most important one! You have to make sure that before you board the train to VALIDATE your ticket! You will see something like the picture below and then stick you ticket in so that it can punch a date onto the ticket

 

 After that you just have to board the train and let it take you to your destination!

Check out this video I took from a train here! 

What are some differences you can see in the scenery compared to America?

Have you ever taken a train before?

 

Also check out the Trenitalia Website here and see were you could travel!

Photo Credits
Taken with my IPhone

Weekend In Capri

A Wonderful Weekend In Capri, Italy!

This past weekend my friends and I travels to the south of Italy to visit the island of Capri. We left Thursday night after getting out of class. We headed to Naples, Italy by train. The train was about 3 and a half hours long. Once arriving in Naples we caught the metro to get to our hostel for the night. The hostel was right next to the ferry dock. Friday morning we woke up and caught the ferry from Naples to Capri. My friends and I looked at ferry prices and times before heading to the dock. If you ever want to go to Capri here is a link for all of the ferries that leave from Naples to go to Capri. The ferries run from early in the morning to late at night. They run about every 30 minutes. There is a fast ferry that take 45 minutes and a slower one that takes about a hour and a half. My friends and I took the fast speed ferry, because we were ready to get to the beautiful island of Capri! If you are interested in going on a ferry here is a link for more details. http://www.directferries.co.uk/napoli_capri_ferry.htm?gclid=COKM89HXkc0CFcYcGwodb8YIoA

Blue Grotto
https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/best-sea-caves-in-the-world-fingal-s-cave-blue-grotto-and-more

When we arrived we checked into our villa for the weekend and then headed down to the Blue Grotto. The Blue Grotto has boat tours all day long for around 13 euros. Here is a link if you would like to book a boat tour to go into the Blue Grotto. http://www.motoscafisticapri.com. My friends and I were too late to ride a boat into the Blue Grotto that day so we decided to swim in the cave instead. When swimming inside the cave you are able to see the bright blue light shine through. This is why it is called the Blue Grotto. It was so gorgeous!! We had a blast... until I got stung by a jelly fish. Haha! 

On Saturday, we woke up early and headed down to the marina. This were we got off the ferry from Naples. At the marina there are smaller boats that you can rent for the day or half of the day. My friend and I rented a boat to go around the island of Capri for 2 hours. We had a blast seeing the whole island in a short amount of time. Our boat driver even let us jump off the boat and swim in the ocean for a little bit. The water was crystal clear! If you are interested in renting a small boat for a few hours or the full day like we did go to this link: http://www.caprirelaxboats.com

Here is a video that I took of my friends and I on our private boat! 

After we went on our boat ride we went back up the mountain to go on the Capri chair lift. The chair lift took us to the highest point on the island. It was beautiful to be able to see all sides of the island from up high. Here are some more details about the cost and times for the Capri chair lift if you are interested in going on it: http://www.capri.com/en/s/mount-solaro-cetrella

This was my favorite part of the whole weekend! You have to ride the chair lift when you go! 

Overall, it was a fabulous weekend with beautiful friends and sunsets! 

My Wonderful Weekend in Venice

                                                                         Venice, Italy

  This weekend my friends and I had a free weekend in Arezzo, so we decided to go to Venice! Venice is a city on the water! There are no streets for anyone to drive on, they get around by walking or using their boats on their many canals throughout the city!

   The first thing we had to do was look up train times to see what time we could leave for Venice. You do this by looking on the trenitalia schedule online. (https://www.lefrecce.it/B2CWeb/search.do?parameter=searchOutputViewer&cFID=mFuH3oMwblGd) They have multiple train stops in Venice so before we left we had to find out which one was closest to our hotel! Once we got into Venice we had to get a taxi to our hotel! It was hard finding a taxi for fourteen people, so we had to split up into four different taxis. 

  We stay in a hostel in Venice called Camping Village Jolly. A hostel is a type of cheap hotel that people use when they're traveling, sometimes a hostel can be unsafe so you must always research and look at the reviews before you book a hostel. Camp Jolly was very safe! They had different options for our stay, you could stay in a tent on the grounds that had bed, or you could stay in a small mobile home that had beds and a bathroom. 

  We had to take a public bus in order to get into the city center of Venice. The bus was super crowded and very hot! The bus dropped us off at Piazzale Roma which was about a thirty five minute walk to Piazza San Marco! We decided to get an all day pass on a water taxi that took us through the canals of Venice instead of walking! (http://www.venicewatertaxi.it/en/index.html)

(http://cruisebuzz.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/water-taxi-by-DislOck-580x385.jpg)

  We ended up going to the two islands off the coast of Venice called Murano and Burano! 
Murano is know as the glass island, because people who live on the island create glass blown items, and give glass blowing demonstrations. We were able to see a glass blowing demonstration. Seen below. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glassblowing (here is more information on glass blowing) 

Burano is known as the color and lace island. Burano was full of colorful houses, the colors of the houses ranged from pink to green to blue to red, any color you could think of a house was painted that color! They also had beautiful lace pieces that were sale. Many individuals on Burano created the lace clothing items themselves and decided to sell them!

 To end our day three of my friends and I went on a gondola ride! Gondola rides are a must in Venice. A gondola is a small wooden boat that fits up to six people, and using the currents of the water and a Gondolier who steers the boat cruises you through the canals of Venice! It was so beautiful and the gondola ride we went on had someone who serenaded a group of gondolas with Italian songs! 

     
  

Caffe in Italia

Ciao! My name is Sterling and I am lover of all things coffee related. Back in America, I drink coffee every morning, brewed right at home. I usually drink it with flavored coffee creamer, milk, and a little bit of sugar. Sometimes I get ‘coffee’ type drinks from Starbucks. My favorite drink from there is a Mocha frappuccino, which actually just has espresso with sugar and mocha flavoring. So when I came here to Italy, I found quickly that coffee here is quite different!

My favorite thing to drink here now is a cappuccino. Bar Stefanos has my favorite cappuccino so far, and I get one every morning. Most cappuccinos are served with ⅓ espresso, ⅓ foamed milk, and ⅓ regular milk. Want to see how a cappuccino is made?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ao5b6uqI40

Now, a cafe is very different than a cappuccino. A cafe is just straight espresso. You can order is larger so there is more water and weaker, or possibly get a double shot to really wake you up! Here is what a typical espresso looks like here in Italy.

So how do I pay for my cappuccino? Do I sit and drink it like in America or down it and go? This article has some great tips of how we can try to blend in with the locals!

http://www.eurocheapo.com/blog/italian-coffee-culture.html

There are so many other types of coffees and drinks available at a Cafe that I wasn’t able to  cover all of them. This blog provides a wonderful list of other types of drinks you can order.

http://blog.studentsville.it/top-10-tips/everyday-life/10-types-of-italian-coffee-decoded-and-pronounced/

Sometimes designs are created using cinnamon or sugar. These designs can be leaves, hearts, flowers, or many other options! Baristas are very creative and use the cappuccino as their canvas. Here is a picture I took at the local Crepes De Lune.

I love coffee and am so excited I get to keep trying different flavors and types while here in Italy! Ciao!

Pisa

Pisa, Italy

( http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/art-55036/Pisa-Italy? )

   Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital city of the Provence of Pisa and is located slightly north of the Tyrrhenian Sea.

 

Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower (the bell tower of the city's cathedral). However, the population of Pisa is 89,940 residents. It contains more than 20 historic churches, several medieval palaces and various bridges across the River Arno.

( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisa ) 





This video gives more specific details about the Leaning Tower of Pisa
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pDtMb4KzHXc

Alongside the leaning tower of Pisa (bell tower), there are four additional historic sites which make up the Camp dei Miracoli or Piazza dei Miracoli which translates in English to the Field of Miracles.






The first building constructed at Campo dei Miracoli, Pisa, was the cathedral, or Duomo di Pisa, which rests on a white marble pavement and is an impressive example of Romanesque architecture.

The next building that was constructed was the baptistery just west of the dome.

 The last historic site in the Piazza dei Miracolis is the cemetery, Campo Santo.

" The Campo Santo,cemetery, is a gracefully elongated cloister enclosing a burial ground with earth reputedly brought back during the Crusades from Golgotha." ( http://www.towerofpisa.org/)

Young Adult Fashion in Arezzo!

When you hear "Italy", you might think of all the food and history, but you may also think of fashion.

Having studied abroad in France two years ago, I knew that the young adults were going to dress more chic than anything that I had in my closet. However, I knew three things going into it

1. Neutral colors
2. Not a lot of skin
3. Fashionable, but comfortable

And that is exactly what I have seen here in my time in Arezzo!

                                               !!TREND ALERT!!

           

Platform and Converse/Adidas shoes!

You can see these types of shoes anywhere and everywhere!

As you can already see in a lot of the pictures, black is probably the most common colour worn. While the main colour is black, Italians do like to add a pop of colour here and there to accentuate the outfit.    

                      

                    

One of the things that I found interesting about Italian fashion is that everyone's outfits are really nice, but then they wear walking/tennis shoes with these nicer clothes. I guess it is just because of all the walking that is done around the town or that Arezzo is very hilly. The only time I saw heels was on the weekend when people were out to the bars and discotheques!

Well that is all for now!

Ciao bellas!