Ciao Tutti, (Hello Everyone),
As we are sitting in a café sipping on cappuccinos, we gaze out of the window and take in the beautiful cobblestone streets of Florence. Despite the fact that we are both junior psychology majors at St. Olaf, the two of us had never met before arriving here in Florence. After this discovery, we became fast friends and decided to document our European adventures.
As part of the ACM’s Arts in Context Program, we are splitting our semester between both Florence and London. We have been in Italy for the last five weeks, which completes half of the Florence part of our program. We are currently attempting to take refuge from the abnormally cold February that reminds us of Minnesota’s infamous winters. However, unlike the warm dorms on the Hill, heating is absent in many Italian houses and churches. Despite the cold, we are still making the best of our abroad experience.
Between classes, site visits to museums and churches and “homework,” we still manage to find time for weekend fun at the local bars and discotheques. In our blog, we hope to share our experiences with Italian food, boys, culture, and maybe even a little art history – since that is the purpose of our trip! Following the example of Eat, Pray, Love [by New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert who documents her travels, among them (“Eat” section of the book) to Italy] we have been indulging in Italian cuisine.
[Pictured: The two of us (Katie on left, Carmen on right) at a restaurant in Panzano, a small Tuscan town.]
Our host families provide us with daily breakfast and dinner. Although breakfast is not particularly substantial, usually coffee and bread, our three-course dinners provide us with more than enough calories. Our first course of pasta or soup is normally followed by a meat and vegetable dish. As if this wasn’t enough, we conclude dinner with cheese, fruit, or dessert (sometimes all three!). How are we going to survive cooking for ourselves in London? Maybe then we will begin to miss Bon Appetit.
And because you all are wondering, we have indeed found the perfect man. Standing at 17 feet, he is tall, muscular – with an 8 pack – and wildly handsome. We met David at the Galleria dell’ Academia and were immediately swept off our feet. Unfortunately, because our new Italian lover is made of marble, he will be unable to buy us cioccolato for Valentine’s Day. I guess the search will have to continue…
A dopo (until next time),
XOXO Carmen and Katie
*Katie Caffrey is a junior psychology major with a linguistics concentration from Oak Park, IL. She is currently splitting her semester abroad between Florence and London where she is studying both art history and theatre.
*Carmen Stubblefield is studying abroad in Italy and England on the ACM Arts in Context Program. She is a junior psychology major from Oregon, her favorite foods are pizza and ice-cream.