Viareggio Carnival and Parade

Endangered Animal Float

After a day in Venice for Carnival, you would think I would be ready to relax and enjoy a day without the massive crowds. Instead, I visited the Tuscan coastal town of Viareggio for their famous carnival parade. The event included seeing more people than I could fathom in one place, throwing confetti on unsuspecting "bambini", being nearly run over by giant floats, and eating typical carnival sweets.

Alien Float

Burlesque-oni

The floats are made from paper mache and can take up to a year to construct. They are created by professional artists in a designated area of the city, called the Carnival Citadel, and stored in huge garages until the event in March. The floats usually depict relevant current issues, such as politics (Obama and Berlusconi made appearances this year), the environment, and culture.

Indian Karmasutra float. 

The large, first class floats can be more than 20 meters high. The second class floats are smaller, but no less amazing. The third class floats are actually large costumes worn by a single person, such as my favorite, the Burlesque-oni costumer above.

An impressive single person float!

Abra-Obama and his flea circus of politicians

The parade was not like anything I experienced in the states. The people flood the streets and mingle with the bands and smaller floats. When the large floats, which take up the whole street, pass by, we are all pushed to the side and smashed against each other. The floats have moving and twisting elements that are either mechanically or manually controlled. I am pretty sure I almost got hit by a swinging cavewomen from the endangered animal float.

One of my favorite floats. The goddess appears when the flower opens. Below her is contaminated water and dying vegetation.

Amnesty International

The most amazing float in the parade, Rexpublica, depicts Berlusconi as a T-rex skeleton. His face cracks open to reveal a human skull. Around him are burning newspapers (a reference to his control of the Italian media). The float was accompanied by chanting dancers dressed in white. Absolutely chilling.

Le Belle Chiese di Italia, The Beautiful Churches of Italy

It's impossible to be in Italy and not visit the magnificent churches. I have been in more than I care to count! Some churches are incredibly ornate, such as Siena's large cathedral, and some are pleasantly simple, like a small white marble church I visited in Rome. Below are some of my most memorable images from churches. I took many more photos of course, but I believe this collection represents the beauty of each individual church. The churches are from: Arezzo, Pistoia, Florence, Rome, Siena, Assisi, and the Vatican City.

Ciao,
Sarah

Gelato

Gelato may be my biggest weakness in Italy. It doesn't seem to matter how much I ate for dinner or how cold it is outside, I am always ready for some gelato. Not to mention that the cheapest (and most delicious!) gelato place is down the street from my apartment.

Here are some of the flavors I've tried thus far:

Best Flavor: Cookies
Weirdest Flavor: Cheese and Fig
Least Favorite (but still good!): Rice Pudding
Fondente
Chocolate orange
Tiramisu
Caramel
Caffe
Crema
Vaniglia
Chocolate
Baco
Nutella
Hazelnut
Pane Cotta
Strawberry
Mixed Berry
Pistachio
Mint chocolate chip
Rice pudding
Ferrero

 

Flavors I still need to try:
Peanut butter
Limone
Yoghurt
Santa Trinita (specialty flavor)
Eggnog

Ciao!
Sarah

E Un bello mondo!

Some of the best views I've seen from across Tuscany...

 Arno River, Florence

 Fiesole, Italy

 Boboli Gardens in Florence

 Ponte Vecchio, Florence

 Chianti Sculpture Garden

 Siena, Italy

 San Giminagno, Italy

 Siena, Italy (from my hotel room!)

Arezzo, Italy

Ciao!
Sarah

Travel Plans for Spring 2011

So I've been in Florence for more than a week and I started to feel settled...I guess it's time for me to start updating this blog!

Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Italy 

Most of you probably know that I spent two weeks in Siena, Italy for orientation for AIFS. I am now (finally!) in Florence taking regular classes. I want to update you on some of my other travel plans for the rest of the semester. Italy happens to be a prime location for traveling around Europe. Florence is also a well-connected city (an hour from Rome, 3 from Venice). I'm trying to concentrate most of my traveling to Italy. After all, I came here for the Italian culture, so I plan to get to know the country as best I can. That said, I will be traveling to a select number of other countries in Europe. Here's my current list!

-Salzburg, Austria. Angela is of course studying here so I will certainly be taking a trip up there! I'd also like to see Munich, Berlin, and Vienna while I'm in the area.
-Madrid, Spain. I'm saving this trip for when after classes end in May. I will be staying in Europe one month longer in order to travel.
-Paris, France. Again, a May trip.
-London, England. I had a quick 2 day stop over here but plan on spending a couple more days exploring the free museums and maybe riding a double decker bus before my flight leaves from this city in June.
-Rome, Venice, Pisa, Lucca, CinqueTerre, and Milan. Planned through AIFS. Can't wait!
-Almafi Coast: Capri, Sorrento, Pompeii, Napoli...beaches, limoncello, and sun! My spring break trip.

I'm also debating between...
-Corfu, Greece
and
-The French Riviera

I will keep you all posted!

Ciao,
Sarah

Cibi! Cibi! Cibi!

I can truthfully say that everything I have eaten in Italy has tasted amazing!  Here are some the most memorable dishes I’ve had thus far. Most were eaten in Siena, Italy, which is a city of about 55,000 in southern Tuscany.

Pizza (of course!) I’ve tried everything from a simple margherita pizza (cheese and tomatoes) to a pizza with fish on it (my least favorite).

Gelato is my favorite dessert thus far.  I’ve had crema, vanilla, tiramisu, panna cotta, and caffe. Yum!

My second favorite dessert is a local Sienese specialità, panforte, which is a delicious version of a fruit cake. I love it! This dessert is usually filled with nuts and other fruits and comes in a  variety of flavors.

The pastries of Siena are also a speciality and are spectacular. I’ve discovered the most delicious bakery called Savini that sells a prosciutto pastry that is to die for.

Some pasta dishes I've enjoyed:

Penne with sausage and tomatoes.

Tortellini panna e prosciutto (tortellini in a cream sauce with ham)

Gnocchi con 4 formaggi (gnocchi with four cheeses)

My favorite dish so far is a local specialty: egg noodles and wild boar. Wow!

Espresso is the most common type of coffee drink here. I also like the “American coffee,” which actually tastes better than real American coffee.

Thank goodness for all these cobblestone hills!

A presto,
Sarah

London at a Glance

At first, London doesn’t seem much different than the U.S., but you soon notice that the cars are smaller, there are more motor-cycles cutting in front of you, and the grass looks too green for winter. Not to mention that the men actually have a style sense.  For fashion, men wear pea coats and leather shoes and women dress like polished Americans…flats, pea coats, leggings, and even (unfortunately) Uggs.

               

 I only had two days in London before I left for Italy. What I visited was:

-Kensington Gardens

-Hyde Park

-A Spanish café

-Harrods

-Natural History Museum

-St. Paul’s Cathedral

-London Bridge

-“Chicago” the musical

-Various British pubs to get fish and chips and hard cider. Yum!

Not bad for one hour of bad sleep and no idea where to go!

Cheers!

Sarah