Fashion Capitol of the World

I just got back from Milan yesterday for fall break. It was such a fun city and it was so busy. We arrived on Friday afternoon and made our way to The Best Hotel. Well, I wouldn’t really call it the BEST hotel, but that’s what it was called. That afternoon we went to the Duomo. The Duomo was beautiful. Inside the Duomo is a relic that holds the fingernails and hair of the 12 apostles. Hmmm?! On top of the Duomo is a golden statue of the Virgin Mary, just like the angel Moroni. Oh….and if you ever travel to Milan, beware of creepers. I was given a bracelet by one of these guys and then he tried to make me pay. After he tied the bracelet on my wrist, and I still did not pay, he pulled the hood of my sweatshirt and took the extra bracelet back. He did not like me very much.

After our tour of the Duomo we walked around the Galleria. This is a large outdoor shopping center. I could not believe how many shops were in Milan. There is a store called La Rinascente. This was just like Nordstroms…but on steroids. There were 8 floors and the top floor had 3 or 4 cafes. This store was any shoppers dream.

We also went to a movie theater Friday night and saw the movie Fame. It was in Italian… but the music was in English. I was surprised at how well I could understand what was going on. I am in LOVE with that movie. I highly recommend it to all of you! It was fun to experience an Italian theater and compare it to movie theaters at home.

This pigeon had a nice snack out of the popcorn machine. yummy!

On Saturday we made our way to the Beverly Hills of Milan. The stores were AMAZING. They were all WAY too expensive for me, but it was so much fun to window shop.

I had a blast in Milan. Dad, this is another place we need to go. A family with all girls…in the fashion capitol of the world…it would be WONDERFUL!! Think about it Dad!!

International Food Festival!!!

On Saturday we traveled to Arezzo, which is a smaller town about an hour and half from Siena. While we were in Arezzo, we went to Vasari’s home. Vasari is a famous biographer who wrote about many well-known artists. After visiting his home we had a few hours of free time to explore the city.

This weekend happened to be the International Food Festival in Arezzo. It was amazing. Booths lined the streets, full of different kinds of foods to taste and buy. Most of the stands were of European countries and each of them had something yummy to offer. I tried a macaroon for the first time… and LOVED it. I also got a big German Pretzel that was delicious.

Marzipan (this pic is for Marron!)

After our free time, we met together as a group and took a tour of a pottery museum. It has one of the largest collections of pottery in all of Italy. It was a great Saturday in Arezzo, and I am looking forward to Milan next weekend!

5 Towns...One Weekend...Loads of Fun!

I had a wonderful weekend…in CINQUE TERRE. This place was absolutely beautiful. We left Friday morning after class and arrived in the city of Corniglia around 4 o’clock. Six others girls and I got an apartment for the weekend. It was very cute and had a great view of the ocean.

On Saturday we got up early and started the hike to each of the 5 cities. Our town was in the middle, so we hiked to Manarola and Riomaggiore, then jumped on the train to Monterosso. From there we hiked to Vernazza and then back to Corniglia. The hike was a lot of fun. You all know that I am not a very good hiker… but nothing went wrong this time... it was great!!

Looking back at Monterosso

One of my favorite parts of the hike was when we walked through the pathway of love. This is in between Manarola and Riomaggiore. Along the walk you will find hundreds of pad locks and love messages written all over the walls. If you walk on this pathway with your love, you are supposed to leave a lock and kiss your special person at the special place. I did not have my special person with me, so I took pictures instead!

Along the Pathway of Love.

One of the many Pad Locks. Via dell' Amore!

This was a great weekend trip. The weather was perfect, our apartment was great, and the sights were amazing!

The Palio

Many of you have heard of the Palio horse race that happens every year, but did you know this:

• There are 17 Contradas or groups that Siena is split up into. Each neighborhood is a different contrada. My host family is part of the ram contrada, and the school I go to is part of the turtle contrada.
• Only 10 contradas compete in the Palio each year.
• It happens twice a year, July 2^nd and August 16^th
• Each contrada has a museum, church, political meeting place, and even a horse stable to house the horse before the race.

Here is how the race works: Each year 10 Contradas are drawn to run in the race. The seven others who are not picked, are guaranteed to run in the race the next year. So technically, only 3 contradas are picked each year. Three days before the race, each contrada that was chosen to run in the race…also draws a horse and a jockey. This means that a contrada could end up with the best horse but the worst jockey. This race is all about luck. Also, the jockeys are not always from Siena, this means… that all of them are in it for the money. And they don’t really care who wins.

On the day of the race the jockeys enter the arena. At this point, the contradas can pay as much as they would like to buy a better jockey. In 2005, the winning contrada bought their jockey for 1 million euro from another contrada. 1 MILLION EURO! That’s INSANE!

Winning the Palio is a HUGE deal. This is like winning the BYU vs. UTAH game…times a BILLION. Contradas celebrate all year round, even if they don’t win. You can only imagine what it would be the winner of the race.

Yesterday I learned so much about this race from the director of the race. I would love to be here when it happens next year. Dad, are you up for it?

The mascot for the Tower Contrada

Inside the Torre Contrada Church

Florence...Take Two

On Saturday I went to Florence for my second time. It was even better the second time around. Florence is much more crowded than Siena, but it is fun to go there for the day.

Florence is FULL of shops. We arrived in Florence on Saturday morning around 10:30, and we shopped the ENTIRE day. The markets are so exciting. It was fun to observe the Italian culture in this way.

Then… we headed to the main shopping area behind the Florence Cathedral. There were even more people there. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t think our shopping day could get any better…when all of a sudden… we ran into the DISNEY store!! That was SO exciting. Being in Italy is an awesome experience, but it is sometimes comforting to see American stores and hear American Music.

This was a great weekend…but it ended even better! I got to watch conference…in ENGLISH!! I almost started crying when President Monson conducted the Sunday Morning Session. I could understand what he was saying, and it was AWESOME! We watched the Saturday Afternoon session and the Sunday morning session. The 8-hour time difference is a little hard to work with sometimes, but I am just grateful I got the opportunity to watch it!

This is the church I go to every week!

A Stroll Through Siena

Siena is a very beautiful city, and it is cleaner than any city I have ever been to. I would compare it to Disneyland as far as the cleanliness goes. Yesterday we met together as a group and walked around the city. We have not done this yet, and we have been in Siena a few weeks now!

We took a tour of San Domenico’s Basilica. This church was very simple compared to the Duomo of Siena. Years after the church was built, stain glass windows were added. I love stain glass…but these windows were really creepy. The figures had HUGE eyes…and crazy colored faces.

San Domenico Bell Tower

This church was also a little different because it held the HEAD of St. Catherine. St. Catherine is very popular in the Catholic religion. It was interesting to see her head, skin and all. It is said that her head is not preserved and it is a miracle that it has stayed in such good condition for hundred of years.

After, we visited the “oldest” bank in the WORLD. Well, that’s what the people of Siena like to say. It was very neat to see. This walk through Siena was fun. I can’t believe how old some of these buildings are! CRAZY STUFF!!

Outside of the Bank

The Oldest Bank in the World