Americans Try Italian Candy

Guess who's back, back again. Sophie and I are! Last week you may have seen our Italian Makeup Haul. Well this here is part two to the videos we filmed for you guys. This time around we're trying some Italian candy. We really went all out and just grabbed everything that we could find at the supermarket that didn't look familiar. After this there will be one more vlog about our travels in Italy and then that's it! I go home on Friday and start school on Monday.

Note that we kept commenting about how weird their chocolate tasted. I actually read an article today about how Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bars are only 11% chocolate and they add a ton of milk, sugar, and other acidic components to make it taste how it does. Americans have gotten so used to the taste of "our" chocolate that they have to do this so it tastes good to us. Fun fact though: Apparently it tastes like vomit to everyone else. Crazy! I love Hershey's Bars!

This has been such a whirlwind of an adventure and I literally would not have been able to survive without Sophie. This video was so fun to film and I hope you all enjoy! My next blog goal is to reach 10,000 page views and my next YouTube goal is to reach 100 subscribers (only 83 away) so please be sure to share! Let us know if you've tried any of these candies before and what your favorite candy is.

Italian Makeup Haul

Okay, excuse this icon, it's the thumbnail for my new YouTube video, and my friend and I totally forgot to actually take a picture for me to edit.

Damn Meagan, back at it again with the YouTube videos. Okay I hate myself for using that meme and I know it's months old but I've found myself referencing it too much lately. And it's true! I am back at it with some YouTube videos. I've been hoping to get this channel rolling so I can have it partnered with this blog. So sometimes you'll get YouTube videos and other times you'll get straight posts. I'm not a natural writer, I'm a natural talker (I can pound out a great essay for school but journalism is something new to me) ((and I just love talking)) so I'm experimenting with both for now. This video brings you myself and my friend Sophie, here in Italy, doing a chatty Get Ready With Me/Italian makeup haul.

Sophie and I found this shop called Kiko Milano that had super crazy sales going on. I bought a ton of stuff for under $50 and Sophie also got a lot for under $20! There's no way I could've budgeted that well in a Sephora or even an Ulta with the amount that I got. If you have a YouTube we'd love for you to give it a like and subscribe so you can be the first to see these videos! We have another video coming up, Americans Try Italian Candy, so you really don't want to miss that one!

Thanks for reading and watching! What is your favorite drugstore makeup brand? Let me know in the comments below!

Love by Lecce: Buon Appetito

This will be my last post in the Love by Lecce series. It's crazy we've come to two months so quickly (I leave in ten days!) but here we are! As always, this post will be in Italian and in English. This post is going to look a bit longer because each language section needs the same pictures for it to make sense. Thank you for following along!

Non posso finire la serie "Love da Lecce" senza un post sul cibo! Sono in Italia, dopo tutto! Ci sono così tanti ristoranti a Lecce che non avrei potuto visitarli tutti neanche se ci avessi provato. Per fortuna, ho avuto modo di visitare un gran numero di ristoranti e posso facilmente dire che non ce ne era uno che non mi piaceva. Non credo che potrei mai stancarmi di pasta, pizza, formaggio e vino. Così, oggi vi poterò nel mio viaggio sul cibo italiano!

Prima di tutto, uno dei miei preferiti: The American Hamburger. In ogni ristorante che aveva "hamburger" sul menu, il piatto sarebbe venuto fuori in questo modo. Hamburger di carne senza formaggio, condimenti, pomodori, lattuga, o il pane! La prima volta che abbiamo visto questo, abbiamo pensato che fosse divertente, anche se non un po' deludente. Tuttavia, ora mi piace questa versione italiana di hamburger.

Ora: i dolci! Cosa sarebbe l'Italia senza tiramisù, naturalmente. Ma quello che ho amato quasi più del tiramisù era il soufflé di cioccolato che ho trovato in quasi tutti i ristoranti! Erano tutti così caldi a ben fatti, di solito con un qualche tipo di frutta. Il tiramisù qui è venuto in tutte le forme e dimensioni diverse con varie decorazioni che ho trovato così interessante!

Avanti: carne. La carne costituisce l'intero "secondi piatti" sul menù dei ristoranti in Italia. Secondi piatti potrebbero essere sia di pesce o animali di terra. Una notte ho ordinato un "piatto di carne." E 'stato solo un piatto di patatine fritte sotto un hamburger (stile italiano ovviamente), salsicce, pancetta, kebab, manzo e pollo. La cameriera mi aveva avvertito che sarebbe stato abbastanza per due persone ma l'ho preso comunque. E' stato soddisfatto il mio desiderio per la carne americana come pancetta e hot dog. La foto sopra è un piatto di carne che abbiamo fatto al nostro corso di cucina. All'interno del manzo ci sono il formaggio e maiale!

Cosa sarebbe l'Italia senza la pizza? La prima foto è di una tradizionale Pizza Margherita. La foto qui sotto è di un metro di lunghezza, e' la pizza Diavolo. Sì. UNA PIZZA LUNGA UN METRO. Era pazzesco, c'erano sei di noi e abbiamo finito tutto più un altro mezzo metro, che non è nella foto. È vero, l'Italia sa come fare la pizza senza dubbio.

Sappiamo tutti che io sono una grande fan di Starbucks. Nonostante l'Italia praticamente abbia inventato il caffè espresso, non hanno alcun Starbucks e a loro certamente non piace la bevanda dolve che beviamo tutti i giorni da Starbucks. Non troverete un magro caffè latte di soia latte alla vaniglia qui, amici miei. Di solito non si trovano caffè con ghiaccio. La foto sopra, però, è di una speciale bevanda di Lecce chiamato Caffè Leccese. È fatto con caffè espresso, ghiaccio, e un particolare tipo di latte di mandorle dolci. È uno dei miei preferiti!

Ci sono troppi tipi di pasta di lista ogni tipo che ho provato mentre all'estero in Italia. Questa foto è anche dalla nostra classe di cucina quando abbiamo fatto gli gnocchi. Io sono una grande amante della pasta, la mia unica lamentela è che i ristoranti qui non mettono il parmigiano sulla loro pasta! E potrei amare il formaggio ancora più di quanto io ami la pasta...

Questa foto è dal tour della fabbrica in pomodoro. Ci sono le melanzane e pomodori di essiccazione, come si può vedere. Amano melanzane qui e le utilizzano in un sacco di diversi piatti. Non mi piacciono molto pomodori casa, ma i pomodori qui in Italia sono così buoni. Ho davvero apprezzato la piccola selezione di prodotti che ho avuto qui!

L'età legale per bere alcolici in Italia è di 18 anni, così naturalmente ho cercato di bere molte diversi birre e vini (va bene, per lo più solo vino) che posso mentre qui! I cocktail sono solo i cocktail americani, bevande come "screwdrivers" e "rusty nails." Il vino qui è così buono! La mia amica Sophie e io abbiamo deciso che amiamo Chardonnay, un vino bianco un po' dolce. Amano anche il rosato qui quindi non posso lamentarmi.

Cosa sarebbe questo post se non parlo del gelato? Niente! Ecco una delle tante foto che ho ho fatto dei bei gelati qui in Italia. Ho deciso che mi piacciono i sapori più dolci come Panna Cotta e Nutella. Sì, mi mancano le diverse opzioni di sapore per gelati (e caldo fudge!) Dell'America, ma il gelato qui è così soffice, cremoso, e semplicemente delizioso. Non si può visitare l'Italia senza gustare qualche gelato!

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I couldn't finish out my Love by Lecce series without a post about food! I am in Italy after all! There's so many restaurants in Lecce I'm sure even in these two months I wouldn't have been able to visit them all if I had tried. Thankfully, I was able to visit a lot of them and can easily say that there wasn't one that I disliked. I don't think I could ever get tired of pasta, pizza, cheese, and wine. So today, I take you through my Italian food journey!

First off, one of my favorites: The American Hamburger. Without fail, any restaurant that had "hamburger" listed on the menu, the plate would come out like this. Hamburger meat without cheese, condiments, tomatoes, lettuce, or even a bun! The first time we encountered this we thought it was hilarious if not a bit disappointing. However, we have grown to love these Italian versions of hamburgers.

Next up: desserts! What would Italy be without tiramisu, of course. But what I found that I loved almost more than tiramisu was the chocolate soufflés I found at almost every restaurant! They were all so warm and well made, usually plated with some sort of fruit. The tiramisu here came in all different shapes and sizes with various decorations which I thought was so interesting!

The next on the list is: meat. Meat made up the entire "secondi piatti" on Italian restaurant menus whether it be fish or land animals. I wish I had a picture of the "meat plate" I got at one restaurant. It was literally a plate of french fries topped with a hamburger (Italian style of course), sausages, bacon, kebabs, beef, and chicken. The waitress had warned me it was meant for two people but I got it anyways. It definitely satisfied my cravings for American meat! The picture above is a meat plate we made at our cooking class. Inside of the beef you see is cheese and pork!

Again, what would Italy be without pizza? The first pizza picture is of a traditional Margherita Pizza. The picture below is of a meter long Diavolo Pizza. Yes. A METER LONG PIZZA. It was crazy, there were six of us and we finished it all plus another half meter that is not in the picture. It's true, Italy knows how to make pizza without a doubt.

We all know I'm a big fan of Starbucks. Despite Italy basically inventing espresso, they do not have any Starbucks and they certainly do not like the sickeningly sweet beverages that we drink everyday. You will not find a skinny soy vanilla latte here, my friends. You usually won't even find iced coffee. The photo above though, is of a special iced coffee drink from Lecce called a Caffè Leccese. It is made with espresso, ice, and a special kind of sweet almond milk. It has become a favorite of mine! Other than this though, they basically all drink straight espresso. Bleck.

There are way too many types of pasta to picture and list every type I have tried while abroad in Italy. This picture is also from our cooking class when we made gnocchi. I am a huge pasta fan, my only complaint is most restaurants don't put parmesan cheese on their pasta! And I might love cheese even more than I love pasta...

This photo is from the tour of the tomato factory. There are eggplants and tomatoes drying, as you can see. They really like eggplant here and use it in a lot of different meals. I don't really like tomatoes back home but the tomatoes here in Italy are so good. I've really enjoyed the small selection of produce that I've had here!

The legal drinking age in Italy is 18 years old so naturally I have been trying out as many different beers and wines (okay mostly just wine) that I can while here! Their cocktails are basically just American cocktails, drinks like "screwdrivers" and "rusty nails." The wine here is so good! My friend Sophie and I have latched onto Salentinian (the region we are in) Chardonnay, a white wine with a bit of sweetness. They also love rosé here so I can't complain. (Rosé all day, right?)

What would this post be without gelato? Nothing! Here is one of many photos I have taken of the beautiful gelato here in Italy. I have decided I like the sweeter flavors like Panna Cotta and Nutella. Though I miss the diverse flavor options for ice cream (and hot fudge!), the gelato here is so smooth, creamy, and simply delicious. You can't visit Italy without getting some gelato!

What is your favorite Italian food? Let me know in the comments below!

Love by Lecce: Cultural Differences

Hi all! This week has been a bit crazy for me mentally so I didn't get a post up on Wednesday but I'm back again with another Love by Lecce post! I won't be posting about my week on Monday, but I have so much planned and lined up there simply isn't room in the schedule for it. I've loved blogging about Italy but I'm also very excited to return to my regular blogging style! As a reminder these posts labelled "syllabus post" are in Italian and then English.

È la fine della della quinta settimana! Dopo aver vissuto in Italia per cinque settimane, sento di aver capito un paio di cose. Ecco le nove maggiori differenze culturali tra (sud) Italia e l'America che ho notato.

1. Svegliarsi presto e uscire più tardi
Probabilmente la prima grande differenza culturale che ho notato è che gli italiani rimangono fuori molto tardi. Ora, so cosa stai pensando. Sei rimasto fuori fino a tardi! Ma no. Rimangono fuori fino a due o tre volte! E non solo gli adulti. Ho visto bambini piccoli ancora fuori a mezzanotte. Ed eccomi qui, un adulto, e io dormo è ancora dieci di sera.

2. Il pranzo
Il pranzo è il pasto importante qui. Non la cena. Non che la cena non sia importante, ma in realtà chiamano la loro sala da pranzo la Sala da Pranzo. Sono fanno sul serio con il pranzo qui.

3. Ritmo della vita
Mio Dio, si muovono lentamente qui. Non è una brutta cosa! Ma sul serio, è tutto lento. Anche questo potrebbe essere il motivo per cui gli italiani vivono più a lungo rispetto agli americani. Ci sono alcuni aspetti negativi di questo, però, come le Poste Italiane sono pazzamente lente.

4. Il cibo
Hanno davvero solo il cibo italiano qui. Ci sono solo un paio di ristoranti stranieri. La mia insegnante di italiano che è stato in America ha detto che in Italia i burritos non sono buoni in quanto sono come in America. Mi piace la cultura del cibo americano, quindi mi manca ottenere mangiare qualsiasi tipo di cibo che voglio in qualsiasi momento. Molto triste, lo so.

5. Parlare Inglese/Italiano
Quando ho visitato la Francia con la mia mamma, il francese ripetevano le parole in inglese in modo condiscendente. Qui, però, se gli italiani ripetono in inglese, è perché stanno praticando il loro inglese. Sono molto gentili e davvero vogliono aiutarvi con l'italiano italiano se possono.

6. "Cat Calling"
Questo non è, ovviamente, ogni uomo italiano, ma il mio Dio, se non si ottiene "cat calling" cinque volte sulla mia casa a piedi dalla scuola ogni giorno. "Cat calling" avviene sicuramente anche in America, ma è molto meno accettabile e ho onestamente sempre e solo stata gatto chiamato una mano piena di volte, e solo nelle grandi città.

7.  Guidare
Sono venuto per imparare che i segnali di stop e luci rosse sono suggerimenti. Ho visto un sacco di vetture passare attraverso luci rosse, quando stavo cercando di attraversare la strada. Ci sono anche un sacco di strade a senso unico, che non aiutano, ma arriviamo nei posti più velocemente. (Non so come questo sia in sintonia con il loro ritmo lento della vita ...)

8. Spazio
Abbiamo una grande quantità di spazio in America. Abbiamo cinquanta stati. A causa di ciò, siamo abituati a grandi case ed edifici. Forse non tutte le case sono palazzi in America, ma gli edifici sono almeno separati. Qui, gli edifici sono smushed insieme e tavoli del ristorante sono sulle strade.

9. La moda
La gente qui solo vestirsi bene. I vestiti sono buone, eleganti, e alla moda se le persone stanno andando fuori a cena o semplicemente a fare shopping. Tutti gli insegnanti della mia scuola hanno bellissimi vestiti. Ed è così semplice per loro. Capiscono di moda.

Spero vi sia piaciuto leggere sulle differenze tra (sud) Italia e l'America! Solo altre tre settimane, gente!
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It is the end of WEEK FIVE! After living in Italy for five weeks, I feel like I have picked up on a few things. Here are the nine biggest cultural differences between (southern) Italy and America that I have noticed.

1. Waking up early and staying out late
Probably the first huge cultural difference that I noticed is the fact that Italians stay out really late. Now, I know what you're thinking, you've pulled all nighters! You've been out with friends until the early hours of the morning! But if you think you are on the Italians' level, you are wrong. They stay out until midnight AT THE EARLIEST every. single. night. And not just the adults. I have legitimately seen stroller bound children out and about at midnight. And here I am, a grown adult, and my bedtime is still ten at night.

2. Lunch
Lunch is the important meal here. Not dinner. Not that dinner isn't important, but they literally call their dining room the sala da pranzo or the room of lunch. They're serious about their lunch here. My host family almost always makes lunch for me, but very rarely dinner unless I ask.

3. Pace of life
Dear God do they operate slowly here. Which isn't a bad thing! But seriously, from walking down the street to trying to get the waiter to take your order before you've been sitting at the table for a half hour: it's all slow. This also might be why they live longer than us, they're honestly probably onto something. There are some downsides to this though, like the Italian post is crazy slow. I must say though, I'm definitely getting used to this pace.

4. Food
So they really only have Italian food here. There are some other cultural delicacies here and there, a sushi restaurant, some Mexican food (40 minutes away), and Chinese place, but that's about it and that's really a huge maybe. As my Italian teacher who has been to America has also pointed out, the burritos aren't nearly as good here as they are in America. They don't even sell tortillas as the supermarkets! As a lover of the American food culture, I've really been missing my ability to get literally any type of food I want at any time via delivery or take out. Very sad, I know.

5. Speaking English/Italian
When I visited France with my mom years ago, I noticed that the French would speak back in English in a condescending manner. Here though, if Italians speak back in English it's because they're practicing. They're very kind about it and really do want to help you out with your Italian if they can.

6. Cat calling
This is obviously not every Italian man but heck if I don't get cat called at least five different times on my walk home from school each day. Even days that I'm in frumpy clothing with no makeup, it's like these guys just yell at anything that walks on two legs. Cat calling definitely happens in America too, but it's way less acceptable and I've honestly only ever been cat called a hand full of times, and in big cities.

7. Driving
I have yet to get into a car (personal or taxi) and not feel like I'm about to die. I have come to learn that stop signs and red lights are suggestions and have seen plenty of people blow through red lights when I was trying to cross the street on many occasions. There are also lots of one way streets which don't help, but hey, we get places faster. (Not sure how this fits in with their slow pace of life...)

8. Space
We have a ridiculous amount of space in America. We have fifty states and then some and each state could be its own country in Europe, honestly. Because of that, we have gotten used to large houses and establishments. Maybe not all houses are mansions in America, but buildings are at least separated unless they're condos. Here, buildings are smushed together and restaurant tables spill into the streets.

9. Fashion
Ending on a positive, but I'm sure you already knew this one. People here just look good. The clothes are good whether people are going out to dinner or just going to work. All the faculty at my school have beautiful dresses and nice pants and tops. And it's so simple for them. Clothes just work.

I hope you enjoyed reading about the differences between (southern) Italy and America! Only three more weeks folks.

Love by Lecce: Week 4

Yes, that is me holding two wine glasses. As I had anticipated, this week went by very quickly. I feel like I was just writing my week 3 post and suddenly here we are again! I am officially halfway through this program and definitely feeling that homesickness in full force. With the Ohio State students leaving, and many of my other friends across Europe returning home, I feel anxious to also return home and begin my new adventures. This week was less eventful than the past few weeks, simply because we had exams to prepare for, but it was still nice nonetheless.

Monday
I decided to skip school this day. After arriving back from Florence on a super late train that didn't get me home until the hours after midnight, I was not up to reviewing for the exam we had on Wednesday. I also woke up with a pretty bad headache and decided that sleeping in and getting some work done would serve me better than trying to participate in class today. Monday was Grace, a student from Ohio State's birthday so although I didn't get to see her during school, we all went out for dinner at Fusion, a sushi restaurant in Lecce. After dinner, we went out for drinks and ended the night singing some rad 80s tunes in an Italian bar.

Tuesday
Tuesday we reviewed for the exam. That's basically it.

Wednesday
Wednesday was the first part of the exam which I think (without jinxing myself) went well! We had our cooking class this day instead of Tuesday and we made Puglian Italian pastries as well as some curly pasta (I'm really good with remembering names, can you tell?). While eating dinner after we completed the food, a kitten on the wall surrounding the outside area of the cooking class decided it wanted to join us. We successfully got her down from the wall and reveled in how adorable she was. We took turns petting her and letting her explore the area before having to say goodbye and return her to the wall. Apparently we loved her too much, because a few short minutes later she jumped down from the wall (A REALLY TALL WALL) and joined us inside. Oops! Didn't mean to bring cats into the kitchen. Because Wednesday was my birthday (yay!) we went out for drinks and food after class which was so much fun.

Thursday
Thursday was the second part of the exam which had equal parts difficult and easy on it and I'm hoping I did well. I didn't do much else Thursday except sleep a lot, catch up on some work, and read.

Friday
Friday was the last day of class for those who left this weekend so we watched a movie and went out for gelato and other treats afterwards with everyone from the school and all the students. I said goodbye to the people who left Friday night who I had made friends with for the past four weeks. For dinner, Sophie and I went to the restaurant that is quickly becoming our go-to favorite, Boccon Divino. I got a plate of meat (literally it was sausages, a hamburger patty, bacon, chicken, beef, all on top of french fries) and chocolate soufflé and Sophie got seafood at tiramisu and we shared a bottle of wine between us!

Saturday
Saturday, Sophie and I woke up and went shopping (without much luck unfortunately) before the July sales ended today! We picked up some Italian candies and makeup but besides that not much else. For dinner, all of us went out to Fratelli la Bufala since it was the very last night for the rest of the students leaving. We also saw the smallest dog ever.

Sunday
Sunday was also a very relaxing day! Sophie came over to film some videos that I'll be sharing with you all soon, but besides that I showered, did some laundry, and got some reading done.

Love by Lecce: The Fourth of July

Quick reminder: This post will be in English and in Italian! We are at the halfway mark people!

Celebrare il quattro di luglio in un paese che non è l'America è certamente un'esperienza. Non ci sono fuochi d'artificio. Non vi è alcun BBQ. Non ci sono decorazioni bandiera americana in tutta la città. Per tutti coloro che in altri paesi oltre gli americani, il quattro di luglio è proprio questo. Il quarto giorno del mese di luglio. Fortunatamente per me, il quattro di luglio, ero con tonnellate di altri americani per il nostro programma di studio all'estero. Abbiamo deciso di preparare qualche hamburger e bere qualche birra, in modo tradizionale americano.

Ci siamo incontrati a casa di nostro amico per iniziare i festeggiamenti. Poiché era così caldo nell'appartamento al piano di sopra, siamo andati in giardino dietro l'edificio per apparecchiare la tavola per mangiare e socializzare. Questo giorno è speciale per me perché ho avuto modo di conoscere un sacco di studenti nel programma. Amo le feste e invitare gente insieme per compleanni, feste e altri eventi. Penso che il modo migliore per conoscere la gente è sia durante questi eventi.

Dopo abbiamo finito aver finito di mangiare e parlare, alcune persone hanno deciso di tornare a casa, mentre altri di noi hanno deciso di andare in una piccola piazza in città per esplorare e parlare con gli italiani. Ci siamo stati per un po', prima di tutto decidere di tornare a casa dato che era tardi e abbiamo avuto scuola la mattina. Prima noi siamo tornati a casa, un paio di studenti e io siamo andati al tetto del complesso di appartamenti del mio amico (che abbiamo poi hanno detto che non sono autorizzati a fare) ((oops)). Abbiamo trascorso qualche minuto sul tetto in completo silenzio. Era nelle prime ore del mattino a questo punto, le ore appena dopo la mezzanotte, e nessuno era fuori ad eccezione di un paio di persone che camminavano per le strade di seguito per tornare a casa. C'era una leggera brezza e le uniche luci accese della chiesa. Questo è stato di gran lungo uno dei momenti più tranquilli che ho sperimentato qui finora. È successo tutto per caso ed è stata una di quelle calde notti d'estate con le persone che ami che rendono tali grandi ricordi.

Nel complesso, il mio primo quattro di luglio in un paese straniero è stato un successo, e non vorrei scambiare questa per qualsiasi cosa.

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Celebrating the Fourth of July in a country that is not America is certainly an experience. There are no fireworks. There is no BBQ. There are no American flag decorations throughout the city. Throngs of families and young teens and students are not partying day and night. For anyone in other countries besides Americans, the Fourth of July is just that: The fourth day of July. Lucky for me, on the Fourth of July, I was with tons of other Americans for our study abroad program. We decided to make some hamburgers and drink some beer, in traditional American fashion.

We all met at our friend's apartment to start the festivities. Because it was so hot in the upstairs apartment, most of us went into the garden behind the building to set the table for eating and to socialize. This day was special for me, not only because we made the best of our foreign American holiday, but because I got to know a lot of the students in the program better. I love parties and bringing people together for birthdays, holidays, and other events. I think the best way to get to know people is during these events.

After we finished eating and talking, some people decided to go home while others of us decided to go into a small piazza in the city to explore and talk with Italians. We stayed there for a little bit before all deciding to head home since it was late and we had school in the morning. Before returning home, a few students and I went to the roof of my friend's apartment complex (which we later were told we are not allowed to do) ((oops)). We spent a few minutes on the roof in complete silence. It was in the early hours of the morning at this point, the hours just after midnight, and no one was out except for a few people walking the streets below to get home. There was a light breeze and the only lights on were those that lit the church beside the apartments. This was by far one of the most peaceful moments that I have experienced here so far. It all happened by chance and was one of those warm summer nights with people you love that make such great memories.

Overall, my first Fourth of July in a foreign country was a success, and I wouldn't trade this experience for anything.

Love by Lecce: Week 3

  

Week three was very busy. Here we go.

Saturday
Saturday seems so far away now but it was such a fun day! We had our second excursion with the group where we went to the southernmost point in Puglia, called Santa Maria di Leuca. We were able to go on a boat tour of the coast where we got to see vast expanses of cliffs and caves. At the end of the boat tour we got to swim in the warm water and even dive underneath to reach a hidden cave which was really beautiful. After that, we drove to a cliff filled beach where we took up camp on the top of one of the cliffs. Many people went cliff diving while I relaxed in the sun atop the rocks. It was a super tiring day but I feel bad about complaining that day because it was so beautiful and fun! That night my parents got into town in Lecce and I had dinner with them.

Sunday
My entire family got to visit me in Lecce after their two week tour of Italy. Sunday we relaxed and then visited Otranto that night for dinner and a tour which was so much fun. We also stopped by Torre Del'Orso which I had been to before but it was nice for my family to see it. Otranto was a beautiful little walled city right out of Game of Thrones on the coast of Italy. It is definitely my favorite place I have visited so far and I'm happy we all got to see it!

Monday
Monday I went to school as usual (luckily my parents hotel I was staying in was much closer to the school than my usual route!). That night a bunch of students from the school went out to dinner with myself and my entire family. It was a really fun dinner since the restaurant was mainly serving appetizer-sized plates, so we ordered a ton (and a ton of wine) and dug in. I'm hungry right now so thinking about this dinner is making me drool. It was a faux birthday dinner for myself (July 27th!) and my friend Grace (July 25th!) since my parents left before my actual birthday. After dinner, we got gelato and stood out in the main piazza where there was so much going on--as usual!

Tuesday
Tuesday I had school again and afterwards my family, myself, some students, and some teachers got pizza for lunch. After lunch my family and I walked back to the hotel to relax before they left. It wasn't a super fun sendoff since we all miss each other so much but I'll be back in California in just a month now! After they left I had my cooking class where we made ravioli and cheese and bacon wrapped in beef. It was, again, so good. I am craving food as I write this post if you can't tell.

Wednesday
Wednesday was a low key day and besides school and I didn't do much else!

Thursday
Thursday, for the first half of school, we went to a train museum. The last time I was at a train museum was in middle school for a field trip to Sacramento. This train museum was reminiscent of the one in Sacramento and had lots of cool sites to see!

Friday
Friday, after school, I dashed home to get packed and ready for my train to Florence! Yes, Florence. I took a weekend trip to see my friend who has family and is currently living in Florence. I missed out on the usual excursion with the school but it was worth it for this quick, 32 hour trip. I took a train at 9pm and arrived at Florence at 7:30am.

Saturday
7:30am which brings us to Saturday! My friend and her family picked us up at the train station and we drove back to their house which was so cute. They had a quiet and peaceful backyard off the kitchen that we ate meals in and I stayed in a bedroom across from my friend. It was a very nice place and I wish I could've stayed longer. After getting back from the train station we all crashed for an hour or two before getting ready. After waking up, my friend's aunt made us bread with olive oil, rosemary, and some other spices as well as one with mozzarella. It was reminiscent of pizza but not quite pizza itself. Despite my fatigue and knowing I had limited time in the city, my friends and I began to explore the city. We stopped by a café to get espresso to wake ourselves up. We saw the Duomo (you know the one) which truly made me understand the meaning of things looking better in person than they do in pictures. I loved being around this landmark all weekend. We sped through Piazza Della Signoria where we saw (the fake) David outside in the piazza along with other replica statues. Even the replicas are huge! We decided we wanted Mexican food for lunch (we were missing it from home, not much Mexican food in Italy...) so we headed to a restaurant called Tijuana near the Church of Santa Croce. It wasn't the best Mexican food I've had in my entire life, but it certainly hit the spot. After lunch we walked to Ponte Vecchio, Santo Spirito, and then walked through some street vendor markets where I picked up presents for my friends and family back home. That night we went out for dinner and drinks for a few hours to end the day. We took the bus home and that was my first day in Florence!

Sunday
Sunday, since my train left at 3:30, we didn't have as much time but we still fit a lot in! We went to the same café for breakfast where we got pastries too this time. Afterwards we drove to Piazzale Michelangelo which offers an amazing view of the city (and another fake David). We took tons of pictures while looking over the edge of the city. Next, we tried to go to Boboli Gardens but it was a bit expensive for those of us who don't live in Florence. Instead, we decided to get traditional Naples-made pizza which turned out to be the same pizzeria (for those of you who used to watch...) that the Jersey Shore cast worked at when they visited Italy for a season. Their clothes that they left behind were still hung up in the pizzeria which was funny to see. I had never watched the show much but my friend recognized the clothes so it was a fun little tidbit! After lunch we walked around the city and got something to drink by the train station since it was almost time for me to leave. The train arrived at 3:20 and I said goodbye to my friends. I so wish I could've stayed longer but I was so thankful for my friend and her family and being able to see the city in a whirlwind weekend trip!

Phewph, that was a long one but thank you for reading and keeping up with my travels around Italy for the summer!

Love by Lecce: Piazza Sant'Oronzo

Side note: Why is Blogger's video tool so terrible? Someone fix this ASAP. As a quick reminder, these posts labelled "syllabus post" will be in English and Italian! And, if you speak Italian and notice mistakes in the post, let me know since I'm still learning. Thanks for reading!

Una delle mie zone preferite a Lecce è il centro storico: Piazza Sant'Oronzo. Ci sono molte cose da fare nella piazza. C'è un anfiteatro, una gelateria, una libreria, una farmacia, e (ovviamente) un McDonalds. Ci sono anche i monumenti storici. In piedi alta diversi metri c'è una colonna bianca con Sant'Oronzo in cima. Sant'Oronzo è stato il primo vescovo di Lecce e il santo patrono della citta. Io non sono religiosa, quindi non posso dirvi cosa questo significhi, ma sembra molto importante.

La prossima cosa che la gente potrebbe notare nel centro storico di Lecce è l'architettura barocca in combinazione con negozi moderni. Lecce è nota come la "Firenze del sud" ed è ornata con architettura barocca dalle chiese agli appartamenti che costeggiano le strade. Come ho detto prima, il McDonalds è nel centro storico. Diagonale dal ristorante fast food c'è un Sephora, e se si guarda in alto si può vedere la gente del mentre guarda fuori dai loro balconi degli appartamenti nella piazza.

Infine, c'è una lupa. Sì, una lupa. L'ultimo monumento in piazza è un mosaico lo simbolo di Lecce. Le pietre colorate si trovano nel centro della piazza e anche se non so molto circa riguardo allo stemma, so che non si sale sul lupo. Se una persona passi cammina sulla lupa, avranno la sfortuna per decenni.

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One of my favorite areas in Lecce is the historical center: Piazza Sant'Oronzo. There are many things to do in the piazza. There is an amphitheater, a gelato store, a book store, a pharmacy, and (of course) a McDonalds. There are also the historical components. Standing several meters high is a white column with Orontius of Lecce atop. Saint Orontius is called the first bishop of Lecce. I am not terribly religious, so I can't tell you what this means, but he seems very important looming over the entire square.

The next thing that people might notice in the historic center of Lecce is the baroque architecture combined with modern architecture. Lecce is known as the "Florence of the south" and is adorned with endless baroque architecture from the churches to the apartments that line the streets. As I said before, the McDonalds is in the historical center. Diagonal from the fast food restaurant is a Sephora, and if you look up you might see locals peering out from their apartment balconies into the piazza.

Lastly, there is a wolf. Yes, a wolf. The last notable monument in the piazza is a mosaic of Lecce's coat of arms. The colorful stones are in the center of the piazza and though I don't know much about the coat of arms, I know that you do not step on the wolf. If a person steps on the wolf, they will have bad luck for decades.

I hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about Lecce and the culture of the south of Italy. Thanks for keeping up with my travels and let me know what your favorite aspect of the Piazza Sant'Oronzo is!

Love by Lecce: Week 2

Welcome back to the Love by Lecce series! For anyone who is new I am currently studying abroad in Italy for two months and this is the documentation of my time here. I'm still trying to figure out my schedule for these posts because I want to post about what goes one each day but I also have required posts about specific happenings and at the same time I don't want to bombard you all with only posts about Italy. I feel like that could get annoying and I have so many other post ideas too! So though I am still experimenting, today is a recap of this past week!

Friday
The weeks are going by so quickly I need to update these posts everyday because I forget what I did! Friday I went to class as usual but we were in for a treat at night! The other students and I took a bus to a town called Scorrano where a light festival was going on. We stayed out super late but the displays were so worth it. Entire structures were lit up the entire night while others danced to synchronized music. The "finale" that we got to see before we left was a mixture of fire, lights, and water. It was so busy but there was some great food and it was so pretty and such a magical night. I'm so glad I decided to go that night.

Saturday
On Saturday we visited a tomato factory and a beach which I wrote about here so go check that one out if you haven't already! Saturday night a bunch of us went out to dinner where we got some good food and played around with Snapchat's face swap way too much. We have some real weird pictures from that night. Overall it was such a lovely day!

Sunday
Sunday was a chill day. I did laundry, showered, cleaned my room a bit, got some homework done, and went to lunch with my friends Grace, Danielle, Inali, and Camila. I got my first tiramisu in Italy (my favorite food ever) which was so exciting for me. Sunday night we went out to watch the Portugal vs. France final EuroCup game.

Monday
Monday I had my first caffè leccese thanks to Coleman who suggested it. It's an espresso based beverage with a super sweet almond milk over ice. I loved it and I've been getting it basically every day since. Monday night Coleman, Grant, Levi, Sophie, Spencer, and I went to a pizzeria where we got a meter long pizza and another half meter long pizza. It was insane and we finished every single piece (mostly thanks to Grant and Coleman). It was super yummy pizza and we had such a fun, nice night. It was one of those "moments." After pizza we went to the Duomo di Lecce which is a busy and enclosed area with a cathedral and a large piazza. It's one of my favorite places in the city because of the late nights and memories made there.

Tuesday
Tuesday I saw a lot of dogs! Very eventful day for me clearly. Tuesday night though, we had our second cooking class where we made tiramisu (AH!) and gnocchi with pesto. It was so much fun to make and to see how the dessert was made since it's one of my favorites. After our cooking class I went to a place called "Fusion" with everyone: students, teachers, head of the school, literally everyone. It was a low key lush sushi place that had some great miso soup and mojitos (what I got). After that we went out for beer, but I ended up getting a slushie instead. Beer just isn't my thing, you feel?

Wednesday
Wednesday was a low key day. We were all very tired! Some people wanted to go to the beach after we got out of class but we all ended up crashing and falling asleep. I went out to dinner with some people and ended the night at the Duomo again.

Thursday
Thursday I went to school as usual but it was a special night! It was the last night for four of the guys in the program who were going home after being here for six weeks. Sophie and I got dinner before meeting up with everyone which was super delicious. After dinner we met people to get drinks and partied the night away. It was a very laid back and fun night bonding with new people and making new memories.

Friday
Friday was the last day of school for the guys leaving so we got some fruit and rustici (croissant pizzas basically) after they took their final test. All the students went out to get gelato after class to send them off. It was a relaxing day besides class, and everyone was pretty calm since no one was too happy that the guys were leaving. They're all off now to go home or to travel which sounds super fun for them!

And that catches us up for now! By the time you are all reading this at 7AM PST, it will be be 4PM where I am and I will probably be sleeping (siesta and all, you know). I think it's so funny how time differences work! Vlogs of these trips will be coming soon!