Update

5-9-2008
Wow! Today we took a bus with our program to the Italian countryside, south of Firenze. We arrived at the town of Siena to take a guided tour of the city. There is a big square where we sat down for wine..then the fun began! We took a 45 minute bus trip to the Chianti wine country, specifically “Castello di Verrazzano” winery. Looking out to the countryside was amazing! The Italian government controls all of the land and it is illegal to cut down any tree, set up more grape vines, or change any land whatsoever. This is just like Florence, trying to preserve the roots upon which Italy was founded. I love it. We took a tour through the winery and learned how the different wines, vinegars, and olives they make are processed. Some of the rooms they use are over 1,000 years old! Finally they sat all of us down in an amazing room at tables of 8 for dinner which started at 7:30. Before eating we learned how to taste wine. The proper way to taste is to hold the wine glass by the bottom/neck. Tilt the glass so your nose is inside the rim of the glass. Remove the glass from your face. Swirl the wine in the glass, this allows the alcohol to mix with oxygen in the air. Then repeat the smelling procedure. I found that the second time I smelt the wine, the fumes of alcohol were much stronger. After this we were instructed to think about what fruits are possibly involved in that wine. Next we tasted the wine by swirling it to the top, bottom, left and right of my mouth. Learning how to taste wine was my favorite part of the night. With our first course we had appetizers: salami, dried wild bohr (which was incredible), and garlic bread. For second course we had pasta with spices and parmesan cheese. Third course was beans, salad, and turkey. Finally we had biscotti which, like true Italians, we dipped in the dessert wine. Each course came with a different glass of wine to complement the food. At the end we were given the opportunity to taste their strongest wine, which is 38-40% alcohol, in a shot glass…so of course I did.

So I don't feel like taking the time to write in this blog each day for an hour so I will be sending out weekly updates.

I have been to Venice which was amazing! Our family originated there and I love it. It's one of my favorite places in the world! Amazing there are over 300 islands! the canals are great and its has a calming effect that allows the tourist to relax amongst all of the other pushy people! We saw someone make a vase from glass blowing.

I have been also to Naples, which I met a man who is from Shrilanks. he told me not to take out my camera otherwise id get jumped so I kept everything close to me. It is a junk of a city but I am glad I went for 2 hours and got pizza. the town is run by the mafia.

I went to capri, which is an island off the coast of southern Italy. I took a boat tour around the island and went in the blue grade which is one of the 7 wonders of the world, and what hugh hefner made his famous hot tub after. We went cliff diving there and swam in the warm ocean.

We went to Pompei as well and I enjoyed looking at the ruins of the city after the massive volcano over 100 years ago.

I will be at oktoberfest this weekend!