{avventura}

{adventure}

On Saturday we made our second excursion to the farmers' market and then spent some time exploring our neighborhood, the southwest portion of Orvieto... while out, we took the opportunity to do some sketching and watercolor paintings which posted pictures of in my last entry. We then joined the community at they strolled up and down the Corso, their main street. We stopped in a bookstore that has been calling my name, something that rarely happens, and I purchased the first Harry Potter book in Italian... I am hoping to get through it this semester, and learn a little italian in the process... We then perused the many shops and boutiques along the Corso, went to supper at a fancy underground restaurant (accidentally) and met up with our classmates at the Bar Duomo....

Sunday was spent relaxing, catching up on sleep, walking around Orvieto, and eating.. we enjoyed listening to our Italian neighbors singing Linkin Park and other karaoke through the walls.... topped off our evening with gelato, crepes, and skyping galore...

Monday, we had our first real day of studio, and seminar... I also spent a good 2 hours in the post office applying for temporary citizenship in Orvieto.. "very boring" as our italian advisor likes to describe it... we then spent most of the remainder of our day celebrating my friend Kylie's birthday... pizza and wine at Charlies, then a drink at Bar Duomo. (=

Things I have observed thus far...
Blonde hairs stand out..
People will shamelessly stare...
Men and women are much more stylish...
They have an awesome recycling program...
We walk.. everywhere...
Some people enjoy having us here... and some do not..
There are an abundance of feral cats, and dogs in sweaters..
40% of communication is nonverbal... but they enjoy watching us try...
Italians in the bars tend to act like theyve had more to drink than they have because they are trying to mimic what they know of americans from the media...

I will be spending the weekend in Rome... we are staying at the M&J hostel near the main train station... I am curious as to how the big city will differ from my comfortable Orvieto...

I am also very excited for my trip to the market,wine tasting session, and coking lessons with Chef Lorenzo of the Zeppelin on Thursday.

Excited for all of my fellow IAers who will FINALLY be joining me in Italy... wish them safe travels this weekend as they fly into Rome and head towards Santa Chiara for their semester of studies! IA<3

Sorry for all of the text... more, with pictures tomorrow!

Love,

Cait

{pitura}

{painting}

Here are a few pics from the first few days from newest to oldest..... I think I have figured out how to upload camera card pics... finally! Last night we cooked dinner at our apartment, went out for a cappuccino, then met the rest of our group at a beautiful theater in town and watched a performance of Swan Lake.... after that we went back to Vincafe for a glass of wine, then a small group of us found a bar that was pretty lively and enjoyable... had a chance to interact with a couple of the bartenders and try a couple types of popular beers.... very fun, definitely different than Aggieville (=

{dessert}

After orientation at Centro Studi we went to the market on the Piazza de Popolo to buy fresh produce to make lunch.... which was a little different... bruschetta dipped in olive oil and balsalmic vinaigrette.. topped with tomatoes, mozzarella di bufala, and prosciutto... we also shared a blood orange and sausage... the market fills the piazza both Thursday and Saturday mornings...

After lunch we took a tour of Orvieto... I took wayy too many pictures...which I am still having difficulties uploading from my SD card... so I will have to settle for uploading pics that I have taken with my tablet....

I am LOVING Orvieto!

We then explored and stopped in a few shops on the way home... after some wine and a little blogging we went to Zeppelin for a sampling of wines and also the food we are going to learn to prepare during  our cooking classes in the following week with Chef Lorenzo!

Then a last minute trip to the store for a bottle of wine and gelato!

{casa}

After an 8 hour and 45 minute flight, we arrived in Rome and were welcomed with a beautiful sunrise! Made it through the airport relatively quickly and were then picked up and driven to Orvieto via charter bus. We were greeted by our landlords and then directed to our apartments that are located throughout the city. Our apartment on the second floor, with a shared courtyard, balcony, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, a kitchen\dining\living area.... all decorated with eclectic furbiture and artwork. It is unique with the vaulted ceilings, and exposed beams... more perfect than I could have imagined.... not to mention our wonderful, in-house wifi!

After a wonderful meal at Vincafe, a nap, exploring the city, and pizza at Sfizio... we are doing a bit of unpacking and calling it a night! Buona notte!

Orientation and then cooking class at Zeppelin with Chef Lorenzo tomorrow evening!

{aeroplano}

{airplane}

Well today got off to a good, but slow start... A small group of us were fortunate to be able to stay in Kansas City last night at a classmate's home. Our lovely "host parents" prepared us home cooked Chinese food for supper and ended the evening with a round of celebrity 20 questions and some last minute packing.

This morning we arrived and checked in at KCI, a fairly painless procedure. After boarding the plane at about 7:30, the crew discovered one of the computer monitors was acting out so we pulled back up to the terminal and a technician replaced the screen and are now about an hour behind schedule.

We are expecting to be flying out of Washington DC around 5pm local time...

I am having trouble including pictures from my camera card... hopefully I will have a chance to get that figured out during our layover in DC!

A little birthday shoutout to my friend, classmate, and airplane neighbor, Angela... she will be spending the majority of the shortest birthday of her life on planes next to me... yay for time zone changes...

I was fortunate enough to be assigned "seat A" on both flights... i won't complain about window seats when flying in and out of two architecturally interesting and beautiful cities!

{KCI}

Fly out at 7:50 to Washington DC!

{punch pizza}

Yesterday I had the pleasure of joining my sister and her boyfriend on a lunch date at Punch, a neopolitan style pizzeria in St. Paul... It may have been the most delicious pizza I have ever eaten. The picture I stole from their website doesn't do it justice..

They were featured on FoodNetwork! I would definitely recommend it!

{siesta}

{mid-day nap}

In my previous post, I mentioned the daily siesta that we are encouraged to practice as we dive into the Italian culture.


A little insight about the siesta...

Having a siesta makes people work more and better

Workplace napping is a natural, no-cost way to increase worker productivity. Employers should allow (and even encourage) workers to nap on their work breaks.

Doctors, researchers and scientists (at Nasa) have finally quantified the benefits of the daily nap. It has been found that having a nap of 30 minutes in the middle of a working day recharge our brain, increase memory, concentration and so human productivity of 34%.

We Italians nap since the Roman times – at least. It’s more a physical need than a culture use. Have two hours for lunch break is generally the normal and taking a nap after lunch is common and natural for 50% of Italians – in hot summers it becomes more epidemic.

“Siesta” is always been connected to Latin countries and considered a sign of laziness – by Northern Europeans. The word itself come from Latin and means the sixth hour (of light), which is around midday. But everyone knows – in the south of Europe – a good nap does wonders for your productivity.

{more here}

{cittaslow}

{slow city}


Orvieto, the city where I will be studying, practices cittaslow, a movement that is spreading internationally... take a look!

Cittaslow is a movement founded in Italy in October 1999. The inspiration of Cittaslow was the Slow Food organization. Cittaslow's goals include improving the quality of life in towns by slowing down its overall pace, especially in a city's use of spaces and the flow of life and traffic through them. Cittaslow is part of a cultural trend known as the Slow movement.

There are 50 goals and principles that each Cittaslow town commits to work to achieve. Although there will always be place for improvement these goals serve as tangible benchmarks to improve the quality of life in the city.

The main aims of the movement are:

• making life better for everyone living in an urban environment
• improving the quality of life in the cities
• resisting the homogenization and globalization of towns around the globe
• protecting the environment
• promoting cultural diversity and uniqueness of individual cities
• provide inspiration for a healthier lifestyle

{more here}

Professor Guttorm Fløistad summarizes the philosophy, stating:

"The only thing for certain is that everything changes. The rate of change increases. If you want to hang on you better speed up. That is the message of today. It could however be useful to remind everyone that our basic needs never change. The need to be seen and appreciated! It is the need to belong. The need for nearness and care, and for a little love! This is given only through slowness in human relations. In order to master changes, we have to recover slowness, reflection and togetherness. There we will find real renewal."

{more here}

What does this mean for me? Long meals, an extra glass of wine, siesta, daily walks throughout the community in the evening, and the opportunity for a better appreciation for the people and places that surround me...

{scarpe e una sarta}

{shoes and a seamstress}

I received a wonderful package from our faithful UPS man today.... trail running shoes! Hoping these babies will counteract the pasta and wine intake! ;)

On a side note... I have hired a new seamstress... I have a feeling her employment will be temporary.

{gonne}

{skirts}

Yesterday, my lovely mother and I went on a six hour shopping spree... comparing and selecting toiletry bags, luggage tags, and seemingly anything and everything labeled "travel-size." Not my favorite way to spend... but I will have to say that I am EXTREMELY excited about our trip to the fabric store. I have commissioned that lovely mother of mine to sew me some skirts. Mostly neutrals and travel friendly fabrics... but cost-effective and exciting nonetheless! <3

*********

A couple of inspirational projects....

{afton skirt tutorial}

{men's dress shirt}

{priorities}

{bow}

orvieto, italy {umbria}

{orvieto map}

Orvieto, Italy is a small hilltop city {around five thousand people} where i will be studying alongside twenty-nine other K-State students from the seventeenth of January until the fifth of may

On January seventeenth we will be flying as a group out of Kansas City at about eight-thirty a.m. and connecting with our flight to Rome, Italy in Washington D.C.  

As for today, I am sitting in mid-western Minnesota, making lists and piles, preparing for a daunting shopping trip, then packing!