February 2nd
I have finally arrived in the beautiful Sansepolcro! It was a long tiring journey to get here. I got to the airport at 10:00 am, got my ticket and sat quietly waiting for the first plane to take off at 1:00 pm. The girls and I flew to New York, had a short lay over, and then boarded for an 8 hour flight to Rome. After the plane we all loaded onto a mini bus for a 4 hour drive to Sansepolcro. I got off the bus very excited, yet very tired (I was not able to sleep on either plane or the bus). Once I walked into the Palazzo Alberti my first thoughts were- BURR, its cold in here, and wow this place is much nicer than I was expecting! I walked up to the 3rd floor and saw just one of our common rooms, I became amazed. We sat in a pale green common room, with comfy couches and Renaissance painting close ups. We got a quick briefing and then were able to choose our rooms. Jess, Kim, Megan and I picked a room with windows that open up to the main street Via XX Settembre. (I spend a lot of time looking out the window and people watching). Dr. Webb and John Rose insisted that we stay up till 9:30 Italian time so we went on a walk around Sansepolcro. We walked to the Porta Fiorentina and to the Porta Romana (these are the two main entrances in Sansepolcro) and took in the beautiful cobblestone streets, medieval buildings, and lively people. We saw some churches, lots of shops, and went into Pam, a grocery store. I had only brought mini shampoo bottles for when we go on our excursions, so I needed to buy some big bottles. It was so hard to figure out what type to buy. Everything was in Italian. I ended up just picking one. After a really long day I was very happy to come back to the Palazzo, eat dinner, shower and most of all go to sleep.

February 3rd
Tonight I went to Happy Bar with Megan, Jess, Lilly and Kelsey. Megan and I tried to talk to the bar tender in Italian to figure out what was good to order. It was only our second day there, and we only had one class of Italian, so we did not know how to say very much. We tried to say “que es tu favarito” to ask him what his favorite was. Que es tu favarito is Spanish and not Italian so that didn’t really work. It was fun to try to talk to him and made me excited to learn Italian so I can communicate with the local people. Both of us ended up ordering a very rich cioccolata . What I got a was pudding substance in a cup which needed to be eaten with a spoon. It was nothing like American hot chocolate, which is meant to be drunk.




February 4th
The food here has been amazing. Every day we all gather around the table for different and delicious 3 to 4 course lunches. Today we had vegetable soup, bread, a regular salad, a chicken tomato and olive salad, potatoes, pork and sausage. The food is very filling. The desserts have been very different from anything I have had in America. We have had a whole baked apple, a layered cake, and some different pastries. I know that apples, pastries, and cakes are the same thing we eat in America, but the tastes and consistencies are different here. Today after our literature class we bundled up and walked to the COOP. It is a grocery store outside the Sansepolcro walls. The walk was about half a mile and was very pleasant. Anyone who knows me knows that I get very excited over food, so I was very excited to be in an Italian grocery store with so much new and exciting food to look at. Jess and I had a lot of fun with the baskets. They are like American baskets, but with a handle and wheels so you can also drag them. I ended up buying some chocolate cookie candies, braided bread that was like a bretzle, (bread+ pretzel=yum, something I can get at home) and some earl grey tea, (like I have in the mornings with my momma). The Palazzo is very cold, and we’re constantly making tea to keep us warm!


February 5th
In our Italy Today class we learned about Carnevale, which literally means no means no meat, It is an Italian tradition 2 weeks before Lent where Italians wear masks and dress up in different costumes. We also went on a walk around Sansepolcro today. We went into the original and first chapel, where Piero della de Francesca, (a famous painter who lived in Sansepolcro) is buried. The class also went and saw the outside of what was his house hundreds of years ago.
We have a special surprise on Sunday, which we know nothing about. All we have been told is that we need to dress warm and wear boots that can get wet. So I went out to get some rain boots. I had to tell the sales woman in Italian that I wanted a size “trenta otto” I bought some Baci-Baci cream colored rain boots for 34 euro. I was very excited. All of us girls went and strolled around the town. We went up a couple different streets and looked in some shops. I was looking at an umbrella in one shop and said “come se dice umbrella in Italian,” she responded “ombrello” It was fun to window shop and just be out with the some of the people. We were all getting hungry and wanted pizza so we thought we could try the pizza shop underneath us. We went into the shop just as a big party was going in. The hostess was speaking to us in Italian but we did not understand. Apparently she was asking us if we had reservations. Much to our surprise we needed to get reservations for this pizza place. We tried to ask if we could take our pizza to go, and she opened the door and started to point out as if she was directing us to another pizza place. Luckily Kayley was there (who speaks more Italian than the rest of us) and spoke to the hostess telling her we wanted to order our food to go. So we were given menus. The menus were in Italian. Many other girls and I just ordered, not really knowing what we were getting. Kelsey and I ordered a Napoli pizza. When we got upstairs into the Palazzo and sat to eat down we realized that we had ordered an anchovy and caper pizza.
As a group we watched Notting Hill after our pizza dinner. As we were watching the movie we heard the streets getting loud and busy. After the movie Megan, Jess, Kayley, Kelsey and I decided we would venture out into the streets. We walked down and went into one café/bar. It was busy and we just stood in the back, not knowing what to do or say, so we decided to leave and go somewhere less crowded. We went to K Café, the store menu says its fashion disco. As we sat and drank our drinks we could hear some nice Madonna disco music. It was fun to get out and be with other Italians, even if we they did not talk to us.



February 7th
SURPRISE DAY! After getting 4 hours of sleep the alarm went off at 4:20 to wake us up for the journey to our surprise! Loaded up in the bus, I was looking at road signs to see where we might be going. After a while I saw some signs to Venezia. We were going to Carnevale in Venezia. The tradition is being kept alive today. We saw crazy, elaborate, and wild costumes; Jess was describing the Carnevale as Disney land, without the rides. There were parades, food venders, crazy people, and beautiful water and building sights. Jess, Meghan, Kim, Bekah and I went into Osteria de Carla for lunch. We were impressed because we found an authentic and not touristy restaurant. It was different than any restaurant I have ever been to in America. They had 4 options: pasta of the day, fish of the day, soup and then ravioli. I ordered the pasta of the day which was lasagna. The waitress set bread on our table, but here you have to pay for the bread, so we decided not to get it, but I was so tempted. After lunch we went to get gelato. The gelato here really puts ice cream in the States to shame. I got cioccolata and a creamy yet tart fruity gelato. After our gelato we went and explored the streets of Venice. It was incredible to look and see all the buildings and shops. Since many people dress up and wear masks at Carnevale I had to buy one at one of the little shops. I bought a nice blue one with feathers. I loved all the waterways and bridges. In awe of everything I took over 300 pictures. It was such an awesome experience and l loved the entire thing!