Middle School Crazies, Florence Beauty, and Tuscan Sun

Ciao a tutti!!! This post may end up being much longer than I expected it to be... A lot has happened since last Monday.

The Villa where I teach

Tuesday, we started our day by going to San Lorenzo in Lucina which is a Roman Catholic parish, titular church, and minor basilica in central Rome. After eating lunch (and of course, the teachers got coffee and desert), we went to the Capucin Crypt which is a small space comprising of several tiny chapels located beneath the church of Santa Maria della concezione dei Cappuccini. In the chapels are bones, REAL BONES, that create artwork. These are the bones of monks that lived in Rome a long, long time ago. They were all men, EXCEPT, the heart of a beautiful woman is kept there safely in a case. She was a very big supporter of the chapels and they have high respect for her.

Wedneasday, we went to the Priscilla Catacombs. This underground place

The Catacombs

was used for Christian burials from the late 2nd century through the 4th century. It was so neat to go SOO FARRRR underground and see the tombs. There were tombs for the wealthy and poor. There were also very old scripture

My Favorite Place: Villa Ada

written on the wall. I would go into the details of all this, but I am sure you are not all history geeks like me. :) I was so proud at how awesome the middle schoolers did on these trips. It was getting really tough trying to listen to the tour guides, but they did a wonderful job. After the catacombs, we went to a bar, so the students could get a treat and teachers... guess....... COFFEE! After that we went to the most beautiful park I have been to in Italy. In Italy, there are tons of parks (pretty much like Central Park in New York), and in these parks there are shops, ponds, parks, places to run, etc. I absolutely love them. This one was called Villa Ada. We got there to eat lunch and just enjoy the sun. Kylee got a tanline on her foot that day because we sat in the sun, watched puppies chase each other, played some volleyball, and watched the AWESOME 8th graders play soccer!

Thursday, we went to Academia La Ventura! This was the BOMB DOT COM! It was a ropes course/ziplining. We got all the students there and then got right to it. Everyone did the smaller course, and then some did the higher one. I did both (duh, because I am so risky, adventurous, and stuff). The higher one was actually really hard, for the students and me. At one point, I had to pretty much tight rope while holding a small board for balance... yep, almost peed my pants. When I got to the other side, the zipline rocked though. After that, the students did some really cool team building activities and I was so proud of their hard work and cooperation. When we got home Thursday night, we packed for our weekend trip because we planned to leave Friday straight from school.

Friday, the students worked on their presentations (a review of what they learned on their trips--some students went to trips outside of Rome), had a BBQ, and then presented. It was a easy day and we were able to enjoy the weather outside. Finally, it was time for our weekend extravaganza to begin. Kylee and I planned to go to Florence for the weekend and Anna went to Germany.

From school, we took the bus straight to the train station so we could leave for Florence (Firenze in Italian) at 5... long story short, Kylee and I got to spend a lot of lovely time at the train station BECAUUUUSE there are two platform twos. HA... so we missed out 5PM train because we were at the wrong platform. The great thing was we were able to take the one at 8. So we ate at the train station (holy expensive), got a much needed beverage, and hung out. FINALLY, we got on the train to Firenze. The train was 3 and 1/2 hours long. Kylee and I stayed up talking, learning lots about each other, and playing the chocolate game (when you buy a bunch of random chocolate, try it, and watch each other's faces to see if it's good-- excuses to eat chocolate I guess). It was great. Then, a few hours into the ride, a weird man got on the train. When I say weird, I mean... on drugs. He was tweaking out, making weird noises, dancing...yes, you get the point. It was kind of freaky and we were trying really hard not to laugh. Luckily, a man that worked on the train, came and sat in our area to keep track of this crazy man. One stop after he got off, we did. We got off the train and went on our way to find our hostel (Plus Florence). After getting a little lost, we quickly found it. They were amazing there and the hostel rocked. It was clean, had a great bar/restaurant, sauna, pool... you get the point. We checked in and went up to our hostel because it was late and we had to be up early on Saturday. Once we got up there, there were 5 other people in the room: one from Dublin, one from New Hampshire, one from Canada, and two from Connecticut. Everyone was beyond nice, but most of them had to leave the next day. We stayed up talking to them for awhile (they had been out drinking, so it was a pretty intense and truthful conversation HA). Finally, the room quieted down and we fell asleep.

Gelato of course

Saturday morning, we had to be up really early to get ready and go on our Tuscany tour. When we got up and tried to get ready, we found out the power had went out... so getting ready was a blast (I'm serious). By the time we had to leave, we stopped at a bar, got a huge coffee, and went on our way. Walking in Firenze is breathtaking. Literally my favorite place I have been. Firenze is much smaller than Rome, has breathtaking views, and wonderful things to do and site to see. The walk to where our tour started was a treat in itself. Once we got there, we checked in and went on our way. Kylee and I were lucky to not have to ride in the van, but a car with one of the extremely kind tour guides and our new friend Rachael. Our tour guide's name was really long, so we called him Aman (pronounce "ayy maaaan") for short. So, off we went on our tour of Tuscany.

Monterrigioni

Italian band practice at the top of Monterrigioni

Our first stop was Monterrigioni, an old medieval castle town that is a province of Siena in Tuscany. It was bordered by old castle walls and cute little shops. When we got there we met everyone that was in the van and the other amazing tour guides. It was so much fun because everyone was pretty much our age and wanted the same type of experience. When we went into the town, we walked around, went into the wonderful shops, and hung out staring at the beautiful views.

Next, we went to Siena. Siena is a world heritage site and is the capital of the province of Siena. I LOVED THIS TOWN. Seriously, amazing. I probably cannot even explain it to you. It is like walking through a movie set, seeing amazing views, feeling the love, affection, and astonishment of everyone around you. Rachael, Kylee, and I found a BEAUTIFUL view at the top of a little hill. Then, we went to the center and walked around the Chocolate Market, trying all of the little chocolate samples. Most people spoke English, so it was nice to try to communicate

Siena, my love

Chocolate Market in the center of Siena

Italian/English with them. After walking around the city and market, we went to a very popular bar called Nannini. They have some of the best coffee and pastries. After, we went back for lunch with our group at a very authentic restaurant. They gave us a Tuscan meal full of weird meats (pretty much like Salami), bread (with some liver spread.......), and some veggies. Overall, it was fun getting to try the regional food!

Kylee and I in the Wine room

We all got back into the car, sang some karaoke, and were on our way to

View from Chianti

the Chianti region, to a beautiful farm, for a wine tour and tasting. We got to try five different wines and the olive oil. HOLY COW. You have never tasted such fresh, amazing, extra virgin olive oil in your live. The lady who owned the farm made all of the wine and olive oil (she has to be made of money). The wine was great

The Olive Oil

as well, and sipping it while staring at the beautiful Tuscan scenery... indescribable. After the tour and tasting, we were on our way to our last stop: San Ginignano.

The view in San Gimignano

San Gimignano has some of the best views in the world. This was another Tuscan town, but we drove up, and let me tell you... I will never probably see any view like it again: rolling hills, flowers, sun, amazing. This medieval hill town was one that everyone must go to. There are beautiful views, but also great gelato! We went to the famous gelateria, which apparently had the world's best gelato (I would argue, because the one by our apartment is MOLTA BUONA). Finally, it was 5 PM and we had to head back to Firenze. By this time, we had made really great friends with some people on our trip and it was so much fun to spend time with them. Rachael, decided to stay and extra night in Firenze to hang out with us (she is only 20 years old and already traveling/backpacking the world on her OWN, can you imagine!!).

Rachael, me, and Kylee loving our tour!

We got back into Firenze and went back to the hostel to freshen up. We decided to go out to

LOVING friends, wine, and hostel time

dinner at a place that one of our tour guides suggested. Kylee got pizza that had hot dogs on it, ew. After, we made our way to some pub (by made our way, I mean walk around Firenze... stop a few places... etc). Did you know Italian "clubs" do not open until around 12/1230 because they are opened until about 5/6?! Ya, we were not ready for that. So, we heard of this place in Firenze that was amazing. We searched an searched for it, and when we finally found it, at 1100, it was NOT OPENED. But, because we rock, we went inside anyways. While standing there, the manager came up and told us that it was not opened, BUT we could hang out. Turns out, we got to hang out VIP all

In VIP at Blue Velvet celebrating Spring

night, did not pay for drinks or cover (which is expensive at this place). All of the bouncers knew us and we had a great time! Spring time is also a big deal in Italia, so the party for the night was their "Spring" party... balloons everywhere. Kylee and I were extremely tired, so we
all made our way back to the hostel. On our way back we got to see a ton of beautiful views, the duomo, and the river. I also rubbed the wild boar's nose, signifying that I WILL  be back in Firenze (which yes, I will because I adore it). Finally we got back and went to sleep. The next day we spent a little time eating breakfast and walking, but made our way to the train station to head back. Once back in Roma, we took MUCH NEEDED NAPS and waited for Anna.

Firenze, I will be back

Sunday was very relaxing and we took some time preparing for the week. Monday came fast and we were ready to take on the week! School was great and I finally got to start teaching my lovely, charismatic, 8th graders. So much fun teaching them and trying to not be so excited (like I was with my third graders). Sometimes, I get really pumped up, and they look at me like "Ms. Bergstrom, you are CRAZY." I just smile and tell them DUHHH :). Monday night we hung out, ran, relaxed, and went to the bar (coffee shop--don't forget).

Tuesday, was Anna's 22nd birthday!!! WOOT WOOT! After school, we walked home, I ran (got locked out), and then we went for apertivo. Apertivo is a very Italian thing, and it is pretty much like Happy Hour. They do this

Anna's birthday: walking home

because Italians eat dinner really late. So, they go to a restaurant or bar and pay a flat rate (usually about 10 Euro) for a drink and all they can eat buffet. YUM. I love it. For Anna's birthday we went to this wonderful place called Rosso. It is a cute, amazing place that has a wonderful apertivo and great, Italian workers :). After apertivo, we got gelato at our favorite place and made our way home.

Now, it is Wednesday and rainy here, but I have just been teaching away! I have had so much fun working with my cooperating teacher, Jess. She is seriously a rockstar and helps me so much on how to

I am LOVING Italia 

approach teaching 8th graders (especially, when they are taller than me!!). The students are beyond nice and I love listening to them talk (because their accents rock!). It is a really good experience for me and a way that I can learn to work with ELL students. We seriously have 8th graders that can speak more than 5 languages... I WISH. After school today, it was pouring rain. Our mile walk home was a blast....... but, hey, this weekend will be sunny and hot. Oh how the weather of Rome is so unpredictable.

Ciao Ciao for now!!! Thanks for reading about my middle school craziness, Firenze beauty, and Tuscan sun... I know how jealous you must be. :)

Words of advice: Don't take for granted your big coffee cups or coffee mugs, when in Italy, you do not get either (but, you can get pocket coffee!! AKA chocolate with a shot of espresso).

XO