So, first and foremost I finally got to eat things other than friggin pasta. These included Mexican and... SUSHI!
So, anyway, when my dad was here we got to go Venice and Milan. Venice was a group tip that was scheduled by the school, but he got to tag along on all our exciting adventures. Venice was pretty, and it was neat to finally get there but to me it was nothing particularly special. Dad, Jake and I had a fantastic meal on Friday night, though, probably one of the first "gourmet" meals I have had since being here, full of tuna tartar and rabbit and lamb. We also got to sample a delicious plate of italian cheeses, which may have well been the best part of the meal.
The next day we were on our way to Milan! Dad had to catch an early flight out of there the next morning, so Jake and I decided to tag along. So, first off-I loved Milan. It was so modern and chic but it still had this wonderful old, european city feel to it. So, we just HAPPENED to find this really cool sushi place that had sushi on plates going around a conveyor belt and it was just about the coolest thing I have ever seen. Even better than seeing the Spice Girls in concert. I'm pretty sure my excitement level was about the same.
I then proceeded to get lost in the multiple h & m's on the most wonderful pedestrian only shopping street in milan while Jake and Daddy contemplated their manliness and had some caffe'. Glowing with the success of my shopping ( a new shirt and a hot pink dress, WOOT WOOT), my father then informed me that he would not be joining us for dinner as we had originally planned because he wanted to get enough sleep before his flight. I then proceeded to lose it in the middle of Milan and tried to stop myself from crying like a two-year old as is processed that my daddy would soon be leaving (yes, I still cry when my dad leaves and no, I do not care what any of you think, and yes, my daddy felt very badly and gave me lots of big hugs and no, i am not a 5 year old I am just in a foreign country and miss my family a lot. I make up for it by drinking lots of wine). So, we took some more pictures of the fabulous Duomo (and do I mean FABULOUS), and then dad was on his way. Jake and I decided we wanted Mexican, so we found some Mexican as well as about 10 bars that were all decked out for ALL HALLOWS EVE! I completed my night with some margarita's, guacamole and enchilada's and then sipped a bloody mary while watching Italians drunkenly celebrate the silly American holiday. Overall I rate the weekend a 9 on the 1-10 scale.
Tired, if I don't write before Thursday, I hope you all eat a lot of Turkey for me (if they serve me pasta at our group dinner I'm flipping the table).
Ciao!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
FINALLY continuing....
So I believe I left off on my morning in Montepulciano...
We wake up and have our breakfast with our lovely hotel host, Alberto. Strangely enough, well eating breakfast, Jake and I notice Alberto has the Siena Contrade flag of the Porcupine. So we ask him if he knows someone in Siena. At this point Alberto becomes very excited and proceeds to tell us that he is actually from Siena, belongs to the Porcupine contrade, and actually knows our program director. After finishing breakfast and whatnot, he ends with giving us his card and tells my dad that if we ever need ANYTHING in Siena, we can just call his family and to not worry, because we are in very good hands.
We then continued on to wander around the very small city square... BUT IT JUST HAPPENED TO BE WHERE TWILIGHT WAS FILMED OH MY GOD EVERYONE SCREAM! But really, it was still pretty cool. I took lots of pictures and was really excited, it was a really nice day and we were up on a hill so we got some really great views, and then we did some wine tastings.
Dad (obviously) bought some wine, the italian man running his winery told me "sei bella" and touched my cheek and gave me a free corkscrew, and then we were on our way to Montalcino!
Montalcino was absolutely FABULOUS! It was a medieval town on a hill, MUCH smaller than Siena, but was full of charm. We had a wonderful lunch, and then were privileged enough to be there during the town's medieval festival, which included the four sections of the town (each had a different name and color) setting up booths with homemade wine, food, and other items, an archery tournament and many, MANY parades with everyone in the medieval dress. During the day we went wine tasting again (duh) but at this modern little place off a side street. You put money on a card, and then put the card in a little slot over the wine you wanted, and then put your glass underneath and it came out a little spout! Very cool, and we were able to try so many wonderful different wines AND I GOT SO WASTED MOM.
Anyway, we spent a night there and left in the early afternoon the following day, and that Sunday was spent wandering around Siena trying to find the Siena/Juventes game on TV, but strangely enough not one bar/pub had a station that only played that game. They would play ALL the football games going on that day, going in and out and in and out so we just eventually gave up and went back and took naps and then went to dinner (boring, blah, but you guys are the ones that wanted to know what I was up to so I guess I'm obligated to fill you in).
And next time on Jordan's blog....
Jordan, Jake and her dad do Venice and Milan! The Duomo! The Shopping! The Sushi!
Then... Tom Cafmeyer celebrates his 21st birthday! And in style... Jordan gets food poisoning! Develops a taste for Energade!
And finally... Jordan and Jake get stranded in London!
Ciao!
We wake up and have our breakfast with our lovely hotel host, Alberto. Strangely enough, well eating breakfast, Jake and I notice Alberto has the Siena Contrade flag of the Porcupine. So we ask him if he knows someone in Siena. At this point Alberto becomes very excited and proceeds to tell us that he is actually from Siena, belongs to the Porcupine contrade, and actually knows our program director. After finishing breakfast and whatnot, he ends with giving us his card and tells my dad that if we ever need ANYTHING in Siena, we can just call his family and to not worry, because we are in very good hands.
We then continued on to wander around the very small city square... BUT IT JUST HAPPENED TO BE WHERE TWILIGHT WAS FILMED OH MY GOD EVERYONE SCREAM! But really, it was still pretty cool. I took lots of pictures and was really excited, it was a really nice day and we were up on a hill so we got some really great views, and then we did some wine tastings.
Dad (obviously) bought some wine, the italian man running his winery told me "sei bella" and touched my cheek and gave me a free corkscrew, and then we were on our way to Montalcino!
Montalcino was absolutely FABULOUS! It was a medieval town on a hill, MUCH smaller than Siena, but was full of charm. We had a wonderful lunch, and then were privileged enough to be there during the town's medieval festival, which included the four sections of the town (each had a different name and color) setting up booths with homemade wine, food, and other items, an archery tournament and many, MANY parades with everyone in the medieval dress. During the day we went wine tasting again (duh) but at this modern little place off a side street. You put money on a card, and then put the card in a little slot over the wine you wanted, and then put your glass underneath and it came out a little spout! Very cool, and we were able to try so many wonderful different wines AND I GOT SO WASTED MOM.
Anyway, we spent a night there and left in the early afternoon the following day, and that Sunday was spent wandering around Siena trying to find the Siena/Juventes game on TV, but strangely enough not one bar/pub had a station that only played that game. They would play ALL the football games going on that day, going in and out and in and out so we just eventually gave up and went back and took naps and then went to dinner (boring, blah, but you guys are the ones that wanted to know what I was up to so I guess I'm obligated to fill you in).
And next time on Jordan's blog....
Jordan, Jake and her dad do Venice and Milan! The Duomo! The Shopping! The Sushi!
Then... Tom Cafmeyer celebrates his 21st birthday! And in style... Jordan gets food poisoning! Develops a taste for Energade!
And finally... Jordan and Jake get stranded in London!
Ciao!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Where are we?!
I am the worst. Truly, I can't believe I have deprived all of you of the ever-valuable information of my life. I'm sure you have all been wandering around for the past few weeks, constantly reloading this web address and frantically asking yourself, "WHERE IS A NEW BLOG? IS JORDAN OK? IS HER LIFE PLAYING OUT LIKE THE MOVIE TAKEN?". If you got so far as to actually become concerned about my well-being, chances are many of you took to calling my mother and got a response somewhat around, "Of course my daughter hasn't updated her blog. I didn't expect her to make it past a couple of weeks. Oh, and yes, she is fine, I talked to her on the phone the other day. And all she talks about is drinking, drinking, drinking! I hope she realizes she's still 20 when she gets back." And after this point, your conversation would continue on about some sort of gossip or the deal my mom got at Dick Sporting Goods just the other day, you really should go, because they have all this great NIKE and Underarmor gear for 75% off and yes, if you have a Dick's card like she does, you get an ADDITIONAL 10% as well!
I kid. I love that my mother finds deals at Dicks, since I tend to receive a lot of said Nike gear from these excursions. ANYWAY, now on to the boring stuff.
So, I left you off with the gym experience. Since then I have learned to only go during the day, but not on Wednesday's because the creepy man in the tight pants goes on Wednesday's and will continually, without fail, try to spot me when I bench. I have also learned it is not safe to go at night, as Italians do not believe in deodorant and it is too crowded and smelly to achieve anything. The same goes for the community pool on Monday nights. Not only does everyone in freaking Siena want to go swimming, but they also have the water aerobics class going on, although I can't complain about this because they play some sweet German techno music to get them pumped up and working hard.
But, for more exciting news... My daddy came! And we had the BEST time. We basically just went wine tasting everyday, I skipped class and got totally hammered...kidding, mom. All joking aside, we actually did go wine tasting but it was classy and involved a few sips here and there. I had my first wine tasting experience when my school (father in tow) took a sponsored trip to the Brolio Castle, a place halfway between Florence(boo) and Siena(CHEERS) where the Chianti Classico (popular type of wine here, look for it in the States, it's quite good) is made. It was my first wine tasting experience, and it was FABULOUS! I actually learned why people swirl their glass before they drink, how to taste the wine with all parts of my mouth, and got to see a real winery in action (but not really because it was 6:00 at night and everyone had gone home, but the machines were pretty tight).
After we got back, dad, Jake and I jumped on a train and headed out for our weekend excursion about an hour south of Siena for a night in Montepulciano and then Montilcino. So, we ride this train, have no clue where we are going because they're not announcing stops, somehow get off at the right stop (we made Jake stick his head out of the window at every stop) and it's pouring rain. Lovely, right? Well, not only is it pouring rain, but the train station only has two tracks, one going north and one going south and no taxi stand. After wandering around and using my crappy italian, we figure out we need to call a taxi. So, we go back to the train station and I talk to them and tell them where we are, in what I hope is correct since I had to use my Italian. The man on the phone says, ok, 10 minutes and I say, ok hurry, its really cold and pouring rain and we hang up. And then we waited.
We waited for about 30 minutes. By this time, its 9:00, we're hungry, a little crabby, and joking about how mad my mom would be at my dad for not planning better. Then this red jaguar pulls up. A man gets out and smiles and says, "Taxi?".
Now, you are probably thinking, WHAT IDIOTS! I hope they didn't get into that car with no taxi sign and with an Italian man they didn't know. Well, we did. And you know what? He got us to our hotel safe and sound and apparently the train station is like a bazillion miles out from the city center of Montepulciano and it was crazy and we were just so tired and hungry.
Whew. Speaking of tired, I am SPENT and need to catch up on my Office Episodes. So, I will leave you all with the anticipation of our encounters with our hotel owner, Roberto, the best meal ever, and pictures of where ROBERT PATTINSON SLEPT WHEN THEY FILMED TWILIGHT.
Or maybe I won't, just to spite you all... Ok, I kid, I'm just really wiped out and kind of delirious. Anyway, I'll try to finish tomorrow.
Until then, CIAO!
I kid. I love that my mother finds deals at Dicks, since I tend to receive a lot of said Nike gear from these excursions. ANYWAY, now on to the boring stuff.
So, I left you off with the gym experience. Since then I have learned to only go during the day, but not on Wednesday's because the creepy man in the tight pants goes on Wednesday's and will continually, without fail, try to spot me when I bench. I have also learned it is not safe to go at night, as Italians do not believe in deodorant and it is too crowded and smelly to achieve anything. The same goes for the community pool on Monday nights. Not only does everyone in freaking Siena want to go swimming, but they also have the water aerobics class going on, although I can't complain about this because they play some sweet German techno music to get them pumped up and working hard.
But, for more exciting news... My daddy came! And we had the BEST time. We basically just went wine tasting everyday, I skipped class and got totally hammered...kidding, mom. All joking aside, we actually did go wine tasting but it was classy and involved a few sips here and there. I had my first wine tasting experience when my school (father in tow) took a sponsored trip to the Brolio Castle, a place halfway between Florence(boo) and Siena(CHEERS) where the Chianti Classico (popular type of wine here, look for it in the States, it's quite good) is made. It was my first wine tasting experience, and it was FABULOUS! I actually learned why people swirl their glass before they drink, how to taste the wine with all parts of my mouth, and got to see a real winery in action (but not really because it was 6:00 at night and everyone had gone home, but the machines were pretty tight).
After we got back, dad, Jake and I jumped on a train and headed out for our weekend excursion about an hour south of Siena for a night in Montepulciano and then Montilcino. So, we ride this train, have no clue where we are going because they're not announcing stops, somehow get off at the right stop (we made Jake stick his head out of the window at every stop) and it's pouring rain. Lovely, right? Well, not only is it pouring rain, but the train station only has two tracks, one going north and one going south and no taxi stand. After wandering around and using my crappy italian, we figure out we need to call a taxi. So, we go back to the train station and I talk to them and tell them where we are, in what I hope is correct since I had to use my Italian. The man on the phone says, ok, 10 minutes and I say, ok hurry, its really cold and pouring rain and we hang up. And then we waited.
We waited for about 30 minutes. By this time, its 9:00, we're hungry, a little crabby, and joking about how mad my mom would be at my dad for not planning better. Then this red jaguar pulls up. A man gets out and smiles and says, "Taxi?".
Now, you are probably thinking, WHAT IDIOTS! I hope they didn't get into that car with no taxi sign and with an Italian man they didn't know. Well, we did. And you know what? He got us to our hotel safe and sound and apparently the train station is like a bazillion miles out from the city center of Montepulciano and it was crazy and we were just so tired and hungry.
Whew. Speaking of tired, I am SPENT and need to catch up on my Office Episodes. So, I will leave you all with the anticipation of our encounters with our hotel owner, Roberto, the best meal ever, and pictures of where ROBERT PATTINSON SLEPT WHEN THEY FILMED TWILIGHT.
Or maybe I won't, just to spite you all... Ok, I kid, I'm just really wiped out and kind of delirious. Anyway, I'll try to finish tomorrow.
Until then, CIAO!
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