Morocco

Ciao friends and family! So I haven't updated since before my spring break in Morocco, sorry it's been so long. I absolutely loved Morocco, I didn't want to come back to Italy as crazy as that sounds! It is unlike any place I have ever been and I am so so so glad I got to spend a whole week there. Anyways, here are the highlights!

Day 1 (Saturday, 3/19)

Haley and I had to take a bus at 3:30 AM from Florence to Pisa. It was weird walking to the station with our luggage when everyone was still out partying haha. I ended up getting about 1 hour of sleep the night before. Took about an hour to get to Pisa, then our flight from Pisa to Marrakech was at 6:30 am. It was delayed for two hours because of fog but we eventually got to Morocco safely around 12:30! Met our "local expert" (tour guide for the week basically) Miloud at the airport, and took a van to the center of Marrakech. Driving from the airport, I was overwhelmed by how beautiful Morocco was, the mountains and trees and buildings are just awesome. We walked through the narrow streets of Marrakech (in which we almost got run-over by motorcycles like 20 times) to get to our nice riad (hotel) and had a traditional mint tea welcome. All our group was together by then, there were just 8 of us girls (all studying at FUA as well) and then Miloud, it was a really great group and perfect size. We then went to the main square and had the best fresh-squeezed orange juice I've ever had, and lunch. I had chicken couscous which was really good. Being in the main square of Marrakeck felt so unreal. There were monkey tamers, henna artists, local vendors, and the music of snake charmers adding to the atmosphere; It felt like a movie or something! It didn't feel like Africa at all either, it was so different than my experience in Kenya I can't even compare them. Morocco is very Eastern feeling, it's so cool. Anyways, it was a pretty hot day actually, but it was so nice to get out of the dreary rainy weather we had been having in Florence. We then went to see some beautiful gardens by the large Koutoubia mosque; there were roses and orange trees mostly, and we heard for the first time the call for prayers from the Mosque. It was pretty creepy sounding actually.

Anyways, after that we went to a spice market! It was really cool, the owner showed and explained to us the usage for so many spices, seeds, herbs, oils, etc. They were all really unique and a lot were used for natural remedies which was really cool. We all spent a lot of money there but it was worth it.

After our long time at the spice market we went to dinner in the main square. At night all the restaurant guys set up tents and tables right next to each other and all try to get you to come eat at their restaurants, it's crazy how forward they are! And hilarious, it really feels like an obstacle course because you literally have to dodge them by ducking and running and going around them. Anyways, we ate at Table #41 and it was really good! It was a lot of food, but I really like Moroccan food and it was really nice to have a break from Italian cuisine. 

After dinner we shopped around the square for a bit and then went to bed, I was exhausted but it was a great first day! Oh and we heard the craziest, silliest pick up lines from Moroccan men everyday. First of all, they are much more forward than even Italian men, almost all of them called out something at us! I actually wrote down a list of Moroccan pick up lines. For example, we got "Spice girls" a lot, "Shakira", "Fish and chips" (they thought we were British apparently), "Chicken with lemon" (I don't know..), and one of the best ones: "Am I the one you've been looking for?" hahaha and much more!

Day 2 (Sunday, 3/20)

After breakfast at our hotel we went to the Dar Si Said Museum, a beautiful old palace that had a lot of random old Moroccan things, it was really beautiful, I just love Moroccan decorations and motifs. We then walked through the souks/markets to the main square and saw snake charmers and held monkeys!

We then went to the beautiful Majorelle gardens (designed by Jacques Majorelle) built in 1947 which had a memorial to artist/designer Yves Saint Laurent. They were so lush and had bright blue buildings which was cool.

We then took a horse carriage ride from the gardens and that afternoon we went to the Hammam, kind of like a public Moroccan bath. It was a true Moroccan experience, but what happens in the Hammam, stays in the Hammam. We had another yummy dinner in the main square and went out for some more lovely mint tea, I love that stuff!

Day 3 (Monday, 3/21)

On Monday we spent the whole day driving to the Sahara desert. It was supposed to take about eight hours but ended up taking twelve! I survived though because we stopped many times along the way, and the Moroccan scenery is absolutely beautiful. It is the most diverse country I've ever seen: there are both lush green mountains and barren, snow-covered mountains, deserts, plains, everything! It's all beautiful.

(That's me)

We were supposed to ride camels at sunset but we didn't get there till it was dark unfortunately. But it was hilarious getting on camels in total darkness, we were all laughing the first 10 minutes straight. Something that was really cool was that that night, we saw the moon come up over a sand dune, it was huge and beautiful, it happened to be that that night the moon was closer to the earth than it had been in hundreds of years! We rode for about an hour through the Sahara Desert, I have no idea how those nomads know where they are going, but we eventually made it to the campsite of the Nomadic tribe we were staying with! We sat on the ground and had tagine for dinner, and the funny thing was that there were about eight cats wandering around us, trying to get food. They were so cute and I really wanted to pet them, but they just wanted food. Then we smoked hookah, and went out to dance on the sand dunes with the nomads playing drums! It gets really cold in the desert at night, but we slept inside the nomad's tents with thick blankets so it was okay.

Day 4 (Tuesday, 3/22)

Woke up to watch the sunrise over the dunes in the Sahara Desert. Amazing. We then fell asleep on a sand dune, till our prankster nomad guide came and woke us up by dragging Haley down the sand dune, stealing my camera to take pictures, and other silly things. Moroccans are all so funny, right when you meet them they joke and prank you! Anyways, we then did one of the highlights of the trip, riding camels! (I liked it better in the daytime) We rode again for an hour, it was so great. 

My favorite picture I took in Morocco!

After camel riding and breakfast, we drove a few hours to Todra Gorge, yet another amazing part of the landscape of Morocco. That afternoon we went rock-climbing in the gorge! I don't think I had ever been rock climbing so I was a little nervous, but I absolutely loved it! Just might be one of my new favorite things to do. Our Moroccan rock climbing guides/belayers, before we climbed, had to free climb up to set the rope, they free climbed part of the way without shoes on it was crazy! They then proceeded to smoke cigarettes while they belayed us, would never fly in America, but so funny. 

That's me woo!

We then took a beautiful walk back to our Riad for dinner. After dinner we had more drums and dancing! We had a lot of fun that night, for some reason everything was hilarious, especially the dance moves of the Moroccans. One of the nomads was dressed really nicely, we ended up calling him "best dressed nomad" haha! Overall, I think Tuesday was my favorite day!

At a fossil/quarry place we stopped at on one of our drives

Day 5 (Wednesday, 3/23)

Woke up and drove to Imlil, in the High Atlas Mountains. On the way we stopped at Ouarzazate, a beautiful Riad with a great view of the always amazing Moroccan landscape. We again arrived when it was dark out, and had a 45 minute hike in the dark to the house we were staying at! Thankfully we had flashlights. Apparently at Imlil our altitude was 1740 meters and we hiked to Armed, at 1960 meters. Another first, I had never hiked at night before, but it was fun and no one got hurt thankfully! We arrived at the house of a Moroccan family who served us Tagine, and then played some Moroccan card games. 

Day 6 (Thursday, 3/24)

Beautiful day of hiking in the mountains! We hiked around Armed which is a really cool old village. We had tea in the mountains and stopped at a shop where we were given some hats. 

Sunset over Essaouira

After lunch at the house we walked back down to Imlil, and drove the rest of the afternoon to Essaouira, a beach town. We checked into our hotel and then went to dinner, smoked hookah, and got henna tattoos on our hands! The henna was so beautiful, the lady that did it was a true artist. 

The group with our hennas and the henna lady!

I didn't get a picture of mine, but mine looked a lot like this!

Day 7 (Friday, 3/25)

Started off with Miloud leading us around Essaouira. I absolutely love that place. It's such a cool, chill, trendy beach town, I definitely want to go back. Half the people there have dreadlocks and wear plaid all the time, I loved it. We saw the port, a cool old fortress with old cannons in it, and every single door and window there is painted blue (influence from Jewish people), with the yellow and white buildings it looked beautiful. 

We then had fresh fish for lunch, which was good, but fish just gross me out so I kinda had to get over the gag reflex and I could only eat some of it. We then had free time which we used for shopping and sitting by the beach for a bit. I really really wanted to just sit on the beach all day, but we had to head back to Marrakech which we did all too soon. On the way home we stopped at an Argan oil place, with Moroccan ladies making the oil by hand, it was really cool. (Argan nuts are kind of like almonds and have a lot of uses) 

We arrived in Marrakech for our, sadly, last night in Morocco. We went out to dinner and then out for drinks and a belly dancing show. We were all unbelievably sad that it was our last night in Morocco. I know it sounds really bratty and spoiled, but we didn't want to go back to Italy! The next morning we said beslama (bye) to Morocco and were back in Florence by early evening. 

Morocco was one of the most amazing trips I've ever been on, I really think everyone should go if they can, it is a truly wonderful, unique, culturally rich place. Well I will update again soon! Ciao for now.

Roma, San Gimignano, Bagni di Lucca

Ciao! Sorry I haven't updated in like two weeks! I've been pretty busy and it's just hitting me that I am almost at the halfway point in my time here. I am unbelievably sad about that fact. I am falling more and more in love with Italy every day, it's going to be so hard to leave! But enough of that, here's the adventures I've been getting myself into lately:

Tivoli

Last weekend I went to Rome! It was with SAI, and was included in our program cost which was cool. We left at 6:30 am on Friday, I was super tired but managed to sleep a bit on the bus. We stopped in Tivoli on the way. Before we got off the bus the lady from our program said "be back on the bus in two hours" - we took this to mean we had 2 hours of free time to wander around Tivoli. We unfortunately missed the memo that everyone was going to see this cool villa and gardens. Boo. Anyways, me, my roommates, and a few other friends ended up getting coffee at a little caffe, and there's a funny story to go along with that: I ordered a "macchiato". In Italian, "macchiato" literally means "spotted". The past few times I just said "macchiato" at a coffee bar, I got a small cup of coffee, "spotted" with milk which is what I wanted. The lady at this caffe in Tivoli however, goes "latte macchiato?" and I was like "sure", thinking that was what I had gotten before. However, there is a big difference between a cafe macchiato and a latte macchiato. She gave me basically a cup of hot milk with a few drips of coffee in it. Ew. I didn't even drink half of it, but I didn't want to be rude and not take it. Now I have learned the hard way: order a cafe macchiato, not a latte macchiato. Who the heck would order a latte macchiato? Haha anyways, we then had HUGE lunch, 3 courses of barley & bruscetta, pasta, and meat and potatoes. I felt so bad but I couldn't even eat half of it. It was pretty good though, and free. After lunch we headed into Rome!

Coliseum, ca. 70-80 A.D.

We checked into our nice, 4 star hotel in Rome mid-afternoon, and had a few hours of free time before dinner. I went with some friends into a beautiful church nearby and bought a few souvenirs. We then went to dinner at a cool pizza place. Dinner was really large as well, and it took like 3 hours but was good. I was exhausted after dinner so me and a few others managed to find our way back to our hotel; it took an hour and a half to walk back, but we got to see all the ruins and cool buildings around Rome at night which was awesome. 

Arch of Constantine, seen from the Coliseum. ca. 312 A.D.

Saturday morning at 9:00 we had a tour of all the major Roman monuments. The weather was really nasty and rainy, my headset for the tour guide stopped working,  we lost our group a few times because it moved wayy to fast.. but despite all this it was still really really cool to see these amazing things you hear so much about! We saw, among other things I didn't recognize because I couldn't hear, we saw: The Coliseum, The Trevi Fountain, the Four Rivers Fountain, and the Pantheon. They were all really cool. There were a lot of people around, but it wasn't too crowded. I would never ever go to Rome in the summer, I bet it would be insanely crowded. After the tour we had free time for lunch and the rest of the afternoon, so me and some friends decided to go to the Vatican! 

Trevi Fountain, 1732-1762 A.D.

Pantheon, 126 A.D.

Inside the Pantheon

Friends friends friends

Laocoon and His Sons, 25 BC

Inside the Vatican Museum

St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, 1626 A.D.

We got to the Vatican mid afternoon, and we randomly found a deal for an english speaking tour guide & immediate entrance (there was a huge line) for just 20 euros. The timing was perfect, because we got in before they closed, but after not long they stopped letting people in so the Vatican museum was almost empty. The museum has tons of art and is kind of overwhelming and I was trying to appreciate it all, but I really just wanted to see the Sisitine Chapel. We saw a lot of cool things, and finally got to see Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel near the end of our tour! It was amazingly beautiful, I could stay in there for a very very long time. We also saw inside St. Peter's Basilica, and Michelangelo's Pieta! Michelangelo is amazing. I stared at the Pieta for such a long time, it's indescribable. 

Pieta by Michelangelo, 1498-1499 A.D.

After the Vatican we had a 3-course dinner that was included with our trip at a nice restaurant which was pretty good. (Except dessert was supposed to be panna cotta, but we ended up deciding that it tasted like tofu with Hershey's chocolate syrup) That night me and my roommates and some friends went to see the Trevi Fountain again and then the Spanish Steps!

Spanish Steps, 1723-1725 A.D.

Audrey Hepburn & Gregory Peck on the Spanish Steps in Roman Holiday, 1953. Love this movie and that I was here!

Sunday morning came too soon. We had a bus tour at 9:00. Again, my headset thing wouldn't work so I didn't know all that we were supposed to be seeing, but it was cool to get to see everything from the top of the double decker bus, and to actually sit, we did a lottt of walking in Rome! After that we had free time for lunch, in which we tried to see a church that is apparently made entirely of human bones, but it closed right before we got there! Slept on the bus ride home which was nice. Overall I liked Rome, but it's much more city-like than Florence, I am so glad that I am living in Florence!

Now on to this past weekend. On Friday, I went on the "Tuscany and its Wines" trip with my program. We left Friday morning and took a bus to San Gimignano, a lovely small town in Tuscany, about an hour away from Florence. 

I love Tuscany.

Front gate to San Gimignano

San Gimignano is known for its towers, it has fourteen!

Haley, Sam, Eliza, me

We just walked around and explored the town, it has a lot of cute shops and small stone streets lined with pretty buildings, it's really awesome. We also got probably the best gelato I've had, in fact over the door it said "Gelato World Champion 2006-7". Legit! I got passionfruit and chocolate. We were there for about two hours and then we headed to a nearby winery called San Donato. We had a little tour of it (the owner of San Donato looked and sounded exactly like Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof which was hilarious) and then had a yummy lunch of garlic bread with olive oil, salami, prosciutto, cheese, olives, barley salad, and lots of other fresh stuff. We tried one red wine, one white wine, and one dessert wine with biscotti. I didn't like the wine as much as what I tried in Chianti, but it was still good. After that we stopped by another little town on the way home for just a few minutes, and then were back in Florence around 6:00. It was a really nice day, I love small Italian towns!

Saturday I went with 3 friends to go horseback riding! We took the train to a small mountain town near Lucca called Bagni di Lucca. It is such a beautiful mountain town. We got picked up from the train station by this nice Dutch guy and taken to where we rode. We rode for an hour through the mountains, it was nice, but the horses were not that well behaved. They kept stopping to eat and whatnot, but it was still fun. I used to take horseback riding lessons, it made me kind of miss it! 

After riding the Dutch couple that takes care of the English-speaking tourists for the horseback-riding place invited us over to their house for tea and coffee! They were such nice, hospitable people. They don't have any kids and it's such a small town that they don't meet new people all the time I guess. But it was nice to get to talk to them for a bit, after that we headed back to Florence. I really want to go back to Bagni di Lucca! It was so nice there we almost stayed the night!

Sunday was probably the worst day I've had here, just because I had to draw/study/write a paper all day because it's midterms week! But I got all my stuff done and so far midterms have gone well! Here is my midterm drawing for Florence Sketchbook:

Statue in Loggia dei Lanzi. Graphite.

I only have one more class and then it's SPRING BREAKK! I'm going to freaking Morocco!! I'm going with SnoworSand, the travel agency I'm interning for. I'm getting an awesome price and all I have to do is take pictures for them on the trip. I am soo freaking excited! Here is all that I will be doing:

http://www.snoworsand.com/templates/tripPDFs/Morocco_Spring_Break.pdf

Soo yeah it's going to be amazing. As of right now I know that my roommate Haley, and then just 6 other girls are going on the trip, I think it'll be fun though! Haley are taking a bus on Saturday/Friday night from Florence to Pisa at 3:30am to make our 6:30am flight to Marrakech. Eep. Might have to stay up all night, we'll see. Well thanks for reading this Russian novel of a post, and next time I update will probably be after Morocco! Thanks for prayers for safety and all that! Ciao!

~ Elisa