Wander-ling: Castiglion Fiorentino Day 15

Hello, friends! Even though this post is being uploaded in the future from when I wrote it, I'm actually writing about what happened today! Not two days ago! I'm finally caught up! For those of you hoolagins wondering what I did today, I'll let you know. 

Day 15: July 28

  I woke up pretty early this morning to get breakfast with my sister. We got breakfast at Bar la Posta and sat outside so we could look at the gorgeous Tuscan view. It was pretty amazing. After breakfast, we came back to the center and chilled for a bit. I played some piano and practiced some vocals, then organized this huge pile of music that's kept in the theatre where the piano is kept. This pile is full of random sheet music, and I took it upon myself to take the incomplete songs and throw them away, and piece together the music that has a complete song. It was a process, but I'm happy that I got it done. 
  Later, we had lunch at the center. It was a delicious tortellini in a nice sauce. I loved it. I worked out and hung out until three o'clock, when my dad planned to go on a hike with the students. Naturally, I went with them. This hike took us up over the mountains, overlooking Castiglion Fiorentino and a good chunk of Tuscany. Walking uphill for about two miles was quite difficult, but it was fun. My calves better look amazing. When we finally walked down from the mountain, all of us went to "Coco Palm" to replenish our energy. I got a "granite", which is basically the Italian version of a slushie. It's so much better than a slushie. It really hit the spot, because I was so hot and tired.
  Once we came back to the center, I took a glorious cold shower. Do not underestimate the power of a cold shower after hiking. It was amazing. I hung out with the students a bit in the courtyard, then went grocery shopping with them. We were craving junk food. I got a kinder egg (common candy in Italy),  a chocolate bar, lime and pepper chips, and water. When we came back to the center, I played UNO with some of the students. It was an intense game. We played with doubles and in such a way that if someone notices that you have "UNO" and calls it out before you say it, you have to draw a card. Yikes!
  After playing cards, I went down for dinner and now I'm currently blogging. The day is coming to a close, but I really had fun today. I hope that your day is going well and I'm sending hugs and lots of love to you!

-Love Ling

100th Post! Wander-ling: Castiglion Fiorentino Day 13&14

Hello, friends! This is an account of what I did over the weekend while in good ole Castiglion Fiorentino. 

Day 13: July 26
Nothin' Much

  I really didn't do much on this day. I went through the typical morning routine of getting a pastry and coffee, but then I just went back to the center and blogged until lunch time. For lunch, we all went to "Roggi's" for pizza, and my sister and I shared a sausage pizza. It was delicious. 
  After we got back from lunch it started pouring, then hailing. It was pretty ridiculous! My family and I had planned to go to the pool that day, but our plans got cancelled. For the rest of the day, I watched YouTube, read, drew, and worked out until dinner. At dinner, I tried anchovies. I have to say, I'm not a fan. 

Day 14: July 27
Best Day Ever?

  I was determined to make this day the best day ever! It started out as just an ordinary day with my pastry and coffee, but as me and my dad were walking through town, we noticed a bunch of booths set up. Today was "garage sale day", where all the towns people will set up tables trying to sell their stuff. I saw a bunch of cool antique items, as well as many homemade crafts. It was so cool and I loved walking around and looking at it all. My sister and I actually made a new friend while walking through town. This old man came up to us and greeted us in Italian. Then he gave us hugs and asked us about ourselves (in Italian). I translated for my sister, and told him our names. He then called us his children, hugged us, and walked off. It was an adorable moment. 
  After going through town, Don, my dad, my sister and I got lunch at Roggi's where I got spaghetti pomodoro. That's basically spaghetti with tomato sauce. It was totally delicious. After lunch, we got gelato. 
  Once back at the center, I played poker with some of the students. I kinda fumbled my way through it. I'm not very good, but it was fun. I then played Scrabble with some of our other students, which was fun, as well. After playing games, I practiced piano and went on YouTube. What else is new, right? 
  When it was time for dinner, I helped pay off my dad's tab at the center's bar. I had a whole bunch of coins (12 euros) and I just stacked it up on the counter and let the tender sort it out. It was pretty hilarious. Dinner was delicious, and my sister and I got gelato afterwards. I got chocolate and hazlenut, which was the most amazing combination. Later, we went up to the castle with the students and watched the sun go down, which was amazing. It was insanely beautiful. For the rest of the night, we hung out with the students and played ninja and had a dance party. They're basically awesome. 


Alright guys! I hope you enjoyed this post! I'll talk to you later!

-Love Ling

(PS: Shout out to my 100th post! I've been running Love Ling for about 6 months now ,and I've loved sharing my life with you. Thank you for being part of this blog and coming back to read it! Here's to another 100 posts!)

July Non-Beauty Favorites

 Hello, friends! Here are my non-beauty favorites for the month of July!

• Tank Tops: Tank tops have basically been all that I've been wearing this month. They're perfect for traveling, because they're easy and keep you cool. I've been loving the tanks.
• Journal: This entire month, I've been obsessed with my journal. I've been writing in it everyday about my travels and what I've been up to. I've also been using it for drawing, and I really like having something that I can keep all my thoughts and ideas in.
• Camera: I have been loving my camera. You've gotta have a camera when you're traveling! I've been taking so many pictures of my travels, and this little Nikon Coolpix has been a trooper.
• "Shrek the Musical": I saw this show on Netflix back in June, but I've been obsessing over the music all this month. The songs are so catchy and fun! I've been loving "Freak Flag", "I Know It's Today", and "Morning Person". I definitely recommend listening to it!
• "Problem" by Ariana Grande: This song has been my jam all month long. It's really fun and pumps me up for the day.
• "Love Never Dies": You guys know how much I love this song. I saw the movie ("Love Never Dies") when I was in Latvia, and I became obsessed. This song is so beautiful and fun  to sing. 
• Fruit Ninja: I've become so addicted to this game. It's perfect to play on long train rides. Just buy it and you'll see why. 

Alright guys, August is approaching! I hope you enjoyed this post and that you have an awesome rest of the month!

-Love Ling

Wander-ling: Day 11&12

  Hello, friends! I'm finally catching up to the present date in my Wander-ling posts! Unfortunately, friends, my European Summer Vacation is coming to a close soon. I've got one week left and then I'm back in the States! Don't cry, though. I'm going to make the most of the next week. Anyways! Let's get into what I did on day 11 and 12 of my trip. 


Day 11: July 24
Thursdays in Florence

  We woke up ridiculously early to go on another group trip to Florence, also known as Firenze. The train came at 7:30, so my sister and I were up at like 6:30. It was terrible. It was okay, though, because we all went down to "Il Drago" to get our cappucinos and pastries, which were delicious. I love going down to Il Drago, because the lady there makes the prettiest cappucinos. After breakfast, the students, my dad, Don, and I boarded the train to Florence. 

One and a half hours later...

  We arrived in Florence after a bit of time on the train. The first stop in our Florentine expedition was our appointment in the Academy. For those of you that don't know, the Academy is an art institution housing many great works, such as The David and several Michaelangelo sculptures. If you don't know who Michaelangelo is...shame. For the first time in history at the Academy, we were allowed to take pictures without flash! We've never been able to take pictures before, and it was awesome. It did, however, take a bit of fun out of it. I don't know, being able to document the Academy via film was awesome, but it just made it a bit less exclusive. Either way, I did enjoy taking pictures of The David without having to look over my shoulder for security.

  After the Academy, we walked around Florence for a bit. We were just killing time before lunch. Unfortunately, there was a freaking downpour. It was raining so hard! Gah! We went into a little cafe to escape from the rain, where I got yet another decorated cappucinno. By this time, it was time for lunch, so we rounded up our students for lunch at "Penello's". We've taken our students to this restaurant every year in the program and for good reason, too. The food is absolutely amazing. I got veal with truffle sauce, which I get every year. Why do Americans even bother cooking food? This one is just too good! For dessert: tiramisu.
  Later, we walked around a bit and visited "Ponte Vecchio". We also did a bit of shopping in the large outdoor market and I got some sunglasses. By that time, it was time to get back on the train, so we went to the train station and headed back towards the center. 
  The rest of the day commenced with some major chilling at the center and blogging. Woo!






Day 12: July 25
A Friday in Florence


 Day 2 of Florence commenced with a fun, yet long train ride over. Don asked my sister of she listened to "Bull Dog" and she said, "...You mean Pitbull?". I've never seen a man laugh so hard in my whole entire life. It was a great moment. 
  After arriving in Florence, we had a tour scheduled of the Uffizi. This is another art institute in Florence with many great works. Again, we were allowed to take pictures in here. The tour guide that we had for this tour of the Uffizi was very good and enthusiastic. I really enjoyed the tour. Some of my favorite paintings in this museum include The Birth of Venus and Prima Vera. I love Prima Vera even more. Botticelli is a genius. The tour was very fun, but by the end, we were ready for lunch.
  We had lunch at one of our favorite restaurants in Florence known as "Za-Za's". If you ever go there, get something with truffles. It's their specialty. I got fettucine with a creamy truffle sauce and truffle french fries. Oh my gosh. Incredible.
  After lunch, we did a bit more shopping. I was on a mission to get a leather purse. My current leather purse is one that I got from Florence a couple of years ago and it's in pretty bad condition. It was time to replace it. I found a brown satchel that I really liked a purchased it from a vendor in the market. I also ended up getting a little leather elephant keychain to keep on my car keys. Afterwards, we went back on the train.

  For the rest of the day, I ate dinner, hung out, got gelato, and watched Dirty Dancing with the students. It was a very long and tiring day, but I definitely had a lot of fun.

-Love Ling

Wanderl-ling: Castiglion Fiorentino Day 8,9&10

  Ciao, friends! It's nice to talk to you again! Here's what I did on the 8-10 days of my trip to Italy, taking place in Castiglion Fiorentino, Sienna, and Assisi. 


Day 8: July 21
Sienna Isn't Just a Color, You Know


  The morning of the 21, everyone in the group including myself and family got up ridiculously early. By that, I mean like seven in the morning. This is because we had a group trip planned for Sienna! Yay! Sleepily, we walked into town to get our breakfast and then boarded the bus with our students to depart for Sienna.


2 hours later...
  In Sienna, we met up with our tour guide, Stella, who we've worked with before. She's a really good guide. First, she took us into St. Katerina's church, where one could see the finger and head of the deceased saint. For those of you that don't know about European cathedrals, to be considered a cathedral, it must possess an item that belonged to a deceased saint. This is includes body parts, clothing, possessions, etc. I didn't get any pictures inside the church, but take my word for it, it was cool. When we were done touring the church we went outside to find that Sienna was under a downpour of rain. It was seriously pouring! Still, we hiked through the streets of Sienna, guided by Stella, who showed us her beloved red city. Later, we went into the town's museum. Again, no photo, but we saw many precious paintings of Sienna and some items of the town's history.
  After the tour, we had a group lunch scheduled at a new restaurant called "La Finestra". There, we were served a delightful four course meal, which was quite filling. Our menu goes as follows:

Appetizer: Bruschetta
1st Course: Pici (thick spaghetti) in a parmesan cream sauce
2nd Course: Pork and roasted potatoes
Dessert: Coffee flavored panna cotta (DROOL)

Lunch was delicious, but very filling.  We walked it off with a walk through town, where Don, my dad, my sister, and I shopped a bit. By that time, it was nice and sunny out. My sister and I went into our favorite makeup store in Italy, KIKO, where we bought some things for friends. We didn't have much time before boarding the bus again, so we got on the bus shortly after.
  When we were back at the center, I drew a bit and worked out. Later, I had dinner with every one at the center, where I had a very awkward conversation with the people around me about past boyfriends and relationships. Oh God...
After dinner, I practiced piano a bit and watched "Mama Mia!" with the students. It was a good day.


Day 9: July 22
For the Sake of Art

  I got up in the morning and went into town for breakfast as usual. Unfortunately, my croissant wasn't jelly filled, but the delicious cappucino made up for it. After breakfast, I went into town with my sketchbook, found a bench in a park, and drew part of the town. It was quite tranquil, sitting there sketching, and I'm pretty excited with how the drawing came out. However, I was in my artistic mood, so holding the sketchbook to my face, I walked across the street. I was checking to see if my drawing was accurate with the facade of the building and almost got hit by a car. I didn't! But I came close. Oops...
  After I got back from my artistic experience, I had lunch at the center with a friend who was visiting the center. We hung out for a bit and fed the turtles that live at the center. Yes! There are little box turtles that live in the courtyard of the center that I feed watermelon whenever it's being served. They're quite awesome, actually. They've been here ever since I started coming to Italy. Neat. Afterwards, my sister and I went up into town to get gelato with one of the students, which was very fun.
  For the rest of the day, I worked out and went to dinner downstairs at the center. There's this thing that they sometimes serve for dessert known as "Chocolate Salami", and it's the most amazing thing ever. It's kind of like a brownie/fudge roll that's mixed with bits of cookies, so when you slice it up, it looks like slices of salami. Oh my goodness. It was heavenly. I pulled the ultimate faux pas, though. After coming down from my cloud of chocolate goodness, I went into the kitchen to tell the ladies there that it was delicious and that I loved it. I spazzed out a bit and spoke broken Italian, and they totally misinterpreted what I meant. One of the cooks, Laura, started telling me that they didn't have anymore or something, and was like, "Okay?". I felt really bad, because now she thinks that I'm a crazy, chocolate salami obsessed weirdo. Ugh. 
  After dinner, I went to the Garden Bar in town with my dad and Don. I don't drink, but I was bored, so I just went out with them and sat around. We ran into some of the students there and hung out for a bit. Not a bad way to end a day. 

Day 10: July 23
See See Assisi and Sunflowers

  Today was Assisi day! Assisi is my favorite trip that we do in the program, so I really looked forward to the trip ahead when I woke up at the horrible hour that I did. We took a bus up to Assisi and met up with the tour guide. She gave us a tour of St. Francis church, which was beautiful. I just think that St. Francis was a really cool guy, and it was interesting learning his story. After the church, our guide gave us a short walking tour of Assisi, where we visited yet another church, St. Chiara. There we saw St. Chiara's body and possessions, as well as some relics of St. Francis. After the tour, we all (the group included) went to lunch at a restaurant that I forgot the name of. We had tagliatelle with meat sauce, cordon bleu, and fruit. It was awesome.
  After lunch, we took some of the students up to the castle in Assisi. The castle was awesome. We see it every year, and there's several towers you can climb to the top of to get an amazing view. It was a slightly dark and  long climb, but the view is worth it. Later, we got gelato and went back to the center. 

  Once back at the center, I went out with some of the students on a trek to find a sunflower field. We wanted to see them and take pictures. We ended up finding some beautiful sunflowers and frolicked and took pictures in them. For those of you who don't know, sunflowers are my favorite flower, so this experience was awesome. I was afraid that we would get in trouble for trespassing in someone's backyard to take pictures in it, but we didn't. Ha. 
  The rest of the evening came and went with dinner. 

Alright guys! That was another Wander-ling post! I hope you enjoyed it!

-Love Ling
  

July Beauty Favorites

Hello, friends! I know it's been forever since I've uploaded a beauty post. I've been so busy traveling that I really haven't had a chance to review products or things of that nature. However, I do have a July favorites post for you today. I hope you enjoy it. 

• Simple Foaming Face Wash: While I've been traveling, I've been sweating a lot of have had a lot of exposure to dirt and gross stuff of that nature. Italy is a dusty place. Throughout all of this breakout inducing mess, this cleanser has been amazing at cleaning my face and preventing acne. It's so gentle and feels so good on the skin. It's great for sensitive skin and cleans without over drying. Obsessed!

• Venus Little Razor (That's not the name): This product is relatively new in stores, and has been a God send. It's perfect when I'm traveling, because it's so small and compact. It doesn't take up much space in my travel bag and is surprisingly easy to use. It's actually easier than a full size razor.

• Rose Bud Salve: This product has been great to just throw in my bag. It serves many purposes, but it's been great for keeping my lips moisterized. Not only that, but it smells like roses!

• Benefit "They're Real": I haven't been wearing much makeup this month, because I'm traveling and don't have time for that. I think I've worn foundation like once the entire month? For days that I do want to wear makeup, this product has been great. It volumizes wonderfully and makes my lashes look amazing. I loooove it. 

I hope you enjoyed this post! I feel like y'all needed a break from all the travel stuff! August is fast approaching! Ah! 

-Love Ling

Wander-ling: Castiglion Fiorentino Day 5,6&7

Hello, friends! Here are some more travel diary posts! Enjoy!

Day 5: July 18
La Pievuccia

  This morning, my sister, Dad, and I woke up early to go to the outdoor market in town. It's essentially an outdoor Wal-Mart and has everything you could possible dream of. Afterwards, me and my sister got breakfast at our favorite bar/cafe, Bar la Posta. I broke my heart sunglasses there. 
  Afterwards, we walked down with the students to La Pievuccia, which is a local winery in Castiglion Fiorentino, for our guided tour and wine tasting. The owner of this winery, Ricardo, has been doing tours for our program for several years now, and we've been really impressed with him. My sister and I didn't actually go on the tour, because we've seen it so many times. We did, however, meet up with the students later for the wine tasting. I'm not a huge fan of wine, so I just tasted a little bit. The winery did give us snacks, though, and I wolfed them down like there was no tomorrow. 
  After getting back from La Pievuccia, I had lunch back at the center. Later that day, my dad, sister, and I went down to the pool. At the pool in Castiglion Fiorentino, everyone is required to wear swim caps. What a fabulous trend. The pool was awesome, though, and I swam a bit and dove off the diving board many times. There was this Italian kid there, though, that kept harassing me and my sister in Italian. I was trying to explain to him in Italian that I don't understand what he's saying, but he ignored me, continuing to confuse me to no avail. 
  When we got back from the pool, I skyped my mom and then went downstairs to the kitchen to help out. When I was younger and used to come to the center, I made friends with the ladies in the kitchen and would assist them in preparing the food, which was awesome. I took a stab at the activity of my former glory days, and had a really good time. It's always good to see the chefs.
  Dinner came and went, but it was awesome, because a friend of the center's brought her kids, and my sister and I hung out with them a bit. They're 5 and 8, and are so adorable. They also like to play tag and wear out those trying to chase them. Anyways! That basically concluded my day!


Day 6: July 19
Another Chill Day

  My dad, sister, and I got breakfast together at...you guessed it! Bar la Posta! Afterwards, we went shopping around town and got some groceries. For the rest of the day, I just chilled. I blogged, read, and went on YouTube until I went out with my family in the evening for gelato and concert held at Castiglion Fiorentino. I wasn't too impressed with the music, because I didn't know who the main act was. People would just come up and sing, talk, then another person would come up and perform. It was kinda weird. Anyways, it was a good day, and I had fun. Even though nothing really happened. 


Day 7: July 20
WHY SO MANY UNEVENTFUL DAYS
(Because it's the weekend, and there were no group trips planned)

1. Got breakfast with my dad (cappuccino and pastry, delicious)
2. Blogged until lunch time
3. Lunch: At the local pizzeria, Roggi's, where I got a delicious truffle pizza. 
4. Watched endless Ariana Grande and Shrek the Musical videos
5. The former president of Dell computers, Lee Walker visited the center. This guy is so cool. Not only is he a business man, but an avid learner. He asked me and my sister to play piano for him, so we gave him a mini concert.
6. Day ends. 

I'm sorry that the last couple of posts weren't too eventful, but I'm telling them to you as they happened. Anyways! I hope you enjoyed this post! See you next time!

-Love Ling

Wander-ling: Travel Tips for Traveling in Italy

  Hello, my friendliest of friendly friends! You're so friendly! What? Okay. Nevermind. One of my favorite things to do is travel. I've traveled quite a few times in my lifetime, and I've picked up a few tricks when it comes to traveling, especially in Italy. If you ever find yourself in Italy or in a foreign country in general: I have some tips for you.

1. Keep your hand on your bag at all times: There are pick pockets throughout Italy or any area where there are a lot of tourists. Make sure that your bag is secure and you are aware of its whereabouts all the time.
2. Don't carry around a backpack: It's so much easier to carry a cross body bag. Guys, don't be ashamed. Carrying a backpack is not as safe and is a lot more inconvenient. Keep a few essential items with you in a smaller bag.
3. Keep larger amounts of money hidden: It isn't necessary to carry large amounts of money where it can be stolen. Keep it in a pocket in your bag or in one of those hidden wallets that you can wear on the inseam of your pants.
4. Don't count your money out in public: Do you want it to get stolen? I recommend counting your money in a private place or a bathroom stall, that way, people can't see you.
5. Learn a few words of the language: This makes traveling more fun and a lot easier. The locals appreciate it.
6. Be gracious and flexible: People in otter countries are guaranteed to have different cultures than what you're used to. Don't fight it. Just go with the flow and accept their ways of life.
7. Be confident: When you're walking on the streets, it's very unlikely you will be attacked. Just be sure to walk confidently and with purpose. No one will dare to mess with you.
8. Never pass up a bathroom break. We've all been there.
9. Don't eat a touristy places: Tourist traps suck. Look for places that are a little further away from the tourist attractions. Also, in Italy, restaurants open at 7:30-8. Don't expect a good meal if you plan on eating at 6.
10. Take your time at restaurants. Especially in Italy, when you dine at a restaurant, the table is yours for the night. Don't feel rushed.
11. Avoid gypsies or people that come up to you asking for money.
12. Italy has a lot of cobble stones and a lot of hills. Wear good shoes.
13. Keep a camera with you. Document everything but also enjoy it!
14. Never feed the pigeons. Even if you don't mind them, someone else will and it's just not a good idea.
15. Make friends! Don't be shy!
16. Get gelato everyday.
17. Expect to be in close quarters on public transportation. Italians have no need for personal space. Also, keep an eye on your stuff when riding a subway or bus.
18. Italians don't like it when you put your feet on seats, especially in trains.

I hope you enjoyed these travel tips for traveling in Italy! I've learned these from experience, so these are tried and true. Stay tuned for more travel diary posts!

-Love Ling

Wander-ling: Castiglion Fiorentino Day 2,3 &4

  Hello, friends! I hope your day has been absolutely magical! Here's another post about my travels in Europe, this one taking place in Castiglion Fiorentino.


  Day 2: July 15
  A Chill Day... 

 My sister and I got up and went to our favorite bar/cafe (Bar la Posta) to get our usual Italian breakfast. This "colazione" consisted of a deliciously warm and crumbly pastry and a cappucino. I must have this every single morning. The reason we love this cafe so much is because it has an amazing view of the Tuscan hills from it. Ah! Love it. 
  After breakfast, we went into town to get groceries. A girl's gotta snack! We also visited the "crazy fruit lady", who owns a tiny grocery store that will snap at you if you try to pick up the fruit yourself. She gets the fruit for you. You don't even think about touching "la frutta". 
  When we came back, I went outside into the center's courtyard and drew and wrote a bit, and by that time, it was time for lunch. Italians like a very light lunch and a heavy dinner. The study center provides both for us, under the cooking of Lydia and Giulianna in the kitchen. They're amazing. For lunch, we had prosciutto (cured ham) and cantelope. It was delicious.
  After lunch, some of our students invited me to get gelato with them. We took some pictures in town and of the view and got gelato at a local gelateria. For the rest of the day, I hung out. I just read and went on YouTube. 


  Day 3: July 16
  Castiglion Fiorentino Fun

  The day started up with me getting breakfast by myself at the "man bar", which is just like what you hear about in books and movies. This particular bar/cafe is the hot spot for all the elderly males in town. They sit outside, eating pastries while discussing the scores of the soccer game or how naggy their wives are. It's adorable. However, this "Bar 2000" dishes up amazing pastries and cappucinos, so I went there for breakfast.
  After breakfast,  I walked around town a bit. I walked over to the park, where there's this amazing view of rolling hills and Italian villas. It was picturesque. Walking around a quiet Italian town first thing in the morning is basically the best thing ever. 

  When I got back to the center, I hung out a bit. I just practiced piano and read. Lunch followed.
  Later in the afternoon, we had our first group trip with the students. Arezzo! Arezzo is a little town next to Castiglion Fiorentino with some rich history and awesome shopping. Our guide in Arezzo was Giovanni, a tour guide we've known for many years. Not only is his English impeccable, but he's hilarious. He makes jokes about everything. Love him. Arezzo was fun. We walked around town and my sister and I went in the KIKO makeup store. 
  When we got back to the center, I hung out until dinner. After dinner, I got invited by some of the students to watch the sunset over the valley. You guys, it was so beautiful. The students and I just sat and talked for a while then went out to get gelato. There are two gelato places in town: Coco Palm and 100% Gelato. I'll go t


o either one. Both are great, but we went to 100% gelato. The guy there was really nice and I tried out a bit of my Italian on him. I'm still working on my Italian, guys but it'll get there. Anyways! That's what I did on this day!











  Day 4: July 17
  Another Chill Day

  I got breakfast at Bar la Posta this morning. I bet you can't guess what I got there...a cappucino and pastry! No way! When I got back from breakfast,  I jammed a bit on the piano and hung out until lunch. 
  As much as I love and appreciate the ladies that work in the kitchen, lunch just wasn't doing it for me. Therefore, my sister and I went out to a local pizza place in town for some pizza. This pizza place is called "Roggi's" and it's a family owned and operated restaurant. We've been friends with the owner, Sevano, for years. He makes some of the best pizza I've ever had. As it turns out, our students weren't too filled by lunch either, so we sat and shared pizza with them. After lunch, I sat around (typical) and read "Looking for Alaska", which is an amazing book, by the way.
  Dinner was fun, because some of our friends came to visit the center, bringing their two kids with them. These kids are adorable, and my sister and I played with them for the rest of the evening. You know: ping pong, tag, the works. Those kids can run. 

Wanderl-ling: Rome Day 4 and Castiglion Fiorentino Day 1

  Bon Giorno, ragazzi! Good morning, guys! This post is going to be about my last morning spent in Rome and the rest of my day spent in Castiglion Fiorentino. If you're new to my blog, here's the post about my travels and why I'm here. Click here to view this post.

  Day 4 Rome: July 14

  It's a tradition that every time my family comes to Rome, we go to the Coloseum. Since our train out of Rome didn't leave until the afternoon, we tried to get to the Colosseum in the morning. Before we got there, we wanted to visit Bocca della Verita (aka the mouth of truth). Alas, we took the subway to visit this said "Mouth of Truth", which we didn't get into. The line was way too long, so we took a picture of it from the outside. Apparently, it was originally used as part of a fountain, but now it is said that if you stick your hand in its mouth and lie, it'll eat your hand. 
  After seeing this phalanges-eating fountain beast, my dad, sister, and I commenced our trek to the Coloseum. We walked about a mile towards what we thought was the great dome, but we got lost. Seeing that we were running out of time before we had to hop on the train, we went back to the hotel. No Coloseum was seen that day.
  Once back at the hotel, we had lunch with two of our students at Giuseppe's before heading to the train station to go to the great CF (Castiglion Fiorentino). The train ride wasn't too bad. It was about two hours long, and before we knew it, we were there. My family and I are very familiar with this town, seeing that we'd been here several times. My sister and I have grown up with the people working at the study center and are so blessed to be able to come back each year. Castiglion Fiorentino is special to us. Not  only is it the best Italian town ever, but it's the kind of place where everyone knows everyone and you just feel at home here.
  Once we arrived at the study center where we and several other students were to be staying, my sister and I went to our assigned rooms, unpacked our bags and made our normal rounds. Texas A&M has a program here as well, so our group and that group would be staying and studying here at what is called Santa Chiara. 
  For the rest of the day, I just chilled, settled in, and (of course!) got some delicious gelato.

  I hope you enjoyed this post! Check back for more "Wander-ling" posts about my travels here in Europe. 

-Love Ling

(PS: I know that my family wasn't able to visit some of the main tourist attractions in Rome, for example, the Trevi Fountain. Believe me, we wanted to. Unfortunately, the fountain was under construction, so we wouldn't have been able to do the sole thing we go to the fountain to do, which is tossing a coin. It's tragic, I know.)

Wander-ling: The Importance of Breakfast

  Ciao, ragazzi! Come stai? I love breakfast. It's not my favorite meal of the day, but I do look forward to it every morning. It's what really gets me started in the morning. While I've been here in Italy, my go to breakfast is one pastry and one cappuccino. They're essential. I just wanted to share my breakfasts from a couple days ago with you to show you that it's the simple things that count. For me, it's a pastry and a coffee. For you it might be...how the UPS person always calls you "ma'am" or "sir". Just remember to appreciate the little things.

 This first one is a pastry with some sort of honey jelly and raisins, along with my cappuccino. 

This breakfast is a raspberry jelly pastry with my cappuccino. 

-Love Ling

Wander-ling: Rome Day 3

  Hello, my friendliest of friendly friends! Here's what I did on the third day of Rome! On the fourth day of Rome, it was our last day in Rome and our first day of Castiglion Fiorentino. I will blog about that later. 

  Day 3: July 13

  On this day, my dad, sister, Don, and I were scheduled to go to a museum near the train station. It was supposed to contain artifacts from Ancient Rome, and my dad really wanted to see it. Personally, I'm not really one for museums of this nature, but I had a good time looking at ancient pottery and sculptures with my family. And Don. Honestly, there's not much to say about this museum. I'm sorry.
  After, we took a very crowded subway up to the Spanish Steps, where we walked around and went into Sephora. It wasn't as big as the one in Paris, but it was still pretty awesome. While at the Spanish Steps, we had lunch at the golden arches. Also known as McDonald's. Don't hate me! I know that "When in Rome" blah, blah, blah, but it's a tradition. Also, the McDonald's in Rome is one of the largest in the world, and the chicken nuggets are really good, okay?

  After lunch we went to the Capuccin catacombs. For those of you who don't know what this is, it's basically a small underground church decorated with the bones of deceased Capuccin monks and church figures. The walls are lined with decoratively arranged pelvises, leg bones, vertabrae, anything you can think of. There are also skeletons dressed in monk robes. It's quite creepy. I'm sorry, but I wasn't allowed to take my own pictures in there, but I'm sure if you looked it up, you could find something.
  In the evening, we did our official meet-up with the students. We met all 27 of them at the train station, bought them their tickets, and told them about the next day where we'll all head out together to Castiglion Fiorentino. After meeting up with them, my family (and Don), went back out to Piazza Navona for dinner. We ate dinner at another one of our favorite restaurants. The lady there recognized me and my sister and was really excited to see us. We've been going there since we were seven. She's so sweet. For dinner, I got a delicious Tagliatelli alla Bolegnese. 
  After dinner, we walked around a bit and soaked up Roman night life, and got gelato at Gelato di San Crispino. This is a little gelateria in the square of the Pantheon which was mentioned in my favorite book: Eat Pray Love. It was just as amazing as Liz Gilbert described it. I got a delicious crunchy honey flavor and caramel. Oh my goodness, it was fantastic. 
  At the end of the night, I looked outside my hotel window and saw the entirety of the ghetto area where we stay under the allure of the World Cup. Everyone was sitting or standing outside the restaurants on the street, watching the game, including the sketchy guys on  the street. It was awesome and made me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. I also got to skype my bestest friend, Savannah, which was really fun! This was basically my last full day in Rome, and I really enjoyed it! 

-Love Ling

Wander-ling: Rome Day 1&2

  Ciao, amici! It is-a now-a time-a for-a Italia! I am currently in Rome (leaving tomorrow), and I shall now share my travels in Roma with you! This is actually my seventh time in Rome, so my family and I have made friends with a bunch of people here. This means that you'll be getting the inside scoop on what Rome's all about! Let's get started!

Day 1: July 11

  We arrived in Rome at about 9 or 10 in the morning after our long train ride from Paris. My family and I checked into the hotel we've been coming to for years and met up with my dad's co-professor, Don. He's accompanying us for the rest of the trip. After arriving at the hotel, we went with Don to the train station to make our rounds. We had to buy our metro passes for our time here in Rome, and we bought our train tickets for the day we will be departing Rome and going to Castiglion Fiorentino. Buying train tickets is so stressful, not because it's hard, but because of the gypsies. While buying our train tickets at the machine, my dad was harassed by this man who kept trying to "help" him get his train tickets. He was really wanting money for "helping" him and/or pick pocketing us. He didn't get anything, but caused stress in getting the tickets.  
  After this, we got lunch at our favorite pizza place in Rome, known as "Giuseppe's", where my sister and I shared the most amazing Pizza Margherita. I love the pizza in Italy, because it's so thin, but at the same time, it's really chewy. You can finish an entire pizza by yourself. After lunch, we took our full bellies back to the hotel and relaxed until dinner time. 
  Once it was time for dinner, we took the bus up to Piazza Navona and ate dinner up there. We went to one of our favorite restaurants known as Trattoria Pallaro, where there's this little old lady who will pinch your cheeks until they're the color of a Roma tomato. She's like everyone's grandma. What I love about this restaurant is that there's no ordering. You pay 25 euro and they just give you food. We got an assortment of appetizers, two pasta dishes, a meat dish, homemade potato chips, and a dessert. 
  After dinner, we walked around Rome for a while. Rome is the coolest at night. The atmosphere is just amazing. There's music playing, Indian guys throwing light up sling shots in the air, and indie artists on the streets. We stumbled across my favorite gelateria in Rome, which I believe is called "Gelateria". I got "Frutti di Bosco" (which is basically mixed berries) and "Caramel". 
  Alas, this gelato stop basically concluded our day. 



Day 2: July 12

  In the morning, my dad, sister, Don, and I set out on the subway to go to Ostio Antica, a historical place similar to the Pompeii ruins. It used to be a thriving Roman city, until it was abandoned, and its remains remained. It was pretty darn cool. We toured this site a bit, walked around, enjoyed the ruins, and left. 
  



After visiting Ostia Antica, we all went back to Giuseppe's (afore mentioned as having the best pizza), where I got my very own Margherita pizza. It was delicious. Guys, if you ever get the chance, try homemade pizza. It will change your life.
  Afterwards, we met up with our students at the train station to go to the cooking class we had booked in Trastevere. If you guys don't know, my dad is a professor and he's leading a study abroad group in Italy. He's taking abuot 27 college students over here to learn about the culture and international business. Anyways! We met up with the students at the train station, because they signed up to do "Cooking Classes in Rome" with us. 
  My family had taken cooking classes with this business before. Traditionally, what happens is that you go to the location in Trastevere where these cooking classes occur, along with 12 other people that signed up to take the class, as well. The owner of the business, Chef Andrea Consoli, has a planned menu for the class to make, which includes an appetizer, pasta dish, meat dish, a side dish, and a dessert. He buys all the fresh ingredients for the meals locally, gives everyone an assignment on making the meal come together, and we cook it under his guidance. Afterwards, we eat all the food together at a big table for lunch. It's a great way to meet new people, learn new cooking techniques, and enjoy some delicious Roman food. Also, Chef Andrea is a great guy and makes the class oodles and oodles of fun. I highly recommend taking this class if you ever find yourself in Rome. I'll leave the link to his website here! Definitely check it out!
  Anyways! Some of our students signed up for this class (18), so we all went together for a "group version" cooking class. This menu was a bit shortened, because we are dealing with a crap ton more people, here. We made homemade calvatelli noodles in Norma sauce, scalopinni with mushrooms (veal), zuchinni with blossom sauce, and for dessert TIRAMISU. MY FAVORITE. All of our students got to work on preparing this amazing meal, and Chef Andrea put me in charge of the Tiramisu. He gets me. The meal was fantastic, and we got to bond with the students and make new friends. 
 















I hope you enjoyed this post!

-Love Ling

Wander-ling: Paris, Day 2-5

  Hello, friends! Here is another installment of my "Wanderling" series. This post is going to be about the rest of my trip in France. I am really behind, and I'm sorry. Hopefully you will be seeing some more posts soon!

Day 2: July 7

  This morning, we got breakfast at a local pastry shop near our hotel. I got a cappuccino and a flaky almond pastry,  that was to die for. I think it's called "Triangle Amande". My family and I ate breakfast on the steps of the Pantheon, accompanied by our pigeon "friend". After breakfast, we went back to Notre Dame to commence on our tour of Paris. Luckily, it wasn't raining. It was gorgeous out. 
  Our tour guide was basically awesome. She's from Holland, but had a really cool accent with a Australian-Irish blend. She made the tour really fun with her upbeat personality and sense of humor, and showed us some really cool sites in Paris. We toured historic sites as well as some under the radar places that she knows about. Our guide also show

ed us a church that was hit by a bomb fired from the revolution that inspired Les Miserables! The biking, however, was very difficult. We had to dodge people on the streets, cars, and the typical traffic of Paris. I think we biked about six miles that day, but I loved every bit of it!

  After the tour, we went to the Eiffel Tower, where my family and I took pictures and I attempted to help a couple get a picture of themselves. I couldn't work the camera very well and I think they though I was stupid, but that's okay! They got their picture! The tower itself was gorgeous and huge! I felt really blessed to be able to see it. 
  Later, we went on a boat tour along the Seine river, where we got to see some Parisian sites, nautically. It was fun, but at that point, it was really cold. The weather took a turn for the worst on us, but I got some really good pictures! When that was done, my family and I went out to dinner at a fancy French restaurant. The food was amazing. I got duck with this delectable honey sauce draped over it, complemented by mashed potatoes. For dessert: creme brûlée. It was the first time I've tried it, and it was delicious. This fantastic dinner concluded this day.


Day 3: July 8

  For those of you wanting to know what we had for breakfast, I shall have you know that we had hot chocolate and baguettes. Woo! Day three was museum day, so we took the metro down to Muse D'orsay, an art museum. We got to see some amazing impressionist art, which is some of my favorite. Among the works that we saw included paintings by Manet, Monet, and Degas. Monet is my favorite. 
  After touring Muse D'orsay, we walked down the long road to Arc de Triumph. On the way over there, we stopped and got a pigeon infested lunch and went inside the most beautiful Sephora I'd ever seen. It was huge! Equipped with a red carpet and a car, it was definitely a beauty lover's dream! Anyways! Back to Arc de Triumph, we did make it there and it was quite beautiful. It was really big, with people crowding around it, but I'm happy that I got to see it.
  We said our goodbyes to the Arc de Triumph and made our way down to the Louvre. Unfortunately, the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays, so we didn't get to see it. We did, however, go up to this huge ferris wheel! Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but the ferris wheel was a disappointment too. It was run by a bunch of greasy, grimy guys who charged us 10 euros a person to take a five minute ride. Lessons learned: the Louvre is closed and Tuesdays and the ferris wheel is a rip off.
  Our day concluded with going to a Chinese place close to our hotel for dinner.


Day 4: July 9

  This morning, we got pastries (Almond croissant) for breakfast and ate it outside Notre Dame. We love that place. It's gorgeous. Seeing that it wasn't insanely crowded at all, we went inside and wandered about the cathedral. It's so much more breathtaking when your breath isn't being taken away by the lack of air due to overcrowdedness. Notre Dame is definitely something to be seen. 

  After visiting Notre Dame, we met up with our tour group for yet another bike tour! My family loves bike tours. Our tour guide's name was Angelica and she was about the most adorable chick I've ever seen. She's this tiny little pixie of a person from Sweden and she was so sweet. She was to be our guide for...Versailles! So! We went with our tour group doooown to the city of Versailles and mounted our bikes to tour it. First, we got ingredients for our picnic that we were to have during the tour. Our group was allowed to go about town for a bit to get whatever picnic food we desired. My dad got us bread, sausage, and cheese. Before heading back on our bikes, my sister and I got some NUTELLA AND BANANA CREPES at a crepe stand. They were to die for.
  Our actual tour of Versailles was wet and cold, but really cool. The chateau (building) was huge and its surrounding gardens were very impressive. I'll let you take a look through the pictures I took of it. We also got to see Marie Antoinette's "farm" she had built as an escape from her royal life. It was kind of like her playground. The farm had bunnies. 





Day 5: July 10

  This was our last day in Paris before we set out to go to Rome! We woke up really early this morning to catch yet another tour! This was to a be a tour of the Eiffel tower in which we would go inside! Our tour guide was this Brazilian, curly haired, drummer (aka my ideal man) and he was really cool. He took us up into the tower and gave us the low down of how and why it was built and showed us some of the key places you could see from the top of the tower. The view was absolutely gorgeous! We had a good time in the Eiffel Tower, but we didn't make it up to the top. It was a very windy and cold day, so we figured that it wouldn't be such a travesty if we saved ourself some stress and went back down. Anyways! The Eiffel Tower tour was very fun. By the way, the Eiffel Tower gets repainted every seven years and this year, it's getting repainted! History is going to be made! Our guide told us that the color of this tower is to be determined by the people of Paris and their preferences are leaning toward a hot pink Eiffel Tower. Oh God.
 After the tour, we went back to the hotel to hang out. We didn't have anything to do for the rest of the day until we departed in the evening. In the mean time, we got some crepes, did a bit of souvenir shopping, and hung out in the hotel lobby. Once it was time to go, we packed up our bags and went to the train station. The train we were to be taking would first go to Milan, then we were to switch trains and head out to Rome. However the train to Milan was a night train! How exciting! Our room was quite small and had 3 pull down beds, but it wasn't bad at all. It was quite the experience. Anyways! This concludes our trip to Paris. I know I wrote it kind of randomly, but as I'm writing it, I'm recalling what I did a week ago, so it's kind of hard to remember what I did. I hope you enjoyed this post and I will talk to you later! 



-Love Ling

(PS: The bike tours we did on this trip were through "About Bike" in Paris, so if you're planning on taking a trip there, I seriously recommend booking a bike tour through them. They were awesome!)