Lucca, Italy
What an amazing week it has been!!
For starters, thank you to everyone who made my birthday/ birthday week so special. From the texts, calls, visitors, surprises, and gifts all the way from the US. You guys are the best. Thank you!
One of the things I thought about when planning to study abroad was having my 21st birthday in Europe. It sounds silly, but I wouldn't be with any of my friends from home, and turning 21 isn't a big deal when you are in any country other than the US. Luckily, I have met the most amazing friends here in Reggio, and they have truly spoiled me for my special day. I came home from my night class on Thursday to a surprise party with all of my close friends. We had cake, lemon fanta, gummy bears, and beer... just a few of my favorite things. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday celebration!
I started the birthday weekend off right by visiting FICO, which stands for the Fabricca Italian Contadina (Italian farming factory). Some people know it as Eataly or the Disneyland of Italian food. Inside are various restaurants, booths, shops, exhibits that show the various steps of food production. The inside is broken into sections, meats, cheeses, pastas, pizzas, sweets, olive oil, beer, wine, and balsamic vinegar, just to name a few. Each section has food from each region of Italy. Essentially FICO, is the OMSI of Italian food and sustainability. I even went to a gelato making class, where we learned how to make sorbet and gelato from scratch. It was by far a highlight of my time here in Italy so far!
Friday night I had planned on meeting my parents at the Bologna train station to catch a train to a fun destination for a birthday weekend celebration. When I got to the train station, my friends Christina and Renee were with me, and Renee says, "Ashley.... what does your brother look like? Is he tall with dark hair? Because I think I found him." My parents had completely surprised me and brought my brother along with them. I was on the verge of tears I was so happy to see my family and my brother. From Bologna, we got on a train to Lucca, where we ended up spending Friday night in a cute little apartment right off the main street.
On Saturday, we we went to small cafe in the middle of Lucca for croissants and my family got to have their first Italian cappuccinos. We spent the morning wandering the streets of Lucca, shopping, sightseeing, and exploring. Lucca has a wall from the middle ages that still surrounds the city, we had fun walking on top of the wall and seeing the city from the outskirts, until it started to rain. We ducked inside a small cafe for lunch to escape the downpour. It poured the rest of the day, but we put up our hoods and kept exploring (Yay Oregonians!). We met Danny's friend Diego in the afternoon. Diego was an exchange student last year at Tualatin High School and ran cross country with Danny; they became pretty good friends and we couldn't not see him while we were in town. So Diego showed us around Lucca. He showed us the main squares, gave us some advice on where to eat, and took us to the top of the tower in Lucca! Even though it was cloudy and rainy, the view from the top was beautiful!
Sunday we headed back to Reggio. We got home in time show my family my apartment, where I go to school, and I showed them around Reggio a little bit. We went to dinner with my friends Emily, Jordan, and Lizzie at our favorite pasta restaurant in town. Then we went to the gelato shop that had just opened down the street (a lot of the gelato shops close between November and February, because who eats gelato when its cold out? Oh ya, the Americans). It was so good! The best part was they fill the bottom of the cone with warm chocolate. Yum!
Unfortunately I had class throughout the week and wasn't able to hang with my family the whole time, but they had fun exploring Reggio, Modena, and Piacenza. On Tuesday I didn't have class until 5pm, so we took a day trip to Parma. We walked around the city, did some shopping, ate some food (we like to do these three things a lot if you couldn't tell). Each night, we went to dinner and drinks with some of my friends, and my family got to see how much I love being in Reggio and how awesome my friends are.
Friday morning we woke up to snow in Reggio. Apparently it's rare to have snow this time of year, especially since we are kind of in a valley compared to our neighboring cities. Anyway, it was a fun little surprise to wake up to. After my class on Friday morning, the fam and I took a train to Bologna. We decided to spend the last night in Bologna since their flight left at 7am. When we got to town, it was snowing like crazy! We dropped our bags off at the hotel and ventured out in to the cold. I took them to Eataly for dinner and showed them some bars that we enjoy going to. We explored some of the big, important sights including the San Petronio Basilica, where my dad lit a candle in honor of our friend Duane, who passed away recently. It was a great way to end the week!
I am so happy that I got the chance to spend my birthday with my family. I couldn't have asked for a better 21st!
For starters, thank you to everyone who made my birthday/ birthday week so special. From the texts, calls, visitors, surprises, and gifts all the way from the US. You guys are the best. Thank you!
One of the things I thought about when planning to study abroad was having my 21st birthday in Europe. It sounds silly, but I wouldn't be with any of my friends from home, and turning 21 isn't a big deal when you are in any country other than the US. Luckily, I have met the most amazing friends here in Reggio, and they have truly spoiled me for my special day. I came home from my night class on Thursday to a surprise party with all of my close friends. We had cake, lemon fanta, gummy bears, and beer... just a few of my favorite things. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday celebration!
I started the birthday weekend off right by visiting FICO, which stands for the Fabricca Italian Contadina (Italian farming factory). Some people know it as Eataly or the Disneyland of Italian food. Inside are various restaurants, booths, shops, exhibits that show the various steps of food production. The inside is broken into sections, meats, cheeses, pastas, pizzas, sweets, olive oil, beer, wine, and balsamic vinegar, just to name a few. Each section has food from each region of Italy. Essentially FICO, is the OMSI of Italian food and sustainability. I even went to a gelato making class, where we learned how to make sorbet and gelato from scratch. It was by far a highlight of my time here in Italy so far!
Friday night I had planned on meeting my parents at the Bologna train station to catch a train to a fun destination for a birthday weekend celebration. When I got to the train station, my friends Christina and Renee were with me, and Renee says, "Ashley.... what does your brother look like? Is he tall with dark hair? Because I think I found him." My parents had completely surprised me and brought my brother along with them. I was on the verge of tears I was so happy to see my family and my brother. From Bologna, we got on a train to Lucca, where we ended up spending Friday night in a cute little apartment right off the main street.
On Saturday, we we went to small cafe in the middle of Lucca for croissants and my family got to have their first Italian cappuccinos. We spent the morning wandering the streets of Lucca, shopping, sightseeing, and exploring. Lucca has a wall from the middle ages that still surrounds the city, we had fun walking on top of the wall and seeing the city from the outskirts, until it started to rain. We ducked inside a small cafe for lunch to escape the downpour. It poured the rest of the day, but we put up our hoods and kept exploring (Yay Oregonians!). We met Danny's friend Diego in the afternoon. Diego was an exchange student last year at Tualatin High School and ran cross country with Danny; they became pretty good friends and we couldn't not see him while we were in town. So Diego showed us around Lucca. He showed us the main squares, gave us some advice on where to eat, and took us to the top of the tower in Lucca! Even though it was cloudy and rainy, the view from the top was beautiful!
Sunday we headed back to Reggio. We got home in time show my family my apartment, where I go to school, and I showed them around Reggio a little bit. We went to dinner with my friends Emily, Jordan, and Lizzie at our favorite pasta restaurant in town. Then we went to the gelato shop that had just opened down the street (a lot of the gelato shops close between November and February, because who eats gelato when its cold out? Oh ya, the Americans). It was so good! The best part was they fill the bottom of the cone with warm chocolate. Yum!
Unfortunately I had class throughout the week and wasn't able to hang with my family the whole time, but they had fun exploring Reggio, Modena, and Piacenza. On Tuesday I didn't have class until 5pm, so we took a day trip to Parma. We walked around the city, did some shopping, ate some food (we like to do these three things a lot if you couldn't tell). Each night, we went to dinner and drinks with some of my friends, and my family got to see how much I love being in Reggio and how awesome my friends are.
Friday morning we woke up to snow in Reggio. Apparently it's rare to have snow this time of year, especially since we are kind of in a valley compared to our neighboring cities. Anyway, it was a fun little surprise to wake up to. After my class on Friday morning, the fam and I took a train to Bologna. We decided to spend the last night in Bologna since their flight left at 7am. When we got to town, it was snowing like crazy! We dropped our bags off at the hotel and ventured out in to the cold. I took them to Eataly for dinner and showed them some bars that we enjoy going to. We explored some of the big, important sights including the San Petronio Basilica, where my dad lit a candle in honor of our friend Duane, who passed away recently. It was a great way to end the week!
I am so happy that I got the chance to spend my birthday with my family. I couldn't have asked for a better 21st!
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