Thursday, August 30, 2012

Absent

To anyone who followed my blog throughout June and the first half of July, I am very sorry the last month and a half has been so dull when it comes to posts. What it comes down to is a lack of time to collect my thoughts and post the pictures from my trips. In a way, it's been good that I haven't had the time to post because I've rarely had a dull moment during this time. On the other hand, this blog has suffered as a result and I may have left some people waiting expectantly for far too long.

As some of you may have noticed, in an effort to curb my guilt I added photos from some trips during July and backdated them. I hope in the coming days, when my 3 months at Foreigners end and my 3-week vacation period begins, I will be able to do some damage control here and report on how things have been going/what I have seen/etc.

Thanks for your patience! I'll get this blog started up again very soon!

Maybe I've been enjoying Perugia a little too much!

Salato

The soundtrack to August in Italy:


Sunday, August 26, 2012

5 foreigners rent a car in Italy...

...and have a good time.

Our rental car (Fiat Panda) and the amazing company I had!

We made friends with the restaurant owner and his wife in Gubbio. He was particularly impressed by our group's diversity, haha. 

From Gubbio, we headed to Fano (a.k.a. the beach)!

Bella vista.

It just felt right.

Rebekka felt the same way!

As did Nattapol!
Imagine riding your bike to the beach everyday. It makes you jealous, I bet. It made me jealous, too.


The sea growing restless...but it calmed down as we got in for a late evening swim. Beautiful day.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Olé, Orvieto

Note before we begin: I've noticed Italians like to switch thing up and, instead of always using "ecco" to mean "here, look," they'll borrow words from other languages, such as the Spanish word in the title or the ubiquitous French word meaning the same thing. And now, Orvieto:

Johanness, my German friend from Munich. Or, as one of our professors thought, "the French philosopher."

Pictures like these...are my favorite.

Orvieto's Duomo! A real work of art.

Promenading.
Dirty fingers.
Pretty cool, right?
My favorite place in Orvieto!
Funny how grand these smaller cities can be.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Pronto per il Palio!

Siena take 2! This time for the famed Palio.
The flags of each contrada.

If you try and try again... Made it into Siena's Duomo the second time around. Definitely worth it!

The most successful contrada, represented by "l'oca."
Siena from up high!

Our group, minus 1. 
The piazza had been transformed!

Messing with cameras, like always.

This horse was taken into the church to be blessed. I'm not kidding.

The winning horse, hours before the race! A horse and its boy, haha.

Alfred, my Italo-Taiwanese friend.

Veronique.

It was a close race between this man...
...and this girl for happiest person in Siena on that day.

Getting ready!

The flag of the contrada I was rooting for.

The fall that knocked out 6 horses.

70 seconds later, everyone celebrates a great Palio. Thanks, Siena!

Monday, August 13, 2012

La dotta, la grassa

Bologna's walls are full of art!

It also seemed like most of the "sidewalks" were covered as such, at least near the center city. My friend, a resident of Bologna, mused that they're great for rainy days. 

Beautiful convent.
Took the opportunity to get a pensive picture here.
Nice earthy tones.

There was a very small stream below. It looked like it was about to dry up, though. Perhaps it's always like that around early August?
Nattapol, my Thai friend who lives and studies in Bologna. He's a goober.

Quiet moment.

Ornate.

Bologna from up high. The earth tones abound, but they look nice with the green trees. 

One of my favorite shots of the day. The background really comes forward.
Ever wonder how these are held together? There you go.

Climbed a tower to get more shots of the city from higher up. Bologna is probably one of my favorite cities so far. There was something very pleasant about it!