My Summer in Italia...

A week with the hubster…

heatherannkurtz — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 15:31:05 +0000

Well Erik arrived a week ago today, and luckily for me I had two holidays already scheduled off during this time and my boss has let me have 3 days in addition to that, so I have been off work almost the entire time Erik has been here! We have taken it pretty slow and easy, taking our time when we do stuff, but still getting some sights in that we missed out on last year. To start off we went on a nice afternoon tour that included Santa Maria Maggiore church as well as Saint John the Lateran (if I remember correctly) and also visited one of the Catacombs which was pretty cool (both literally and figuratively in comparison to the hot, humid weather outside). We also went on an afternoon tour of the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel which was nice but extremely crowded (even our tour guide thought so), so although we enjoyed it we were ready to escape as well! That night we visited an Ice Bar here in Roma with two of my intern friends and were the only people in there, which can be attributed to the day we went (Thursday) but more importantly how early we went. We had a blast though and it was definitely a new experience. Erik and I relaxed on Saturday instead of going to Firenze for the day as we had initially planned, but the day off was much-needed and appreciated, and I can always show Erik around Firenze some other trip when we have more time.

Sunday morning we set off for an agriturismo retreat in the mountains north-ish of Rome in an area called Caprarola, right next to Lago di Vico. It was beautiful and definitely relaxing! The cool mountain air was refreshing and we just laid around our room and the idromassagio and relaxed the entire time. We also had a lot of spumante so that increased our levels of relaxation. We returned to Roma today and tomorrow Erik will attend a “work party” with me that celebrates the 4th of July and it should be fun to get dressed up and attend with some of the great people I work with. Finally, you can find pictures from all of these latest adventures on our Flickr page as always, and now I must stop writing for leisure and get started on some homework!! Ciao mi amici!

Finally, a new post!

heatherannkurtz — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 13:19:47 +0000

Buongiornata everyone!

It has been way too long, but you haven’t missed out on much! I have done almost no exploring so far, I have just been working and enjoying evenings at home reading a ton of books (that probably doesn’t sound fun for most of you but I haven’t had the time to do this kind of reading in many, many years)! Some exciting news though! An attorney who works here at the Embassy came in to my office last week and apparently thought I seemed like the responsible type because he offered to have me house- and dog-sit for he and his family from mid-July to mid-August while they are away. I referred him to Shaun, one of the newer interns who is really cool and has a pretty difficult living situation, as he definitely needs it more than me. It looks like that is going to work out great, but Mr. O (the attorney) came back in today and offered for me to also stay there! It is a large 3-bedroom apartment so there is plenty of room, and I think it makes him feel better than two people will be able to take great care of this dogs (I think Shaun told me they are both blind?) and keep up with their routine.

I already paid my landlady through the end of July, but I think I will go ahead and let her know that I am leaving her place early and she can keep the full month’s rent, as this will still save me the two weeks rent of August which is about 225 euro! Plus this place is a quick and easy bus ride from work so it is much more convenient. Shaun is completely supportive of the whole thing so I think it is going to work out great (thanks Shaun)! I am actually quite excited to spend my last month or so with a younger roomie, although my landlady is great. I am also looking forward to some quality dog-time since I miss Charlie and Odys so much! =)

In other news, I am very much looking forward to Erik’s visit…he arrives in less than 8 days!! We are still figuring out exactly what we will do while he is here but there are already some things on the list including having dinner with our good friends Dino and Daniela and their two boys (they are the owners of the vacation apartment we rented last year), a day in Firenze and two nights at an agriturismo in Caprarola. He will also hopefully be attending the Independence Day celebration with me here at the Embassy! Very excited for all of that and I really think we will have a great time. I am not, however, looking forward to him leaving again. But at least I have the new living situation and stuff to look forward to.

Work is going great and my supervisors seem more than pleased with what I have come up with so far, and I am being put in charge of the check-out process which our department has only somewhat-recently taken over. I came up with an updated, more efficient and thorough process and my boss loved it. I still think it needs some spit and polish but I am continuing to work on it as I type. Well, I am sure that is MORE than enough than most of you care to read at once so I will leave it at that…ciao!!

First day at the embassy – journal entry

heatherannkurtz — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 17:13:39 +0000

As part of my requirements to get credit at NMSU for this internship, I have to keep a daily journal. I am maintaining this separately from my blog, of course, but will be sharing some posts with my blog people! Here is today’s entry, from my first day of work!! (Just click anywhere here if you haven’t already figured that out!)

My room in Roma!

heatherannkurtz — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 15:24:52 +0000

I am sooo happy with my big, bright room here! Plus the guy who stayed before me was some filmmaker/guide so he left quite a few guides and some cool books I am looking forward to reading! Bellissimo!

Siena And San Gimignano

heatherannkurtz — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 14:25:03 +0000

Thursday, June 2, is a national holiday for Italy so we did not have school…however, I was able to take a tour of Siena and San Gimignano (and the churches were open) that was really cool! The church pictures are from within the Siena Duomo. The Chianti countryside was quite beautiful, and I really enjoyed San Gimignano! The piazza (square) you see is the main square in Siena and is where some famous (and ancient) horse races called Il Palio are held. There are also some photos of the books the choirs used at the Siena duomo, dating back to the 15th century. Please enjoy!! =)

SiennaAndSanGimignano, a set on Flickr.

Postcard-perfect Cinque Terre

heatherannkurtz — Mon, 30 May 2011 19:40:29 +0000

As expected, Cinque Terre was beautiful! I was kind of bummed that I didn’t take a swimsuit as I have never been that close to clear, blue and green ocean water! However, it is definitely high season there and tourists were EVERYWHERE!!! I would love to go back during the low season. It also made me even MORE convinced that I need to go spend some time on Ischia, a small island off of the Napoli coast. Maybe next year? Anyway, I do definitely plan on hitting up a beach one weekend while I am staying in Rome, as the only other ocean experience I have had was Washington/Orca Islands, which is a MUCH different kind of ocean experience than sunny days and warm water! =) I am excited to see Siena & San Gimignano this Thursday, but with it being a national holiday here I am unsure what all I will be able to experience. However, something is better than nothing! I am also excited to head to Rome and start work next week, for many reasons, including that I keep thinking about how once I start work there will only be like THREE WEEKS before I see the hubster!! Hope you are all happy and healthy! Arrivederci!

CinqueTerre, a set on Flickr.

The Infamous Leaning Tower

heatherannkurtz — Sat, 28 May 2011 10:06:02 +0000

Pisa, a set on Flickr.

I was not in the greatest mood, so let me preface this post with that. It was also gloomy and starting to rain a little, which did not assist in lifting my already-gray mood! =) I can now say that I have gone, however. I did not even try to go into the Tower, when I initially looked up tickets earlier this week it told me that not that many are available and when I tried to make a reservation, there weren’t any available until June! That is okay though, I still appreciate being able to see such a well-known and historic monument! Ciao!

Piazzale Michelango & San Miniato…a little slice of heaven!

heatherannkurtz — Thu, 26 May 2011 17:51:16 +0000

This afternoon after class, Inge and I took a bus (after quite a bit of walking, of course) up to Piazzale Michelangelo which is perched up above la citta de Fiorenze (and home to a copy of the statue of David, the real statue of which I saw in the Galleria dell’Accademia yesterday but no photos are allowed). It was definitely beautiful up there, and I had read that if you cross the street and go up a ways, there is a church called San Miniato where you can get some even better views…and it is definitely true! If it was cooler, I could have stayed up there for hours just relaxing and reading. The photos I got are quite good, and I think you will enjoy them. Tomorrow we are talking of taking a bus up to Fiesole, a small village above Florence, to get an even better bird’s eye view. Then I will possibly attempt the Duomo Saturday morning, followed by a full day in Cinque Terre (which, judging by the photos I have seen so far, is not near enough…but it will have to do)! School is still going great although a couple new girls started this past Monday and they are not all as amenable as the rest of the class that I started with, plus our class almost doubled in size so it is much noisier. However, our instructor Tomasso takes it all in stride and does a fantastic job! I believe next week (my last week in Florence) I will have a different instructor…although I have met her and she is nice, I will miss Tommaso as I felt he did such a great job and was a pleasure to see every day. Anyway, enjoy the photos (be sure to click through to the Flickr page with all the other ones) and have a great day! Today, I am so grateful to be able to take this opportunity to better myself both in my education and my character.=) Buonasera!

Photos from Uffizi, Santa Croce & Palazzo Vecchio

heatherannkurtz — Tue, 24 May 2011 20:47:10 +0000

Uffizi_SantaCroce_PalazzoVecchio, a set on Flickr.

Giardino Boboli e Palazzo Pitti…molto molto stanca!

heatherannkurtz — Tue, 24 May 2011 19:23:55 +0000

So yesterday (ieri) a Danish (I think) girl named Inge and I visited Palazzo Pitti and the Bobolo Gardens. Although some of the Palazzo Pitti was closed, there was MORE than enough to see. Once we got into the gardens we walked about 3 hours I would say, and still of course did not see everything there…it was very beautiful. The sneak-peek photos below will take you to my Flickr page which holds more photos, etc so it is easier to use when I have so many! Today (oggi) I went to the Uffizi (although they really don’t allow photos there so not much from there), Santa Croce and il Palazzo Vecchio so as soon as I can get all of those photos uploaded I will post them as well. Things are going so great! I am learning a lot (still) and getting a lot of things done that I wanted to. In two days I have crossed 5 places off my list of where I still want to go! This Sunday I head to Cinque Terre for the day (Google it, it looks AMAZING) and I may sneak in a trip to Pisa in there somewhere. I am almost done with my book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, and have already downloaded the next one which is about the Medici family here in Firenze. I was interested in them before but after being here I really can’t resist reading up on them. I am almost as excited about that as some of the places I still plan to visit!

Keep an eye out in the photos for some i took of tombs in Santa Croce…I saw where the tombs of Machiavelli, Michelangelo, Galileo and Dante among others!! I am pretty sure all those things in the floor are tombs as well, and not all are roped off, and it was creeping me out that people would just stand on them. As for me, I will walk AROUND thank you! =) The weird glittery skull poster is from exhibit that was literally just that, a diamond and crystal skull with human teeth, that was showing at Palazzo Vecchio. It is from the last decade or so…if you are interested look at the photo of the sign and check the guy out. As for me, I have seen enough paintings of Jesus today to last me a couple lifetimes, so I am going to read a bit and try to get some rest! Buonanotte!

This is behind Palazzo Pitti, in "front" of Giardino Boboli

This Peeping Tom snuck up on Inge