Gina and Christa's European Adventure!

Greetings from Firenze!!!!

ginacaruso — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:47:09 +0000

Since we haven’t gotten an apartment yet it’s been a little bit hard to update our blog…we’ve been using internet cafes to get online….but since the last time we wrote, we are now in Florence, ITALY!

On Friday we left Interlaken around 1pm and started the long drive to Florence. It was a GORGEOUS drive through out Switzerland and all of the sudden you go through this long tunnel and end up in Italy and it becomes ugly and smelly. An interesting fact about Switzerland is the main language is Swiss-German, which is spoken in Interlaken, therefore all of the road signs are in German. The closer to Italy you get, the more signs are written in Italian.

A view of Switzerland from the car

By the time we got to Florence it was about 10pm and we were very tired. We went out to this bar, Red Garter, that has an “American style steak house” called The Sizzle attached to it where we ordered a bacon cheeseburger and onion rings!!!! They also play college football and NFL games at this bar which is exciting! We met the other 2 interns, Mike and Amanda, on this night too.

The next night (Saturday, Aug. 30) we finally got to go to our favorite restaurant in Florence, El Gatto e la Volpe (translated: The Cat and the Fox). This restaurant houses our favorite Balsamic vinegar that I’m sure you have all heard us talk about!

Gina (very excited) with the balsamic at Gatto!

After our late lunch Simon took us on an apertivo tour. Apertivo means appetizer and you go to the restaurant/bar and order drinks and they give you free appetizers all night. So over the course of 10-12 hours, the 5 of us shared 6 bottles of red wine, 2 bottles of champagne, liquor drinks, a couple pina colada tasting shots, and lots of bruschetta and other delicious Italian appetizers. It was a leisurely day/night though, nothing crazy, because we would walk around between places and enjoy the streets of Florence.

Christa and Gina standing on the Ponte Vecchio- a bridge that goes across the Arno River

Sunday night consisted of watching a soccer (futbol) game at a bar and then enjoying a night out on the town!!

Us with Amanda (other intern) at Naima

Yesterday (Monday, Sept 1) we were very tired and came to the internet cafe to do some work for our job! So far our job has consisted of handing out flyers to people on the streets of Florence who look like Americans. It is extremely obvious who the Americans are so handing out flyers to them is pretty easy and fun. We also have to join all of the Florence and Rome study abroad groups on Facebook along with the people who created the groups so that we can market to all of the students who are here about our trips for Bus2Alps. This leaves us with a million random friends and extra groups that we are in for the next 3 months. That is pretty much what we did during the day and then at night we cooked dinner at Mike’s friends’ house and then went to bed.

Right now we have finished our work for the day and we are headed to a beach an hour and a half away from Florence where we are going to pass out flyers to a school and eat some dinner. We miss you all a lot and talk about how much fun it would be if you were all here with us too! We will update again this week (HOPEFULLY from our apartment)!!!!!

Love, Gina and Christa

Fun night out

Our Trip Schedule!!!!!!! continue down the page for today’s update :)

ginacaruso — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:58:36 +0000

Florence: Fall 2008 Trip Calendar

Sept 4-7…Sorrento/Capri/Amalfi Coast/Pompeii…220 Euro

Sept 11-14…Sorrento/Capri/Amalfi Coast/Pompeii …220 Euro

Sept 11-14… Nice/French Riviera…190 Euro

Sept 18-21…Sorrento/Capri/Amalfi Coast/Pompeii …220 Euro

Sept 18-21…Interlaken-Summer Activities …200 Euro

Sept 25-28…Oktoberfest-Transport Only…130 Euro

Sept 25-28…Sorrento/Capri/Amalfi Coast/Pompeii …220 Euro

Sept 25-28…Nice/French Riviera…190 Euro

Oct2-5…Oktoberfest- Transport Only…130 Euro

Oct 2-5…Sorrento/Capri/Amalfi Coast/Pompeii …220 Euro

Oct 2-5…Prague…250 Euro

Oct 9-12…Sorrento/Capri/Amalfi Coast/Pompeii…220 Euro

Oct 9-12…Prague…250 Euro

Oct 9-12…Nice/French Riviera…190 Euro

Oct 17-25…Corfu/Athens- Fall Break 8 days…450 Euro

Oct 18-26…Canary Islands…TBA

Oct 24-November 2…Corfu/Athens- Fall Break 8 days…450 Euro

Oct 25- November 3…Canary Islands…TBA

Nov 6-9…Prague…250 Euro

Nov 6-9…Vienna/Bratislava…235 Euro

Nov 13-16…Munich…210 Euro

Nov 13-16…Budapest…250 Euro

Nov 20-23…Vienna/Salzburg…225 Euro

Nov 20-23…Prague…250 Euro

Nov 27-30…Interlaken- Winter Activities- Thanksgiving Dinner included…220 Euro

Dec 5-8…Interlaken- Winter Activities…200 Euro

Dec 5-8…Munich…210 Euro

Dec 11-14…Interlaken- Winter Activities…200 Euro

Crossing the Pond…

ginacaruso — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:46:23 +0000

Hi Everyone!! Sorry it’s taken us so long to write on here!! We promise to do better and update this more often!! So, on Sunday, we met up in Philly and flew to Zurich, Switzerland. Unfortunately, Gina lost her passport while on the plane and we were stuck at the Zurich Airport for 3 hours because they wouldn’t let her into the country. Can you believe that??! Finally, Simon (our boss) drove us to Interlaken, where we have been hanging out for the past few days. Tomorrow we will head off to Florence where we will meet up with the other 2 interns.

On the plane with our neck pillows (more like a neck brace)!

On Monday, we were extremely tired and jet lagged so we just hung out at Simon’s house and watched movies. Poor Simon barely has a living room right now because our 300+ pounds worth of bags are taking over the room.

Tuesday, Simon had to drive Gina to the capital of Switzerland, Bern, so that she could get a new passport. The rest of the day we just hung out and walked around Interlaken….we went across the river and into another little town called Unterseen and had lunch. That night was our first night out of our Euro Trip. Everyone here always goes to the bar at the famous hostel, Balmer’s (we stayed there last year when we were here). Even though it wasn’t that crowded, we had an absolute blast, and we usually do when we’re together.

Walk around Interlaken on our 2nd day here!

Us with Simon at Balmer's

Yesterday we woke up and went to the Seil Park where they have obstacle courses and ziplines high up in the trees- about 100 feet in the air. Christa enjoyed the ropes while Gina enjoyed keeping her feet on the ground and taking pictures of Christa. After that we came back to Simon’s house where we had a bbq with a bunch of people. Simon lives in a 3 story apartment- all floors are individual apartments but people leave there doors open and there is always a bunch of people hanging out. Then we headed to Balmer’s again for just a few drinks.

Christa ziplining high up in the trees.

Today Christa went canyoning!!!! For those of you that don’t know, canyoning is where you are driven up to the top of a canyon and you spend the next 4 hours jumping off waterfalls, going down rock slides, and repelling off cliffs until you reach the bottom of the canyon. She had an awesome time. Gina decided that once again her feet are better off staying on the ground and she just slept in.

So basically we are obsessed with Interlaken because it is so gorgeous here. We really can’t believe that this is what the locals get to see everyday. We leave for Florence tomorrow so we will update you again from there!!! We miss you all and hope everyone is doing well in the States!

Jungfrau, one of the highest mountains in Interlaken. It is always covered in snow because it is so high up.

Stay Tuned!

ginacaruso — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:39:29 +0000

Hello everyone! We don’t leave until August 24th so thats when posts will start. In the meantime, I am trying to graduate from FSU (Aug. 9th) and Christa is making big bucks in Ponte Vedra!