On Saturday in Cortona there was the Santa Margherita Patronal Festival. Some of us got to dress up and be a part of everything. We paraded through the city in medieval costumes, watched a ceremony in one of the piazzas then climbed up to St. Margherita Church and attended a Catholic mass in Italian.

Sunday was nice, we had a picnic and went exploring.

We found Frances Mayes' house from Under the Tuscan Sun.

Then we just wandered Cortona some more, there are always more sidestreets to explore here.

Fieldtrips and Swords

We have been learning a lot out in the Vineyard lately about different parts of the vine. It is pretty interesting. We went on a fieldtrip to an agricultural high school here that grows grapes and makes their own wine. The first picture is us with one of our professors, Fritz, looking at some vines on our campus. The next is the vineyard at the high school.

After the high school, we went to this awesome resort that grows grapes and makes wine. We toured around and then did a wine tasting. I got to open a 35 euro bottle of sparkling wine with a sword! How awesome is that?

Good Food and Antinori

Everyone has been talking about this restaurant called Bar 500, so we went for lunch on Monday. It was delicious! I got a proscuitto tomato mozzarella focaccia with a salad and potato chips.

Tuesday we went on a field to the Antinori Vineyard in Cortona. We got a tour and had lunch and tasted 4 of their wines.

On the way to get gelato Tuesday night we saw this beautiful sunset :)

Pisa!

Yesterday a group of 9 of us took a day trip to Pisa. We visited the Leaning Tower of Pisa and took a million uber touristy pictures, it was great! Watching all of the tourists attempting to take the 'holding up the tower' picture was one of the most entertaining things I have ever seen

I ran into my high school friend, Alisa, in the McDonalds in the train station of Pisa. What a small world!

Cortona, Torgiano, and Assisi

We did some more wine tasting in lab; this time reds. We tried Pinot Noir, Merlot, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon. My favorite was the Cabernet (with the Merlot in a close second).

We went on a field trip to Torgiano and Assisi on Thursday. In Torgiano we went to a wine museum and an olive oil museum. These are ancient wine drinking containers.

The cafe we stopped at in Torgiano had pretty funny bathroom doors :)

In Assisi, we toured the Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi. It was amazingly beautiful. These are pictures of the outside of the Basilica and the lawn in front of it.

I got a pastry at one of the shops in Assisi- delicious! Everything always looks so good. I'm going to gain a million pounds!

We came back to Cortona for dinner on Thursday night and it started thunder storming. Watching the storm come in over the valley was incredible





Wandering Campus, Wine Tasting, Gelato, and New Friends

 I found this really neat panorama setting on my camera- perfect for this view. But still, pictures do it no justice, you will just have to travel here and see it for yourself!

 This is the building where we are staying- it is a converted convent and now UGA uses it as the dormitory for the Cortona campus. There is a classroom, kitchens, a breakfast room, a common room, and a lot of bedrooms.

 We did wine tasting today in lab.

 We tried four white wines: Riesling, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay. We also got 3 types of cheese, bread, and prosciutto. Most awesome lab ever!

We also had a formal wine tasting before dinner Monday night. We tried one white wine and two red wines. It was definitely an interesting experience.

 After dinner we went and got gelatto. I got Dark Chcoloate and Cookies flavor. So far i have tried 6 different flavors of gelato-all delicious. Tiramisu and Fragola (Strawberry) are in the lead as of now.

This are some of us on the trip. There are two different groups- Viticulture and Science, about 30ish in each.

I have met some awesome people and made some great friends. I am excited to get to know everyone even better in the next 3 weeks! 

Exploring Cortona

I am writing this blog to capture my trip for my memory's sake and also so everyone who is interested can see what I am up to over in Italy. I'm not all that great with words, so I am telling my Cortona story mostly via pictures. Enjoy!

We arrived in Cortona, Italy yesterday afternoon and I am already in love with the city. It is by far the most beautiful place I have ever been. Cortona is on the top of a hill, so the view is amazing! (I took this picture right outside of where we are staying)

 This morning we went to the open market and walked around the city. I bought some fruit and it was delicious!