Dubai, United Arab Emirates

We spent a phenomenal few days in Dubai visiting Palm Jumeirah, Ski Dubai, the Gold Souq, Burj Al Arab, Dubai Museum, and Ritz Carlton's Ramadan tent. Here I am in front of the Burj Al Arab from Palm Jumeirah:

Over the course of these three weeks, I learned a great deal about the spectacular development in the Middle East and made lifelong friends who pumped me up for my senior year back in California.

Doha, Qatar

During the first three weeks before senior year, I participated in a Stanford overseas seminar to Doha, Qatar and Dubai, UAE. Our group of 12 Stanford students and about 10 Qatar University students learned about project finance, construction, and development in the Arab Gulf. Here we are with Yousuf Hussein Kamal, Qatari Minister of Finance:

And a photograph of me with a camel right before dune-bashing in the Khor al-Adaid Desert:

You can also check out an article I wrote about the experience on Explore Qatar's website.

Ciao Firenze, Ciao America...

Grazie mille per tutto.

VITERBO

Viterbo... l'ultimo viaggio per incontrare la famiglia simpaticissima di mia sorella!

CORTONA

Research on the mosaicry of my favorite artist, Gino Severini, sent me to my last Tuscan hill town in Italy...
Although you’ll probably see many Americans in CORTONA due to the popular book and film Under the Tuscan Sun, this small hill town is still charming. From the Camucia train station, wait for a bus or share a taxi (about 10 €) into the town center. A combo-ticket provides entry into the Museo Diocesano featuring Fra Angelico’s Annunciation as well as the Museo dell’Accademia Etrusca with an ornate nautical bronze Etruscan chandelier and a whole room dedicated to Futurist artist Gino Severini. Admire his mosaics along the steep Via Crucis leading up to the Basilica di Santa Margherita (with a decaying body!) and continue on to the Medici fortezza with unparalleled countryside views including Lake Trasimeno. June brings the Giostra Dell’Archidado, a heavily touristed crossbow contest in which citizens dress to the nines in medieval costume. (http://www.cortonaweb.net/archidado/index.htm)

TRIESTE

A phenomenal weekend in this seaside former Austrian city!

VENEZIA

We received rock star treatment during this Bing weekend of absolute glamour!

LE CINQUE TERRE

Ladies' weekend in the rain! We were so proud that we completed the entire hike between all five towns.

The UNESCO-protected CINQUE TERRE are a day trip for the truly ambitious. Take the 7:51 Intercity to La Spezia Centrale and then quickly hop on the 10:00 Regional to the southernmost town, Riomaggiore. Once there purchase a 5 € day pass to hike the ocean side footpaths within the Parco Nazionale that connect the five towns (about 4-5 hours without stopping). An 8.50 € pass covers access to all trails plus unlimited train rides between towns. Vernazza has a small harbor and tower, and Monterosso a large stretch of beach. Celebrate your day of mountaineering with superb seafood and service from Firenzo at Ristorante il Ciliegio, a ten-minute ride uphill from Monterosso in the restaurant’s complimentary shuttle. Consult www.cinqueterre.it and www.parconazionale5terre.it for information about the other villages and Cinque Terre Cards.

PERUGIA

A cute little town with yummy chocolate.
Chocolate lovers flock to PERUGIA’s annual October Eurochocolate Festival. (www.eurochocolate.com) To get into town, take a bus from the train station to Piazza Italia, or get off at the main bus station in Piazza dei Partigiani and ride the escalator through the Rocca Paolina to the top of the hill. Corso Vannucci is the main thoroughfare— be sure to bring home Perugina Baci from number 101! Farther ahead, the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria offers a stellar collection of works by Fra Angelico, Piero della Francesca, Pintoricchio, and Perugino, Raphael’s teacher. You can see Raphael’s early handiwork in the Cappella di San Severo, and a combo-ticket also gets you into the underground Pozzo Etrusco. Take some time to duck into the Duomo and browse the many boutiques nearby.

GUBBIO

Hands-down one of my best experiences in Italy... participating in the Corsa dei Ceri, a 900 year-old Gubbian festival.

SATURNIA

We enjoyed the height of Italian leisure at these stunning hot springs on the way home to Florence.

LA MAREMMA

We made it to the Parco dell'Uccellina... meno male! We went on some beautiful hikes, and how wonderful it was to see the ocean!

SIENA

We stayed in a gorgeous agriturismo right outside Siena, where our hostess prepared a magnificent feast!

MONTALCINO

Che bellissima!

PIENZA

My friend Jessie and I posing in the lovely courtyard of Renaissance Palazzo Piccolomini.

MONTEPULCIANO

An amazing start to one of my favorite weekends— driving down to the southern beaches of Tuscany. Here I am in front of the gigantic San Biagio!

MODENA

Visiting La Galleria di Ferrari in Maranello was truly unforgettable! I even witnessed a spectacular Sunday morning car show in Modena's main piazza complete with more than one hundred red and yellow different models of Ferraris.
If you’re lucky, you may witness a massive raduno di Ferrari in MODENA’s Piazza Grande on a Sunday morning. While you’re there, pop into the Duomo guarded by stone lions and climb Ghirlandina Tower if it’s open. The town boasts colorful homes and porticoes like Bologna, a grand palace and public gardens, as well as the Ferrari factory about forty minutes away in Maranello. Take a bus from the main station past Via Emilia Ovest to the Galleria di Ferrari— definitely worth the trip to see showroom after showroom of many models of Ferraris through the years. Don’t leave town without sampling Modena’s famous balsamic vinegar!

PARMA

I enjoyed one of the most relaxing days ever here admiring citizens' unbelievable high fashion!
PARMA, famous for its prosciutto and parmigiano, is an excellent town in which to fare una passeggiata, especially on a sunny day. Fashionable university students seem to be everywhere— in the beautiful Parco Ducale complete with a pond of ducks, swans, and fish and the grassy Piazza della Pace. Behind the fountain here lies Palazzo della Pilotta, home to the impressive Teatro Farnese (a spectacular wooden theatre not in use) and the Galleria Nazionale with many works by Mannerist artists Parmigianino and Correggio, who also decorated the Duomo and nearby Chiesa di San Giovanni Evangelista. Take a quiet stroll along the pretty riverbank on Via Marcotti / Via Toscanini, and soak up Strada Cavour and Borgo Parmigianino for stylish shopping and people watching. Also look for GROM on Strada XXII Luglio!

FERRARA

Spring quarter begins with a perfect day trip! I adored this city of bicycles, gardens, and museums complete with a castle and moat. Check out my travel articles over the next few months for my internship at the Florentine, a newspaper for English speakers in Florence! Read the student blog as well as my piece "Money Matters."

Leave Rifredi on the 9:30 Intercity to reach FERRARA, a quaint, carefree city of bicycles. Devour Ferrara’s famous cappellacci di zucca (stuffed pasta with pumpkin) at Osteria al Brindisi and then explore Castello Estense, complete with a real moat! Inside are frescoed ceilings, a prison, lookout tower, permanent collection, and rotating exhibitions. Farther down Corso Ercole I d’Este are two more museum complexes, the Palazzo dei Diamanti and Palazzo Massari, showcasing both modern and older Italian art. Relax in Parco Massari near the fountain or grab gelato near grassy Piazza Ariostea, perfect for people watching. Search for your birth month in the frescoed Hall of the Months in Palazzo Schifanoia or even visit the Renaissance Casa Romei. Don’t forget to pop into the Duomo and enjoy the lively atmosphere (and shopping) in the public squares nearby, and be sure to walk under the charming medieval archways of Via Volte or along the nine kilometer pathway surrounding the city, savoring the abundant Italian around you.

ORVIETO

Here I toured the fascinating caves of the Etruscan underground and enjoyed the extravagant Duomo and laid-back local ambience.
Tour the underground Etruscan city of ORVIETO— its spectacularly preserved caves, tunnels, dovecotes, and wells dating from the ninth century BC— and then spend the rest of the day exploring the aboveground medieval city. (www.orvietounderground.it) When you arrive by funivia, spend some time admiring the panorama from the fortezza and wind your way down into the Pozzo di San Patrizio commissioned by Pope Clement VII before the 1527 Sack of Rome. Climb the Torre del Moro for another spectacular Umbrian view. Definitely marvel at the gorgeous façade of the Duomo and go inside to observe its unbelievable patterns and frescoes (noteworthy is Luca Signorelli’s depiction of the Apocalypse in the Capella della Madonna di San Brizio). The adjacent Museo dell’Opera del Duomo holds more artwork and you can even duck into a frescoed Etruscan tomb in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale. Escape the mobs of American tourists with a passeggiata through the quiet neighborhoods on the other side of Orvieto, ending at the terraced garden near Chiesa di San Giovenale.