I Scream for Florence Ice Cream!

By Tammy H. – Guestblogger from Florence
Have you ever wondered who invented ice cream? All the guidebooks about Italy, including Elizabeth Gilbert's bestseller EAT, PRAY, LOVE, say that the best gelato (ice cream) comes from Florence, Italy. Now I know why, after having eaten at least one ice cream cup or cone a day during my two-week study tour in Florence. And I had to find out the answers to all my “who, what, where, when, why, how” questions about ice cream.
Gelato was invented by Bernado Buontalenti and his last name means Good Talents. He was born in Florence in 1536 and died in 1608. He was very talented and was employed by the Medicis as an architect, a military engineer, a stage designer, and a master of ceremony at the Medicis' court. Buontalenti's main achievements include the decoration of Plasso Pitti and the Boboli Gardens, and the design of the Fort of Belvedere in Florence. Legend has it that when the Medicis had a great banquet for a delegation of Spanish diplomats in the summer of 1565, Buontalenti was in charge of the usual dining arrangements. But he surprised and greatly impressed everyone with a luscious, creamy, cold and delicious new dessert. It was the world's first ice cream. With his chemical knowledge, he just mixed egg yolks, honey, milk, butter, and a drop of sweet wine and froze it. Of course, word of this yummy creation soon spread all over Europe, and then all over the world.
My favorite gelaterie (ice cream shops) are Grom on Via Oche near Piazza del Duomo, Gelateria dei Neri on Via dei Neri and Gelateria Cillo also on Via dei Neri. I'd go there after lunch or after a long hot day and order a small cup or cone with two different flavors for 1.80 or 2 euro. My favorite flavors are pistachio, coffee, fragola (almond), flavor of the month, and at Grom's, gelato come una volta (ice cream – like once upon a time).

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

By Tammy H. – Guestblogger from Florence
After one hour on the train from Florence, I arrived at Pisa last Sunday morning. From the Pisa train station, the red express bus took me directly to the "Field of Miracles" where I paid 25 euro for entries to everything: the Tower, the Cathedral, the Baptistery, the Cemetery and the museum. Entrance fee to the Tower alone is 15 euro and when you buy the ticket, you'll be told what time you can climb up the Tower.
Since my visit was for 1 pm, I had about 3 hours to leisurely walk around and visit the large Museo of the Opera del Duomo and the Museo delle Sinopie where I watched the 3D show and a video about the reconstruction of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Then I checked my backpack in the cloakroom around the corner from the Tower since nothing except a camera is allowed in there…
I walked up 294 marble steps with 2 stops along the way to walk out and look around, also to take a break from the tiring climb – the Bell Tower of Pisa is 50m high. The date of the Tower foundation was 1173 but to this date, the name of the architect is still unknown. Bonanno Pisanno worked on it in the late 12th century and it was completed in the 14th century under the direction of the famed Giovanni Pisano, master sculptor of many artworks in stone, wood and gold as well as architect of the Duomo of Siena. It was leaning because the soil shifted. The tilt intensified after WWII because of the large number of tourists climbing up and down. It continued to slip 1mm to 2mm per year. In 1999 after 2 years of intense researches and consultations with experts, technicians began a Tower restoration program, which lasted 10 years.
I'm glad the restoration with scaffoldings around was all over when I was there. Now I can tell all my friends that I've climbed the Leaning Tower of Pisa, one of the 7 wonders of the world. Yahoo!!

My first Train trip from Florence

By Tammy H. – Guestblogger from Florence
Last Sunday I ventured to Pisa by train all by myself to see one of the 7 wonders of the world: The Leaning Tower of Pisa.
I left home at 7:45 am and spent 30 minutes walking to the Florence train station. With a ticket bought the day before in my hand, I knew the train would leave at 8:30 am, but from what binario (track), I didn't know. It wasn't marked on the ticket…
By the time I saw that my 8:30 train for Pisa would leave from track 1, I only had 5 minutes to run there. But before boarding the train, I was supposed to validate the ticket first, or risk getting a hefty fine, per my Let's Go Guidebook. I looked around. Where was the validating machine and what did it look like? By the time I found one (with the help of another traveler) and had my ticket validated, I turned around to see the train slowly leaving without me…
My first lesson: Get to the station in plenty of time, at least half an hour early, for a smooth ride.
Oh well, the next train was only an hour away and the validation was good for 6 hours. I had time to walk back to the shops area for a simple breakfast–a small bag of grapes and apple slices–and a coffee at McDonalds for 2 euro.
Then I followed the sign to the restroom area. Although my Italian was still limited, I knew enough to read the sign that you have to pay to go there. Other tourists seemed to be confused. There were about 5 turnstiles like at the Washington area metro and I had to insert 1 euro to get in the toilet area. At least it was clean with a good supply of toilet paper and liquid soap.
My second lesson: Make sure to have change for emergencies!
I'm leaving Florence for Venice by train this Sunday and I sure will know what to do!

My First week in Florence

By Tammy H. – Guestblogger from Florence
Another great day. After class, I went to 'Florence for Fun,' a travel agency around the corner from school and signed up for a "Hiking in Chianti" tour this Saturday. We'll hike through the forests and vineyards in Chianti while passing by medieval hamlets and castles. After 2 hours of walking, we'll enjoy lunch with a wine and oil tasting in the historic Sassolini Familyvilla. I'm really excited about this tour.
Then, while walking around looking for an Internet cafe, I asked some young girls standing next to a Vespa to help me. They then pointed at the new building next to us and told me it's a library where I can use the Internet for free. Great! So I went inside, applied for a visitor's card, got set up and here I am now, typing away on a brand-new, non-sticky keyboard.
After 4 days in school, I think I've made a lot of progress with my Italian thanks to the two lively teachers, my international classmates & schoolmates and my homestay lady. The school is very conveniently situated in the center of the city across from the oldest hospital in Florence, two blocks away from Duomo, the landmark cathedral and meeting place of young folks and tourists in town, and only 20 minutes walk from my homestay. Classes are small with 6 to 8 or 9 students so we all get a lot of practice.
The school has five computers with Internet access for us to use free of charge. There are bulletin boards with useful info of all kinds of activities in Florence so we can choose where to go and what to do in our spare time. There are good and reasonable vending machines where I can get a small bottle of water or a cup of cappuccino, espresso or any other coffee flavor for 50 cents, which is a really good deal.
Around the school are small supermarkets where I can buy my own snacks or food and fruits for lunch and numerous small restaurants (or trattorie) for inexpensive lunch. Today I went to The Oil Shop, a small sandwich/salad shop and had a delicious roasted chicken sandwich on whole wheat bread with fresh lettuce and tomato slices inside. It was yummy! Around the corner are various stores, travel agencies and a new library where I can have one hour of free Internet access each day…
About Florence, it's quite different from other European cities I've visited. There is a baroque-style and antique look and feel here as if it's still in the medieval time. The stone or paved streets are shady and narrow with sidewalks on both sides, making it very easy for walking everywhere. There are many walkers, bikers and motor bikers, almost as many as there are cars and buses. It seems there once were many palaces and castles in this cities but now they all look like tall old apartment buildings to me except for heavy and carved wooden gates, doors and old time iron hooks which were used to tie down horses…

Florence Arrival

By Tammy H. – Guestblogger from Florence
It was a LONG walk from Terminal E in Paris CDG to Terminal 2D to change plane. I had to walk really fast since I only had an hour in between. Then I had to wait in LONG line for security check again. But I made it in good time.
When the plane landed in Florence, I only had to wait for a few minutes for my bag to show up. I wheeled it out the "Nothing to Declare" gate and went out to the taxi stand. No custom check… Nothing. A piece of cake!
I showed the cab driver the address of my homestay and asked if he knew it… he said yes. I asked about how much the fare would be… he checked with another driver to make sure and told me about Eu20—23. The taximeter showed that much when I was dropped off in front of the house. It had a locked iron gate so I asked the driver if he could use his phone to call the landlady for me. He gladly did and talked to her for me too. Two minutes later, she came out with a big smile. She said she was expecting me on Saturday. I told her that was the day I left!
Anyway, I was shown to my room on the third floor with a sunroof window that can be opened or closed. My room has two single beds, a desk, a wardrobe, two shelves, a stool and a chair. There are two other young girls going to other schools in Firenze. One is from Pennsylvania, here to study art, and the other is from Germany. Our hostess is very active and loves all kinds of dancing. So she might take us to go dancing one of these nights. She speaks a little English and a lot of French so whenever she needs to explain something for me to understand, we can use French. But I told her I would rather she speak Italian with me afterwards…

Cleaning up Italy

By Tammy H. – Guest Blogger from Florence / Venice
1. Tourists Rejoice!
Since winning his election last April, 72-year-old Premier Berlusconi has focused on his two most urgent campaign pledges: Getting rid of rotting garbage on Naples' streets and getting tough on crime.
The Premier kept his promises. In July he launched a plan to remove 50,000 tons of trash that was all over Naples' streets. In early August, he sent in 3,000 soldiers on a 6-month tour to patrol major Italian cities. The mere presence of the grim-looking, khaki-clad soldiers has helped tourists and local folks feel a lot safer, especially in areas around train stations and famous piazzas (town squares).
2. Tourists Beware!
The Italian Premier has set a great example for many Italian city mayors, sending Italy to a new "prohibition era". A wave of new municipal laws and regulations has washed over the country. In Florence, you might be fined from 25 to 500 euro if you do the following, for example:
a. Leave bottles or pour their contents in streets and piazzas.
b. Litter, including dropping cigarette butts.
c. Bathe in public fountains. (It's been hot and dry here!)
d. Urinate in public. (Young tourists drink too much late at night at bars and there are few public toilets.)
e. Let dogs poop without scooping up.
f. Walk dogs without leashes.
g. Play loud music or make loud noises late at night.
h. Decorate city walls, poles, fences and monuments with graffiti.
i. Climb over bridges or onto bridge platform.
j. Hang laundry out to dry.
k. Shake tablecloths out of windows.
So it seems if it's fun, it's forbidden and don't say I haven't warned you.

Playa del Carmen

By Wendy K. – Video Blogger from Playa del Carmen
Wendy spent 2 weeks in Playa del Carmen attending our Spanish Immersion program. During that time she composed a video of her exciting trip and experiences. Click below to watch the video.

Ecuador

By Chris H. – Latin America specialist travel consultant and a community ecotourism consultant in Ecuador.
Ecuador is one of South America's most biodiverse countries, and for such a small country it sees a very large amount of visitors. The fragile ecosystems of the Galapagos Islands are under threat from booming tourism, while much of the mainland is under threat from logging. A conscientious traveler can respect the natural environment and provide benefits to the relatively poor local population at the same time. Here are a few tips on how to practice responsible travel in Ecuador.
Ecuador is at the forefront of South America in terms of community run ecotourism projects. Many visitors to Ecuador choose to spend a few nights in a rainforest ecolodge, and are faced with a huge range of options. Many such jungle lodges are owned by foreigners or rich local businessmen, but there's plenty of excellent choices that are run and managed by local communities. By choosing a community managed rainforest lodge, the local population sees far greater economic benefits, and they're given an incentive to conserve their local forests. The most upmarket community run jungle lodges are found in the Amazon region – examples include La Selva Lodge, Napo Wildlife Centre, Kapawi Lodge and Yachana Ecolodge. By staying in one you're bringing benefits to both the local environment and local community.
The same principle of booking local owned hotels can be applied to regions throughout Ecuador. Why stay at the Hilton hotel in Quito for example, when there's some fantastic, locally owned hotels in the old town?
In addition to staying in locally owned hotels, another excellent way of being a responsible traveler is to buy local products. Ecuador is full of fascinating indigenous markets, the most famous of which is the market at Otavalo, just a short drive from Quito. Do visit, and do buy the local handicrafts – by doing so you're leaving meaningful economic contributions to local people far less well off than you.
The Galapagos Islands are one of South America's most unique tourism
destinations, but sadly the increasing number of tourists are starting to take a toll on the natural environment. While some might argue that a responsible traveler wouldn't even visit the Galapagos, you can take a few precautions to minimize your impact on the local environment and wildlife. Generally speaking, the smaller cruises do less damage to the marine environment than the larger boats. It's also advisable to check what responsible travel credentials the boat operator has before booking – if their website mentions environmental issues and responsible travel, they'll probably practice it when you're at the destination. When you're in the Galapagos Islands, it goes without saying that you shouldn't litter, and shouldn't approach the animals too closely.
Ecuador offers huge potential for the responsible traveler. By considering these guidelines both before you book your trip, and while you are on vacation, you can leave a real positive impact on your host country.
Chris' website, http://www.bigtravelweb.com/ has details of ecotourism projects throughout the continent.

Last Day in Cusco

By Farah Ahmad – Guest Blogger from Cusco SALUD
The last two nights have been really fun (but long nights) out dancing with some of the people from school and people we've met during our time here. I feel like I'm supposed to take a moment here to reflect on my whole experience. But I'm not sure I can just sum it all up that easily. It's been a great experience but at the same time I'm kind of ready to leave. I think one of the things that I really liked about spending my time in Cusco is that it's a really manageable size and also is a city that many people only use as a stopover for Machu Picchu. However, there's a lot of great history here and tons of things to do. I'm not sure what Lima is going to be like…but it also seems like people here (maybe because Cusco is not as a big a city) are more open to sitting in the plaza talking to random people they meet about their life etc. I DEFINITELY have an easier time understanding my host family's Spanish compared to their cousins who are here from Lima.
Continuing on with my reflections… I definitely have improved with my Spanish. It's funny thinking that when I was flying here, I was cramming numbers into my head on the flight over just so I would be able to understand what someone would tell me in terms of price; And now I'm on to learning about the subjunctive imperfecto (By no means do I actually remember it without glancing at my notes right now!) I've also learned a lot about culture from each of my five different teachers. Including some about Bolivia as my current teacher is from the Bolivia partner school. I have a long way to go but I feel better about having a stronger foundation to now continue to build vocabulary on top of. And at least now I will no longer be in the beginner class when I head back to my medical Spanish class at med school!
Overall, I've met some interesting people. I've also seen beautiful mountains that leave me convinced that I need to build more time into my life at home for hikes and just appreciating the natural beauty that you can't find in cities. It's been a great experience. Definitely one that will continue to shape my future education and travels!

Shadowing in the Oncology Department

By Farah Ahmad – Guest Blogger from Cusco SALUD
Today was my last day in the Essalud hospital in Cusco and it ended on a high note. There have been some rotations during our two week shadowing period that have included more down time than others, but our last two days have been really interesting. I've been in the Oncology department and the first day that we were there, we met a doctor who had us observe two biopsies. The first patient he had was a woman where he took a sample of breast tissue to be sent for analysis. The next patient was a bit more invasive as the man had a lump in his neck that needed to be excised. With local anesthesia, the surgeon cut into the man's neck to the point where we could see his platysmus muscle.
The doctors in the department told us about oncology as it's practiced in Peru and in the hospital. For example, the hospital in Cusco has only three oncologist-surgeons. Doctors are more plentiful in Lima because salaries are higher there. In addition, even Essalud, which is supposed to be the best hospital in Cusco has problems with supply shortages. The doctor we were shadowing said that the biopsy needle he used is supposed to be discardable but he has to clean it with different gases etc. because they only have the one. Another problem mentioned was the lack of focus on public and preventative health in terms of oncology. According to him, there aren't good health campaigns to focus on preventative screenings and mammograms. Also interesting was that sometimes doctors end up fighting and trying to educate other doctors who will treat their cancer patients as if it's a death sentence. They tell them that there are few options even though there are many types of cancers that are treatable.
Today we were in the operating room and saw three surgeries. The first was a woman who had a benign tumor in her submandibular gland and the surgeons removed the whole gland. I have to admit that it was really cool to be able to watch all of that today. The doctor HAD the gland in his HAND after it was done. He also reviewed some of the structures that are right there (facial nerve, lingual nerve, hypoglossal nerve…ugh!) While we were waiting for his next patient, we wandered around the hallway in the operating area and were pulled in by another surgeon who was watching a microsurgery being performed on a woman's cataract! It's really amazing and incredibly humbling to realize all the crazy things we can do in medicine today.
Finally the third patient we saw was interesting but also the saddest. This man had pyloric syndrome where he had a tumor blocking the pyloric sphincter leading from his stomach to his intestine so he would feel full even after eating very little. They had to do an exploratory surgery to see how far it had spread before they would know what they could do next. As soon as they opened up his abdomen they had some idea that the problem was advanced. He had ascites (fluid in his peritoneal cavity) and that indicated a problem. They could tell that the cancer had spread to his pancreas, which makes it inoperable. The doctor explained that all they could do was a palliative surgery to help him be able to eat again. This involved connecting his stomach to his small intestine to circumvent the block.
To be honest, I'm hyper-aware right now that I'm writing about all of this in kind of a distant tone. I think I'm just not really able to process right now that this is basically a death sentence for this man. It feels even more surreal when it's a man in another country who you've never spoken to. I think I need to be in a field where I'm constantly confronted with people's stories and realities because I really fear being someone who takes that road of just turning a blind eye to the truth. I imagine it's hard when you have been in the field for a long time, but it also feels like it's hard right now because as a student you have so little control and knowledge.
Sorry to end on that unfinished note. As for now, I need to head home as tomorrow is our first day at Machu Picchu and I am going to soak in the experience.