My First week

Well the first week of classes are done! Since two of my classes are History, it seems like there may be a lot of reading but the theater part of it has been really fun so far. At least I am not expected to be very good at it haha This past Tuesday a group of us went to Lugano, which is a 10-15 minute train ride from Riva. It is soooo cool though! Its very city-like and pretty pricy but it is neat to see the people and just walk around for a bit. There is also another Virginia Tech study abroad group that stays in Lugano, so we met up with a few of them at a bar for dinner and drinks.

I didn't do much on Wednesday, mostly just hung around the Villa after classes were over, I did take some pictures around the city. Above is the view from the balcony in our Villa, pretty cool huh? Our classes run later on Mon/Wed, but on Tues/Thurs we get out at noon. Today a few of us rode bikes to another train station in Mendrizio to get Swiss 1/2 Passes, which give you half off your fare for any train you take in Switzerland. It was quite and adventure. We didn't have great directions and its been a while since I rode a bike AND I have barely ever road anything other than a beach cruzer, so needless to say, the beginning of the ride was a bit sketchy.

Tomorrow we head off to Monaco!!! There are about 15 of us who planned this trip around a circus festival that happens in the month of January. Every weekend of Jan. in Monte Carlo there is a really popular performance of the worlds best circus performers, like the best acts world-wide. We couldn't get tickets all together, so half are seeing the show on Friday night (me) and the rest are seeing it on Sat. We are staying in a Hostel in Nice - It is supposed to be the best hostel in France so I am sure we will be spoiled and think they are all supposed to look like that haha On Saturday, we plan on staying around Nice or possibly going into Monte Carlo again to check out the main Casino if we don't get to it on Friday (it is the Casino from James Bond, Casino Royal). It is a super glitzy and expensive place so I am sure we wont be able to afford too much while there, but that doesn't mean I wont put $20 on black!!!!

I wont be able to update while I am away, but I will definitely tell you all about my trip! Love Love