Roma

Last weekend I went on a trip with the school to Rome! We left Florence on Saturday morning and went straight to the Coliseum. Unfortunately, it rained pretty hard all morning and the coliseum was covered in scaffolding so it wasn't as beautiful as I had expected it to be.

The Roman Forum

After, we walked around the Roman Forum which was originally the central market in ancient Rome. It was amazing to see columns and such built in 7th century BC still standing in their original form! Following the Forum we took a bus to the Vatican City. Our tour guides said they haven't seen the line to get through the city walls as long as it was that day in centuries! We waited in line for over 2 1/2 hours just to get through. When we finally got through we walked through each of the Vatican Museums including: Raphael's Room, The Gallery of Maps (my favorite), and the Sistine Chapel until we finally reached St. Peter's Basilica.

The Gallery of Maps

While walking through each of these beautiful rooms, we were more worried about getting trampled over by all of the other tourists trying to squeeze their way through. I would love to go back one day when it's less crowded, if possible, and spend a little more time admiring each room. St. Peter's Basilica was a little more spacious considering it is, after all, the largest Catholic church in the world. It was stunning, both inside and outside.

Inside St. Peter's Basilica

Sunday morning we began our day at Piazza Navona, a beautiful center in Rome which includes the Palazzo Pamphilj and the well known Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi- both built in the 1650's.

Piazza Navona   

Our three hour walking tour included the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish steps! Of course at the Trevi Fountain we took the traditional "throw your coin into the fountain while making a wish" picture! Also, Piazza di Spagna, where the Spanish steps are located was a lot more beautiful than I had expected it to be!

 We ended the tour with the Trajan column and the Altare della Patria or "Il Vittoriano", which was my favorite building that I had seen in Rome! I don't know if it was the size, the white marble-like stone, or the chariots on top of the building which is why I was so drawn to it. Many Italians and also foreigners think the building is too large and pompous and glaringly white-- I was just stunned by it.

Altare della Patria

After the tour we took a bus to a restaurant located on the Appian Way for lunch. We had a delicious 4-course traditional Italian meal, one of the best I've had in Italy so far. After lunch we made our way to our last stop- the Catacombs. Although very eerie, the fact that 150,000 tombs were located beneath the ground which spread for 11 miles made the site very fascinating. We took a tour of a very small section of the grounds. The corridors, carved out of volcanic rock, we very dark and narrow-- definitely not suitable for anyone even slightly claustrophobic.

A painted tomb in the Catacombs

Overall, based on my very short 2-day trip to Rome I would most definitely love to go back! Compared to Florence, the "Renaissance City", everything in Rome was a lot more "grand" and the architecture is all Baroque style, as Rome is the city where Baroque began. Personally, I'm more attracted to the Baroque style in general, though I'm definitely glad I chose to study in Florence as it is smaller, more accessible and still very beautiful in its own way!

Life as a Florentine (so far)

Rather than sharing the highlights of my travels while abroad, I thought I'd take some time to share what life in Florence is like!

First- I could not be happier with the destination I chose to study abroad. Europe alone offers so many beautiful and unique places. I chose Italy because of my Italian heritage which I wanted to explore more of, but I'm so glad I chose the beautiful city of Firenze rather than another city in Italy. With that being said- during my research before I went abroad, people only tell you the "good" stuff. How beautiful the buildings are, how accesible everything is, the delicous food & wine, the leather markets etc. While this is all very true, when people ask me what it is really like to live here, I want to give them an honest answer. So, let me just be blunt for a minute to allow people to fully understand ALL of the aspects in which living in Florence entails. What previous travellers don't mention is the dog poop on the streets, the frequent smell of sewer, the creepy and very persistent men, and the mosquitoes that never die. And in our particular neighborhood 3 blocks north of the central market, every night as we fall asleep we're accompanied by the sound of a cat and dog howling and meowing at eachother. At first we thought it was a baby crying- it's terryfying to hear in person! Of course every city has its pros and cons. So let me finish by saying that in Florence, the pros definitely outweight the cons. 

The Duomo is particularly beautiful in the rain at 2AM

On Tuesdays I have class from 12:00-8:30pm, after being in class for so long my favorite part of the day is walking home through the city. Everyone is enjoying their dinner, the markets begin to close for the evening, yet the city is still so alive. My favorite time of day in Florence, however, is before 8am. Only a few early-riser elderly couples are up starting their day as tourists, taking pictures of the Duomo while the rest of the crowds are still sleeping. I also love to catch several of the market owners sweeping their steps and opening their stores at this time each morning. 

Piazza Repubblica in the morning

It's hard to imagine our time here is almost already half-way through as mid-terms are the week after next. I still have so much to learn about this city that I feel overwhelmed sometimes with the amount of time left here and the amount of things I still wish to do. Every day on my way to class I notice a new store and make a mental note to go there "one of these days". While Florence is a fairly small city it is absolutely big enough to explore a new area each day that you've never been to before. I should mention though for future travelers, out of the places that I've discovered so far the best gelato in my opinion is Bellamia, and the best panini place is Antica Sosta Degli Aldobrandini- both right near my school and provide discounts for students! 

Crema & Chocolate Gelato from Bellamia

The Diner is a great spot to satisfy those American Breakfast cravings!

This past Wednesday LdM hosted a 40th anniversary dinner at the Gardens of the beautiful Corsini Palace. When we arrived we were greeted with champagne and tickets for food vendors scattered around the garden. The venue was decorated with christmas lights and large white tents. The caterers were dressed in all white and wore straw hats. I was in awe the whole night about how amazingly perfect the party was planned. And that it was all FREE! Endless wine and champagne led to a fun night on the dance floor with the LdM staff after we stuffed our faces with some of the best food I've yet to eat in Italy! 

Overall, I think anyone who has the oppurtunity to study abroad would be crazy not to take it!  Of course it's a hard adjustment living in a foreign country and among several things I'm really missing my family, my car, Doritoes and the rest of my wardrobe- but I wouldn't change one detail of this experience so far for the world. I already can't wait to return to Italy one day with a larger bank account and memories from when I was 21 years old! 

Lake Como, Switzerland & My 21st!

Finding time to write this week was impossible! Between birthday festivities and schoolwork I'm finally able to catch up on some me-time.  A bunch of people have been asking about my Switzerland trip so even though its a whole week later- I'll briefly fill you all in!

Lake Como

We left on Saturday at 6 am to depart for Lake Como.  We were able to walk around the lake-- such incredible views! No sightings of Clooney though. After we walked around Como we took a ferry ride to the town of Bellagio. It was the most quaint little picturesque Italian town you could imagine! There were beautiful flower gardens everywhere and even the flowers outside of the restaurants matched the restaurant's decor.




After leaving Bellagio, it took about two hours to reach the Switzerland border. I try not to consider the stereotypical characteristics of a particular place before I visit so I'm able to be unbiased in my opinion-- however, as soon as we entered this beautiful country everything was exactly how I would have imagined and hoped it would be in terms of appearance! When I imagine Switzerland I picture almost exactly what I was able to see with my own eyes. White mountains, green grass, wood chalets and chocolate shops! I was pleasantly surprised though by 1.) how friendly the people were 2.) how clean, calm, and quiet the country was. During our ride to St. Moritz we passed several beautiful lakes, waterfalls, streams, and of course the Alps. The feeling you get when you arrive in a place like this is hard to put into words-- but i'm positive I wasn't the only one who experienced this feeling as many said it was their favorite trip so far.

When we arrived at Hotel Sonne in St. Moritz Saturday night it was 40 degrees! A big change in temperature from the mountains in Southern Italy I experienced the previous weekend. We ate dinner in the hotel- a delicious 4 course meal. My favorite was the chicken and gravy with french fries!

Lake of St. Moritz with the city in the background

Considering the towns throughout most of Switzerland are in between the valleys of the Alps and among the slopes, they're fairly small due to this location. On Sunday Morning we began our walking tour through the town and around the Lake of St. Moritz. During our tour it felt as if the city was sleeping, we may have seen only 15 or so locals walking around. It was a nice change from the hustle and bustle and tourists in Florence. We stopped at a chocolate shop where of course I splurged a little!

Swiss Chocolate

After the walking tour we took a 3 hr train ride on the Bernina Express through the Alps. Throughout the entire ride there were stunning views of the mountains and the towns surrounding them! I think I took about 200 pictures just during this portion of the trip-- a little excessive I know! We finally then arrived in Italy and took a bus ride back to Florence. I hope to be able to go back to Switzerland one day or even again during my stay here. Everything about the beautiful country felt so relaxing, humble and refreshing!



The Big 2-1!

My loves on my 21st! (Kirsten, me, Courtney)

Tuesday the 24th was my twenty-first birthday here in Florence! What a great place to celebrate a birthday. On the morning of I received a flower delivery from my wonderful family! The fact that my mother called Italy to find a place that would deliver flowers to me just proves how blessed I am! After class my roommates, neighbors and other friends from LdM went to a restaurant called Dante's. It is a must-go place to visit in Florence as a student because they give you free unlimited wine and limoncello shots! It was a perfect place to celebrate a birthday- and the food was delicious! Also, an actor from the show on MTV "Awkward" was there and sang me happy birthday! We were all feeling good to say the least when leaving after quite a few empty bottles. I'm so lucky to have met some great friends during this experience who helped make my birthday special while being away from home! I couldn't have asked for a better day!

Amalfi Coast!

This past weekend Sept. 12-15th I went to the Amalfi coast to visit Sorrento, Capri, Positano & Pompeii! Before coming to Italy I heard so much about how beautiful this coast line was and would admire pictures of it constantly-- so you can imagine how excited I was to finally be able to visit! We stayed in a hostel "Villagio Blu" in Sorrento and left for Capri friday morning. When we got there we took a private boat ride around the island, passing the Blue Grotto and going through the Dolce & Gabbana rocks. After the boat tour we hiked to the top of Capri Town. The views were amazing!

    

View from Capri Town

We then took a bus to the highest point of the island, Anacapri. One of the highlights of this area is the chairlift to the top of Mt. Solora. I was speechless when we got to the top! The Meditterean Sea went on for miles. From there we could see the Dolce & Gabbana rocks, the Bay of Naples and Mt. Vesuvius in the distance!

Down the chairlift!

Saturday we took a bus to beautiful Positano. We walked from the top of the town down to the black sand (well, rock) beaches. After stopping for paninis we got to snooze on the beach before taking a boat to go cave diving and cliff jumping! I jumped off the 20ft cliff- so worth the wedgie! My favorite part was being able to swim around in the turqiouse water! We took the boat the the cave which was also very cool! On the way back to our hostel we drove through the most amazing sunset overlooking the coast of Positano- the timing could not have been more perfect!

The cliff we jumped off!

Beautiful Positano

Sunday morning we left Sorrento to depart back to Florence and stopped in Pompeii on the way. Our guide for the tour of the grounds was 100% Neapolitan but lived in England as a boy so his accent was quite interesting. It was amazng to see what was able to be recovered from the damage of Mt. Vesuvius when it erupted in 79 A.D. Even the grooves on the streets from the chariots were still clearly visible. Even though we didn't have time to explore the city of Naples, I was happy to be able to visit the general area as part of my heritage originates from this area in Italy. The people just in the city of Pompeii were generally more friendly compared to people in the northern region of Italy.

Our very animated tour guide in Pompeii

On a side note, the semester has definitely started to pick up the pace! Even at HPU after syllabus week the semester gets busy right away with essays and late night cram sessions but studying abroad takes busy to a whole new level. While most everyone travels between weekends we have Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to get all of our homework, group projects, laundry, dishes, packing etc. done before leaving. Coming back from Amalfi this weekend and preparing for Switzerland this upcoming weekend while studying for a quiz and writing a research paper was a lot-- but it's all worth it to be able to see the world during our free time!

Fiesole & Cinque Terre

What an amazing weekend in Italy! This past Saturday a group of us went to Fiesole which is just 15 minutes outside of Florence and overlooks the beautiful city. To get there we took bus no.7 at the bus stop only five mins away from our apartment. We're not yet accustomed to the bus system here so we got off at the bottom of the hill before we realized we still had 2 miles up to get to the town's center! Naturally, we waited for the next bus to pick us up!

Once we got to the top the view was breathtaking. Pictures simply do not do it justice. We ate lunch at a restaurent called "Blu Bar" and I ordered the best Margherita pizza I've ever tasted in my life! There is not much to do in Fiesole besides take in the view and to visit the archaeological area of the town. Rachel, my roommate, and I ventured into the museum with very little knowledge about this little town-- so we were suprised to find it had so much history. The most popular site is the Roman Theatre which is still in tact and in use.

The Roman Theatre

The first recorded mention of this town dates back to 283 BC when the town was conquered by the Romans. In the archaeology museum they displayed pots, coins, and sculptures hand made by the Estrucans-- they even discovered a full skeleton among the ruins of this town. After the Florentines conqured the town it became a popular area for the wealthy to reside there in their villas overlooking the city.

SUNDAY:

Yesterday Courtney, Kirsten and I ventured off on a last minute trip to Cinque Terre! We left at 7 am and arrived around 11am as our train was delayed. Unfortuantely the weather was cloudy with a few drops of rain but that didn't matter considering how beautiful it is there!! Cinque Terre in Italian means "The 5 lands" which are spread throughout the mountains along the coast in the region of Liguria, Italy. I read the book Beautiful Ruins this summer (highly recommended) which was set in this beaufitul region so it was amazing to finally visit and gain perspective!

Manarolo

Vernazza

The 5 towns include: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Riomaggiore and Manarola. Vernazza was very picturesque however, Monterosso was my favorite of the 5. The beaches were incredible and it was more spread out than the other more congested towns. The region of Liguria is where pesto originally comes from, and is also well known for its white wines as I learned today in class! Of course we had to try the pesto for lunch- which tasted extremely strong & fresh, but delicious! After we explored the 4 towns we spent the rest of the afternoon in Monterosso by the beach! It felt amazing to soak up some italian sunshine and go swimming. After one margarita I had a lovely nap on the sand, and before I knew it was time to head back on the train. Cinque Terre was an amazing day trip sunshine or rain! A beautiful and busy weekend in Italy before another week of classes.. next up is the Amalfi Coast this upcoming weekend! I hope you all are enjoying my posts- I appreciate the feedback!

Pasta w/ pesto!

Beaches of Monterosso

               

Scuola di Lorenzo de' Medici

This past Monday we began our first week of classes at Lorenzo de' Medici. After the initial stress of finding how to get to each of my classrooms scattered throughout Florence, I now feel more comfortable as I'm developing a routine. I am currently enrolled in two psychology courses, an intro to filmmaking course, an Italian language course, and a wine tasting course. Out of these 5 classes only two of my professors speak fluent English. I expect it will be difficult to attempt to listen and understand their lectures accompanied by a very strong Italian accent while also taking notes-- especially in wine tasting after a few glasses!

My "Psychology of Crime" classroom

I'm most excited about my filmmaking class in which we will be making a short film shot around Florence. My wine tasting class is also a wealth of information as I already learned on the first day what characteristics make a good Barolo and Dolcetto red wine! My favorite was the sparkling Moscato D'asti Spumente of course. Delizioso!

Adjusting to attending a school in a different country has definitely been a process. Unlike HPU, LdM doesn't hold your hand each step of the way. While it is exhilarating having this freedom, it also requires a great deal of responsibility and independence. Studying abroad certainly allows you to explore your strengths and weaknesses as an individual. So far it has been an amazing experience that allows me to feel even more comfortable as an independent adult.
While this week has been focused primarily on classes, getting books, grocery shopping and such I don't have very much exciting news to share! Instead I'll entertain your eyes with a few pictures from this past week/end including a visit to Piazza Michelangelo and a "welcome LdM student dinner" at the Palazzo Borghese.
Tomorrow we plan to visit Fiesole located in the countryside of Florence and Sunday I will visit Cinque Terre on the western coast of Italy! Stay tuned for more about those excursions. Ciao for now!

The view from Piazza Michelangelo

The best gnocchi I'd had so far in Florence!

Piazza dei Pitti

The girls of Via Delle Ruote- @ Palazzo Borghese



Palazza Borghese

Exploring Our New Home

Buon pomeriggio! I have finally taken the day today to do pretty much nothing. The past few days have been filled with so many new experiences and information about our new home that many of us have felt a bit overwhelmed and exhausted. "Culture shock" was a concept that I was prepared to face however no matter how much you prepare there will always be things that take a little more time to adjust to. Being organized and bringing items from home however has certainly helped with these adjustments. For future study abroad students I would definitely recommend bringing items such as: a bath towel, wash cloths, shampoo, soap, sheets, maps, a water bottle etc. so long as weight in your suitcase permits. When you first arrive in a foreign country the last thing you want to worry about is where to buy toothpaste!

With that being said- I'll briefly update you all on what I have been up to for the past few days! Since I last wrote, I have been able to see more of the city and I have already memorized how to get to certain places including the main center where the Duomo is from our apartment. Unfortunately, our apartment is a decent hike to the main attractions, while some students I have met live right above the Hard Rock Cafe in the main center! A little extra excerise doesn't hurt so I'm not complaining but my terrible walking feet are struggling lol! We're also fortunate to be able to explore a part of the city that we most likely wouldn't often go to if we lived so close to everything.

Thursday night I had my first gelato. We had to walk to the center at 10 pm to find one that was still open! I must say- maybe the first Gelateria I went to wasn't the best but I haven't figured out what the big deal is about gelato compared to regular ice cream. If I experience the life-altering moment that others seem to rave about after eating gelato I'll make sure to make note! Also on Thursday night we met the landlord of our apartment. He is a cute little Italian man probably late 50s who was very sweet, helpful and very welcoming!

Yesterday we met with our advisor who gave us loads of information. The Italians talk very fast even when they're speaking Enlgish so most of what she said went through one ear and out the other. We were able to explore the area where most of our classes will be which is jam packed with tourists! I'm looking forward to Autumn when suppossedly the amount toursits dies down a little. After a long morning we went to dinner at a fun Restaurant called ZaZa's near the San Lorenzo market. I had a delicious fettucini bolognese dish. Dining at restaurants in Italy is very different from America in several ways. First- water is not free. I drink a lot of water during the day and I have found myself on the verge of feeling very dehydrated often. Also- they include a "gratitude" charge in the bill. Last night we ate outside right by the street with a party of 7 and they included a €15 charge.
After dinner we experienced our first night out in Florence! We pregamed at our neighbors apartment and went to a club called Space. It took us about an hour to get there when it should have taken us 18 minutes because none of us knew where we were going! Once we got there the first floor was empty until we discovered the second floor which was filled with people from all over the world. When you arrive at the club you get a card that allows you one free drink and each time you order they punch your card. At the end of the night you pay at a checkout point for all of your drinks- definitely very different from how we go out in the US! To summarize our night at Space I will say it was a crazy experience and that it won't be our last time going but it most likely will not be a regular spot! Lol

Today and tomorrow before classes start on Monday I plan on enjoying some down time and exploring the city to become more comfortable finding where my classes are. I already have trips booked for each weekend up to October 5th so far so I'm taking advantage of the down time I have in Florence before we start school.

Overall I've felt like I was meant to study abroad in the Fall of 2013. I have already made some great friends and I feel very comfortable with my decision to study abroad. Everything happens for a reason and  I can't wait to see what the rest of my journey holds! So far- I never want it to end!!

Fun fact about Florence- so many of the locals have dogs. The other day I saw a golden retreiver and a black lab and of course immediately it made me miss my Richie. I did not expect to see so many people with pets considering Florence only has a few parks in our area where they can run and play. But I'm such a crazy dog lover so I love seeing them!

Ciao!

The beautiful Duomo

Club Space

Drying clothes-Italy style!

Raviolli 

Left to Right: Courtney, Me, Melanie, Kirsten, Savannah, Maria, Caroline

Chocolate, Vanilla & Cookies and cream!