Io Tornato a Presto Italia.

Well I have officially been stateside for a few months now and I must say I miss Italy very much. I just wanted to post one last time  to reflect about my study abroad experience. Spending six weeks in Italy completely changed my life. I learned so much, saw so much, and experienced so much. It was worth all the work, penny pinching, and time I spent in preparation and then some. Walking amongst so much history and culture was so enriching and my heart aches with longing at the thought of the cobblestone streets and tiny coffees. 

I lived in Rome for six weeks so here are 6 things that stick out to me:

1. The most surprising thing about studying abroad was how comfortable I felt in a place I didn't know and couldn't speak the language. I was really surprised by how fast I fell in love with Rome. 

2. The best part about studying abroad was being completely immersed in another culture. There is no better way to experience a place. It is also an amazing opportunity or excuse to do whatever you want because lets face it nobody knows you! 

3. The hardest part of studying abroad was coming home. There are many challenges of studying abroad from the paperwork to the bus strikes every other day; but by far the hardest part was coming back. Leaving such an amazing place that I loved was the hardest thing I have ever done, and I can only bear it because I know I will go back. 

4. The best view in Italy is always from the Duomo or dome of churches. From the Duomo of Florence to the top of St. Peter's Basilica it's worth the Euro to climb to the top. 

5. One of my favorite Italian things is when I would see people riding their vespas, driving with one hand and using the other to talk to their passenger behind them. :) 

6. I think the most important thing I took away from my time in Italy is that it is ALWAYS worthwhile to pursue your dreams. To experience the world is to live and in the future I hope if my life holds nothing else that I get to see the world. Rome will always hold a piece of my heart. I think this quote describes it perfectly: 

"You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing another place." 

Florence with Friends

 After the Wine tasting in Tuscany my friends and I jumped on a train and traveled to Florence for a little adventure. Our first day there we got pizza and then walked across Ponte Veccio, the famous Medieval bridge located there. It was a playful scene with music being played and lights twinkling in the Arno river. 

The next day we visited Museu dell'Opera, an art museum, and then made the crazy treck up to the top of the Duomo, the top of the Cathedral. It was an amazing view! You could see the entire city of Florence from the top. Throughout my time in Italy I have definitely learned that it is always worth it to make the climb to the top of Duomos. We hung out there for a little while, until we had taken it all in.

Afterwards we visited the Cathedral which is just a crazy view with all of it's colors and decorations. The inside was nothing compared to it's intricate exterior, but you could go beneath the church and visit the ruins that had been found underneath, which was really interesting. Always layers. 

We didn't have enough time to visit the Uffizi Gallery which houses Michelangelo's real David so we made due with the fake one we found.

Florence was a beautiful city. It feels as if you are stepping back to the Renaissance when strolling the streets. The atmosphere here was also very different than that of Rome. It may be a large tourist destination but it feels really relaxed and young, "chill" comes to mind when describing this colorful city.

A Taste of Tuscany

Castello Bamfi is a little winery nestled into the Tuscan countryside. It is surrounded by rolling hills and you have to take a very winding dirt road in order to get there. The tasting buildings and offices are located inside an old castle, which really adds to the atmosphere. The views were beautiful. 

The wine tasting took place inside the castle, and we got to taste 3 different kinds of wine, all of them rosso, or reds. This winery particularly focuses on red wine. All of the wines we tasted were very good, but they gave us very generous helpings, good thing these little breadsticks were here!

After we finished with the wine tasting and had taken a little look around the shop we headed down the hill to the facilities to go on a tour. It was crazy how much wine they make! It was also a good reminder for how complicated the wine making process truly is. 

While at the winery I also found myself a good old friend....

After we had finished our tour we (most unwillingly) got back on the bus and headed to Montalcino, which is a little Medieval village. We had lunch there, which was DELICIOUS!  They make all their noodles there from scratch and you could definitely taste the difference. After lunch we walked around the village for an hour and checked out the main castle before heading out!

The Mighty Vatican

Last week I took an afternoon to visit the Vatican in all it's greatness. The vatican museums are very extensive and beautiful. There was so many beautiful paintings, extraordinarily life like sculptures, vast frescos, and just daunting greatness all around me. 

The Sistine Chapel was completely covered in paintings, it felt very overwhelming. Here is the illegal photograph I took inside... It isn't the best quality because I couldn't actually look at my camera while taking it.

By far my favorite part of my Vatican experience was climbing to the top of St. Peter's Dome. The treck to the top was around 500 steps, including very slanted narrow pathways. However the view from the top was breathtaking and so worth it. I could see all of Rome, and the hills beyond. It was a great view.

St. Peter's Basilica will always be the most astounding church, as well as the light that penetrates it, by no coincidence, in the most playful of ways.

Overall the Vatican was an amazing place that held so much beauty in it's paintings, architecture, sculpture, and history. I feel so thankful to have had the opportunity to visit this influential place.

Amore per Il Almafi Costa

A few weekends ago I boarded a bus along with three other students on my study abroad and headed off to the beautiful Almafi Coast. We had decided to go on this trip with a group called bus2alps that puts together excursion trips for study abroad students. It was an amazing trip. The first day we were up bright and early and took a ferri to the island of Capri where we boarded a second boat for a private tour around the island. It was absolutely gorgeous! 

During the tour we got to see some caves, the outside of the white and green grottos, and these very famous "love rocks" pictured below. We also stopped at the blue grotto where we got into little tiny row boats that took us inside. It was like nothing I have ever seen before. Beautiful, words escape me.

Once we made it to Capri we were very warm since it was in the mid 90s so we stopped for their famous granitas which was basically the best thing I have ever tasted. Upon order the fruit is freshly squeezed into your cup in a delicious mixture. This man is my hero.

 Then after the group all managed to get together we took buses up to AnaCapri. There we had the best Caprese Pizza ever, walked around and looked at all the little shops, and took this amazing chairlift up the to the top of the mountain. Although the chair lift was a little scary, it was so beautiful. You could see the entire island. This is me on the chiar lift:

 That night we went out for dinner in Sorrento, and also went to a beer garden there. It was a lot of fun, a lot of dancing, expensive drinks, and very American. We had a fun time, but called it an early night so we would be bright eyed and bushy tailed for the next day.

The next day we went to Positano, which is a little coastal town with a fabulous black sand beach. We swam in the salty Mediterranean, sunbathed, and ate panini's before heading to the boat outing. Six of us got into a little boat with a very nice driver. He took us to the place that had cliff jumping, which we did. I guess if all my friends were jumping off cliffs, I would too...sorry Mom. After a little while we swam back to the boat and climbed aboard to head to the caves. Here we again jumped off the boat and took a swim through these amazing caves. It was crazy and amazing and like nothing I have ever seen before. Afterwards we got some gelato and did a little browsing before heading back to our hotel.

The next day we packed up and boarded the buses to head to Pompeii. This is what I had been truly excited for. I had read a lot about Pompeii and was ecstatic at the prospect of seeing it in person. We had decided to do the guided tour so we got a guide and went through all the ruins. It was crazy to me how much was there, and how much we can learn from it. I was also really stunned by the number of stone penises that we saw! They are in the sidewalks and the buildings and apparently pointed the way to the brothels...never read about that in any of my books! 

 Pictured below are some of the ruins with Mount Vesuvius in the background.

Overall it was an amazing trip, and I am really glad we decided to go. Every day I am just stunned by what I am seeing and completely astounded by how lucky I am. 

Dancing our way through Barcelona

This past weekend I was lucky enough to travel outside of Italy to the magical land of Spain. There I spent my time in the spry city of Barcelona. It is amazing how extraordinarily different Barcelona feels from Rome. Barcelona felt young, modern, hip, and sunny. Around every corner there was a random piece of modern art, or beautiful murals, or even welcomed graffiti. The beaches were beautiful! To the right I am sitting at one of the most famous beaches in Barcelona, Barceloneta, which is always packed with people, (many who don't feel the need to wear swim suites), and has very accessible sangria :)
I arrived in Barcelona on Friday morning with my friend Maddy. We checked into our hostel, which was a no frills clean place that was the right price. Then we pretty much just wondered around all day. We stopped to mill around the dozens of outdoor markets, and even paid a visit to the famous Catedral de Barcelona, pictured left. We saw the harbor, stopped for some famous sangria, and just soaked in the sunshine. We even got into the beach mood when we stopped at Makamaka for lupper. It had a very spring break feel and a great selection of vegetarian burgers, as well as the best beer I think I have had so far.

Being pretty exhausted we decided to save our "going out" for the next evening and instead ventured to this fountain light/water show. I'm really glad we did because it was positively beautiful! There were more fountains in that block than I think I have ever seen. There was this huge palace at the top, which is an art museum, and the view from there is incredible. We called it an "early night" at about 1 am when our roommates were just starting to get ready to hit the town...hahah oh Barcelona!

The next day we got an early start and made the treck to Gaudi's Sagrada Familia, a huge church in an architectural style unlike anything I have every witnessed. Gaudi is known for using nature as his inspiration in architecture and it is apparent in every single part of his work. From the outside this huge church looks like a drip sand castle. The inside however is not rough at all, it is smooth, sleek, and colorful. Every detail represents an aspect of nature. For example the columns holding up the church are trees and extend into a canopy above the church, creating the ceiling. That night Maddy and I had an authentic Catalian dinner around 11 pm and then headed out. We got to a place around 12:30 and were really early. We ended up at a club called the Sidecart, which well let's just say we made it fun... We decided to call it a night around 3:30 or 4:00 and were still the first ones back to our hostel! The nightlife in Barcelona definitely doesn't get started until at least 1 and it sure goes until 6 in the morning, crazy!

The next day we hung out at the beach the ENTIRE day! It was so relaxing, although I did get sunburnt :(

Overall Barcelona was great, very sunny and modern, and young. However it sure is no Roma :)

5 terre

Cinque Terre is a string of five little villages along the Mediterranean Coast in northern-ish Italy. The five villages are scattered amongst the mountains and the effect if very enchanting. I absolutely loved Cinque Terre, although my out of shape leg muscles may not have :)

The southernmost town, Riomaggiore, is where we stayed. Our hostel was at the very top of the hill and there were about one thousand and twenty stairs on the way there. Needless to say by the time we made it my luggage felt heavy, and I was already warm and sweaty. Then we quickly changed and headed out on the breath taking hike through the mountains to each town, Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso. We left around 1 and made it to the last town around 7. The hiking was crazy, but so worth it and beautiful! The picture below is our "victory" picture after making it up a particularly bad mountain. 

I thought all the sail boats were charming :) There was also on this pier at the time a little boy throwing a line in, and gathered around him were several older men and shouting excitedly and encouraging him on. I thought it was a great scene that portrayed the lifestyle of Chinque Terre.

Also after our incredibly long but amazing day of hiking and sight seeing we went out for tiramisu and it was pretty much the best tiramisu I have ever eaten in my entire life.