Quattro Ragazze, un Viaggio

Post abroad blues.

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:20:33 -0400

I have been back in the states for about a week and a half now and have been experiencing the biggest culture shock of all, REALITY. I started working two days after I got home. Between being extremely jet lagged and being upset that my highly anticipated abroad experience is over, I have been absolutely miserable. I honestly cannot believe how fast my semester in Florence went by. It seems like just yesterday that I was pulling up to Via Gino Capponi by an Italian taxi, with the weirdest feeling of both horror and excitement all at once. I would do anything to go back to that day! It wasn’t until I got home that I realized how truly lucky I am to have experienced all that I did during four short months spent in Europe. Don’t get me wrong, I was very excited to see everyone from home; however, it only took two days for me to want to go back! It has been a bigger culture shock coming back home than it was adjusting to the Italian lifestyle. I got so used to the way that things were in Italy, that it was hard to come back and adjust back to my life as a normal, American college student. So…. What is in store for me this summer? Well I wish I could say a weekend trip to Spain, and a day trip to Cinque Terre, but I can’t! So, I’ll be here in Connecticut working almost every day & living the average life of a twenty year old while trying to shed off some of those excess gelato pounds! CIAO!!

fromflorence: take me back!

Tue, 08 May 2012 17:40:23 -0400

fromflorence:

take me back!

First and last picture in front of the duomo with my fav....

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:39:05 -0400

First and last picture in front of the duomo with my fav. Ladies!

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Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:07:00 -0400

Fruhlingsfest in Munich, Germany!

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:19:00 -0400

Two weeks out of the year when the flowers begin to bloom, Munich is taken over by its infamous Fruhlingsfest, which is a beer festival that celebrates the Spring! We thought it would be a great idea to participate in these German festivities for our last trip abroad. It was a perfect way to end our amazing abroad experience. Early Friday we explored the beautiful city of Munich. It is a very clean city and there is a lot to do there. We experienced our first German beers & sausages in the afternoon and later we went on a bike tour throughout the city. The bike tour was a great way to see all of the city & we even stopped at the worlds second largest beer garden half way through the tour for a stein of beer! After the tour we freshened up and went to the beer tents for the night where the festival is held. It was like nothing I have ever seen before. There were just so many people with huge beers and pretzels everywhere. Outside of the tents there are tons of carnival rides and stands with food. So we went on all the rides & got some late night treats! Saturday morning we walked around in the beautiful sunshine and went to the Hofbrauhaus for beers! It was packed & definitely worth seeing. The rest of the day we went back to the beer tents and celebrated with all the Germans. After a great weekend filled with too much beer & pretzels, we went to Dachau concentration camp before heading back to Florence. It was an extremely sad thing to see, however It was worth it. It really touched me to be standing in a real concentration camp. I think its important to see things like Dachau along the way with all of the fun stuff because it reminds us of our history & puts everything into perspective. Overall, Germany was a GREAT trip & I definitely see myself going back there someday. It is so bittersweet that our journey is ending in one week. It really flew by! But its 80 and sunny in Florence so we are looking forward to a great last weekend! CIAO CIAO.

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Tue, 17 Apr 2012 04:58:00 -0400

CROATIA!

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 03:56:14 -0400

Croatia was one of the most interesting and beautiful places I have visited yet. It was really cool to see Eastern Europe. Overall, we had a great trip despite the rain. On Friday, we went white water rafting, which was definitely the highlight of the trip! We rafted down the emerald green Cetina river. It was gorgeous and a lot of fun. Luckily we all got to be in the same raft and got out pictures taken throughout our adventure. Friday night we went on a pub crawl throughout Split, which was where we were staying. It was really fun! On Saturday we woke up early and went on a boat to tour a couple different Islands in Croatia. However, we only made it to one other Island because the water was so rocky due to the bad weather! :-( But it was still beautiful. We went to Brač which was a quaint beach island. After our rocky cruise on the adriatic sea, we took a bus to another part of Croatia called Trogir for dinner. We enjoyed a delicious dinner filled with lots of seafood. It was so yummy! Also, the ambience in Croatia was great! Much better than in Italy, so that was refreshing. Sunday morning, we woke up early and headed to Krka national park. Krka was a beautiful park surrounded by waterfalls. It was gorgeous! Croatia was a very relaxing trip, and we all know we want to go back someday to enjoy the countries beauty in nice weather! CIAO!

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Thu, 12 Apr 2012 06:11:00 -0400

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Thu, 12 Apr 2012 05:23:16 -0400

Amalfi Coast for Easter !! :-)

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 05:08:07 -0400

BUONA PASQUA! For Easter weekend we took advantage of the long weekend and bussed it to the Amalfi Coast! There were SO many students on our trip, which made it really fun. Friday morning we woke up at the crack of dawn and took a ferry from Sorrento, where we were staying, to Capri. When we got to Capri- we took a boat tour around the entire Island. The weather was beautiful. We saw the blue grotto, but we couldn’t go inside because the water levels were too high. ;-( It was still a gorgeous tour surrounded by crystal clear blue water and rocky caves. Once the tour ended, we hiked up to the town of Capri to enjoy the scenes from a little bit higher. After, we took a bus up to Ana Capri which is a smaller town way up high on the mountains of Capri. The bus was driving on these narrow windy roads up the mountain. It was AMAZING. I literally felt like I was on top of the world. After, we took a chair lift ALL the way up to the tip top of the mountain. It was so high, but it was definitely worth it. The views were breath taking. Friday was the best weather day so we took advantage of it and sat on the rocks by the beach before heading back to Sorrento to watch the sunset.

Saturday was the WORST weather out of all of the days. It was POURING…. However, we headed to Positano since our days were limited. The rain didn’t ruin the day. Positano was beautiful. It was filled with colorful houses all built on the rocky hills. There was a really pretty beach at the bottom of the town, and if you walked up there were all little shops and restaurants. We had the BEST panini at this little deli. It was delicious. After, we sat by the water in a cafe to keep warm! It cleared up just in time for us to watch the sunset later that night.

On Easter Sunday we went to Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius. We splurged and got a guided tour through Pompeii which was definitely worth it. It was really sad, and amazing at the same time walking through Pompeii. It was a lot bigger than I expected and the amazing thing is that 1/3 of it is still undiscovered. We got REALLY good pizza in Pompeii, which fueled us for our long walk up Mount Vesuvius. It was exceptionally cold, but it was all worth it because we can say that we hiked up an active volcano. When we reached the top, the best part was seeing all of the craters in the mountain that had red crusted lava all around them. It was such a natural high! Later Sunday evening, we went into Positano and went to a club in a cave, it was so fun & quite an experience. We ended our trip on Monday by stopping in Naples on the way home for lunch! It was one of my favorite trips yet & It is somewhere I KNOW I will have to back to! :-) We are heading to Croatia this evening for the weekend. Cross your fingers for good weather!!! CIAO CIAO.

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Thu, 12 Apr 2012 03:38:00 -0400

A month to go...

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 04:48:25 -0400

With the semester beginning to wind down, we are using all of our free time in Florence to do the little things we haven’t done yet! We are taking “YOLO” to a whole new level because our time is running out. This past weekend we went to Pisa for the morning. It was a really weird and trashy city, but I guess the tower is something that you “have” to see. It was pretty cool to see it in person! On Sunday we went to a Florence soccer game which was really fun! We were surprised at how big and crazy the games are. It was a beautiful day out so it was really enjoyable. The weather has been insanely nice… the temperature is perfect. However, this weekend we are going to the Almafi Coast for Easter, and the forecast does not look so good- so lets hope that Italians are horrible meteorologists and that we get a couple decent days in!! Tonight we are going to see LLYOD BANKS at a club in Florence! It should be really fun. It is crazy to think that in a month we will be back in the States… so weird. We have a trip planned for every weekend until we go home, so the time is sure to pass by quickly. Happy Easter! CIAO!

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Sun, 18 Mar 2012 08:27:00 -0400

Kappa Meets Italy.

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 07:46:21 -0400

This past week, our friends from Uconn came to visit us in Italy! It was so great to see all of them and to be able to share this experience with them. Four of our sorority sisters came, and we really had a great time. We did so many “florency” things with them. We took them to all of our favorite restaurants, climbed the Duomo with them, and took them to Piazza Michelangelo. However, we also did a few day trips with them. We went to Venice in the beginning of the week. It was great to see Venice on a warm, sunny day. We went to the islands of Murano and Burano, which were both really pretty. We all bought a lot of pretty glass jewelry! Towards the end of the week, we all went to Cinque Terre together! It was amazing. Cinque Terre literally means five towns. You can hike through all of the towns. It was really pretty. There are such pretty beaches and buildings that surround the towns. It was a one of the most picturesque, beautiful places I have ever been to. It was so great to see all of the girls, and show them around Italy. It was definitely one of my most memorable weeks abroad! It was difficult saying goodbye to them, but I know the rest of our time here will FLY by. We all have the blues now because we have to work on papers all day… womp womp. Ciao Ciao!

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Sun, 18 Mar 2012 06:45:00 -0400

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Sun, 18 Mar 2012 04:43:00 -0400

SPRING BREAK.

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 04:22:52 -0400

The last two weeks have been absolutely insane. Last week, we were on our spring break! We went to Paris and Dublin. Paris was unbelievable. It was everything that you would expect it to be. The food was delicious, it was romantic, and the sights are all worth seeing. The first day we got there, it was late in the afternoon, so after we dropped off our belongings, we decided to see the Eiffel tower at night & to go out to dinner afterwards. One of my favorite memories from the entire trip was when we turned the corner to the Eiffel tower. It was AMAZING. It was definitely one of the most breathtaking things I have ever seen. It is much bigger than I expected, and its simplicity speaks for itself. We all really loved seeing it lit up at night because it gave off a completely different vibe in the day time. After, we enjoyed traditional french onion soup at a typical french restaurant. The last three days we were in Paris we did a lot of sight seeing and a lot of shopping. We climbed the Notre Dame, which was easier than Florence’s duomo, but just as beautiful at the top. After- we saw the Arch De Triumph, and the Sainte Chapelle - which was one of my favorites. Not to mention, it was Fashion week in Paris so it was extremely crowded and everyone was dressed to impress. The following day we saw the Lourve, the Museum D’Orsay, and the catacombs. The art was unbelievable. Seeing artists like Van Gogh, and Monet really allowed us to gain a bigger appreciation for their works. The last day we were in Paris, we really enjoyed ourselves and shopped the entire day and sat by the Eiffel tower! It could not have been a better way to end our trip.

There is no doubt that Ireland was one of my favorite places I have ever been to. The people alone were enough to make that call. When we first got to Dublin everyone was going out of their way to make sure we knew what we were doing and to make us feel comfortable. The first night we were there, we met up with a good family friend of mine who lives two hours north of the city. It was so good to see him and he treated all of us to a really good steak dinner! It was delicious, and so nice of him. After, he showed us the Temple Bar area where all of the good pubs are. It was so fun and refreshing to see so many people our age enjoying themselves. The next day, we did a day trip into the country side to see that part of Ireland. We went to Wicklow and Glendalough. It was AMAZING. It really is true when people say that Ireland is “green.” However, we all really enjoyed it. We saw incredible mountains, valleys, and scenic places where movies like P.S. I love you & BraveHeart were filmed. The last day in Ireland, we saw St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the Dublin Castle, and The Guinness Factory. Dublin was extremely fun. It was such a welcoming, and safe city. It was a very refreshing, and relaxing trip compared to all of the others. We were sad to leave Ireland, however, we arrived back to Florence to our friends shining faces who were visiting us from Uconn! :-)

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Thu, 01 Mar 2012 06:26:00 -0500

Midterms on Vacation?

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 06:19:19 -0500

So the past few weeks, reality sunk in that we are actually enrolled in classes here and that we have midterm exams… weird. We have kept pretty low key, doing fun Florentine things while studying here and there. Last week, we had a field trip for our history of food and culture class to a Tuscan farm called Spannocchia. We learned all about the special Tuscan pigs that they raise, and all about their other products. It was really interesting to walk around the farm and see all of the organically grown animals and produce that they have available. After a brief history and tour of the farm, we had a meat tasting followed by a traditional Tuscan lunch. A lot of the meats that we ate were really out of comfort zone of food, however, we all tried them to be polite. The lunch consisted of the most delicious pasta with fresh red sauce, little italian knishes, salad, and crostato di frutta for desert. We thoroughly enjoyed the field trip! Having midterms this whole past week wasn’t bad at all. It is so hard to get stressed out and overwhelmed when we are in such a beautiful and happy place! We all studied together which made it a lot easier. Not to mention the weather in Florence this past week has been AMAZING. It has been warm and sunny all week. So, we found quaint outdoor cafe’s and places that we could study while also enjoying the mild weather. One night, for a study break, we went to a restaurant called Quattro Leoni. It was probably the best restaurant I have been to so far in Florence. We got pear stuffed pasta in a cheese and asparagus sauce. It was the most interesting and delicious thing I have ever tasted. For desert we split cheese cake with fresh berries on top. It was definitely the best thing that ever entered my mouth. So, now that your mouth is probably watering…. We are really looking forward to our Spring Break trip!! We leave tomorrow for Paris!!! YAY. We will be in Paris for about four days and then we will head to Dublin for the rest of the trip. We have so much planned out for our trip!! Can’t wait to blog all about it when we get home!! CIAO CIAO.

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Mon, 20 Feb 2012 03:32:31 -0500