Time for some honest reflection on my time abroad, halfway through my semester. I'd say this particular post is probably mostly for myself to collect some random thoughts, but maybe with any luck at all it can shed some light on the whole experience for anyone else thinking about studying abroad later.
First of all, I think a big part of my experience over here has been very greatly impacted by some personal struggles that I was never expecting to have to deal with. I imagined that coming to Italy was going to fix all my problems, I convinced myself that problems really just can't exist during a semester abroad, and I think that mindset only made it harder for me when everything wasn't immediately perfect. I'm disappointed that I won't come home with only positive memories of my time in Florence, but I'm still learning a lot about myself and the life I have from this experience.
Something I've noticed is that every time I travel somewhere else on a weekend, whether it's to Nice, or Rome, or Lucca, I find myself wondering why I chose Florence. When I get away to somewhere new I feel like my head is so much clearer, everything is so much more exciting, and I get that feeling of "problems don't exist here" that I was looking for. Combined with the simple fact that I have to go to school and spend time dealing with my personal drama when I'm in Florence, I've started feeling a little let down when getting off that train or bus after a weekend away.
I really don't want to go home in May and say my temporary hometown was my least favorite of all the places I went this semester, so lately I've been trying to make my life in Florence a little more like the trips I take. At least once a week I try to set up little excursions for myself, whether it's only to visit the Uffizi or to hike up to Piazzale Michelangelo, or going out to dinner with friends. My friend Kathryn and I go out to get gelato about once a week now, and I've started trying to cook some more exciting meals for myself at home (usually my lunches and dinners consist of some spaghetti with olive oil and garlic powder with a forkful of Nutella for dessert), and there's a group of us here who organize weekly dinner dates at each other's apartments. The little things like these make my weeks in Florence a little more exciting, and I think it's really important that I have things like that to look forward to during the week.
I'm not going to say that I don't still spend plenty of time staying in the apartment watching Modern Family or pinning recipes I'll probably never make, but I am trying to liven things up occasionally. I want to make sure I have plenty of fond memories from Florence, and not just the places I jet off to on the weekends.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Lucca and Pisa
Last weekend we took our final trip with Accent. We were reunited at the train station with our incredible guide Freya and took a quick train to Lucca. Lucca, like Siena, was one of those cities I knew nothing about and really didn't expect much from. We were greeted by beautiful ancient walls wide enough to bike on (with plenty of locals doing exactly that). Inside the city walls, we visited the Cathedral (each column on the facade was different), climbed the Torre Guinigi (which had a cool tree garden on top), and stopped in the central amphitheater for a nice lunch in the sun.
After lunch, Emily, Audrey, Nicole, Kaylen, and I parted from our guide and hopped on the next train to Pisa, only a 20 minute ride from Lucca. Pisa is kind of almost exactly like a smaller, cleaner, more pedestrian friendly version of Florence. When we crossed the town's river we fully expected to see our familiar Ponte Vecchio on the left. Anyway, we headed straight to the famous Leaning Tower to take our touristy pictures before the sun set. We had a blast taking cheesy pictures and looking ridiculous to anyone not in the picture, then headed back home to Florence.
After lunch, Emily, Audrey, Nicole, Kaylen, and I parted from our guide and hopped on the next train to Pisa, only a 20 minute ride from Lucca. Pisa is kind of almost exactly like a smaller, cleaner, more pedestrian friendly version of Florence. When we crossed the town's river we fully expected to see our familiar Ponte Vecchio on the left. Anyway, we headed straight to the famous Leaning Tower to take our touristy pictures before the sun set. We had a blast taking cheesy pictures and looking ridiculous to anyone not in the picture, then headed back home to Florence.
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| Sitting on the walls of Lucca |
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| Amphitheater where we stopped for lunch |
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| It's kind of wrong to not take cheesy pictures when you go to Pisa... |
French Riviera
The first weekend in March brought me to the French Riviera for my friend Audrey's birthday. I really didn't know what to expect from this trip, mostly because the French Riviera isn't in my Rick Steves' Italy guidebook, but I think this was easily the best weekend I've had here so far.
Thursday evening I ducked out of class early to catch our 6 hour EuroAdventures bus into Nice. We moved into our "hotel" (there were 6 of us in a room with bunk beds) at around 1am and immediately crashed. Going to breakfast Friday morning at a nearby creperie and realizing I actually had a working knowledge of French was an excellent kick start to an amazing weekend (I took 3 years of French in high school and 2 semesters at TCU but I never really felt like I 'knew' the language, so this was really exciting for me). Later that day we took a short train to nearby Monte Carlo, where we mostly just wandered around admiring the big boats, fancy cars, and beautiful ocean views. After visiting the famous Monte Carlo casino and the Hotel de Paris we headed back to Nice, where Sarah, Natalie, and I had lunch at a really incredible Lebanese restaurant (I have never seen so many different kinds of restaurants in such a small area).
Saturday we took a day trip to Cannes and just enjoyed the sun, the beach, the food, and the shopping. That night was Audrey's birthday and all 15 of us went out to dinner at a nearby Hibachi restaurant. This was really an interesting experience and we all soon realized that even hibachi food isn't the same as it is in America. Afterwards we headed downtown to catch the tail end of some of the Carnivale festivities. Carnivale in Nice is very, very different from its Venetian counterpart. It's a little (a lot?) edgier, which I realized after being greeted by a group of 15 year old French boys shouting really obscene things at us in English and getting sprayed directly in the face with silly string by some stranger. While a little off-putting at first, we all ended up having a pretty great evening.
The next day we headed to the ancient town of Eze on our way back to Florence. Eze was recently named one of the world's 10 most picturesque villages and I definitely think it's a must-go for anyone visiting the area. It's high up in the mountains so there's tons of clean air and gorgeous ocean views, as well as quaint little old shops and gardens. Eze is also home to the Fragonard perfume factory, which I was able to tour and pick up a few fancy perfumes.
All in all I had an absolutely incredible weekend. I really enjoyed getting to spend time with friends, but most of all I think the beautiful scenery, friendly locals (it definitely helps being able to speak their language), and incredible food really stole my heart. I did not want to get back on the bus to Florence. I felt like I could have stayed there forever, so I really hope I'll get the chance to go back some day.
Thursday evening I ducked out of class early to catch our 6 hour EuroAdventures bus into Nice. We moved into our "hotel" (there were 6 of us in a room with bunk beds) at around 1am and immediately crashed. Going to breakfast Friday morning at a nearby creperie and realizing I actually had a working knowledge of French was an excellent kick start to an amazing weekend (I took 3 years of French in high school and 2 semesters at TCU but I never really felt like I 'knew' the language, so this was really exciting for me). Later that day we took a short train to nearby Monte Carlo, where we mostly just wandered around admiring the big boats, fancy cars, and beautiful ocean views. After visiting the famous Monte Carlo casino and the Hotel de Paris we headed back to Nice, where Sarah, Natalie, and I had lunch at a really incredible Lebanese restaurant (I have never seen so many different kinds of restaurants in such a small area).
Saturday we took a day trip to Cannes and just enjoyed the sun, the beach, the food, and the shopping. That night was Audrey's birthday and all 15 of us went out to dinner at a nearby Hibachi restaurant. This was really an interesting experience and we all soon realized that even hibachi food isn't the same as it is in America. Afterwards we headed downtown to catch the tail end of some of the Carnivale festivities. Carnivale in Nice is very, very different from its Venetian counterpart. It's a little (a lot?) edgier, which I realized after being greeted by a group of 15 year old French boys shouting really obscene things at us in English and getting sprayed directly in the face with silly string by some stranger. While a little off-putting at first, we all ended up having a pretty great evening.
The next day we headed to the ancient town of Eze on our way back to Florence. Eze was recently named one of the world's 10 most picturesque villages and I definitely think it's a must-go for anyone visiting the area. It's high up in the mountains so there's tons of clean air and gorgeous ocean views, as well as quaint little old shops and gardens. Eze is also home to the Fragonard perfume factory, which I was able to tour and pick up a few fancy perfumes.
All in all I had an absolutely incredible weekend. I really enjoyed getting to spend time with friends, but most of all I think the beautiful scenery, friendly locals (it definitely helps being able to speak their language), and incredible food really stole my heart. I did not want to get back on the bus to Florence. I felt like I could have stayed there forever, so I really hope I'll get the chance to go back some day.
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| One of many marinas in Monte Carlo |
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| Beautiful architecture (also once home to Selena Gomez) |
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| Didn't do any real gambling here, but it's a pretty building |
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| Beautiful beach in Nice where I napped in the sun for a good 15 or so minutes |
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| Macarons, of course. |
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| Flowers at a little street market |
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| Confetti and fun at Carnivale |
Rome
I'm back with a series of updates about my most significant events of the past month. So let's start with the trip to Rome.
Friday morning (2/17/12) our TCU group gathered at the train station where we met our awesome Australian tour guide, Freya (she's pretty great, so if any of you are ever in Florence I highly recommend you take a tour with her). We hopped on our train and arrived in the Eternal City about 2 hours later. We checked in at the Hotel Navona and pretty quickly set out to explore. One of my favorite things about Rome was the juxtaposition of all the ancient ruins scattered among medieval and renaissance architecture, as well as more modern buildings throughout the city. I'm not sure if any other city has so many different eras of monuments still standing.
Over the next 3 days we visited all your standard Roman sites with our guide: the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, the Vatican, the Colosseum, the ancient Roman forum, as well as countless other cathedrals and political buildings. But I'd have to say my favorite part of the trip was all I got to do in our free time. We had 2 incredible dinners there, once in the Campo de' Fiori with Jenna, Briana, Stephanie, Sarah, and Carrie, and the night after we went to a fun prix-fix restaurant behind the Pantheon with almost our entire TCU group. I also enjoyed walking through the different piazzas, my favorite being Piazza Navona where local artists and performers set up every night around the 3 beautiful fountains in the center.
There was so much to see and do in Rome, and I'm so glad that I'll be able to go again this week when my parents come to visit.
Friday morning (2/17/12) our TCU group gathered at the train station where we met our awesome Australian tour guide, Freya (she's pretty great, so if any of you are ever in Florence I highly recommend you take a tour with her). We hopped on our train and arrived in the Eternal City about 2 hours later. We checked in at the Hotel Navona and pretty quickly set out to explore. One of my favorite things about Rome was the juxtaposition of all the ancient ruins scattered among medieval and renaissance architecture, as well as more modern buildings throughout the city. I'm not sure if any other city has so many different eras of monuments still standing.
Over the next 3 days we visited all your standard Roman sites with our guide: the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, the Vatican, the Colosseum, the ancient Roman forum, as well as countless other cathedrals and political buildings. But I'd have to say my favorite part of the trip was all I got to do in our free time. We had 2 incredible dinners there, once in the Campo de' Fiori with Jenna, Briana, Stephanie, Sarah, and Carrie, and the night after we went to a fun prix-fix restaurant behind the Pantheon with almost our entire TCU group. I also enjoyed walking through the different piazzas, my favorite being Piazza Navona where local artists and performers set up every night around the 3 beautiful fountains in the center.
There was so much to see and do in Rome, and I'm so glad that I'll be able to go again this week when my parents come to visit.
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| Cat sanctuary in some ruins near where Caesar was stabbed |
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| Fountain in Piazza Navona |
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| Pantheon (by the way, the floors inside slope down to gutters, so that's why it doesn't flood when it rains) |
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| Ancient amphitheater underneath apartments built in the Middle Ages |
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| TCU at the Colosseum |
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| St. Peter's Basilica |
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| Trevi Fountain |
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