Chianti, Cinque Terre and More!

Another week has flown by, and I can't believe I'm approaching my last seven days in this beautiful country. It seems like every day outdoes the last, and this week was no exception.

Wednesday was a day I have been looking forward to since I saw it on the Italy itinerary last fall- the Chianti wine tasting and tour! The day began early and we took a bus to a vineyard about 40 minutes outside of Florence. Our tour guide, Todd, is a California transplant and it was great to be learning from someone who spoke clear English and had a great sense of humor. Before the first vineyard, we learned all about how they classify wine in Italy, as the government takes wine-making as serious business. Table wine, the lowest classification, has very little restrictions, then ITG wines are a catch-all category that also has few restriction and don't have to be made from Italian grapes, DOC is more strictly monitored and has to produced in a specific, historic way, and DOCG wines, the most restricted and closely watched by the government, have to be sent to a government committee for testing and tasting to make sure they deserve the title of a DOCG wine (who gets the tasting gig? sign me up!). I may not be explaining it perfectly, but it was very interesting to learn how much time is devoted to wine by the government here. At the first vineyard, we toured some cellars and tasted 4 wines, one white and three reds. Honestly, if Todd hadn't told us the flavors to look out for,the reds all would have tasted pretty similar to me, but I do feel like my palate is slightly more sophisticated after the tastings. The third red was delicious, and I bought a bottle for Cliff and Stacy to enjoy! After the first vineyard, we took a hsort bus ride to a farmhouse restaurant nestled among the Chianti vineyards. It was one of the best meals of the trip! We had house wine (of course), crostinis, marinated vegetables, meats and cheeses, fresh red pepper and pesto pastas, and then apple cake and caffe macchiatos for dessert. I was in a wine and food coma, and the thought of going to another vineyard made me thankful I wore a dress and not pants where the button would have popped off. At the second vineyard, we learned all about the wine making process and saw the fermentation rooms and storage rooms. It was all a little confusing, and a google search would probably serve you better than me explaining it here, but it was fascinating. We then got to taste another FIVE glasses of wine (and these were big gulp tasting portions), including a dessert wine, and the vineyard's olive oil. The wine was delicious, everyone had a great time and the day provided some of the best picture taking of the trip. Chianti is beautiful and the day was a perfect combination of food and friends- if you come to Italy, a proper wine tasting is a must.

Thursday was another day of class, and I found the outdoor leather market (think a slightly classier Canal Street) right by the Duomo and got my shopping on. I found great gifts for all of my family, and maybe a little something for myself ;) I had a great dinner across the river with Ashley, Amanda and Jen (another voucher success) and headed to bed early since we were going to Cinque Terre in the morning!

Cinque Terre literally means five towns, and it is a collection of five tiny coastal towns attached by a train with some of the most gorgeous views in Italy. It is famous for its hiking trails and beaches, and we were excited to plan a day trip. We got up at six am and miraculously made the 7 am train headed to Riomaggiore, the southermost town of Cinque Terre. The train situation was a minor disaster, as we had to change trains twice and had no clue what we were doing, but we found other people from our program on the same train and managed to make it there in one piece after about two and a half hours and a breakfast of champions made up of cappucinos, french fries and nutella. Anyways, we got to Riomaggiore and started the first hike from to the second town. Now, you all know I am no nature girl and I was really nervous about spending an entire day in a hiking town, but the first trail was easy and beautiful beyond description- pictures will be up soon! The trail from the second to third town was closed due to recent rain and mudslides, so we had to wait for the infrequent train that runs between the cities. By the time we got to the third town, we were starving, so we headed up FOUR HUNDRED stairs leading from the train station to the actual town in search of lunch. Our friend Andrew is super organized and has a trusty guidebook, so we decided to eat at the restaurant recommended by his book. It was a tiny mom and pop shop, and it was worth every penny we spent there. We had homemade pasta drenched in the pesto Cinque Terre is famous for and then fresh caught fish in a white wine sauce. It was so delicious and totally authentic. We then HAD to get some gelato to wash lunch down, and meandered around the town taking pictures and deciding what to do next. The trail from the third to fourth town is medium to difficult and takes about an hour and a half, so half of us decided to take the train and the other half decided to hike (guess which half I was a part of haha). My group ended up taking the train directly to the fifth and largest town, and we had daquiris and hung out by the amazing beach and waited for the other half of our group. After a full day of sun, drinks and hiking, we were all exhausted and decided to take the 7:10 train home. Well, we had some train issues yet again and after buying our return tickets, ended up having to full-on sprint to catch the train home. We made it (barely) and had a hilarious train ride home thanks to our slap-happy delirium and hunger. Once we got back to Florence at about 10pm, we HAD to get dinner, so my friend Steven (who speaks fluent italian! win!) took us to a restaurant by his apartment and recommended spinach and ricotta ravioli in a truffle sauce. It was absolutely heavenly, and to top the night off, we ran smack into the cast of the Jersey Shore. Yes everyone, I have officially had my first Jersey Shore sighting and let me tell you- there is nothing real about that reality show. We saw the boys of the cast walking right by us, followed by a sound crew, lighting crew, camera crew and tons of drunk and annoying fans. It is quite the sight to see in the middle of the beautiful, ancient city. It was kind of cool to see them, but them being here is more inconvenient than anything. Everyone always wants to follow them out to the clubs and their filming interrupts streets, bridges, restaurants and wherever else they go. They are much better suited to Seaside, trust me. After finally getting home and being awake about 20 hours, I passed out and finally got a chance to sleep in.

Saturday I met up with Amanda around noon to go to a pizza place I've been dying to try- Gusto Pizza. Everyone who has studied abroad recommends it and it is pretty famous, although out of the way of the touristy area of the city, and we decided it was about time we see what all the fuss was about. Well, the fuss is well deserved- the pizza was cheap and absolutely delicious. I got a caprese pizza, so it was fresh crust with bubbling mozzarella and fresh cut cherry tomatoes and basil on top- amazing! The restaurant has community style seating so we sat and chatted with a lovely couple from California and gave them a list of places they have to eat. The best was that the couple told us that we were beaming and they could tell we are having the time of our life :) After lunch, Amanda and I had a fabulous afternoon of shopping. I got a beautiful, one-of-a-kind stone necklace and she got a dress from this adorable shop where we got the royal treatment by the lady working there. It was great to relax and take part in my favorite sport. After shopping, we decided to continue our day of indulgence and went to another highly recommended restaurant for dinner with Ashley- Acqua a 2. I spent a fortune and over-ordered, but it was meal I won't forget. We started with their delicious house red wine and got the pasta sampler (they are famous for their sampling courses- you could do a sampler of every single course if you wanted to/ had the money). It was five steaming dishes of pasta- creamed spinach pasta, broccoli pasta, pumpkin pasta which was out of this world, eggplant pasta and pasta in spicy tomato sauce. It w as fun not knowing what you were going to get and every plate was scrumptious. Then, we got what we had come to the restaurant for and what everyone says you have to order- the blueberry steak. Yes, you would think blueberries and steak together are weird or mismatched, but the blueberries were reduced to a balsamic-like sauce and the meat was amazing. I ate every (pricey) bite and don't regret a thing. We ended with tiramisu, lighter wallets and full bellies. After dinner, we hung out at Ashley's apartment for a while and then had ourselves a little adventure which I will describe in a moment. First, I need to comment on Florence's nightlife on the weekend, as this is the first weekend we have been in town to witness it. The entire city basically turns into a giant outdoor bar, as there are no open container laws. There are just hundreds of people wandering the streets, drinks in hand, meeting people and going from bar to bar. It is pure insanity, and the streets are so packed cars can barely get through. The street I take to get to my apartment is the heart of this weekend party scene, and the three of us girls went to get gelato and people watch. It was hilarious and just such a crazy sight- imagine if everyone in Gainesville was allowed to just drink and wander the streets of Midtown with no rules. After a solid hour of quality people watching, it was time for the Secret Bakery. I am sure there is more than one in the city of Florence, but this particular bakery is a legend among study abroad students. After 1 am, if you know where to look, you can go knock on this completely non-descript door that leads to a little bakery where they make pastries for the cafes. A man will answer the door after several minutes, and you can buy the fresh baked croissants and donuts coming out of the oven for 1 euro. It is the perfect post-midnight snack (drunk or sober) and I felt so cool knowing about this hidden piece of Florence. The only problem with the secret bakery is once you have a secret bakery pastry, you are an automatic magnet for hungry, drunk and pushy Italian men. When we got back on the main street, we were accosted twice in five minuted by creepy guys begging us for a bite of our food. It was incredibly weird and made me nervous, so we inhaled our donuts and headed our separate ways home, fighting the crazy throngs of people standing between me and my bed.

This morning, I grabbed brunch at the diner with Ashley and Amanda, and now I have dedicated the rest of the day to laundry, blogging, homework and all the other mundane things I need to do. I also need to avoid spending more money, and the only way to do that since you have to pay for everything (including water at restaurants and peeing) here is to lock myself in my apartment. So, here I am, mid chores and reflecting on how much I truly love Italy. This coming week I have class Mon-Weds, an Italian cooking class tomorrow night and then Rome from Thursday until we fly home early Monday morning! I miss everyone at home and definitely will appreciate the cheaper American prices when I'm home, but I am going to miss this place like crazy. If there was a Publix, Chipotle, Lucky Dragon and dryers, I could totally live here. Before this trip, living abroad for a semester sounded insane to me, but now I can totally see why people do it and love it. If money wasn't an object, I would love to live here for a whole semester, but I am grateful for the time I have here and will continue to enjoy every second. One last week- I've got to make it the best yet!

Moving to Capri

Buono sera! I am genuinely mad at myself for waiting a whole week to blog, since now I have about 30586403 things I need to remember and share considering this was easily one of my favorite weeks ever! I will try to be concise, but who are we kidding, it's me and I am never really short and sweet.

I left off last Monday after class, and Tuesday was the day trip to Sienna and San Gimignano. We got up at the ass crack of dawn and boarded a bus for Sienna, a beautiful ancient town set in the middle of three hills. Interesting fact: Sienna is very steep but no one seemed to think about adding stairs, so all of the roads are just sheer verticle surfaces- serious ankle sprain waiting to happen. What was cool about Sienna is that it is broken up into 17 districts, which are as small as a few blocks, and these districts have their own mascots and saints and traditions. It is basically like living in Hogwarts where you constantly are competing on behalf of your house, except this is real life. There are intense rivalries between the districts, and it even goes so far as if you have a baby with someone from an enemy district you have to raise the baby on neutral ground. Crazy, right? After our tour I had lunch with Professor Christiano, Steve and some AIFS staff, and we picked a delicious local place where you had to just point at bowls and hanging meats to choose your lunch. It was great and a welcome break from pizza! Sienna is great but I thought an afternoon was enough time to see what needs to be seen. We got back on the bus and headed to San Gimignano, home of the best gelato in the world according to the World Gelato Finals! Before I get to the gelato, San Gimignano is a medieval town overlooking perfectly picturesque rolling hills and vineyards. It is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen and I hope I can go back there one day; a little bit for the views, but mostly for the GELATO! This is where I finally had my AHA moment of why people die over the gelato in Italy. I forget the exact name, but this gelato shop is on the top of a hill and very obvious because there are a ton of people crowded around it. I got a large cup, obviously, filled with mango, coconut and nutella gelato. It was nothing short of heavenly. After drooling over the gelato until the last drop was gone, me and the four people I was hanging out with decided hey, if we don't want this gelato to end, why do we have to? So, we got back in line and all got second cones! I got grapefruit champagne and caramel in cone deux, and it was as luscious as the first. Literally, if you ever go to Italy, gelato in San Gimignano is a must. You will get beautiful pictures and a full belly! It was an awesome day and a perfect mini getaway.

Wednesday was just school and such, plus a delicious dinner with my favorite new friends Amanda, Anna and Ashley! After dinner was just packing and getting ready for a fabulous Sorrento adventure. We left at 7:45 am Thursday for Sorrento on the southern coast of Italy. Thankfully, we were taking the bullet train, which goes 170 mph! It still took 3 hours to get to Naples and then an hour (terrifying) bus ride to get to Sorrento. The coast of Italy is out of a movie and breathtaking, because literally when you are driving in a tour bus on the tiny winding roads three inches from the edge of a cliff, you can't breathe. The views were stunning and when we got dropped off at our hotel, I wanted to kiss the cobblestones. Our hotel, called Conca Park, was an-all marble beauty with a great pool and views (that my first floor room did not have).We checked in around 3 and grabbed lunch at a cafe where I had delish hawaiian pizza and the ever-elusive and expensive coca cola. After lunch, the A's, me and my fellow Boca Ratonian and italian speaker Steven went exploring and found the most amazing marina set in the cliffs and hills of Sorrento. I can't explain the views in the late afternoon sun- just look at my pictures! Then we wondered through the streets filled with local artisans and bought some limoncello, a famous lemon liquor made in this region known for its lemons. After a break at the hotel, a bunch of us got together and enjoyed some bellinis and limoncello. All I can say about the rest of the night was- great success. We made friends with a waiter named Mossimo, got happy hour wine deals at 10 pm and laughed our asses off. I could not love my new Italian crew more :)

Friday was a rough start at 6:45 am to go to the island of Capri. Limoncello was a much better idea Thursday night then it was Friday morning on a boat ride. After a choppy, bumpy and freezing boat tour of Capri, we got on dry land and boarded mini busses to go to the top of the island. This may have been the closest brush I've had with death to my recollection. The roads are teeny and basically one way, but cars use them in both directions so that when cars going in different directions approach each other, one has to pull over on the side of the road to let the other pass. So, driving is basically a big game of chicken and I had a window seat, so when I looked away from the cars coming head on, I saw us precariously dangling inches from a plunge of death. The pictures people took of the bus tour are priceless- they look like the faces you make when on the Hulk at Universal. When we made it to the highest point busses can go, I was thrilled to be alive and was rewarded with the most stunning views on the planet. It is pure blue sea that blends with the cloudless sky and bright green mountainside dotted with brown cliffs and terra cotta colored homes. It is amazing to me that people live so high up all the time! I can barely carry my publix bags up to my third floor apartment in Gainesville and these people have 400 steps to get from their driveway to their front door. Our tour guide then told us about a cable car to get all the way to the very top of the island. I decided to be brave and take the journey up to the top, and it was one of my favorite experiences of the trip so far. The views were crazy amazing and we actually went through clouds and then ended up in the middle of a cloud at the top. It felt like we were in heaven, just totally removed from any civilization or cares. Check out the pictures! After the trip down, we walked around, took pictures and shopped before taking the boat back to Sorrento. I am so in love with Capri and I WILL go back there- vacation villa anyone? Back at the hotel we had our second group dinner and it was as good as the first! We had delicious zucchini pasta, roasted turkey and potatoes and gelato. After dinner I needed some quiet time so I watched some tv on my computer and passed out after only getting three hours of sleep the night before.

Saturday was a desperately needed free day, and I didn't feel guilty one bit for sleeping until nearly 10:30. I met up with my friends, and we had leisurely day of lunch, shopping and pool time. It was nice to finally take a breather and just enjoy the town. We had a delicious dinner of pasta with chicken and shrimp and then a dessert of banana nutella crepes! I didn't do anything too crazy that night because we had to be up again at 6:45 the next morning to go to Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius!

6:45 am just never gets easier, but we shuffled all of our stuff back onto the busses and, again, all passed out until we got to Pompeii. We had a great tour guide who really understood the English nuances of sarcasm, so the slightly too-long tour in the blazing sun wasn't awful. We saw the ancient bathhouses, main streets and even brothels of this town that was buried when Vesuvius errupted in 79 A.D. The town literally just was frozen in time under tons of ash and lava. Pompeii is definitely cool, but it was packed even first thing in the morning and there is no hiding from the sun. After our tour we ate a little lunch and wandered back to the bus for the ride up Vesuvius. We were all beat from the sun and slept the whole ride, so when I got off the bus and looked up at the remaining hike to the summit, I was not prepared. It is steep and long and hello, it's me, so the idea of a mile long hike up a mountain did not seem appealing. I just kept telling myself how lucky I am to be on this trip and how I should try everything, so I huffed and puffed my way up that damn mountain and made it to the summit! It was cold and gorgeous- you could see the whole south coast from a birds eye view. I even wrote Josh a little note and left it at the top of the world :) I am feeling the burn today but I am so proud of myself for not giving up and experiencing everything I can here in Italy. After the bus and train ride home, half of our program decided to eat at the American diner in Florence, and I had yet another absurdly good cheeseburger and fries- they even serve FREE water! Oh the small joys.

Today was another day of class, errands and some sightseeing. I had two gelatos (normal) and had my favorite sandwich at this local hole in the wall sandwich place (roast turkey, spicy marinara, roasted onion and meltied brie cheese on fresh bread! cannot describe the pure joy that sandwich brings me). Now I am just catching up on laundry, blogging, homework (those damn classes keep sneaking up on me) and chatting with family! Tomorrow is another class day, Wednesday is a wine tour in Chianti and this weekend is a free weekend where I will be exploring Florence and Cinque Terre. I am truly loving every minute here and feel like every day is a whole new adventure. I love the people, the sights, the food and just the feel of being here. I can't believe I am at the halfway point; so much has happened and there is so much more to do! Much love to everyone back at home- see all of you before you know it <3

Venezia is for lovers

Hello again state-siders! I am back from one hell of a weekend and if I don't record how much I just squeezed into the last 3 days, I don't think I'll even believe/remember it.

I left off on Thursday before my leadership class, so that's where we shall begin. Leadership seems like it will be easy and definitely full of lively discussion considering it is just 8 of us hotheads who think we are pretty awesome leaders to begin with ;) Thursday night was also our group welcome dinner, and it did not disappoint. It was a four course extravaganza of carbs (as has been pretty much every day since...) and it was nice to sit down together and have a fancy meal that didn't cost me 35 euros!

Friday morning the alarm went off at 6 am (Josh, I don't know how you do it) to make the bus for Verona and Venice. One sidenote I think you'll find interesting- Italy is not a country of early risers. In fact, when I have class at 9 am there is hardly a coffee shop door cracked open. The restaurants and cafes here don't open until 9 or 10, making food and drink impossible to come by in the wee hours. Anyways, we boarded a bus for Verona and arrived three cramped hours later. Verona is a beautiful village famous for being the setting of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet! There isn't much to it besides tourist shops, cafes, Juliet's balcony and a small colloseum, so the two hours we had was plenty. I found my new favorite pizza (margherita pizza with fresh, cold tomatoes and mozzarella and basil on top- OMG amazing) and put Josh and I's name on Juliet's wall :) After Verona, we hopped back on the bus and collectively passed out until we got to Venice around 6pm. Venice is crazy beautiful but not so much when a bus can't get near it and you have to drag all of your stuff across bridges and cobblestone hallways to get to your hotel. That being said, our hotel was amazing and had a great location right next to the train station and a main water bus station. In Venice, there are no cars or vespas- you get everywhere by water taxi or the cheaper water bus. That first night me and a few girls decided to just walk around and explore and we ended up having a mediocre but enjoyable dinner. Exhausted from no sleep the night before, we all called it a night early.

Saturday easily ranks in one of the top five longest but top five best days ever. I got up early to go on a walking tour of Venice, but plans went haywire when we found out the Pope was visiting Venice! The Pope turned out to be the source of all problems from 8:30 am on, and I would have been perfectly happy if his popedom would have just stayed in Roma. We had a revamped walking tour since many places were closed or roped off for the Pope, but we did get to go in St. Marks Basilica, which was breathtaking and one of the most memorable churches I've been to. It was definitely a struggle to keep up with the tour guide with Venice's impossibly small streets and crowds of Pope fans, but I made it and ended up eating lunch at an adorable trattoria somewhere (I have no idea how anyone ever describes where they are in Venice..."I am at the random alleyway 5 minutes from that one big church next to a small bridge?"). Our tour guide had pointed out St. Giorgio Island, a tiny island of Venice where there is a huge tower (with an elevator) with spectacular views of the city, so a few of us girls decided to venture over to the island despite it being super far from where we were staying. So, a group of about 8 or 9 of us set off for the water bus stop to St. Giorgio and planned to go around St. Mark's square where the Pope was set to speak that night. Navigating the throngs of people dressed like they were going to a black tie affair to stand in a crowd of thousands of people to see the Pope was pure insanity. We managed to get lost in Venice for a solid two hours, asking for directions and then finding out the directions were useless since so much of Venice was closed for the Pope. Luckily, the 5 or 6 of us that stuck out the journey made the best of it and saw some beautiful parts of the city. At 7 pm we finally found the water bus and headed to St. Giorgio. The views from the island are incredible and Venice is just so romantic- exactly the way you picture it. We get to the tower so excited to be able to take gorgeous sunset pictures when we are told by Italian police that the tower is closed so that no one can sharp shoot the Pope!! We were super disappointed but we figured we would stick around and take a few pictures before going back to the main island. What we failed to notice was how every boat in Venice, usually whirling by, was just bobbing in the water. Turns out boats can't even drive when the Pope is speaking unless they are police boats! So, here we are, stuck on an island with just a church and a tower and other clueless tourists, waiting for over an hour for the Pope to leave and the boats to start running again. Poor planning? Yes. An amazing adventure? Definitely. A boat finally rescued us and, an hour later, we were back near our hotel. We stumbled upon this cute restaurant with all Italians and I had the best spaghetti and meatballs EVER. A nutella gelato cone and liquor store bottle of chianti later, I was one happy and exhausted girl.

Sunday morning we checked out of the hotel and headed to the island of Murano, famous for glass blowing. Murano is beautiful and there is literally nothing on it besides glass stores and cafes for the tourists. I saw a glass-blowing demonstration and it was crazy! They have to mold the glass at such precise times and temperatures, and the guy made a glass horse with all of this detail in a matter of 30 seconds. I bought a necklace but nothing crazy. If you go to Venice, Murano is worth checking out but not for more than two or three hours. In the afternoon we went back to the hotel, grabbed lunch and boarded the speed train back to Florence (speed trains > buses for sure).

Today I had class in the morning and a guest lecturer this afternoon who talked about the media in Italy. Turns out every media outlet in the country is owned by a politician or political faction/company, so unbiased news is unheard of. Everyone just knows what outlets have what bias and reads the one they agree with- nuts compared to what we learn in journalism school in the US! I then had to purchase a new camera charger because mine isn't working here in Europe despite the converters and adapters :( But atleast now I can take proper documentation of my trip instead of just on the Blackberry! I think I'll go stroll around Florence for a little while considering the sun doesn't set until almost nine here. Tomorrow I am going on a day trip to Sienna, which is south and supposed to be beautiful (as if there is a place in Italy that isn't) and then this weekend I will be in Sorrento and Capri! I can't wait. I miss you Josh, friends and family reading this and wish you were here to experience all of this!

Side Notes:
Much to my dismay, I have discovered penne alla vodka is an American myth. It does not exist in Italy. WTF.


Maura- I had my first That's SO Italy moment. I was wearing a black sweater, red scarf, jeans, Italy sunglasses and my gold sperries and got approached by genuine Italians who didn't realize I was American and speak English- YES :)

Benvenuti in Italia!

Bonjourno blogosphere! I am super excited to finally get this blog up and running once again. Apparently my creativity and wit only grace me when I am off having an adventure, and if there is one thing this trip has been so far, it's an adventure. Let's start with the journey from hell and then get to the good stuff.

Sarah does Italy began on Monday afternoon when my dad and Josh drove me to Miami International Airport and graciously agreed to carry the obscene amount of luggage I brought through check in and up to security (come on, did you really think I would be able to "pack light?"). An hour and a half later I said goodbye (cried) to Josh and was on my way through security when I got chosen for a personal bag check. After my carry-on was rifled through and torn apart, they were satisfied I wasn't a bomber and I finally met some people on my trip at the gate. It was an uneventful couple hours and then we finally boarded what is now known as the Flight from HELL. Now, I have made the 9 hour journey to Europe on a plane before, so the pure length was not the issue with this flight. Was it the two screaming infants two rows in front of me? The Italian family who were split by my seat and proceeded to lean and talk over me as if I didn't exist? Big Mama's House 3 being the only movie played? I think the combination was the doozy. Even two dramamine couldn't knock me out, and consequently, the plane ride inched to the nine hour mark. Finally, we arrived in Paris around 8:30 am Paris time.

After the initial flight, we had a SIX hour layover at Charles DeGaulle. No sleep + a 12 Euro half a sandwich and water + hours of no wifi= not a happy Sarah. We finally boarded the two hour flight from Paris to Rome and I promptly passed out the entire way.

Now we get to the true meat of the journey. After landing in Rome, we were told we had a three hour bus ride to Florence and then we would be greeted by taxis who would take us to our individual apartments. Already completely worn out and cranky, we boarded two busses and after about ten minutes, hit a wall of bumper to bumper traffic that lasted over an hour. The bus ride turned into about six hours, and when we finally got to Florence, we had to wait nearly two hours to be taken by taxi to our apartment. Now, I am truly grateful for being allowed to come to Italy and have this experience, but let's be real. The trip here was a 36 hour nightmare and the only thing I could do when we finally got to the apartments past midnight was fall into a travel-induced coma.

Enough about the journey- what you really want to hear about is Firenze (Florence in Italian)! First off, my apartment is absolutely gorgeous. I have two roommates who requested eachother and our apartment has two rooms, so me being the loner, I got the single! And the single just happens to be the master bedroom of the apartment! Out the windows of my bedroom is the Ponte Vecchio, the river, and beautiful panoramic scenes of the other side of Florence, including the mountains. It is breathtaking and the description gives it no justice, so check out the pictures I posted on my Facebook to get a better visual. I am so happy with my living arrangements and I'm a five minute walk to school, shops, cafes and the other apartments of girls I've met (we all stay in rented apartments scattered across the historic center of Florence). If this is Italian living, I could get used to this.

Yesterday (Wednesday) was our first day in Florence, and it began with orientation. Nothing too exciting there, but we did get our Italian cellphones- they are the Nokias me and all my friends had in 7th grade with the see through covers. Such nostalgia. After orientation, I had my first Italian meal with one of my roommates- pasta bolognese! It was delicious and honestly not as expensive as I thought- we got a drink, bread and big portion of pasta for 8 euros. I'm starting to realize if you look, there are lots of restaurants that are affordable and have deals for students- hurray, more pasta for me! We had a walking tour of Florence in the afternoon with a guide and it was so beautiful. The weather is in the high 60s and windy but sunny- perfect for walking around but not sweating profusely. Again, the pictures say it all so check out my Facebook for pics of the tour. After the tour, everyone headed back to their apartments, took naps (or watched Glee..) and then me and two girls went out for dinner around 9. Interesting fact about Florence- most restaurants don't even open for dinner service until 7 or 7:30, so dinner is typically eaten much later than in the US. I had my first Italian pizza and it was delicious! The fresh mozzarella here is gonna be a problem. After dinner I headed back to my apartment because today was the first day of class!

I have my international food policy class at 9 am and leadership at noon. First class went well even though the final project is gonna be a big challenge. There were no prereqs for the class, so there are only about three of us out of 14 who are seniors and have taken the majority of the PR major classes at UF, so we are probably going to shoulder a lot of responsibility. Now I am off to grab a snack and have my first leadership class! Florence is just beyond beautiful and I feel like I am already starting to get the gist of where things are. If I had to compare it to a US city I would say its kind of like Boston- a smaller walking city where the streets are in no sort of grid or order, but if you wander around long enough you'll find where you're going. Tomorrow I leave for a weekend in Venice at 7:30 am and I can't wait (even though I will miss my queen sized bed in my apartment)! I miss all of you back at home- please bbm/email/facebook me and keep in touch! Until next time :)

What is fulfillment anyways?

Yet another week of NYC living down- only 2 more to go! And the countdown begins...

Well, before an annoying countdown I guess I could recount the past week. Wednesday and Thursday were just your regular days slaving away at the office (HA), but I saw Promises Promises on Wednesday and American Idiot for the second time on Thursday. I thought Promises' book and music were dated and flimsy, but no one is better at physical comedy and just comedic timing in general than Sean Hayes. His voice is palatable at best, but he had me laughing out loud several times, so I will give him his kudos. Kristin Chenoweth...where do I begin? I was so pumped to see her live, and honestly I felt let down by her performance. She is totally miscast in this role.. I mean Kristin is 20? A doe eyed waitress who has no clue about her surroundings? She sings "Say A Little Prayer For You?" It just didn't fit for me, plus she cracked up at Sean during one scene and couldn't get it together enough to finish an acoustic song. I mean, I know shes Kristin Chenoweth and she could probably walk on stage in her PJs and give the audience the middle finger and they would go crazy, but come on. People paid damn good money for tickets to the show and the least she could do is be professional enough to finish her songs. Anywho, American Idiot was just as fabulous the second time around (Stark Sands, dump your fiance and marry me?) and I cannot for the life of me get the music out of my head.

After a long week and a weird insomnia attack on Thursday, I was just not feeling work on Friday so I played hooky for some desperately needed me time. It is a weird feeling to never be alone, and I am a person who seriously enjoys their personal time. So, I slept late, caught up on my shows, got food and eventually went to see Inception (WTF happened?). One thing I like about New York is that women have this fierce, independent attitude. I truly did not feel weird going to a movie solo here, and I know I wasn't the only stag female in the theater. I like that women here are like what? You think we need a man to go to our favorite restaurant? No sir, party of one please. New York women do not go to the bathroom in groups. They are busy running companies and families and when they get time to themselves, they do what they want when they want and I admire that. Gerri finally arrived after a series of delays around 12:30 and we went to bed in preparation for her 2 day NYC intensive.

Saturday was about as much New York as you could possibly fit into one day. We woke up early, had breakfast at the local diner and found our way via subway (which Gerri actually thought was exciting) to the TKTS booth at South Street Seaport. Now, word on the street is that the line there is way shorter than the one in Times Square, and while it was shortER, short is not the word I would use to describe the line. It was easily 95 degrees and the line took about an hour, but we were going to get discounted theater tickets if it gave us heat stroke, dammit (it almost did). Finally we got our American Idiot tickets (don't judge me, it was her choice!) and shopped around a little before heading to SoHo. We had a great time traipsing around SoHo, Chinatown and Little Italy. We found an adorable lamp for our apartment and both indulged in a little retail therapy. After a long and sweaty morning/early afternoon, we went back to my apartment to shower and change for dinner and the show. We ate at this adorable Japanese restaurant called Haru, and me and Ger had a lovely romantic date amongst the tree branches drenched in twinkling white Christmas lights. After dinner we got to the theater, found out our seats were all the way to the right in the front mezzanine, and then scooted all the way to the center when 5 minutes into the performance, our row was still nearly empty. Another great performance by the cast (and I think I can now do most of the choreography) and it was great taking Ger to her first Broadway and original cast experience. Once the show was over, there was one thing left to do...go to Max Brenner, obviously. We had an enormous peanut butter, chocolate and banana sundae and topped off our first real night in NYC the right way.

Today we let ourselves sleep in a little and then decided to venture uptown to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We got off the subway and were accosted by an H&M, so after a brief shopping stint we made our way to the museum. I have never been to the museum before and I was expecting it to be boring and stuffy, but it was really breathtakingly beautiful. It is also huge, so we wandered around and saw some Picassos and other art that Gerri knows much more about than me, and then finally reached the fashion exhibit we had come to see. It's called American Woman and is all about the evolution of style and the way style expresses the political tones of the time. There were stunning original pieces from the late 1800s up until the 1940s. The clothes were fantastic, and in the last room there was a video display of influential style icons from the 1800s until Gaga. It was an amazing exhibit and if you are going to be in NYC before August 15th, it is definitely something worth seeing. After the museum we headed to Rockefeller Center and I decided Gerri had to experience Saks 5th Avenue for herself. We had fun sifting through the racks, but both came out empty handed (my wallet breathed a sigh of relief). We browsed around 5th Avenue for a little longer and then came back to my neighborhood to get pedicures since our feet were filthy and aching from a long weekend of walking. Ger's flight was at 8, so I took her to a goodbye dinner at my absolute favorite restaurant I've been to in New York, Trattoria Belvedere. She experienced the pure joy that is this outrageously good italian restaurant, and then it was time to say goodbye. It was so much fun having her in the city this weekend- there is a reason we have been best friends for almost ten years now. I also surprised myself with how well I can navigate the city after being here only about a month- no accidental trips to other boroughs for us!

So tomorrow it is back to work for what is most likely my last week. I can't really say I am sad to go... I mean I won't repeat my previous posts and say how much I am looking forward to home and Gainesville. Instead, I have a little digression about fulfillment. These are just my personal musings, so feel free to stop reading here. I always thought that I am the type of person who will find total fulfillment in a career. I have always been type A, the leader of every group project and in my mind this equated to being a rockstar in the boardroom. I think this is just me being bitter about my internship not turning out quite as I hoped, but at this moment in time I am really questioning my idea of fulfillment. Will going into an office everyday, slaving way on the bottom rungs of the communications corporate ladder for years until someone finally notices me fulfill me? It's entirely possible, but my mind has just been running with all of these other ideas that I never seriously considered before. Maybe being an entrepreneur would be more fulfilling? Or maybe a family is all the fulfillment I'll need? I truly don't know what will make me happy in the long run, and it is a scary to not have a clear plan. Especially because I really like plans. It is just hard to think you know exactly what you want to do, and then be confronted with the fact that maybe what you want to do kind of sucks. While it is unnerving to be so unsure about the future, I feel like after this summer I am a lot more open to what I can be. Maybe just because I enjoy writing and media and consider myself a people person doesn't mean my calling is strictly to work in a PR firm. Maybe these skills will serve me in a way I have no idea about yet. Sorry to get bogged down in the philosophical, but maybe someone who reads this has insight about this whole mess?

Thanks for bearing with me.

Countdown: 14 days

I'm moving to the Hamptons

Hello dedicated followers (well, Gerri is technically my only follower but I am hoping more people than her read this!). I have tons to talk about since I haven't updated since last Wednesday, so let's get down to business.

On Thursday I had the most outrageous theater experience to date- sitting second row at the one and only Rock of Ages. Mind you, I had low expectations for this 80s throwback since my astute fellow interns had used the words "degrading" and "embarassing" when describing their personal experiences at the show. When Katherine and I took our seats and saw the already have-sloshed women and men in their mid 40s surrounding us, drinking their Coors Lights and clearly reliving their glory days, I knew we were in for a true SHOW. Ok, to be honest, I thought the cast of the show was wildly vocally talented and really did justice to the iconic music, but Jesus Christ could a costume mistress use any less material? The women in the show were portraying slutty baristas/ actual strippers so I guess the teeny bras and thongs were "in character?" Who I am to judge, but I will say the view from the second row was...something. The one thing I will never forget about Rock of Ages is that I have never felt so much energy from an audience. People were standing up and dancing, screaming things at the actors, throwing up the "rock star" sign left and right and singing along to the music a little too loudly. While this atmosphere may not be my top choice for a Broadway production, it really made me smile to see people just purely enjoying theater, albeit trashy theater. The show really was hilarious and as long as you're not looking for theatrical genius, Rock of Ages is worth checking out for a good time.

After my rockin' Thursday night, I had a ridiculously early wake up call since I was going to Good Morning America! Josh had flown in late Thursday and on Friday he was at my dorm by 6:30 a.m., a time I never like to see on my cell phone/alarm clock/anywhere. He brought me breakfast (awww) and I got ready so me, Josh and Ricki could catch a cab to be at GMA by 7:40. We made it to Central Park and got banded as VIP's, which meant we got to be right up front by the stage. The cast of American Idiot gave an awesome, heartfelt performance and you could really see how excited they all were to be on such a huge TV show and be performing in a more concert-like setting. I may have stuck out a little in my sundress and flats among all the angsty teens in their black tees and shredded converse, but make no mistake- I rocked out nonetheless. After the GMA performance, I headed back to work for a little while, went home and packed up and then me and Josh caught a train to the Hamptons with my Uncle Marty.

I have been to the Hamptons many times before, but this weekend was one of the most relaxing and enjoyable experiences I've had. I think at different points during Friday night, me and Josh both said how happy we were to be in such a beautiful place with eachother and how we both would love to own a homey beach house out there one day. You see, Friday night was the beginning of my Aunt Randy's friend's annual birthday extravaganza weekend called "Mambo." Her friend, Richie, owns several super successful restaurants in NYC and Las Vegas and likes to gather his closest friends one weekend a year to celebrate. So, Friday kicked off the weekend with a clambake on this picturesque beach in South Hampton. There were tables settled in the sand, tiki lamps, fresh lobster, s'mores over a real bonfire and an open bar; life couldn't get much better. I had the best time just being with Josh and my family from sunset until midnight. The night even ended with fireworks! That night made me so happy and me and Josh both said we would love to start a tradition like that with our friends since we are often spread all over the place.

Saturday we spent lounging by the pool (well, I lounged and Josh played all sorts of crazy pool games with my cousins). I started not to feel so hot, so after a lot of sun I took a good nap and then that night was the main Mambo party at Richie's house. Since he owns tons of restaurants, the food was obviously delicious and everyone at his party was so gracious. It was great to spend time with my cute little cousins and get to have some meaningful conversation with my aunt and uncle. I think the highlight of the evening was watching the only other college kids there start a game of beer pong and then have to explain the game to every adult and child under the age of 16. The little kids thought this game was hilarious and tried to play their own "sprite" version, while the adults got in on the action and claimed there are a lot more rules to beer pong than when they were in college. It was another wonderful Hamptons evening.

Sunday is unfortunately when my you-live-in-a-dorm-and-your-immune-system-sucks cold kicked in. I was feeling really crappy but I took some meds (I should own stock in Advil Cold and Sinus) and headed into town with my Aunt. We had a great time just walking around the (overpriced) shops. We both struck out in the purchasing department (I am ashamed) but it was nice to have some one-on-one girly time. I had left Josh to play more physically exhausting pool games with my cousins so by the time I got back to the beach house, he was pooped. We got cleaned up and had to board the Jitney back to the city. It was one of my favorite weekends in NY by far, and I'm excited to go back to the Hamptons both in the next few weeks and in the distant future. Me and Josh grabbed some Mexican once we were back in the city, watched some Top Chef and passed out.

On Monday I was still feeling pretty gross, but Josh and I went to the diner around the corner and had a goodbye breakfast. We pretty much just hung around the apartment until he had to leave, and I was really sad to see him go yet again. Josh is the one person I can do anything with; I have an equally good time going to a fancy party or just lying in my bed watching TV, and when he leaves I kinda feel like a little piece of me goes with him. But we will both suck it up for the next few weeks since the kid has more frequent flyer miles from this summer than anyone ever should. Today was just another day in the office...my mom always said if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything so...we will leave it at that. I have to just focus on the perks (tickets! GMA!) and not on the hours I spend doing nothing.

This weekend Gerri comes to visit me finally!! I am super excited to give her a quick intro to New York. The weekend after my family will be up here (minus Em and my dad) and I will get to see them all week and then head to Jeffrey's wedding! Lots to look forward to. The next few weeks will go quickly I'm sure and they are full of fun stuff, but I am excited to go home and get set up for school. I am finally thrilled to be going back to Gainesville and this little homesick baby is ready for some familiar lovin'. I can't wait to be back at GCP and go to Bento! Haha. This city is a whirlwind and exciting but it really tests you and I don't think I'm ready to pass yet. And after a few weeks in the full-time working world, college sounds so, so sweet. Papers? Sure. Midterms? No problem. Just let me wake up at 10 a.m., wear sweatpants anywhere I want and have drinks be less than $10!

Until next time :)

I think I'll just stay in college, thanks.

Hello again everyone! I wish on this update I had some crazy fun stories to regale, but unfortunately my internship is slowly turning into a fun-sucker and I STILL don't have a fake ID, so you will have to hear about work days and good food- the substance of my days here.

On Sunday Ricki and I decided it would be a grand idea to head downtown and do some shopping at cute little boutiques. One ten dollar cab ride and a few seriously confused looks later, and we realized almost none of the shops were open on Sundays. Epic fail for us. Instead of giving up, heading home and saving money, we decided the next best thing would be to go to Saks on 5th Avenue. I have never been there before in my life and all I can say is...holy shit. It is as fabulous/pretentious/expensive as you imagine. We scoured the whole 5th floor and after digging through the "sale" racks, I found two amazing black sweaters that look like blazers. The BCBG Max Azria and Juicy sale racks hooked it up and I was able to get both gorgeous sweaters for under $150! My mom would be so proud and love my classic chic sensibility :) After something I can only refer to as Ricki's vest debaucle, we left the store 3 hours later with lighter wallets and big smiles. That night I met up with my Aunt Janet, Uncle Mark, Jacquie and Aaron for dinner by the water in Battery Park and it was quite lovely. I came back to midtown, went to a quick meeting about being a marketing intern for UofDreams during the school year (it is paid!! me? making money? it's a miracle!) and headed to bed in anticipation of the thrilling work week.

These past three days at work have no need to be broken down or highlighted because I can sum them up in one word: nothing. I have literally done as close to nothing as possible, and it's not for lack of trying or asking. I come in the morning, do my clips, take care of the social media, ask if anyone needs anything and then...that's it. I don't understand why a company would hire interns and then not assign them anything. Not even simple office assignments; literally nothing. Sometimes it feels like I am in detention with the other interns because we are in a small little room at a wooden table with two laptops and we are just supposed to entertain ourselves until someone decides they need us to google something. It is definitely frustrating and I am just hoping it is an uncharacteristically slow week or I may go insane before the next 3 weeks are up. I wasn't expecting anything glamorous and I know every day isn't going to be like last Friday, but still. You just take the good with the boring. Oh the joys of working for free.

While work may have been rather sucky, my Monday and Tuesday nights were not! On Monday me, my roommates, Lexi and Chanel went to Butter, a trendy American restaurant down on Lafayette street. It's NYC Restuarant Week, which means tons of expensive restaurants offer pre-fixe menus for $35 that include an appetizer, entree and dessert. It is so awesome. Butter was beautiful and hip, and I had the most delicious shrimp and corn chowder, short ribs, chocolate buttercream cake with caramel and coconut tea. Out of control delicious and a lovely night. On Tuesday, I met up with Gary aka TBone, Debbie Jacobson's brother. We went to Koi, an asian restaurant in the Bryant Park Hotel. It was quite a scene and it was so fun to catch up with him. Tonight I am staying in and having a rockin' evening of laundry and relaxation! Sounds lame but it is much needed. I cannot WAIT until this weekend when Josh is back and we get to head out to the Hamptons! Some sun, good food, family and parties- it should be great.

I know I came to NYC for my internship and to be independent but after everything this summer, I am living for the days I get to be with familiar faces. I used to crave the unknown and I always was feeling like the next adventure was going to be the best, but I am starting to feel like this IS the adventure. I'm already in it. Being with my family, having Josh in my life and going to a school in a place that I have finally learned to love is enough right now.. I need to relax and appreciate Gainesville and all the familiar things I love about it. I videochat with my brother and sister and I see all my friends still at my house all the time, and it makes me feel so happy and so homesick at the same time, and I am not usually one for any homesickness. Like I've said before, I am a big fan of NYC but for the first time in a long time I'm not looking so far into the future. I don't want to grow up and think about a job and all of that. I want to enjoy right now, my life as a 20 year old, and that is my goal for this coming year.