Ciao!!

My heart and prayers go out to everyone back in the states that have been affected by the hurricane. Even though I am countries away, I have kept you all in my thoughts and prayers! I hope, that through everything, my blog has been something that can put a smile on your face and brighten your day! 

Things over my way have been relatively uneventful! Yesterday, Monday, I got back three of my midterms, which, thankfully, I did really well on! After a long day of three classes, and getting back into the swing of classes, I got some homework done and settled into bed reading a new book! 

This morning, it was a beautiful, crisp (who am I kidding, it was COLD) morning! After getting ready, I walked a short distance to the hotel that Alex's family is staying at, where I met them to take them to the Tuesday Markets! 

The Tuesday Markets are great because, unlike the street vendors that all of the tourists go to, the tusday markets are where the Italians go to do their weekly shopping. You won't find many people that can speak English at these markets, which actually makes for a really interesting experience! We spent a wonderful two hours there just taking in all the sights, sounds, and wonderful sounds! 

After the markets, I headed back to my apartment, where Alex, made me a surprise lunch which consisted of pasta shaped as little Eiffel Towers! IT WAS SO CUTE!!! and delicious!! He actually got them at the Eiffel tower when he was there last week, in anticipation of our trip to Paris this weekend! Which, if I haven't mentioned that I'm going, I CAN'T WAIT!!! 

After lunch, since I have no classes, the rest of the afternoon was relatively relaxing! I just ran a few errands, made some dinner and now am trying to stave off this cold by drinking some hot tea and updating my blog! 

As an ending note: in case you are stuck in your house with no power, and are reading my blog with the last remains of your battery life because you just love my blog that much, check out these few blog posts from my favorite inspirational blog:

TRAIN YOURSELF TO BE MORE POSITIVE IN 5 STEPS
http://tinybuddha.com/blog/train-yourself-to-be-more-positive-in-5-steps/

10 Ways to be Great Today
http://tinybuddha.com/blog/10-ways-to-be-great-today/



On another note: 

CHRISTMAS IS IN 55 DAYS!!!

andddddd........

I'm home in 45 days! 

Can anyone believe how quickly the time is going?! 

Anyways, I'll do my best to post again soon!! I leave on Thursday and return late Sunday, so if I don't get a farewell post up, expect a WONDERFUL post on Monday morning when you wake up!!!

Sending my love and well wishes to everyone! 

Quick shout out to my WONDERFUL dad!!! Without whom I would not be experiencing everything I am here in Italy! Thank you so much dad for everything you have always done for me and for always encouraging me to chase my dreams! 

Well, fall break was great, but today is Monday and it's also the first day back to classes after that lovely week off! 

It's finally sunny out, for the first time in the past few days, and I've already had my first class, in which I received back my first midterm grade (I did well!), so needless to say, I'm in a pretty great mood! There is something to be said about having a nice long week off and then getting to return to the intellectual stimulation of a classroom. I, personally, enjoy it! I'm excited to, hopefully, finish off the rest of this semester strong and am excited to learn new things! 

Currently, I am working on a reaction to the description of Achilles' Shield in book 18 of The Iliad. Which reminds me! Over break I watched that movie "Troy", the one with Brad Pitt (ever heard of it?) well, let me tell you.... SAVE YOURSELF, DO NOT WATCH THAT TERRIBLE MOVIE! Now, I wouldn't say I'm a movie critic or anything....okay, well maybe an amateur one. But this movie, which, can I just say, my teacher for my class on The Iliad literally spent a good 45 minutes of our class RAVING about what a great movie "Troy" was, and how it was the **ONLY** movie to expertly depict the events that occurred in The Iliad... ect. ect. ect...... So, I thought to myself, "this man seems pretty intelligent, he seems to have a great understanding of The Iliad, and I'm sure he would only suggest a movie based on the epic poem, if it was TRULY amazing, why not give it a try?!" ..... worst.mistake. 

Brad Pitt hardly did anything great in the movie aside from look good, the acting, aside from Eric Banna, (who actually did the best job of the entire cast), was TERRIBLE, the fight scenes were laughable (at best), there was a (to use the words of my professor - slighty out of context) "gross misunderstanding" of the depiction of the events of the Trojan war (in my opinion), and I was glad when my internet cut out on me with ten minutes left of the movie so I no longer had to endure it. 

Was that all a bit too harsh? I'm sorry if I've offended anyone, but, boy, did that feel good to get off my chest! 

Anyways, I did truly enjoy reading The Iliad and found that after you get past reading about war and death, the epic poem is truly a piece of art. 

Anyway, I cannot delay too much longer in finishing up my assignment on my personal reaction to The Iliad, but I thought I would leave everyone with an interesting little article I saw in the newspaper they put out for us to read called: "The Florentine". 

So where to begin?! 

WARNING: THIS IS A LONG POST! Enjoy it though! I think it will make you smile....and make you hungry at the same time :) 

Today was another AMAZING day here in Florence! Never mind the fact that it was rainy, and that only ONE store in Florence seems to sell Spinach, today was great!!! 

After waking up TOO early (again :( ), I got to read some of my book (Kindle says I'm 89% done! weeeeee), sip on a cup of steaming tea and relax in the peace and quite that often comes with being the first person awake on a cloudy and rainy day. (Have I mentioned, I love these kinds of days? I love the rain!) 

After reading and updating my blog for you faithful followers out there, Kelsey woke up, and for some CRAZY reason, we had an inkling of motivation and decided to do the Insanity DVD ab work out! It kicked our butts, but it felt good! Then, after a quick shower, we were ready to embark on our adventures for the day! 

We set out in hopes of stumbling upon a cute little restaurant we had yet been to for a yummy breakfast. Well.....after about thirty minutes of walking and being told by all the places that we stopped into, that breakfast was no longer going on, we gave in (SORRY!) and headed over to this place called "The Diner" which is - dare I admit it? - an "American" breakfast place. It was pretty good! Not quite like the breakfast I love so much back in the States, but it did a pretty decent job! I had some scrambled eggs with wheat toast and that HUGE mug of coffee you see pictured above! It was so nice to enjoy a big brunch. Kelsey and I talked about everything from politics (another no no! strike two I think?) to american breakfast, and her trip to England and Amsterdam! It was such a lovely lunch and so cozy. It was nice to get out of the house on a rainy day and do something to bright and fun! 

After our hour long brunch, we headed over the Ponte Vecchio and back to Pitti Palace (I told you there were a lot of exhibits to see there!!) This time, we went to see the Costume Gallery and the Treasures Gallery. Both of which were amazing. 

Insert funny story here:

So, while we were walking through the Costume Gallery, we had only seen about 10 different outfits when the exhibit transitioned (not so smoothly, might I add) from the Costume Gallery to..................... (drum roll, please) THE NATIVE AMERICAN EXHIBIT....... W.H.A.T?! Someone, please explain the correlation between the two, or how that makes ANY sense at all? Kelsey and I were literally full belly laughing. We were so confused. It wasn't like there was any other room we should have gone into first, there was only one way to go, and it just happened to lead us into the Native American exhibit! I mean, the exhibit ended up being very interesting, and seeing as we had no choice but to go through it, we continued through the exhibit! BUT WAIT, the best part of this story is yet to come..... 

So, after going through the Native American exhibit and enjoying it, we were then brought back to finish the Costume Gallery....... EXCUSE ME? hahahah someone please direct me to the brilliant person who designed the layout of this exhibit so that they may inform me what exactly it was they were thinking when creating the layout designs? 

Anyway, Kelsey and I FINALLY got to finish seeing the Costume Gallery which was really interesting and there were some beautiful dresses that I admit I'd wear even today if I had somewhere to wear them to! 

After the Costume/ Native American exhibit, we decided to check out one more exhibit and so we entered the Treasure's Gallery.  I wish I could have taken photos to show you all the beautiful artifacts they had in each of the exhibits! If anyone is planning to come to Florence, GO TO PITTI PALACE! You can literally spend days there and still feel enamored by the beauty and all of the things that are in the exhibits! 

Here's a link to check out some things in the Costume Gallery: 
http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/costume_gallery.html

After we were done with the exhibits, Kelsey and I decided to try and find something to make for dinner! We decided to make shell pasta with spinach, tomato and a little melted cheese! 
It came out so delicious!!!! Check out the photo below (on the right) of the end result! It was sooo good! DAD: you'd be so proud of me!!!! 

And that DEEEEEEEEEEEELICIOUS looking photo on the right? I know, your drooling just looking at the photo... aren't you? (don't worry, no one can see you, so JUDGEMENT FREE ZONE!... drool away!) Yup, those would be Macaroons! Kelsey had some and I'd never had them before so I figured, ah, what the heck, might as well try! THEY. WERE.SO.DELICIOUS!! Then, as if they weren't good enough plain, Kelsey had the GENIUS idea to put Nutella on half of them and bake them all!! HEAVEN. HEAVEN. HEAVEN. that is the only proper way to describe the taste of the Macaroons cooked with or without the nutella topping! So delicious!!! My tummy is happy just thinking of it all!!! 

OOOHHH YES, about the title of this post! Let me explain..... well, maybe the photo does the job, but still, let me tell you the story.

Can you believe it?! I know that I can't!

This morning, after waking up and having a lovely cup of coffee while trying desperately to finish my book, I realized that the month of October is over in just 5 days! And, naturally that led me to think about how next month is already November and my last full month in Italy. So, I did a little investigating and realized that I only have (drum roll pleaseeeeeeeeeeeee)

50 days left until I head back to little Rhody! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!  Toby and Gunther sure can't believe it! Remember this photo? Take the day I was leaving (August 26th) for Italy?! It seems like just yesterday Alex and I were just praying we would actually make it to Italy (ohhh, really don't even want to remember all the plane troubles getting here!) and now, we've been here almost two full months and we're over half way through this incredible experience! 

I guess what I'm really getting at with this post, is that life has a funny way of slipping through out fingers. So today, and every day, take a few moments to appreciate what you have, the people that surround you and lift you up, give you life and let you know love. Take a moment to appreciate the oxygen coursing through your veins and (not in a sad way) keep in mind that this moment can never be relived, you will never be in this exact moment again. 

I hope that you all have an amazing day! Know love, peace and Joy! and if you're looking for something to brighten your day... I have JUST the thing...... ready for it?!
So...... yesterday, ABC Family released their schedule for THE 25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS! WOOT WOOT!! Everyone loves the feeling you get around Christmas time, when everyone should be happy, joyful and it's ABSOLUTELY okay to be a kid again. In fact, it's an order (from me) that everyone find that kid in them and forget about all the other nonsense. Check out the schedule, pick a few movies that you can enjoy with someone special (a sibling, a husband/wife, girlfriend/boyfriend, family etc.) And load up on the hot chocolate and marshmellows and plan to watch with a steaming cup of hot cocoa! I've already picked a few of mine!!! Elf, The Polar Express and How The Grinch Stole Christmas!!! weeeeeeeee

Check out the schedule here! http://abcfamily.go.com/site/news-details/25-days-christmas-schedule-here/1031394 

Alright, that's all I've got for now!!! 

Ciao a tutti!!

I hope that everyone is having a wonderful week! Happy Wednesday!!! 

This week is flying by! Right before my very eyes! And I'm enjoying every single second of it! Forgive me for being so terrible with keeping everyone up to date on my adventures.... it appears that I've fallen off the wagon (of blogging that is!) .... but not to worry, it's only temporary! 

Now that I have a minute to settle in and breathe, I can give you a quick update on everything Fall Break related! It's literally been just the thing I needed! It's been so much better than I ever could have imagined my fall break to be and it will be quite a pity when I have to go back to doing school work! 

First, I'd like to start off with a startling realization...... I'm going to be back in the U.S. in just 51 days! Someone, please tell me, WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE?! I can hardly believe that I less than two months I will be back in little rhody, probably reading over my blog posts and reminiscing about all the great times I got to have here in Italy. Just a little word of warning... I WILL most certainly be talking everyone's ears off about Italy for a good while when I return home, so do whatever you feel will be necessary to prepare for my nonstop chattering about Italy! :) 

Okay, focusing here..... now, where did I leave off? Oh, yes, the last post was on Saturday, after my adventures to see The David! 

Well, some wonderful things have certainly happened since then! For your sake, I will just give you the highlights and I won't bore you with every minute detail of the past few days! 

On Sunday, after getting up and relaxing, I went with a few of the girls from the apartment to the Duomo (the third largest cathedral in the world, in case I didn't mention that about two hundred times already since my arrival in Florence....) for Sunday mass. Now, I've been to the Duomo before for mass, but the last time I went, I went to an english service. This time around, the girls and I decided that we wanted to go all out and get a real Italian experience. So we went to the mass held in Italian and WITH THE ORGAN! It was literally the most beautiful, breathtaking, stunning, magical mass that I have ever been to! The organ was so beautiful! One of my favorite parts about going to mass in Italian was that I was still able to follow along! Mass, regardless of language, is run the same way, so although I may not have known exactly what was being said, the order of mass is so ingrained in my mind, that I knew what was going on! It felt amazing! It was literally one of the best experiences of mass that I have ever had! 

The rest of Sunday and all of Monday are a blur to me now! They were spent in a haze of happiness, relaxation and enjoyment! All I'm certain of, is that I have done MILES of walking, all over the city of Florence! It's been great because I've seen so many places I haven't taken the time to see since being here. We spent an entire afternoon on Monday just walking through the streets surrounding our apartment where all of the street vendors sell their scarves, purses, jewelry, shoes, dresses, souvenirs, and trinkets! We also made a few trips over the Ponte Vecchio where we just walked around to all of the shops around there and took our time, just enjoying the sites.  

On Tuesday, we woke up extra early to make the 40 minute walk to the open-air markets. The ones where all the Italians go to to buy the things they need (not like the street vendors outside our apartments where it's mainly tourists who buy). It was a cool experience. These markets are only open on Tuesdays from 8 am until about 1 pm, so there's a small window of opportunity to go and get the things that you need. But boy do they have it all! They had clothing, and yarn (for knitting), and cooking supplies, and fresh fruit and vegetables, and shoes, bags, jewelry, batteries, tools, electronics, you name it, and you could probably find it! After getting our fill of the markets, we made our way back to our apartment. By the time we got back around noon, we were all ready for a little rest! So we rested up and then Brittany and I headed over to the Basilica of Santa Croce which is an absolutely stunning church! We toured inside of the church and got to see famous tombs like that of Dante and Machiavelli! They are currently doing some restoration of the front part of the church above the alter, but it was still breathtakingly beautiful! It was so wonderful that we ended up finally getting to go and see the beautiful church. For the past two months, I've probably walked by that church a good twenty times and never even thought to go look inside! And boy, was I in for a treat! 

After getting to see Santa Croce, there was an entrance that led right into a leather school! It was so cool! We got to see work tables where people were engraving leather or stamping initials into leather jackets, purses and bracelets! It was so neat to see it done! I would absolutely suggest to anyone coming to Florence to take the time to tour Santa Croce and then go into the leather school! Who knows, maybe you'll come out with a cool new leather item, hand engraved with your initials or something interesting! A keepsake forever! 

After touring the leather school (Scuola del Cuoio) and Basilica of Santa Croce, Brittany and I decided to sit at a little cafe right in the square, drink a cup of coffee and just people watch for a bit before we moseyed on back home! It was such a lovely day and a relaxing night! After we got home, we made dinner and then settled in for a movie night! (We watched "What to Expect When Expecting" and "Argo") Both PHENOMENAL movies that I would absolutely suggest everyone see! Although, they are quite different movies in the genre department! 

This morning, I woke up early and curled up on the couch with my cup of coffee and read my book for a few hours before deciding it was time to take advantage of the BEAUTIFUL day and get myself outside! After going to the food store to get a few things for my dinner that I made tonight, Brittany and I set out for our daily adventures! We took our time getting over the Ponte Vecchio (seems to be the Italian way of doing things.... dare I say that maybe I'm losing that american mentality?!.... not a bad thing in my opinion ;) ) and after a few detours into cut little shops, we finally made it to Pitti Palace. It used to be the palace of The Medici family and other Duke's and Duchesses along the way, but it is mainly known for being one of the Medici family palaces. It has, naturally, now become a museum, which Brittany and I spent a few hours exploring. Let me just tell you, we only saw two exhibits and we spent two hours there! There's still a good handful of other exhibits that I NEED to make it to before going back to the states in December.  Words literally cannot even begin to describe the beauty of the palace. So much history is within and on the walls at Pitti Palace and I don't think a million trips back to the exhibits would ever make the mystique, grandeur and beauty of the palace any less magnificent!

After spending a few hours in Pitti Palace, we walked - scratch that - HIKED MOUNT EVEREST- up to San Miniato al Monte for mass! But get this: mass was in ITALIAN.... IN A CRYPT! It was so cool!!!!!!! Although, by 5:40 when mass started, I was so exhausted, I was struggling to stay awake, especially in the crypt which was pretty dark, dead silent (aside from the priests, of course) and so calming! Mass was amazing! And the experience itself was incredible!!! 

After mass, we walked back home, which took about 40 minutes, and I was finally able to plop down on the couch after a long few days of non-stop walking and exploring, and update my blog! 

It's been such an amazing past few days, I hope you can all forgive my lack of blogging! 

One last word before I go:

I've never felt as happy as I do right now, sitting in the beautiful city of Florence and realizing I have the world at my fingertips. I'm so blessed, and so lucky to have so many amazing people in my life and for all of these experiences and opportunities. My wish is that everyone can feel as happy as I do, right in this very moment. 

♥


Check out some information on the places I've gone the past few days:

Santa Croce
http://www.santacroceopera.it/it/default.aspx
http://www.mega.it/eng/egui/monu/xbasilic.htm
http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/museum_of_opera_s_croce.html

Leather School: Scuola del Cuoio
http://www.scuoladelcuoio.com/scuola-del-cuoio-about-us.html

San Miniato al Monte
http://www.san-miniato-al-monte.com/
http://www.panoramicearth.com/5431/Florence/San_Miniato_al_Monte_-_Crypt
http://www.mega.it/eng/egui/monu/sminiat.htm


Pitti Palace
http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/Pitti_palace.html
http://193.42.139.9/english/musei/palazzopitti/
http://www.mega.it/eng/egui/monu/pittpala.htm

Love to all!! i miss you all so much! and hope everyone is doing well!!

Ciao a tutti!!

How is everyone?! 

Today, my second day of Fall break, proved to be just as amazing as I hoped it would be!!

This morning, I woke up nice and early and got myself all cozy on the couches in our living room where I was able to quietly read my book for a few hours while I waited for the rest of the apartment to wake up. Don't you just love mornings like that?! A cup of tea, a great book, and a cozy blanket to keep you warm?

After all the girls got up, I was wide-eyed and bushy tailed (I'm such a dork) and ready to take on the beeeeeeautiful day, come on, it was 78 today in Florence... life does NOT get better than this! After Marissa got back from her salon appointment, Marissa, Brittany and I all went for a run. It was such a beautiful day and it felt so good to breathe in the fresh air as we ran along the Arno river. After we got back from our great run, we all showered, had lunch and got ready for some exploring. As sad as it is to have to admit, after being here almost two full months now, we STILL had yet to make it to see The David....one of the most famous attractions here in Italy. So, naturally, we figured it was about time for us to do that. 

On top of getting to see The David, we experienced our first VIP moment....sort of. Since our study abroad program is super awesome, they supplied us with these amazing museum passes that allow us free entrance into some of the greatest museums here in Florence, including The Academia where The David is located. So upon our arrival at The Academia we were able to bypass the super loooooooooooong line and just scoot right up front and into the museum in a cinch! It was great! Unfortunately, you cannot take any photos at The Academia, so that nice google image of The David will have to do. But it was certainly a beautiful museum, worth seeing, not only for the David, but also for all of the other amazing pieces of artwork that are there as well! After spending a good hour or so there, just admiring the beautiful work, we headed over to an open-air market where we probably tried everything that was offered including delicious spicy pear jam and fresh Extra Virgin Olive Oil (my mouth is watering just remembering the tastes!). When we had our fill (literally), we headed over the Ponte Vecchio to check out some of the shops there and to just walk around, with no real purpose or mission, just enjoying the nice company and the beautiful night.  We got home around 7:15 and have finally gotten a chance to sit down and rest our legs. We're starting to plan another awesome day for tomorrow and I am so excited! I feel so blessed to have this experience and I wouldn't trade it for the world. 

Although it's nearly impossible to be stressed here in Italy, this fall break is just the thing I've been needing to finally gather myself and my thoughts and to fall back in love with the pure simplicity of life in Italy. All of it's natural beauty, its rich history, deep culture and amazing sights, sounds, and tastes. Going into fall break, I didn't have many expectations, I wasn't sure where each day would take me or what I would do, and so far it has been more than I could have expected it to be: the perfect combination of relaxation, exploration, adventure and enjoyment. 

Anyway, I'm going to being my relaxing night with either a nice movie or some reading in my book, or who knows, maybe both! :) 

I hope everyone is having a very enjoyable Saturday afternoon!!

Remember to smile!!!

Sending love to everyone and wishing everyone happiness, joy, and good health!

xoxoxoox

La vita e bella!

Ciao