For the entire span of our last week we all agreed to eat out for both lunch and dinner every single day. Needless to say, I was about to explode by the end but it was soooo worth it!! We got the opportunity to go back to all of our favorite places and even hit a few that we never got the chance to go to. Alyssa got super lucky that Tuesday night was her 21st birthday. For dinner we decided to go to this restaurant that we were told was really expensive. It is called "Aqua al 2." Their "blueberry steaks" were on every single one of our recommendation lists. Of course, each and every one of us ordered them. Although the idea of them sounds kinda weird, they were actually amazing! We were glad that we fit it in. Later on we celebrated at one of our favorite bars, "The Stove."

It worked out perfectly that Santa Maria Novella was having an outdoor market for the whole week. We would all hangout there during the day instead of studying for our finals. 

"Notte Bianca" or the "White Night" just so happened to land on our final night. It is considered a holiday for the city. Everything was open throughout the entire night. Nothing shut down. The streets were filled with people everywhere. At every piazza there were concerts being played. It was one of the most amazing things that I had ever experienced. I wish that we had something like that in America. When the sun was finally rising our entire program walked to the top of Piazzale Michelangelo and watched it together.  

By the time we finally woke up on our last day we had a lot of last minute packing and cleaning to do. Afterwards, we spent the rest of our time just walking around the city to take it all in and enjoy it. We stopped at both the Ponte Vecchio and Piazzale Michelangelo one last time. 

Having to say goodbye to Florence was very bittersweet. I was ready to go back to the United States to see my friends and family. Yet, I wasn't ready to end the best four months of my life. I made countless memories that I will never forget. Going into this experience I didn't realize how much I was actually going to fall in love with the city and really feel like I could call it home. I know for a fact that that was not the last time that I will be there. I'll be back for ya Firenze!!!!

We spent our very last trip and weekend abroad in Munich, Germany at Springfest! As soon as we woke up Friday morning we went on a walking tour of the city that just so happened to have two huge kegs following us. No where else in the world except the beer drinking capital would this be acceptable. We didn't get a single judging glare the entire time which, was awesome. Our guide was hysterical and had us doing all different kinds of embarrassing things. I even got down and did 10 pushups in front of everyone. In my opinion the coolest part was seeing the steps that Hitler used to stand on to give his speeches to the tons of people crowding around listening. Our tour ended at the largest beerhouse in the city. We all agreed that it was by far the best tour we had been on all semester. After the tour was over we headed straight to get our little German dresses for the beerfest. It took a decent amount of time to find the perfect ones. Not gonna lie, they were pretty expensive but so worth the time and money. It wasn't long before we realized that they really gave the experience the full effect. We put them on right away and headed straight for the tents. We weren't wasting any time. After a little while we even ran into Ashley at one point! We were so happy that we got to hangout with her for a while. Me and Jaclyn ended up leaving a little bit earlier than everyone else because we wanted to make time to go on all of the rides. We were legit running around holding hands like little girls. We had sooo much fun!!!! My favorite ride was the swings that were up really high and gave you an amazing view over the entire carnival which, was all lit up.

The next morning we got ready quick and headed straight back to the tents. We actually ended up being the first ones in line. The enormous tent was completely empty when we walked in so we were the first ones to choose whatever table we wanted. We claimed the perfect spot right in the center. We spent the next 12 hours or so hanging out in there. The beers were the best that I had ever had before. They were extremely light and tasted amazing. The steins were so big that I had to hold them with two hands. Each one cost 10 Euros so they really added up. Every once and a while this song would come on in German and after a few times we all eventually caught onto the words. We were singing: "Cheers to a good time!" At the end everyone would raise their big mugs and clink them together. To entertain ourselves all of my friends and I would play the game zoomie zoomie which, I loved. Of course I made time at some point during the day to make it back onto the swings!

 

 

On our last day we took a train to go to the Dachau Concentration Camp. It ended up being a pretty emotional day. It was by far one of the most moving things I had seen over the entire four month span. Each of us was quiet for the most part and just kept to ourselves as we walked around and saw the horrific sights. We got to see everything from the open area where they had role call every day, twice a day to the prisoners' sleeping quarters to the gas chambers. It was crazy to picture these things actually happening on the very land that I was walking on. I am glad that I got the chance to go because it definitely changed my perspective on a lot of things.

Germany/Springfest definitely made it into my top three trips! It was the perfect ending in my opinion. Overall I liked the city a lot more than I expected to.

We chose the following weekend to stay in Florence. We felt it was necessary because we were leaving so soon. We spent a majority of each day walking around the entire city and shopping. We also got all of the souvenirs that we still needed. It was also one of our craziest weekends in my opinion. We stayed out the latest we had pretty much all semester these few nights. We had soo much fun!! When Monday came along our entire group of friends got tickets to go to the Fiorentina soccer game! We had a huge pregame at the boys apartment beforehand and hungout on the terrace. Everyone brought food and we made it into a bbq. Once we got there the stadium was pretty rowdy. I was a lot more into the game than I expected to be. I was glad I finally got to make it to one because I didn't want to leave without getting the chance to.

Next came what would end up being my absolute favorite trip of them all: Amalfi Coast! The hotel that bus2alps put us in was located in Sorrento. Although we slept and ate there I was a little disappointed that we didn't get to see the actual city a little more. My mom's boyfriend, Anthony, has a house there so I would have liked to have gotten to walk around the town a little bit. We didn't arrive until very late Thursday night so we went straight to bed. The next morning we took a bus over to Positano!! It dropped us off at the very top of the cliffs to let us walk the rest of the way down. The view from up there was breathtaking. The walk down was pretty long but I did not mind it one bit. We spent the entire day hanging out on the black sand beach. It was amazing to look around you and be surrounded by colorful houses built right into the sides of these huge cliffs. Although the water was not too warm I went in it a few times! This was after intensely checking for fish of course lol. What I had heard multiple times was 100% true: the Mediterranean is salty enough that you float automatically a little bit without even meaning to. This was by far the best day I had had abroad all semester. I really did not want to leave to get back on that bus when it was time to go. Later on that night we went to this beer garden that the company had recommended to us which, was pretty cool.

The next morning we had to be up super early to head over to Capri. We took a ferry this time. Once we got there they split us all up onto smaller boats and we got to go on a tour of the island. The first thing that they showed us was the White Grotto. At one point we drove straight through this small hole in a cliff that is randomly placed in the middle of the water. It was an extremely tight squeeze I was so nervous that we were going to crash. Also, we passed a light house that they told us is the second most important one in the world because Capri tends to get very, very foggy. Our last stop on the tour was the Blue Grotto. They informed us that this was one of the seven wonders of the world!!!! We got lucky that the weather and the tide were perfect so we were given the opportunity to go inside of it. Most people don't get the chance to do so. The opening to get inside was literally a small hole at the bottom of the cliff where it meets the water. Me, Natalie, Taylor and Elyssa all got on a little row boat (you were only allowed up to 4 people at a time). When it was our turn to go in the man guiding our boat told us to lay down in order to fit. My heart was racing. He grabbed this rope, pulled it hard and then laid down on top of us. Once we were inside he told us we could sit up again. As I did I saw one of the most spectacular things ever. I was inside a cave echoing with the sounds of the guides singing in Italian. Our guide told us to look back at the hole that we came in. When you did the way that the light reflects makes the entire cave look like it is shining neon blue. The water looks as if it is glowing. It is indescribable. It was definitely a great end to the tour. The Amalfi Coast is known for their lemons and oranges. You can see trees growing them everywhere. So once we were back on land we got one of their famous drinks which, is a lemon slushy combined with an orange slushy and some alcohol of course. It was sooo good and refreshing. Once we were all finished we took a chair lift to the very top of the island. The sights on the way up were beautiful and apparently we were told that they were even better once you reached the top. Of course once we did it became so cloudy that we couldn't see a single thing! We were all pissed. I could literally see the clouds moving past me as I was standing up there. When it was time to leave we took a convertible taxi back down which, was awesome! By far the coolest cab I have ever been in.

 

On our last day in this gorgeous place we went to Pompeii. We got a tour around the ruins. I didn't  even need it because I already knew all about the history of this city. We had learned a lot about it in my Ancient Rome class. It was awesome to get to see everything in real life though. I was glad we made a stop here.

We didn't have any classes on the Monday of Easter so we had an extra long weekend! We decided to use it to go to Split, Croatia which, was a 12 hour bus ride...Once we arrived Friday morning and dropped our stuff off at our hostel (the nastiest one we had to stay in so far) we headed straight for the beach. We chose to go to the one that was all sand while the rest of them were rocks. It was absolutely beautiful!! It was really cool to look out into the water and see mountains all the way in the distance which, obviously never happens at home. The water was completely see through and very shallow. You could walk out so far and it still wouldn't pass your knees. We laid out listening to music and tanning all day. It worked out perfectly that there was a bar right behind us too. Even though it was freezing me and Alyssa even went into the water a few times. I was pretty proud of myself. At night we did the bar crawl that bus2alps set up. It was awesome because most of the bars were along the coast. I had sooo much fun! It was ten times better than the one that we did in Prague in my opinion.

The next morning we had to meet early for the booze cruise that we signed up for. Although the weather wasn't great we all still made the best of it. We stopped at two different islands throughout the day and got to explore around them for a little while. Once we got back to Split we were starving. We went to this restaurant near our hostel and I ordered a steak with rice that was probably one of the best steaks I have ever had in my life. 

We decided to go to mass on Easter Sunday even though it was pouring rain. There were plenty of churches all over so we just randomly chose one. It was packed. Somehow we all managed to still grab seats near the front. It was completely different compared to home. They literally had an electric guitar that would play each song. We all agreed that we felt like we were in a rock concert with the way everyone was singing and dancing. Even though it was in a different language we were still able to get the general idea of what was happening. I was really glad we went and tried something that was out of our comfort zone. After that we went to Diocletian's Palace where scenes from the show "Game of Thrones" were apparently shot. 

On our very last day we got to visit Krka National Park for a few hours before heading back to Florence. I honestly think that it was the first waterfall I have ever seen in my life. It was gorgeous!! 

On the very last Friday of the month of March we had a scheduled field trip with my Food Culture class to go back to Chianti. Other than that I kept the rest of the weekend free to just stay in Florence. It worked out perfectly because Nicole, Allie and Paige all ended up being able to visit!! Paige got here first on Saturday afternoon. We were clearly off to a great start because while we were dropping her stuff off in my room I somehow managed to drop my keys out my window....We watched them drop all the way down and this random man pick them up. We went rushing down searching for them and eventually found them on the floor in this random store nearby..After that situation we headed straight to get paninis at Antico. The line was the longest that I had ever seen it of course. Paige was freaking out the entire time because there were tons of birds everywhere that were getting so close to us haha. It wasn't long until Nicole and Allie's train was getting in. Nicole, Allie and I decided to surprise Paige so she had no idea. She thought that they weren't coming until later on in the week after she already left. I convinced her that I needed to go to the train station to pick up Jaclyn's friend for her because Jac was on a day trip. I guess I did a good job because she literally didn't realize until the moment she saw the two of them right in front of her and her jaw dropped. I was pretty proud of myself. Unfortunately, only Paige could stay in my apartment with me though because we only have two couches and Alyssa also had a friend who already had plans to stay with us. It wasn't a big deal though because Nicole and Allie were able to get a hotel room. I brought them to Santo Spirito for dinner and we sat outside to eat. I wasn't shocked when Nicole and Allie said they were "on their way" and showed up a half hour late to our reservation! They all ended up loving the food which, I was positive was going to be the case. Once we were full it was time to go out!!! We pregamed at this apartment with a bunch of my friends and then ended up at Naima. Nicole was really sick so she went home a little early but at least she made it for a little while. Afterwards Allie, Paige and I went on a hunt for the famous secret bakery that I had yet to go to. We searched for probably a solid hour and a half before finally giving up which, was pretty disappointing. We got just a little lost trying to find our way back but eventually got home around 4am, still hungry.. 

The next morning I brought them straight to Gusta Pizza for breakfast/lunch. Even though the man messed up and didn't make our pizzas in heart shapes, they all still said that it was the best pizza that they had ever had in their lives. Afterwards we walked to Piazzale Michelangelo which, was quite the hike, as usual. On our way back we stopped to get gelato at Neri. We were true Italians and sat on the sidewalk as we all enjoyed it. Once we were finished we went to see the inside of the Duomo quickly. Next it was time to shop!! We spent probably just a little bit too much money buying things in the central market whether it was scarves or leather bags. We literally walked through the entire thing which, is really long. Even though we all had no room left in our stomachs we were still able to fit in happy hour margaritas at Tijuana. They couldn't leave without going! We didn't go out again this night because they had to leave early the next morning and I had class. It was so nice to get to finally all be together in Europe. It sucked having to say goodbye to them but I know I will get to see them again soooo soon :) 

P.S. I would just like to point out that I took more taxis in the time that they were here than I ever have in Florence before... (Nicole and Alll)  

We had a field trip to Rome not this past weekend but the weekend before that. We stayed just from Saturday to Sunday. It sure was nothing like any other field trip I have ever been on in my life! It was just Alyssa, Nate, Chris and I because we are the only ones in this particular class. As soon as we got there we went to the Roman Forum. It was amazing to know that everything I was looking at was created and placed there tons of years ago. The entire time I tried to picture it the way it was all the way back then. At one point we even got to see an entire view over the city which, was beautiful. My favorite part of the Roman Forum was seeing the place where they believe Julius Caesar was buried. It still had flowers placed all around it. We stopped for lunch afterwards and I got a pizza. Of course we managed to save some room for gelato afterwards too. Once everyone met back up we headed to the Colosseum which, was the part I was the most excited about. As soon as we got inside and I got a full view I was shocked with how amazing it was. It is difficult to put it into words because it is the type of thing that you need to go and see yourself to truly understand. We spent an entire hour just roaming around it and exploring. I didn't want to leave! From that point on we were all free to do as we wished for the rest of the day. The four of us decided to head back to our hotel rooms for a little while first. By the time we relaxed a little bit and got ready it was dark outside. We headed straight to the Spanish Steps. They were packed with people. We chose to eat at one of the many restaurants nearby. Once we were done we went to this area called Trastevere which, is apparently a very popular spot with a whole strip of bars. We picked one and just hangout and had a few drinks for a while.

Unfortunately, it was pouring the next morning. On top of that, the Roman marathon (which only happens twice a year) just so happened to fall on this day. This made the plans that our teacher had made a little difficult. While we waited for the mass at the Pantheon to end we all went into a nearby cafe to get some coffee to wake us up. It was adorable and my cappuccino was excellent! After we were finally able to go inside the Pantheon we headed to see the ara pacis. We had learned about this in class multiple times. It was cool to actually get to see it in person. I was glad we got to see it because this is something that I normally wouldn't have made time for if our teacher didn't have it in our itinerary. We didn't have the entire day to spend so we had to leave after that. We passed the Spanish Steps on our way to the train station and I was happy I got to see them in the daylight as well. 

Overall, I was very impressed with Rome. The city is much bigger than I had imagined. As a result, we didn't have enough time to make it over to the Vatican. I was only able to see it from a distance. This was the only thing that makes me upset looking back at the weekend. Yet, I guess it is the perfect excuse to go back to visit again!!! 

Finally, the day I felt like I had been counting down to for ages: the day Brian got here to visit me!! After he dropped his stuff off at my apartment and got the full tour we spent the rest of the day just walking around exploring. I couldn't wait to show him everything! One of our very first stops was the Ponte Vecchio. At night he had his first gelato experiences at one of my favorite places: GROM. The next day we went straight to the best place on earth for lunch: Gusta Pizza. We made sure to stick to the tradition and sign the slip that our order number was on and stick it under the our table. I am pretty sure he fell in love with the very first bite. I was just a little disappointed that he didn't want to get his made in the shape of a heart like I did. Once we were full I figured we would take a trip to the Boboli Gardens because they are literally right around the corner. Unfortunately, they ended up being closed for the day but we quickly made a better plan. We decided to rent segways! I had never done this before and was a little nervous. After we both got the hang of it though we were racing through the entire city. It was soo much fun!! We met up with Alyssa and her boyfriend Andy for happy hour at Tijuana which, is a Mexican Grill. We each ordered one of their huge, famous margaritas. Afterwards we went to Osteria II Gatto E la Volpe so he could try the best fresh mozzarella and penne alla vodka everrr. Once it was late enough we all went to two of the American bars that we go to pretty much every week. Our first stop was Uncle Jimmy's which, has a long list of different type of bombs you can order. After that we went to Lion's Fountain.

Monday I decided to skip my first two classes and bring him to Pino's for lunch which, in my opinion, has the best paninis out of the millions of places here. It didn't take long for him to agree. Afterwards we walked through both the outside and the inside of the central market. On our way out he bought two soccer jerseys for himself. Unfortunately, I had to go to Italian class then because I couldn't miss it. That night we went to Zaza for dinner with Jaclyn and Natalie. Zaza is known for their truffle sauce which, I knew he had never had before in his life. I brought him there so he could try something new that is extremely rare to find in the United States. Once the night time came around we went to this bar called Naima with all of my friends. We shared a pitcher of Sangria. After that we went to this club called YAB.

We ended up sleeping in later than I was hoping to on Tuesday so as soon as we were ready and out we got lunch at All'Antico Vinaio. This place always has a line down the street so I knew it was a must. Once again I had to leave to go to Italian class which, sucked. As it was getting time for the sun to set we went to climb the Duomo with Alyssa and Andy. This was the first time that I had gotten to do it too which, was exciting. Once we reached the top about 460 steps later I was amazed by the view. I know for a fact that I will definitely be doing that again plenty of times before I leave.  For dinner my friends made a reservation at this restaurant called Santo Spirito. We are all obsessed with their ham and cheese appetizer and Brian immediately was too. All nine of us ended up ordering the same exact pasta dish which, was pretty funny. Later on we went to this bar called Kikuya to so that Brian could try his very first dragon beer. We literally went right next door after the Red Garter where we danced all night long. We had a blast!! By the end of the week he still said that Red Garter was his  favorite place out of them all.

We took the train to Venice wednesday morning. Once we arrived we had to take a water bus to the stop where our hotel was. It drove us through a decent amount of canals which, was great because we got to see a lot of the city. It was gorgeous and nothing like anything I had ever seen before. We spent our entire time there trying to figure out how the people live like that. There were zero cars. Every form of transportation is done through water. Peoples front doors literally opened up to a set of stairs leading down to the water too. Each individual definitely needed to own his/her own boat to do anything at all! Our hotel was very vintage and just a block outside of San Marco Square (the center of the city). We literally turned the corner and walked straight into the Basilica Di San Marco. We aimlessly walked up and down random streets because neither of us had ever been there before. Next we took a gondola ride which, I had been dying to do for forever! It was so calm and relaxing. Although the weather could have been better, it was still cool to get to see the city from a different point of view. The guy steering our gondola was extremely nice too and answered whatever questions we had. We ate dinner outside at this cute restaurant right on the water. It was all lit up and had vines and flowers everywhere. We shared a bottle of red wine which was, by far, the best red wine I had ever had. The whole thing was perfect!

After arriving back in Florence Brian insisted that we went back to Pino's so we did just that. At that point it was already time for me to go to Italian class again. As soon as I was done he insisted that we then go back to Tijuana. It was easy to see what places were at the top of his list. The two of us went back each ordering different margaritas this time of course to try something new. Afterwards I brought him to his very first aperitivo this night. Aperitivo is when you go to a bar/restaurant a little earlier than you would for a normal dinner. You order and pay for a single drink and then it is an all you can eat appetizer buffet. Aperitivo is an Italian tradition to go before dinner. However, me and Brian did it the way that me and my friends always do it and stuffed our faces so that we got a cheap dinner out of it. Later on I brought him to shot cafe. Here we split their two specialties with my friend Taylor: the huge pitcher with the super long neon straws and the ten shots lit on fire. When we left there we went to the bar Old Stove which, is one of the only Italian bars that we actually go to here.

On our last day we got Gusta Pizza for the second time for lunch. We decided to give Boboli Gardens a second try after that. Luckily, it was open this time. I had never been there before either. I was amazed with how beautiful it was. It was nice to see some nature and greenery for once because the streets of Florence have not even a patch of grass to be found. We went exploring around the entire place pretty much. I picked a mini bouquet of flowers because they were so pretty. I am 100% going back there as it gets even warmer out. It would be the perfect study spot for finals. As soon as we left we headed straight to Piazzale Michelangelo for the sunset. We sat on the huge staircase looking over the entire city with our bottle of wine as it slowly became dark out. It was the perfect ending to the week. For dinner we went to this very local Italian restaurant called Trattoria Anita. We decided to treat ourselves and each order both a first and second dish. He tried risotto for the first time when I told him theirs was to die for. We stayed there for almost two hours just finishing our bottle of wine and talking. For dessert we went to Gelateria Dei Neri. We had to fit it in before he left because this place is rated the best gelato in the city. He got a nutella crepe with gelato on top and I got a nutella waffle with gelato on top. They were both delicious. Once we got home we both passed out from a food coma after that entire week of nonstop eating.

I was so happy that Brian got to visit me. We were both so lucky to have been given that opportunity. We had the perfect week together and had a ton of fun. It was definitely hard to have to say goodbye to him again. Florence definitely won't be the same without him anymore.

Last but not least, Barcelona! I had been dying to visit this city because I know soo many people studying abroad from Penn State there including two of my best friends, Nicole and Allie. It felt so good to see them, like usual. I got to their apartment really late on Tuesday night so we literally just hung around and talked for hours. When I finally got to see the city in daylight the next morning I realized just how big it was. It was probably the biggest city I had been to yet. It reminded me a lot of New York City. Our first stop was "La Boqueria" which is their outdoor markets. There were tons of flowers, fresh fruits, veggies, and more. It reminded me a lot of my central market back in Florence. We walked all the way to the arc de triomf next. I loved this spot because there were palm trees lined up all along it. After that we went to the Citadel Park which, was not even a two minute walk away. Nicole went to show me this mini pond where people will usually rent paddle boats. It was hysterical when we reached it and realized that it had been drained for some reason. After that disappointment we went to see this large fountain also inside of the park. Nicole told me that they had a zoo right there that she had never been to before so we decided to try to find the entrance to it. Of course at this point it started to DOWNPOUR and the two of us were stuck sharing just one umbrella because mine had flipped inside out and broke from all of the wind. Needless to say we were both soaking wet. We didn't know what else to do but die laughing. We decided to give up on the zoo. She had class soon so we started heading back to that building. Once we got there she left me with Sal who, within just one hour, brought me to this bar that they all love and got the two of us drunk off of sangria. That night Nicole cooked me dinner which was excellent, as always. We went back that night to the same bar I was at earlier with Sal to pregame. Nicole and I split this drink platter called "The Blackout" to start off the night...Afterwards we went to this club called Sutton Club. It was insane!!!! I had the best time ever. We made it into the VIP section which, she said was rare. I was upset that I only had that one night to go out because I would have loved to see what other bars and clubs there were there. Even though we had a rough start to the day, it ended up being awesome!!

On my last day in Barcelona Jaclyn, Natalie, Alyssa, Emily and I all went to Park Guell. It was so steep to climb to the entrance of it that the city put in outdoor escalators for people to take to the top. It was a lot bigger than I had imagined. I was obsessed with all of the colors of the tiles on the wall that overlooked the city. On our way back down we stopped at this small shop to get churros and warm, melted chocolate. We heard that this city was known for them so we felt the need to try them before we left. They were a great snack before Alyssa and I had to catch our flight to head back to Florence to get Brian and Andy!!!!! Barcelona was by far the perfect end to a perfect spring break! Now we were ready to go get our boys!

Finally, our first warm location: Nice (the French Riviera). We got there on Sunday afternoon and headed straight to the beach. It felt so good to see water again! The beach was right off of a promenade that ran from one end of the coast to the other. We walked up and down it just to explore a little and see the town. It was Nice's final day of their Carnival so the promenade was filled with confetti, streamers and balloons. At dinner that night we got lucky enough to be seated at a table that faced the fireworks celebration. It was perfect!

As soon as we woke up the next morning we rented bikes for an hour. It was cool to get to ride further to places we otherwise wouldn't walk to. Once we were done we changed into our bathing suits and laid out for the rest of the day on the beach. The beach was made up of all rocks but we managed. I even got a tan!! We stayed long enough to catch the sunset which, was gorgeous. Later on that night we stopped into the casino for a little while.

On our third and last day we took a train to Monte-Carlo, Monaco (another city along the French Riviera). I didn't really know what to expect but I knew if it was anything like Nice then I was going to love it! We wandered around for a while and first ended up walking through the docks of the yacht club. After going a little further we hit the beach which, in my opinion, was even nicer than Nice's. I felt like I was in Jamaica or Aruba or some other tropical island. From that point on we literally did not move. We laid down in the rocks again but this time around they were smaller and resembled sand more. We soaked in the sun until we were ready for lunch. We ate at this restaurant that looked over the beach with the perfect view. Once we finished we headed back for the train station because we needed to leave that night for our next stop: Barcelona!!!!

We started our spring break off in my favorite city yet, Paris! I loved everything about it!! The first thing we did was go straight to the eiffel tower. After waiting in line for a decent amount of time we were finally able to climb to the top of it. The view was absolutely amazing. I was shocked when I realized that they even had bathrooms, a convenience store and a restaurant all the way up there. If you walked toward the center of it they made the floor out of only glass which, was really cool. Once we were on the ground again we were starving from all of those stairs. I ordered a ham and cheese croque for lunch which, was delicious. Next we went to see the Avenue of Champs Elysees. This is a long strip with all high end shops along it. It felt comparable to the Beverly Hills from the United States. While walking down the street we stopped into the biggest Louie Vuitton store that exists in the world. Right next to it was a Laduree (macaroon store). We each left with our own personal stacks of eight colorful cookies. My favorite one was the plain vanilla. At the very end of this street we found the Arc di Triomphe. For our last stop of the day we climbed to the top of this building to watch the sunset from its roof. It was gorgeous with the outline of the eiffel tower in the background. With our first dinner we all split a side of french fries, of course.

For our second and last day we decided to first go see the Notre Dame. After we got baguettes with ham and cheese and then headed toward the Louvre. We walked all around this maze of a museum before finally finding what we truly went there to see: the Mona Lisa. It was a lot smaller than I had expected. Luckily for us our next stop, the love lock bridge, was right outside of this huge museum. It was upsetting when we saw that the whole thing was pretty much boarded up. Apparently it was getting too heavy and they were worried that it was going to break. We still managed to find a good spot to put our locks though! There was no way I was leaving there without doing so! We were each obsessed with our dinner this night: chicken cutlets with green beans and arugula salad. Once it was dark enough we headed back to the eiffel tower for a second time to see it all lit up. It was even more beautiful at night, if possible!! We even got to see its light show which is when it flashes lights for a few minutes straight as if it were sparkling. I didn't want to leave.

Although the twelve hour bus ride to Prague gave us a rough start, I ended up liking the city a lot more than I expected to. The hostile that we stayed in here was by far the nicest one yet. My friend Chris from home who is studying abroad in Rome was actually staying in the same one so I ran into him a few times throughout the weekend. We didn't arrive until 9am on Friday morning so there was no time for sleep. Right away we took this tour that showed us around the entire city. One of my favorite parts was the Old Town Square and the astronomical clock. We learned that Prague is split up into sections each labeled with a number. For example, there is Praha 1, Praha 2, Praha 3, etc. We met up with Ashley who is studying abroad there for lunch. It felt so good to finally get to see her again! She brought us to this traditional Czech restaurant. I was glad that I tried something new. At night we went to this 80's/90's club. It was SO much fun! We all had the best time dancing to the songs that we grew up with.

On our second day there we went straight to the John Lennon Wall. I signed it in both sharpie and spray paint. We were there for about an hour or two all taking tons of pictures. Afterwards we walked through these outdoor markets. We got hot red wine and potatoes with ham in a cream sauce for lunch. For dessert we got this bread that was covered in cinnamon, sugar and nuts. It is kind of hard to explain but it was to die for. I even dipped it in my hot wine. After we were warmed up, we climbed these steps leading us to an awesome view of the city and the entrance to this beautiful castle. Prague was filled with extremely old castles that soared higher than the rest of the normal buildings. After exploring the inside of this one in particular, we made our way back down and picked up some fried potato chips on a stick on the way. Although they were filled with oil I couldn't resist. For our last night we all signed up to go on a pub crawl. I was excited because I had never been on one before. Now I can't wait to do another one!!!

I could tell from the start that Switzerland was going to be beautiful even in the middle of the night as our bus slowing zigzagged up through the dark mountains. It is impossible to compare Switzerland to any other country that we had already visited because it was mostly just nature. Not going to lie, it was definitely nice for a change. We stayed at this famous hostile called Balmer's. Alyssa, Danielle and I ended up getting squeezed into a small room with a total of ten girls. The place was extremely old and felt like a log cabin. 

On our first day there we wanted to go see Lake Brienz. After walking completely in the wrong direction for a while and then getting lost, we gave up and payed for bus tickets. When we finally made it my jaw dropped as I saw in front of me a body of water that was legit the color of blue gatorade. It seemed like a mixture between the water I am used to at home and a tropical island. I had never seen anything like it before. Although it was FREEZING my mind was quickly distracted. We spent the next hour or two enjoying the view and taking tons of pictures. The nightlife was extremely easy to figure out because everyone just walked out the front door to the hostile's very own club. I was relieved to not have to walk through the cold. My friend Elyssa turned 21 this night so we all had a ton of fun. 

We woke up early the next day because we had gotten day passes to go skiing! I was super nervous because I hadn't recently been skiing and I had been told several times that these mountains were much harder than the ones at home. The train ride up to the top of the mountain, Jungfrau, was spectacular. It just kept getting better the higher and higher we went up. It was cool to see the small villages plopped in the middle of no where and covered in snow. When we came to a stop and I got off I was shocked to see that we were above the clouds. They were like a layer below us. It made it feel as if you were in this secret, nonexistent world for the time. These mountains were ten times the size of any of those I had ever seen before in Vermont, upstate New York or Pennsylvania. As we made our way to the first and easiest slope I quickly realized that I had every right to be nervous. In the United States the order of difficulty for the slopes goes green, blue, black diamond and then double black diamond. In Switzerland it goes green, blue, red and then black. Little did I know that as I started down a green slope in Switzerland it would be like an intense blue slope at home. I wiped out just a few times to say the least. Even their "bunny hill" was far from a beginners slope. No actual bunny hill that I have ever seen before even existed here. I felt embarrassed as I watched tiny kids flying past me looking as if they were professionals. I was still proud of myself for at least putting in the effort and trying. On one part of the mountain there was this large teepee where everyone seemed to hangout at when they needed a break. There was a bar on the inside of it and places to order food. I got this delicious hot chocolate. After returning back to ground level the three of us went out for dinner. We each got warm cider beer which, I had never had before along with this pasta that had been recommended to us by tons of people. It had melted cheese all over it with bacon and potato pieces mixed in. Apparently it was a traditional Swiss meal. 

We didn't leave until later on Sunday so we spent our last hours at a chocolate making workshop. It was a very personal lesson with only a few people. We each got to make and then decorate three of our very own chocolate bars. I now understand why they say that Swiss chocolate is the best in the world! By the time we left I had a stomach ache from eating so many sweets!! 

Next was London! Only Jaclyn, Natalie and I were going on this trip. By the time we actually got there on Thursday night it was very late. Brian's cousin Emilee met us at the train station because we were sleeping at her apartment for the first night. She was so helpful. Right away she told us we needed to buy these things called "Oyster Cards" to use the Tube (a faster version of our subways at home). We would have had no clue that this even existed without her. Her apartment made us feel like we were back at home and it was nice to have a tv for the night considering our apartment in Florence doesn't have one...

The transportation is so easy in London that we were able to see everything that we needed to in this big city in just about six hours on Friday. First we went to Abbey Road. It took much longer than I expected to get the perfect picture of us walking across it. Cars were constantly coming from both directions. We literally had to stop traffic to run out quick and then go back to the sidewalk. After many attempts we headed through a park over to the Buckingham Palace. It was beautiful especially with all of the gold. Then we went to the London Tower Bridge. At this point it started to rain but it was still really cool to get to walk from one side of the bridge to the next. Once we finished that we went to see Big Ben. I didn't realize that the London Eye was so close to it. You literally turned around and it was right there. After all of that walking and hopping on and off of the tube we were starving. We got afternoon tea at this really nice hotel. It was delicious! We each got our own little teapot along with finger sandwiches and desserts for the entire table. A little later on I met up with Emilee again to get dinner at this tapas place in Oxford Circus, which is the equivalent to Times Square in New York City. Once it was dark out she brought me back to see the London Eye, which was lit up red. She was honestly the best host and it was so nice to see her!! For our last two nights we stayed in dorm rooms with Jaclyn and Natalie's friends Adina and Kelly who are studying abroad there. After saying goodbye to Emilee I met back up with all of them and we went to this place called Funky Buddha. We ended up getting into the VIP section and meeting the owner who I later found out is best friends with One Direction! Apparently that is the club that they always go to when they are there!!!

Since we got pretty much every touristy thing that we needed to done on our first day we all went to these outdoor markets on Saturday. They reminded me a lot of Canal Street. At this point we got Starbucks at least five times because we are deprived of it in Italy. Everywhere I turned I saw the famous red telephone booths. We made sure to take plenty of pictures with them! On top of that there were the red double decker buses on every street. It reminded me a lot of Harry Potter and Juicy, of course. I made sure that I rode one at some point before we left! At night we went to a club called Cargo. It was 20 pounds to get in, which is super expensive but it so worth it! It had multiple rooms with different types of music being played in each one. It was a great way to end our trip!

The first city that we chose to visit outside of Italy was Amsterdam!!! Our plane left Thursday evening and we were all sooo excited! Not only was this our first time in The Netherlands but it was also our first time staying in a hostile. It wasn't half as bad as I expected. All six of us shared a super tiny room with three sets of bunk beds. This also came with our own bathroom. Although it obviously didn't compare to any hotel it was worth saving the money for the three nights. Nicole and Allie were also going to be in Amsterdam for the weekend so I couldn't wait to meet up with them! It worked out perfectly that their hotel was right near my hostel too. It was a total of maybe a five minute walk. I ended up sleeping in their hotel room the very first night. We stayed up talking and catching up until around 3:30 in the morning. Compared to Florence it was freezing. I guess we never realized how spoiled we really are with the weather here. It didn't take long for us to realize how much of a bike city Amsterdam truly is. Even in the cold more people were riding bikes than cars! I even almost got run over a couple of times by them!! Amsterdam's subway system runs on the streets outside not underground like the one I am used to in New York City. We found this to be extremely convenient throughout the entire weekend.

The next morning I woke up super early to meet back up with my friends and get the most out of our first real day there. We started off taking a tour of the Heineken Brewery. It was so much fun and I actually learned a lot such as the main ingredients that they use to make the beers. Of course we got a couple of beers for free too, which was a plus. Once the tour ended we went to find the famous I AMSTERDAM sign. We stayed there for a long time after discovering it and took millions of pictures. Later on that night I met back up with Nicole and Allll for dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. Once we were done we went to this bar all the way in the Red Light District to catch up with a whole other large group of people also from Penn State who were there for the weekend.

On Saturday all of the girls that I was staying with and I went to get pancakes for breakfast because we were told that that is what Amsterdam is known for. I ordered the bacon pancakes. It was really just one huge, thin crepe type pancake with strips of bacon cooked into the middle of it. I have never had anything like it before. We bought tickets for a tour of the canal after and the weather was absolutely perfect! We sat on the outside of the boat the entire time and just relaxed for the hour or so. At the end of the tour we went to the sex museum. It was interesting and gave us all a good laugh. After learning that Amsterdam is also known for their waffles we stopped in the closest little bakery we could find. I got nutella on top of mine. It was AMAZING!!!!!! By far the best waffle I have ever had. At night we went as a huge group to a different bar in the Red Light District. Here I met back up with Nicole and Allie to hangout for one last time. It was so sad and hard to have to say good bye to them again but I am sure that I will see them in another country in Europe before I know it. It felt good to get to see them and made me feel much more at home. Our flight left super early Sunday morning so we didn't have time to do much more after that. Overall it was a fantastic, successful weekend!

Pisa was the first place that we actually traveled to all on our own. We just made a day trip out of it on the Sunday after the wine tasting. The trains were very confusing to figure out at first but they were definitely a lot cleaner and faster than the ones from home. After about only an hour we were there! The town was overall very quiet and dead compared to Florence. I would kind of even describe it as deserted. The first thing that we did was walk straight over to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It was pretty much exactly what I pictured it to look like. We all hung out around it for a decent amount of time trying to get the perfect pictures. It was not as easy as it looks!! Even after all of that time I still wasn't satisfied with my final picture. Afterwards we went for lunch at this restaurant that was nearby and clearly meant for tourists. While we were eating this older guy came slowly walking down the street playing a guitar and singing loudly in Italian, which was very peaceful. It was something that I knew would never happen back in New York. There really wasn't much more to do or see. Most of the stores were closed. We stopped at this little souvenir shop on our way back to the train station and I bought a shot glass that is actually tilted on an angle. The day was short and sweet but good practice for us all and the perfect first trip.

We left Florence for the first time today to take a day trip to Chianti, Tuscany with our program. It was only about an hour bus ride away. When we got there we got an underground tour of all of the barrels where they store the wine for years. After that we finally got a wine tasting! They taught us how to properly hold a wine glass, how to tell how much alcohol is in the wine, how to smell it correctly and how to see what color it really is. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't so great and it started to rain near the end. Yet, it was still such a beautiful place. Luckily, we will be going back with our food and culture class later on in the semester so I am hoping it will fall on a clear day and we can get some better pictures. Overall, it was still a great day though!

There was not much of a chance to get to catch up on sleep because we had to be at orientation at 9am today. They went over all of the basics like safety and housing rules. We were each given our class schedules as well. I was relieved to see that I got every class that I wanted including: The history of Rome, the art of Florence, food history and culture and introduction to Italian. Once we got out we headed over to the Ponte Vecchio. I am not joking when I say it took my breathe away. I have seen countless pictures of it before but they do not do it justice. On our way back to our apartment we stopped at a grocery store called Conad to get some basic things. It was pretty frustrating because it is nothing like the King Kullen that I am used to at home. First of all everything is written in Italian. On top of that I do not recognize any of the brands. I am sure with time I will learn to get used to it, however and make due. While at the register paying we learned that they don't put all of your things into shopping bags in Italy. You need to buy a pack of them and bring them back to reuse them each time you go shopping. Vespas are extremely popular around here. When walking around you see more of them than you do cars. We went to this restaurant called II Gato e La Volpe for dinner which is known for its penne alla vodka. While waiting to be seated we ended up talking to and becoming friends with the bartender and the owner. They were all so nice including our waiter, Ramsey. They offered us a free bottle of wine and told us that we can get 10% off of our bill every time we go. We tried a different American bar this time called Uncle Jimmy's. Here they had all different versions of saki bombs. We all tried one called the gator bomb which was surprisingly easy to drink.

We had a rough start at the airport this morning (ask my family and they will tell you all about it... lol) to say the least but I finally made it onto the correct plane. We had a layover in Munich, Germany where we each proceeded to buy ourselves a large mug of beer at eight in the morning. The lady working at the counter looked at us like we were crazy of course. After hours on hours of traveling we finally made it to Florence at 12:35pm (6:35am in America). We all already felt confused by the time difference and were exhausted. A taxi drove me and Natalie from the airport to bring us to our apartment. We turned down one block in particular and I looked at her and said, "Wow, this is gorgeous. Best street I have seen here yet. Imagine if we were able to live here." Not even two seconds later the cab pulled over to the curb and said, "Here we are!" Both of our jaws immediately dropped. Our apartment is not even a minute from the Duomo which is the best location there could possibly be. It is HUGE with a total of 5 bedrooms and 4 full bathrooms. Including myself there are 9 of us who live here. The view from my bedroom of the center of the city is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. It all seems so unreal. After unpacking it was not long before we all had to then start getting ready for dinner. We came across this great local restaurant called Osteria De'Pazzi. I got spaghetti bolognese and a glass of the house white wine. I have had bolognese before at home but it does not compare to what I had here at all! Not only that, the wine was so good that we each drank it like water. By the time we finished it was 10pm because everyone eats dinner much later here. Afterwards we made our way over to this American bar that multiple people have recommended to us called The Lion's Fountain and proceeded to drink another bottle of wine. On our walk back home we passed countless gelato stores and could no longer resist ourselves. I got coconut and it was like no other "ice cream" I have ever tasted before. I can't wait to eventually try them all!!!