Just finished packing my bags to head home tomorrow! Looking forward to going home to see family and friends. Can't wait to sleep in my own bed with my dog! It has been a fantastic semester and I have made so many great memories. I am sad to leave my friends but I know I will hang out with them again in the States. I am looking forward to hot showers again! Because that is something scarce here in Italia! I am also looking forward to mom's cooking again. So long Florence! I will be back again someday for sure :)
Its the little things that make my adventure abroad so unique. These small things remind me that I am a world away from home. I am going to miss Florence so much. I love just being abroad and feeling free. I have loved my time over here. I am so glad that I had such great roommates. I am looking forward to reunions and we are going to have a traveling journal between the four of us! Here are the little things I look forward to each day in Firenze:
This past week I went to İstanbul, Turkey. I absoutely loved it and it is up there with Cinque Terre as my favorite trip! The city is just so different from anything I had ever seen before. I went with my roommate, Kelsey, and Emily, a girl from my school.
Day 1: Travel Day. We left Tuesday on a train from Florence to Rome. Then we flew from Rome to İstanbul. Got in to İstanbul that night and checked into our hostel (Sydney İstanbul Hostel). The hostel is pretty nice for only being 12 euros a night! Can't beat that! Oh, and it comes with a free traditional Turkish breakfast in the morning. And it gets better... the location is great! Right in the middle of the historic part of İstanbul. I would totally stay there again if I went back to İstanbul. We stayed in a coed dorm style room in the hostel because it was the cheapest. It was pretty interesting. Met a cute Irish guy who stayed in our room! We were picked up from the airport by our hostel. A guy with the taxi service had a "Rachel Farr" sign held up as we walked out! It was great! Listened to Turkish music as we entered İstanbul and saw the city by night.
Day 2: Touristy Day. We went to Topkapı Palace, Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia), Sultanahmet Camii (Blue Mosque), and the Basilica Cistern (Sunen Palace Cistern). The Palace was really neat with the different types of architecture and seeing the Harem (where all 1,000 of the wives lived). Also really enjoyed the Ayasofya Mosque. The Blue Mosque was neat to go to. You have to take off your shoes, wrap your hair in a scarf and I had to put a skirt on since I was wearing leggings. The Basilica Cistern was so cool!! It is an underground cistern. There are orange lights next to each pillar which makes it really neat to look at. We ended the day with a nice Turkish dinner (side note: they brought out bread for dinner and the bread came out breathing! It was moving up and down, it was nuts!) and some hookah!
Day 3: Shopping & Spa Day. Went to the Grand Bazaar (giant indoor shopping mall with 4,000+ stores). It was so cool. All the things they were selling were so different from the States. Bought a lantern, some pillow cases, Turkish delight, Apple tea & some other goodies! We were even invited into a guy's shop to have Turkish tea with him! It was so neat. After our long shopping day we went to have a traditional Turkish bath at Cemberlitas Hamami. We walked in and there are two sides, men and women's sides. We went to our side and were given a locker and a pair of panties! We stripped down and put on the pair of panties (yes, they were brand new, so don't worry!). Wrapped up in a towel and put on a pair of flip flops the spa gave us. Went to the bath room. Walked in and saw all these women just laying out on a hot stone. I've never seen so many topless women at one time! Lol. You eventually get use to it. We layed out on the stone, then one of the spa women washed us and massaged us which felt sooo good! Then we washed our hair and sat in the jacuzzi to relax. It was my favorite part of İstanbul!
Day 4: Cruise Day. Took a boat cruise up the Bosphorus River to see some of İstanbul's main attractions on the Eastern Europe side and part of the Asia side (İstanbul is half in Europe, half in Asia). We also got to take a tour of the Dolmabahce Palace which was so pretty. We had a Turkish lunch and sipped tea from a cafe on the Asia side of İstanbul. Headed to Takism Square for dinner!
Day 5-6: Mosque & Travel Day. Went to the Suleymaniye Mosque. It was similar to the other mosques. Then we went through the Egyptian Spice Market which was just crazy! It was so crowded and the shop keepers were trying to get you to buy their stuff. We also went to the New Mosque. Left İstanbul and flew back to Rome. Had to spend the night in the airport because our train back to Florence didn't leave til 6:30AM the next day!
Highlights:
"Rachel Farr" sign
The ride into İstanbul with Turkish music
Topakpı Palace
Ayasofya
Apple tea
Basilica Cistern
Breathing bread
Turkish food
Hookah
Grand Bazaar
Drinking tea in a shop in the Grand Bazaar
Grand Bazaar Restaurant
Appple tea & lemon cheesecake in the Bazaar at a tiny table
I can't believe I only have 12 days left in Florence. The semester flew by so fast! I will miss Florence and all the friends I have made. I came over here knowning no one and hardly any Italian. My roomies and I have all become so close. It will be hard to say goodbye. It is hard knowing that never in my life will I be able to have this same experience. I know that if I come back to Florence someday it will feel completely different. There are certain things I will miss once I fly home and so I have made a list of my favorite things. Hope you enjoy :)
Took a cruise from the port of Ancona, Italy to Split, Croatia this past weekend for Easter Break. The cruise boat was a lot bigger than I had expected. It was 8 floors tall. EuroAdventures had a couple of airplane style seating rooms reserved for us on the boat. There was a restaurant that I had dinner at on the boat which was actually pretty good. Arrived to Split in the morning. Checked into our sketchy hotel. Had to cross two sets of train tracks & hop a fence to get to our hotel! Then my roomies (Kelsey & Nissa) and I headed to Bacvice Beach. It was about a 10 min walk from our hotel.
Split, Croatia
Spent all day on the beach which was so relaxing! The next day we took a boat cruise to the islands of Brac and Solta. It was about a 3 hr cruise to Brac then an hour or two over to Solta then about 3 hrs back to Split. It was a long trip! But so much fun. Went to the Golden Triangle Beach on Brac. Visited the town of Bol on Brac Island. Stopped at Solta but there wasn't much to see in the tiny town.
On Easter I went white water rafting in Omis which is about an hour drive from Split. There were 8 people in each raft with a guide. The water was teal! It was so pretty. It looked like a fairy tale. There were beautiful waterfalls and greenery surrounding. Whenever the river narrowed and there wasn't enough space to use the paddles, our guide would yell BOMBA! Which meant get in the middle of the boat and duck down! We had a couple of "bomba" moments on the trip which was a lot of fun. I also got the chance to cliff jump off a 20 ft cliff which was a blast! Overall a great experience!! Took the cruise boat back to Italy overnight. Had a great time in Split and would love to go back someday to Brac Island and spend more time in Bol.
I am lucky that I have places like Florence for Fun and EuroAdventures that plan trips around Europe specifically for study abroad students. I have gone on several trips with Florence for Fun and just one with EuroAdventures. I hope to take 2 more trips with EuroAdventures later this month and next.
Florence for Fun trips:
Interlaken, Switzerland: Skiing in the Swiss Alps was probably one of the coolest/scariest things I have done in my life. I was so glad I went and it was probably one of the best things I did on my time in Europe. Highly recommend going even if you have never skiied. They offer other activities such as sledding, hang-gliding, ice skating & sky-diving.
Milan, Italy: Fashion week in Milan was very neat. I got to see a fashion show and got to see models walking around the city. The duomo there is very beautiful and I would love to go back someday!
Venice, Italy: I had been to Venice once before with my family but not for Carnevale. Carnevale is a huge festival thrown the week before Fat Tuesday. It was so much fun to see all the costumes and masks. A great experience!
Florence Soccer Game: Went to the Firenze vs Milano soccer or "futball" game. Had great seats and it was a neat experience. They know how to get into a game!
EuroAdventures trips:
Prague, Czech Republic: You would never think of going to Prague but it is actually a really neat city. It was hardly crowded when we were there and everything is dirt cheap with the exchange rate. Loved the John Lennon Wall and the Dancing House.
Split, Croatia: Heading here this weekend for Easter break! I am taking a cruise boat from Italy to Croatia overnight. We are staying on the coastal town of Split. Hope to work on my tan and possibly go white water rafting!
Amalfi Coast, Italy: This will be my last trip! :( This trip is going to Capri, Sorrento, Positano, and Pompei. I am looking forward to going to the Blue Grotto and cliff jumping!
Usually I dred Mondays because they are my longest. I have class from 9:15am to 7pm with only a 15 min & 30 min break in between the three classes. Well today started off great. My first class which is photography, took a class trip to Rignano Sull'Arno, which is about a 30 min train ride from Florence. We left at 9am and were there til 12pm. Rignano is a very small town. You can walk the entire town in about 30 min.
We spent about 2 hours walking around by ourselves taking pictures. It was so peaceful out. The Arno River runs right through the middle of the town. I loved just going around taking pictures in such nice weather in the middle of Tuscany! Taking pictures is one of my favorite things to do and it was just so beautiful out! I stopped at a little bakery in Rignano and bought a chocolate brownie. I asked the store clerk if I could take her picture because we have to have 10 portraits of Italians for an assignment. She was more than happy to have her picture taken. I loved Rignano because it was so quiet and a pretty Tuscan town!
In Italian class today we learned new prepositions. Our Italian teacher then asked us if we had made any Italian friends. We went around the room and spoke in Italian about our new friends. I talked about the friends I have made while studying abroad. It was fun just going around the room and talking. Our class got out a few minutes early which was nice.
After Italian was painting. Our class went up to Michelangelo's platform and went back into the woods behind the platform and the church. It was so nice out. The woods opens up to the Tuscan hillside. We brought our canvases, paint, stools & easels with us. We set up our easels around the woods and began to paint. I set up my easel with a perfect view of the hillside in front of me. I painted the hillside in shades of green and blue. It was so fun to just sit in the middle of the hillside painting and hearing the birds sing. After painting class my friend and I stopped to get some gelato :) I got fruti di basco and stratecella gelato. It was molto bene! Came home to the apartment and my roomies and I made calzones for dinner. They were very good! We had some tiramisu for dessert! Never underestimate your Mondays!
Florence has some of the best night life in Italy! Every night of the week there are bars/clubs full of study abroad students and locals. The best nights to go out are Thurs/Fri/Sat. I have compiled a list of my favorite bars/clubs and I hope you enjoy! Maybe if you come to Florence someday you can try one of them out ;)
Enjoying some live music at Rocks Off!
1. Rocks Off - Great live music pub down the steps in a cozy little basement, the employees are so nice & go out of their way to help you find a seat! They gave us a round of free shots the first time we were there.
2. Red Garter - Always packed! They have really good cider. The dancing is fun and so is the music. This is one of my fave places!
3. Moyo - Great mixed drinks. You can get a table and hang out. The music is pretty good. Easy to meet people and they don't creep on you.
Out at Moyo with my roomies & Nichi
4. Twice - CRAZY! There are creepy Italian men everywhere! There is no cover but that means that the place can get packed. Sometimes it is hard to move. If you start dancing, Italian men will come up to you and start dancing with you. Such a crazy experience! Try to get V.I.P. if possible, then you can have some protection from the creeps.
5. Naima - Great little bar down the street. There is a pirate bartender. It gets pretty crowded so it's hard to get a table. If you go from 9-11pm you can get 3 euro drinks.
6. Lion's Fountain - Such a cozy little pub! There are t-shirts from U.S. colleges all over the ceiling and people write all over the walls which is cool. You can get a cup of beer for about 5 euros. They also have cider. Sometimes they have karaoke night.
Green Beer at Old Stove
7. Club 21 - Great dancing! No cover at this club. Great lights/music and the guys aren't too creepy. There are 2 bars in the club. Sometimes they give out free drinks/shots!
8. Bebop - Live music pub in the basement. I have only been once and it was quite an experience. I recommend going on Beatles night!
9. Astor - This bar reminds me of bdubs. There are huge TVs everywhere. The bartenders are pretty cool and the owners might give you free shots!
10. Old Stove - Cozy little Irish pub. Went here on St. Patty's day and had green beer. It was full of Italian kids and it was just a lot of fun!
I came over to study in Florence knowing no one. I knew that I would have to make friends and I thought hopefully I would be able to bond with my roommates. I remember the first week or so when we were all getting to know eachother. It was pretty quiet and we didn't really say much. After a few more weeks we were getting to know eachother and I found out my roommates all have a great sense of humor. We love cracking jokes and just hanging out together. We usually always cook dinner together which saves on buying food! Sometimes we play cards & eat gelato after dinner. We love to go on walks together and explore Florence! I truly couldn't have asked for better roomies. We are already talking about planning reunions around the country/world!
Chouree -
My awesome roommate! We share a room together and are always laughing and having a good time. She is a sophomore at St. Catherine University majoring in Dietetics. She is from Saint Paul, Minnesota. She is a great cook and likes to make us all food! I went to Paris & London with her and we had an absolute blast. She has been a great roommate and we love to break down and dance in our room sometimes! She studied abroad in Sicily for the fall semester and decided to come to Florence for spring semester. She loves to go shopping as well! Sometimes we call her the shopaholic. She also loves collecting scarves! She has already purchased probably 7 scarves just from Florence.
Nissa -
You can always catch Nissa singing in the shower or in the kitchen. She loves shopping for jewelry and is obsessed with squirrels. She is a junior at the University of Minnesota. She is majoring in Interior Design. She is from Collierville, Tennessee. She had her boyfriend and sister visit a few weeks ago. It was fun to hang out with them. She loves to go on hikes and is always working out in the living room while listening to Wiz Khalifa. She loves to cook as well. Her and Chouree make a great cooking team. She is also a huge astrology freak! She likes to try to figure out what signs people are. She is a cat lover and has a little kitty named Nova!
Kelsey -
Loves shopping for shoes and shopping in general. She has a great sense of humor and is always joking around. She is a super-senior at the University of Minnesota majoring in Interior Design as well. Her and Nissa know eachother from school. She lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin and yes, she is a Packers fan! She loves to go out and get her dance moves on. You can catch her taking naps throughout the day or making to-do lists. We went to Cinque Terre a couple weekends ago with my parents and had so much fun. We are going to Barcelona together next weekend! She has a blog as well that is pretty hilarious, but she would kill me if I gave out the link!
I was suppose to go to Austria this past weekend to go on the Sound of Muisc tour but not enough students signed up so they had to cancel the trip :( So I had the option of going to Prague, Munich or get my money back. I decided to go to Prague because I had heard so many good things about it. People said it was dirt cheap and that they had a lot of fun.
So on Thursday I climbed onto a huge coach bus with 50 other kids. Half of the students were going to Munich the other half were going to Prague. By the way, Prague is in the Czech Republic for those that are not good with geography! We took a 12 hr bus ride from Florence to Prague with a pit stop in Munich to drop off half the kids. We drove through Italy, Austria, Germany & then got to Prague at 9AM the next day! I didn't get to see the scenery because it was dark out.
We checked into our hotel rooms (stayed at Hotel Karlin) then went off for our tour of Prague! Got to see so many of the main attractions and went to a Beer Factory that had a tap at each table so you could get your own beer! Went out to dinner at a traditional Czech restaurant next to our hotel. The next day was a free day so I did some shopping and went to find the dancing house. Prague is very cheap! One U.S. dollar equals 17 Czech Koruny. What was also nice was that the city wasn't really crowded. I'd have to say that Florence is more crowded than Prague! It was nice just being able to walk around and not worry about it being packed.
Things Conquered:
Prague Castle (Largest castle in the world) w/ St. Vitus Cathedral
1. Spring Break: London & Paris
2. Nissa's sister Nichi came to visit
3. Midterms
4. 150 yrs Unification of Florence
5. Palazzo Vecchio fireworks
6. Secret Bakery runs
7. Had my first chocolate covered waffle
8. Green beer on St. Patty's Day
9. Tijuana happy hour & dinner
10. Sorrento & Pompei
11. Chouree goes missing in France
12. Started my 3 canvas painting
13. Called cops on drunk neighbors
14. Mom & Dad came to visit
15. Cappuccinos at Cafe Mario
16. Accademia Museum to see the statue of David
17. Cinque Terre
18. Spring Hill Camps interview
19. Toured Santa Croce Church
20. Prague
Riomaggiore: didn't get to spend enough time
here. Would love to come back to it!
Corniglia: this town isn't on the water. Not a lot
to do/see. Would take the bus up next time &
walk down.
Manarola: loved having a cappuccino by the water. Climbed down by the rocks & got great views of the town. Loved hiking in the vineyards around the town.
Vernazza: my favorite town! Had a lovely lunch by
the water. Climbed on the rocks by the water & just
relaxed on the shore. Very peaceful!
Monterosso: this town was pretty stretched out
along the coastline. It had an old & new area of
town. There was a really big beach with a giant
rock. It also had a pirate look out & Nazi pill box.
Had an absolute blast going to Cinque Terre for the day with my parents and roommate, Kelsey. We woke up early and took a train from Florence to Pisa then from Pisa to La Spezia then from La Spezia to Riomaggiore! It was about a 2 & 1/2 hr train ride. Arrived to Riomaggiore & found out that only the first part of the trail from Riomaggiore to Manarola was open. The last 3 parts were closed :( So we bought a hiking ticket for the first path since that is all that was open.
We hiked from Riomaggiore to Manarola in about 45 min. We took our sweet time because we wanted to get lots of pictures to show you guys! We didn't really spend much time in Riomaggiore cuz we were so excited to start hiking! Got to Manarola which was town #2. Had cappuccinos by the water and walked around the town. Manarola is the type of town I picture when I think of Cinque Terre. The houses/buildings are stuck to the side of the hill with bright blue water around them. We could not have asked for better weather. It was such a gorgeous day out. It was warm but not too hot and there was a little breeze. We also hiked around Manarola up in the vineyards which I highly recommend because you can get great views down of Manarola.
Took the train from Manarola to town #3, Corniglia. Walked a short distance to the switch back path up the side of the hill to Corniglia. The switch backs look like they would take you forever but it only takes about 7 min to hike them. There wasn't a whole lot to do in Corniglia and the town is not on the water. There are a few restaurants and a church you can walk in though.
Took the train from Corniglia to Vernazza. Had a lovely lunch right by the water. Walked around on the rocks by the water and just sat and relaxed. It was so peaceful and I think this was my favorite town along with Manarola! Took the train to Monterosso, the last town. This town drops you off in the new part of town and you have to take the tunnel over to the old part. There is a large beach in the new part if you want to go for a swim. There is also a pirate look out and Nazi pill box towards the old part of town.
Absolutely loved Cinque Terre and I highly recommend going! If you can only go for a day then go! If you can stay for longer then stay. It is a must see. Make sure to check the train schedule between towns because it only comes once an hour. Also the ferry boats were not running yet, I believe they start after Easter. My roommate, Kelsey, loved Cinque Terre so much that she is going to stay a week after the semster ends to go back!!
Took a school trip to Sorrento & Pompei this past weekend. Left early Saturday morning and drove about 7 & 1/2 hours to Sorrento! It was a long ride but the views from the motor coach were wonderful. We drove right along the Amalfi Coast and we could see the Mediterranean Sea. We stopped in Sorrento for about 3 hours. We walked around and shopped. We went to a Limoncello shop and tried Limoncello. We also went to look at the bay. Such pretty scenery! We then drove about 30 min away to our hotel. Walked up to our hotel and my jaw dropped at the view of the Medierranean! We were right on the water. It was so sweet. We ate dinner at a pizzeria down the street from the hotel. Had a lovely little dinner.
View from the hotel
The next day we woke up and had a nice buffet breakfast at the hotel then headed towards Pompei. Pompei is about an hour from Sorrento. Also Pompei is only spelled with one "i" not two. Pompei is right outside of Naples, Italy. We got to the ruins of Pompei and met up with our tour guide. The tour guide took us around the ruins for about 2 & 1/2 hours. This tour guide was phenomenal! He knew every little thing about Pompei and how Mount Vesuvius erupted. At the end of our tour he asked who would like to buy a copy of his book! I was like woah this guy has written a book about Pompei!? Thats awesome! Of course I had to buy a copy of it! Ate lunch at a pizzeria across from the ruins then took the 7 hr bus ride back to Firenze!
Took a train from London to Paris. Stayed in Paris for the last 4 nights of our spring break. We stayed in Regent Hostel near the Anvers metro station. It was such a great location and this hostel was so much nicer than our last one! We only had 3 days of actual sight seeing so we didn't really have a lot of time but we tried to make the best of it! My roommates friend met us in Paris and stayed at the hostel with us.
Ok so on to the trip! We saw a lot of the main attractions. The night we got to Paris we walked to the Sacre Coeur church which was about 10 minutes from our hostel. I got my first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower! I tried escargots for the first time at dinner! The next day we went to see the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, went to Laduree (famous macaroon bakery), Musee d'Orsay. The macaroons were delicious. I got strawberry, lemon, chocolate, vanilla, sour apple & rose petal. Chocolate and lemon were my faves. We were gonna go to the top of the Eiffel Tower but the line was so long we decided to wake up early the next day and go. Notre Dame was free to get into which was nice. The cathedral was very pretty. Arc de Triomphe was neat. You walk through a tunnel to get under the arch since there is a giant round-a-bout surrounding it. Saw the tomb of the unknown soldier under the arc. Got into the Musee d'Orsay for free with my student visa. Saw severl Van Goh & Claude Monet paintings!
The second full day we woke up early to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Took an elevator to the top. The ride up was somewhat scary! I am afraid of heights so I tried not to look down. The views from the top were great! I could see the Arc de Triomphe from up there. Went to the Louvre later that day & once again got in free with my student visa. Spent 6 hrs in the Louvre and saw like a tiny bit of it! The museum is so big! Saw the Mona Lisa :) Got to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle too! It was around 9pm that it started to sparkle. I have a video I will post later of it.
The Louvre
Last full day we went to Versailles. Got to Versailles around 10am and lines were starting to form! Got into Versailles for free with my visa once again! Glad I brought it with me. Spent most of the day at Versailles touring the apartments and gardens. Got to see the famous Hall of Mirrors. Walked to the Grand Trianon which is also on the estate. Came back to the hostel then went to La Place du Tertre in Montmartre. It was a little square up near Sacre Coeur church. It was such a cute little square. There were artists drawing self portraits for people. It was such a crowded little place. I got a chocolate crepe while I was up there and it was so good. Went to see Montmartre Cemetary & then stopped by Moulin Rouge!
The day we left to come home to Florence we stopped by the Opera House to get some pics. Didn't get to go in the Opera House because it opened when we had to catch our plane. Flew from Paris Orly airport to Pisa via Easy Jet. Then took a train from Pisa back home to Florence! It was such a fun spring break! Got to see most all of the main attractions & eat some great food! Escargots, Eiffel Tower, Versailles & Montmartre were my favorites.
So I really wanted to go see the famous Stonehenge in England but it is about an hour or so from London. I looked up tours online and signed up for a tour of Windsor Castle, Stonehenge & Bath with Golden Tours. So on the 5th day of our trip we took a bus from our hostel to a Marriot hotel to be picked up for our tour! A coachbus picked us up from the hotel & took us to the main building of the tour agency. We divided up into our trip groups & took off! We traveled in a coach bus with about 50 of our best friends. Our tour guide's name was Tony. He was pretty funny and made the drives between attractions fun. He was very informative on all the sites and surrounding areas.
Windsor Castle
We went to Windsor Castle first. This is the home of Queen Elizabeth II. It is one of the world's largest and oldest castles. We got to tour the castle & look around. We got a free audio guide with our entrance fee which was nice. Then we stopped for lunch in some little town in England! It was a charming little town. We also got to see a 2,000 yr old chapel while we were there.
Mysterious Stonehenge
Then we went to see Stonehenge which was so cool. Such huge stones and no one knows why they are there. The stones weigh about 40 tons each and they came to Salisbury Hill about 5,000 yrs ago. No one knows why but some believe it was a religious temple, astronomical clock or a Bronze Age burial ground. The mysterious Stonehenge!
Roman Bath
Then we went to Bath. This city was so neat and I wish I could've stayed longer. We went to tour Roman Baths. It was really interesting. It was a long day but we got to see so much. I highly recommend going with Golden Tours. They picked you up at a location of your choice and take you around to all the stops with a lovely little tour guide.
