Better Late Than Never?

So it may be the end of August, and my journey abroad ended back in May... whoops. But, I had a very busy summer working as a camp counselor. And while I was abroad my life was very exciting so I never wanted to sit down and write this entry. However, now I am back at Illinois State University. Everyone has gotten over their excitement of seeing me again. Classes have started. And I'm finally bored enough to finish this blog. Since a few people have been yelling at me too... (Kendall and Uncle Kevin!)... Here it goes.

To answer a question I am sure no one is actually asking, yes that oil did scar my skin. It looks less like chicken pox though and more like really large and faded freckles.

Anywho, the last few days of being in Florence were probably the best I had and also the most hectic. There was a massive list containing things I wanted to do, things I had to buy, gifts I had to remember, and not enough time or money to do it all. So the very last day I spent it with my closest friends abroad that I miss like crazy at the moment. All day long Kristi, Sara, Kendall, and I ran around like mad women doing all touristy things we had yet to do or wanted to experience again. It started bright and earlier when Kendall and I went to climb to the top of the Duomo. It was surreal looking at all of Florence for the last time. I think that was when it really hit me that I was leaving my home behind for, if not forever, then many years. Luckily it was a gorgeous day outside and we were able to take in all the beauty Italy has to offer.

After our climb down from the Duomo we met up with Kristi and Sara for our day-o-fun to truly begin. The one thing we had wanted to do the entire time we were in Italy was ride a carousel that they had in Piazza Republica. Of course, by the time we arrived there the ride was closed down for siesta. So we continued our last minute shopping and went back to two o'clock when it was supposed to be open again. By 2:15 we became impatient Americans and just decided we didn't need to actually ride it as long as we could sit on the horses and pose for pictures. So that it exactly what we did. And we goofed around so much that we were on that carousel for another 20 minutes until we finally decided to leave to head to the Boboli Gardens because I had yet to experience them.

On our way to the gardens we stopped at the Ponte Vecchio to get some last minute photos in as a group and be silly together. We found an adorable couple from Texas that offered to take our pictures and ended up taking a mini photo shoot for us. I think these photos speak for themselves more then I could ever describe them.

Finally, we made it to the gardens and walked around. Kristi, Sara, and Kendall had all been there before and were able to show me around quicker then if I were to have gone by myself. I got to see everything I wanted to see and still have time for the rest of my day in Firenze! The gardens were massive. I could have easily been lost for days in there. We walked up to the top of the hill the gardens are on and into a rose garden. The statues throughout the entire castle grounds were ornate and beautiful, although some were rather odd. Towards the very end of the gardens where you exit is where my favorite statue is. It is a statue of a rather obese man naked, squatting on a tortoise. This statue was just too tempting to pass up on a priceless photo op. So naturally, Sara and I mimicked the statue to the best of our abilities. Note that I said it was a MAN sitting on this turtle so to recreate myself into a man we used all of our resources... aka a water bottle. I have to say the end results are almost an exact replica of the original ;)

Afterwards Kendall and I headed back to our apartment to pack up a little bit more and prepare for our special night out that we had planned far in advance. Us and a group of friends all decided to get some pizza to-go and take it up to the lookout point. We ate it outside together with wine and watched the sunset over Florence. The food was amazing, the wine was legal, and the scenery was breathtaking. More so then being on the Duomo earlier in the day. Sadly, the sun did eventually set and our day was truly coming to an end. Kendall, Eric, and I temporarily split up from the group to head to our favorite gelato shop, Antica. There our new best friend Francesco gave us our last gelato for free along with some I Heart Gelato hats. I have my hat in my apartment with me right now. God I miss gelato... 

After enjoying the last bits of my cheesecake and ambrosia gelato (the best there is. Go to Florence. Go to Antica. Order that gelato. I'm literally drooling thinking about it) we headed over to meet up with Sara and Kristi to walk Sara to the train station and start the grueling process of our goodbyes.

On the way to Santa Maria Novella station the wheel on one of Sara's suitcases broke off, followed by the other wheel shortly after. According to Sara this was just the start to her hectic journey back to the USA. We sat outside her train as she took her seat and chased it down as she began to drift away from us. It was one of the most depressing moments of my life and only got worse at 4 o'clock in the morning. 

This is the time that Kendall had to leave me. I was half asleep carrying her heavy ass suitcase outside for her (not that she asked me to, apparently I'm just super helpful when I'm barely conscious) and hugged her, Eddie, and Jordan (friends that she was traveling home with) good bye. I walked inside before I truly broke down. Roomies 4 Lyfe was just a memory now and I sat on our cuddle bed we made the night before and cried. :( I miss my Rooms. That morning I woke up extra early to see Kristi off on her bus. I walked back to my apartment and spent the rest of the morning cleaning. I still had a few hours before I had to catch my bus to Pisa. I was traveling to London with Kristina so I said goodbye to my beloved Via dei Fossi 7/r and closed the door for the very last time. I headed to Kristina's apartment where I helped her and her roomates finishing cleaning up.

LONDON

Heading to London was a hectic process. We took a bus to Pisa, flew from Pisa to Gatwick, took a train from Gatwick to London, and took the Underground to Kings Cross station, and walked about a mile to our hostel at 1 AM with ALL of our luggage. It was the crankiest I have ever seen Kristina (she is a rather peppy person). Thankfully I had been to London before with Shannon so I knew relatively what I was doing or else it would have been a living hell. The next day was the day I had been waiting for since November 2011. The day we visited the sets of all of the Harry Potter films!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was my dream come true! I was so pumped and took so many pictures that I am making a scrapbook solely for Harry Potter. It isn't a guided tour, you walk around by yourself, but they estimate that it takes most people around 2 hours. Kristina and I were there for 6! And they were amazing. And amazing is literally the only word I can think of to describe it. I am giddy right now just typing about it! I wish I went to Hogwarts. And had magical powers. Stupid muggles.

The next day Kristina and I did a lot of touristy things because Kristina hadn't visited those yet. I won't spend a lot of time describing those because I already did that in my blog about my trip with Shan. However, we did manage to make it over to the actual Abbey Road. And we failed miserably at getting a picture like the Beatles. So many awful attempts. WE nearly got hit by 3 cars. It was a hilarious disaster. 

The last day in abroad we didn't have much time before we dragged our belongings to the underground and through the airport, but we did manage to find the cutest and more stereotypical tea house in London before we left. It was adorable and literally everything in it was for sale. Including the furniture. I had Strawberry Summer tea with one cube of sugar (a literal cube). It was brilliant mate! Then I reluctantly headed to Heathrow Airport and started my 10 hour flight home that was delayed an hour before landing because Chicago was experience severe thunderstorms. Thanks for that "Welcome Home!" Chicago... I really appreciated it.

After going through customs I found my entire family waiting with sheets of paper with my nick name "Wheeze" (long story) on them. We hugged. And I got my cell phone back. And they brought me Twizzlers. And took me to Taco Bell. And I was officially back in America.

First Glimpse of Home

Thanks for all the memories Florence. I can't wait to be reunited. So for now, Ciao Italia.

Little Bit of Catching Up

Bellagio on Lake Como

With only one week left in Florence I've been finding it harder and harder to have the motivation to write this blog. But there have been some interesting things going on here so I decided it was time to update everyone who wants to know.

This picture was taken less than 2 hours after
the one above. Gotta love the Alps. And Switzerland

Last weekend I went on a school trip to Lake Como in Italy and San Moritz, Switzerland. None of my close friends were on the trip with me so it had its awkward moments but it was still worth the experience. Lake Como is truly a beautiful place. You are surrounded by the lake and palm trees and sail boats, yet off in the distance are snow capped mountains. It's breath taking. We went from sunny and 80 degrees in Lake Como to 40 and snowy in San Moritz in less than an hour drive!! It was insane. In Switzerland we were high in the mountains so it was rather chilly. However, just like Interlaken, San Moritz was incredible. I am absolutely in love with the country in general. The only place that beats it is Florence, and that is just because I have a strong bias.

My Beautiful Roomie on her 21st!

 After that trip it was time to come back home (Florence) for Notte Bianca (White Night). This is the night where all of Florence is open until 6 AM and there are random concerts and events going on in the streets. It also happened to be the night that my dear roommate Kendall turned the fabulous age of 21. So naturally, it was a party dedicated to her. We celebrated midnight with her on the Arno where all of the river was being lit up by floating lanterns, just like in the movie Tangled! Our goal was to stay up all night and watch the sun rise on Piazza Michelangelo. Some succeeded better than others...

Me, CJ, and Sara on Notte Bianca

Lanterns on the Arno

Via Reggio

Kristi and I being... well ourselves.

After that we had a day to sleep in since it was an Italian holiday. Then I put the study in study abroad and went to class (yeah, I don't think I've ever mentioned that I actually do attend classes here. Shocking.). After some long and boring classes were over we decided it was time to live up the last of our days in Italy. Me and a huge group of friends headed to Via Reggio yesterday for a day at the beach. There were mountains in the distance and the Tyrrhenian Sea (which I just had to Google the name of because no one knew... whoops). It was a perfect day of sun and fun, until I returned to Florence and realized just how sun burnt I was. I hope it goes away by tomorrow because I am going to Cinque Terre with some friends for a day of hiking and swimming. I'll remember more sun screen this time for sure. I look like a lobster. Oh well.

I feel like I have so much to cram into these next 7 days, as well as finals. I am seriously so upset that my time here is almost done. We all yell at each other when someone brings it up. Kendall and I yelled at Allie who was starting to pack. It is really upsetting that I have to return to reality so soon. At least the majority of my friends here are from the area or ISU so I will always have those friendships. Not to mention my loves in Michigan and Massachusetts. Ugh. Can I please stay longer?

Taken a day after. Looks more like Chicken Pox.

Side note: in cooking class a cannoli was dropped into some boiling oil. Naturally, I was within range of the oil and my poor arm got some drops thrown onto it. Unfortunately for the girl behind me my reaction was to whip my arm back as quickly as possible which caused me to slap her so she dropped the food she was holding. It was a rather sad/comical chain of events. It's been over a week and the burn marks are still showing. It's really gross looking actually but the people here seem to find the story pretty funny so I thought I would share it.

PROST! Munich, Germany

Beer tent in Munich

Wandering Munich

Sorry this has taken me so long to update. I'm usually on top of writing my blogs. But with only two weeks left in Florence I feel like I have no time any more. I wish I could stay longer, I'm not ready to go home.

Last weekend me and a group of 7 friends all headed to Munich, Germany for the opening weekend of Munich Fruehlingfest (aka Springfest, the less known but just as awesome version of Oktoberfest). It certainly lived up to its expectations.

Drindl

Ditching the walking tour. Lion Balls...

We arrived in Munich around 3 AM Friday morning, so after attempting to get some sleep, Sara, Kendall, and I headed to a free walking tour. But we bailed kind of early because the tour guide was awful and it started to hail! So we wandered on our own and had a great time, we even tried on tradition german outfits called drindls, but they were 150 euro so we didn't buy them. I did manage to sneak a picture of mine though!
(pictures weren't technically allowed...)

A typical German night at Springfest. Eric's lookin' good.

Later that night we headed to the opening night of Springfest and went into a huge beer tent called Augustiner Brau (isn't German beautiful?). We got there at 6 PM and managed to Prost (the German way of saying cheers) and dance until we were kicked out at 11 PM. It was so much fun and we all managed to get away with a German Stein as a souvenir :)

Old Crematorium. It wasn't efficient enough.

The next day had a very different tone to it as Sara, Kendall, Eric, Hannah, and I all headed to Dachau (the first concentration camp in Germany). I've heard all about concentration camps but it's really a life changing experience to go and see one. I recommend it to anyone that has the opportunity, it may not be a very cheerful day but you won't regret it.

River Sufers

Of course the one day where the atmosphere felt gloomy the weather was gorgeous. #studyabroadproblems (Twitter reference for those who don't know what # is). But after we arrived back in Munich it was round 2 of celebrating Springfest. We walked through the English Gardens, which I compared to Central Park (even though I've never been there) and stopped at a beer garden. We also saw the famous river surfers at the gardens! It was very cool to watch. We also walked through a nude meadow. Only one person was topless... disappointing. At night it was time to return to Augustiner Brau. But this time we didn't get there until maybe 8 or 9 PM so we had to wait an hour to get in. In the mean time we managed to ride bumper cars and play some carnival games! Once we were finally in the tent there was only an hour left of prosting before we were kicked out again.

Andrew and I at Neuschwanstein Castle

On Sunday morning we got on the bus at 10 AM to head to Neuschwanstein Castle which is the German castle that inspired the Disney Castle. We had quite a hike up to the castle. Since it was relatively nice weather in Germany I didn't think much about wearing just flip flops on my feet. However, mother nature thought it would be really funny if it started snowing while we hiked up the massive hill..... Needless to say, my feet were numb. But the views were well worth it and eventually I regained the feeling in my poor feet.

I was to Lake Como and Switzerland this weekend, which will be a new post in the near future. This week is going to be a busy one. We have Notte Bianca coming up, which is a night all of Florence stays up all night until 6 AM wearing white to celebrate Labor Day. No classes on Tuesday! Also, this Tuesday is my roommate Kendall's 21st birthday! It should be a great time! This coming weekend I'm staying in Florence. I feel like I haven't stayed in the place I call home very much and I want one last weekend of fun before studying for finals. Hopefully we can fit a beach day in soon too!
Ahhhhh don't make me go home. I love Italy so much :(

Legally enjoying a beverage at the hostel in Munich, Germany

Rain Rain Go Away

Sorry this has taken me so long to update. It's been raining for 2 weeks straight in basically all of Europe and it has just killed any small amount of motivation I possess. Unfortunately, the Amalfi Coast was not an exception to the rain.

on the rain in Pompeii! Pancho.

Kendall and Andrew taking

The first day we went to Pompeii and it was just pouring for the first hour or so. Everyone was too busy huddling under shared umbrellas and laughing at panchos to really pay attention to the tour. I basically took away that Pompeii was more civilized than even Rome (and was way before Roman time), but after the city was destroyed other cultures didn't adopt their forms of writing, government, ect. They had brothels (of course that's a fact I memorized). And the houses used to be colorful but the ashes from the volcano kind of ruined that... along with the entire city. It was still a fun trip though. The crazy antics from the Southern Tuscany trip continued throughout Pompeii because this was another ISU trip (with Kendall and Sara joining this time!).

Lovin' me some Pompeii rain in the ruins

After Pompeii we drove to our hotel in Sorrento and received not only a complimentary dinner but also a free Limoncello tasting! I managed to try them all... not really a fan of anything watermelon flavored still. It taste like poop.

Boat ride from hell with a gorgeous view.

Enjoying a few sunny moments in Capri with Ellen, Eddie. and Eric

The next day we headed over to Capri on a ferry. Just a fair warning: drinking wine the night before a choppy ferry ride is not the greatest idea ever had... Hypothetical situation of course. Capri is the water side town that is always photographed in beautiful sunny weather because it is an amazing get away with possibly the most beautiful views (other than Interlaken). However, we seemed to have bad luck because it was raining for the entire day (minus about an hour in the morning, which is when my camera went crazy with taking pictures). Also, a highlight of Capri is the Blue Groto. It's a cave that literally glows blue and is gorgeous. You can Google image the pictures of it if you'd like. I would show you mine but obviously the rain made the water levels too high to enter the cave and it was closed. Boo :(
But we did manage to find a restaurant that a ton of celebrities eat at! Including Anne Hathaway!! It's not Blue Groto but I still thought that was pretty cool.





Sorry this post is even more random than usual and very short for me. But I am literally leaving in 25 minutes for Munich, Germany for Spring Fest!! I still have to finish packing... Ciao!

Kendall, Ellen, Sara, and I (with Reggie the Red Bird in hand) enjoying the sun in Capri while we can :)

View of Capri from the boat tour! If you look closely you can see a statue waving on the rock to the left. Or maybe I can see it because I know it's there...

Corfu, Greece

Did you know it takes around 32 hours to get from Florence to Corfu? Because, due to a typo in the travel agency's itinerary, I didn't until 24 hours before leaving....
We walked to a bus, to a ferry, to walk to another ferry, to a bus, to the hostel. Getting there wasn't even that terrible, but getting home was hell because we not only hit a thunderstorm on our 18 hour ferry ride (holy sea sickness) but we then hit traffic on our bus ride home. It took an extra 4 hours to drive home... As Louis CK would say, "it was the worst day of my life!" (no idea what this reference is? Youtube the video "Everything's Amazing and Nobody's Happy". Trust me, it will be 5 minutes well spent. Hilarious.)

I wish I could say it was 100% worth it, but sadly we only had one nice day in Corfu and it was 32 freakin' hours of travel... The second and third day were cold and rainy and although I still had a great time I wish I had more time to spend on the beach. I was kind of hoping to not be this pale still... grrr.

The first day of Corfu was beautiful so thankfully we got to go to the beach that day. Didn't do much but lay around and play in the water! It was very relaxing and different from the usual trips we take. It was nice to not have to run from site to site for once. After the sun was setting and it was getting too chilly to be on the beach we headed in for a nice dinner that was complimentary (free food is the best kind of food) and then had some fun at the hotel's club. It actually had a decent night life and I learned a new drinking game called Cheers Govna! (Proud parental moment for the rents I'm sure).

Being a dork with the Evil Eye

Corfu Castle

The second day was cold, cloudy, and rainy. While most of the students decided to drink and go in the hot tub (which looked gross it was so crowded, and then a girl threw up in it 3 times... so no thanks.) I was feeling a sinus infection coming on so I decided that wasn't the best decision for me. So Kendall, Ashley, and I chose to take a shuttle bus to Corfu Town and explore around there. It was the cutest place. Everyone in Greece is wicked friendly!!! The workers don't look like they want to kill you for entering their shop and they smile when you ask them how to say something in Greek rather than ignoring the question (cough cough, Parisians....). We went to the shops and of course got suckered into buying some almonds and kumkwats from a woman who offered us free samples. She was too good at her job. Had us eating out of the palm of her hand. No pun intended. Then we bought one too many Evil Eye charms. They are believed to ward off bad things. Kendall has one in her car at home and swears its saved her from multiple car accidents... sounds to me like she's just not a great driver :)

r0oMiEs 4 LyFe

After heading back to the hotel the girls changed into some pink togas for the toga party! I was still feeling under the weather so I happily drank my Coke Light (still not Diet Coke) and played photographer until I peaced out for bed... I party hard. But it was still a lot of fun and I got some quality pictures of my amazing friends here. I also laughed my butt off the entire night, such funny girls. One of my favorite quotes of the entire trip was after Kendall and I took a picture together and she said "Yeah! Roomies for life!" ... That quote's sticking around for awhile haha.

My Body Guard

The next day was an awful thunderstorm. But Sara and I didn't want to sit around so we braced ourselves for the rain and trudged down to the beach to head to this little market place. On the way these two dogs spotted us and walked a long side us the entire way, in the pouring rain. When we got to the shop they walked inside with us and I thought the owner was going to be pissed, but he just laughed and called the dogs our body guards. They really were. They wandered around the store but never far, and one even got in between me and a guy that was looking at the sunglasses next to me. It was hilarious. They stuck around with us for about 2 hours. But after the weather got nicer they ditched us for a group of girls with food. I wish I could have kept them (hint: Dad, let's get a dog!).

The girls on the beach at sunset

At 4 PM we left Corfu to head back to Florence. Like I said, it was an awful trip back but I guess it was worth it. I mean, we were in Greece for Easter after all (oh yeah, did I mention the day it was storming was Easter? Because it slipped my mind most of that day...)! I just wish that with how long the journey was the weather would have cooperated. Oh well. Study abroad problems, whatchya gonna do about it?

This weekend I'm going to the Amalfi Coast with the school. It's supposed to rain all weekend. I really hope it doesn't though, this is my only other beachy vacation. I don't want it to rain for BOTH of them... boo. Plus if it rains too much the Blue Grotto will be closed. It's this awesome cave the glows blue inside. I want to go so badly! So fingers crossed everyone!

First glimpse of Greece from the ferry, Hellenic Spirit (which was written in Greek and I could read it. Greek life at ISU being put to practical uses!)

Are there churches in Italy?

View of Tuscany from the Hotel

All the ISU Students in Cortona

Jordan, Eric, and I at the
top of Cortona

This weekend I went on a school field trip to southern Tuscany with most of ISU students here. To sum up a hefty majority of the trip: I swear if I walk into one more church I'm going to go crazy. I have been to more churches in the past two days then I have in the past 10 years. Sad fact that is probably true... But they all really start to blur together.

One the first day we went to Arezzo and Cortona in Tuscany. Cortona is where we stayed the night, and it is beautiful. The weather was gorgeous so on our down time we just lounged around outside. Afterwards we hiked up the mountainous town to the top where the Medici Fortress was. There were amazing views of the farm fields and mountains all around and even a volcano! Inactive, but still I've never seen one before. The hike up there was a bit much to handle but well worth it. Especially since Eric brought my new best friend Reggie Redbird with him! I had quite the little photo shoot with my favorite little mascot. He got to fly over Italy, drink a margarita, sunbathe outside, and so much more (displayed at the end).

That night we had an authentic Italian dinner with about 7 courses. I even tried some weird spinach thing and Florentine steak! They were both nasty but I at least tried them. After, we all hung out at the hotel together and since ISU has a group of about 20-30 students here it was a lot of fun! Definitley one of the most memorable nights I've had so far in Italy.

Henry!!!

The next day we sadly left Cortona for Pienza and Montepulciano for a cheese tasting and wine tasting. We were allowed to wander around Pienza on our own for a little bit after stopping at, shockingly, a church! Pienza was amazing mainly for its lack of tourism. It was much mroe quaint than Florence and the view people I talked with truly didn't speak English. Needless to say, it wasn't a lengthy conversation and a lot of hand gestures were needed. My favorite part was sadly this dog that was left in a bike basket!! He was so cute! I named him Henry =] .

After that we sat waiting to head to a cheese tasting and attempted to play Down By The Banks... but Ellie and I couldn't remember the lyrics so we had to give up hope on reliving this childhood game for the time being.
(by the way I looked up the lyrics:
‎"Down by the banks of the hanky panky
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky
With an eep, op,
Ee-sock-a-diddly and KERPLOP!
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10" )
Next we were walking around the rooms where they make Italy's famous Pienza Pecorino cheese... but Ellie, Alysa, and I found the tour a little boring so we made our own fun. We played some stupid jokes on an unsuspecting Eddie. We couldn't help but laugh as we put a bar of soap in Eddie's hood and pocket while Eric put a spoon in there too. It was childish but hey, it was April Fools Day. We were just being festive? After sampling some delicious cheese we left for Montepulciano.

For all the Twilight Fans out there (wait... people like Twilight?) This is the town where they filmed New Moon where Bella comes to Edward's rescue. But it is also where they allowed a group of 50 college students to attend a wine tasting! It was all red wine though, which was slightly disappointing but I tried them all. The first one was surprisingly good. The rest I just drank solely because it was expensive wine that I was getting for free. Didn't really enjoy them much. Whoops.

I'm so excited for next weekend! I get to be reunited with Sara and Kristi who I haven't seen in nearly 3 weeks! It's going to be a girls weekend in Greece!! I'm so excited for warm weather and beaches and everything! It's going to be sad being away from home on Easter but I think I may manage to tough it out. I'll miss you guys though! (really)


Reggie the Redbird takes on Tuscany:

Reggie wanted a margarita 

Reggie lounging in the Hotel Cuddle Room

Reggie getting a tan outside in Tuscany

Reggie flying over Tuscany

Reggie gets into some strange places

Reggie chillin in Eric's pants

Reggie in a tree

Reggie petting a kitty cat

Reggie and I in Tuscany

Kristina and Reggie in a tree