The Journey Home...

Cream Cheese & Fresh Strawberries at MaMa's Bakery!

The Old School Elevator that we sent each piece of luggage down one at a time. I stood at the bottom and Emily was at the top and sent each piece of luggage down one at a time!

The luggage was definitely a lot heavier on the way home!

GOOD WORK EMILY!

Traveling is fun, but to an extent. I thought the journey to Italy was long and I thought the jet lag was bad but I think the journey home was even longer...

So, as I mentioned before, we had to be out of our apartment a night early so we had to stay in a hostel in Florence the last night which wasn't too bad because it was a nice hostel and all we did was sleep for a few hours.

We had to be checked out of the hostel by 10 am but we woke up early to help a friend get to the train station with her luggage. We then crossed the Arno River one last time to MaMa's Bakery where we enjoyed bagels with cream cheese and strawberries before we took off to the airport. We called the cab at 10:30 to bring us to the airport which is about 20 minutes away so we arrived with a couple ours to spare as our plane was not due to take off until 1:30. We checked in our luggage (which should have been easy but wasn't). On the way to Florence, Emily and I each had 2- 50 pound bags. We did get rid of a lot of stuff in Florence but we accumulated way more. So, needless to say all of our bags were over the weight limit of 50 pounds. Additionally, most airlines have now started charging for checked baggage. Our airline allowed one bag for free but the second bag was 100 euro. However, I told the lady that I purchased my original ticket before January 1st which is when the policy came into effect so she didn't charge me for my second bag nor did she charge me for my bags being overweight. I was prepared to pay because I knew they were overweight but I think she felt bad because my arm was in the sling so I escaped all charges. On the other hand, the lady that Emily went to was not as nice and Emily got slammed with charges of 210 euro which is about $300 U.S. dollars. She got charged for an extra bag and for exceeding the weight limits. I felt terrible. :( but there was nothing she could do, the lady was mean and holding her tickets until she paid the charges. So, after all of that business, we went to go through security and I'm getting ready to walk through the metal detector and the security guard like cocks her head at me as if she has never seen a sling before (it was the funniest thing ever). I told her everything would be okay and I simply took the sling off to walk through the detector. We had about an hour wait but finally, it was 1:30 and we were ready to go. We took off on time for the Florence airport and had about an hour and a half flight to Frankfurt, Germany.

We arrived in Frankfurt with a 2 hour layover. Frankfurt is a huge airport though so it took us awhile to find our gate but we finally did and grabbed something to eat and awaited the departure of our plane back to New York. We boarded the plane around 5 and took off around 5:30 for our 8 hour flight back to New York. There were no TV's on the plane so we were quite bored, most of the time we just talked and ate all of the food they offered which was quite delicious for airplane food if I must say. We finally made it to New York but JFK is such a stupid airport that we had to circle and then taxi for awhile until they finally let us get off the plane about 40 minutes after our scheduled landing time. So we finally arrived around 8:40 and my flight to Maine was due to take off at 10:30 so I was a bit worried I wouldn't make it because we had to get off the plane, go through customs, wait for our luggage, go through customs again, and then I had to check in and then re-check my bags again and go back through security. We made it though, although this time they charged me for my overweight bags and for checking two bags but luckily it was only $80 dollars. Emily and her mom had to leave me at security (Emily had carried my backpack for me all day, I still don't know what I would have done without her there all day). Luckily, though some airport official who helps the handicapped, carried my backpack for me all the way through security and all the way to my gate which was so nice. This time going through security, they didn't want me to take my sling off but rather they swatch tested it and patted it down, and scanned it. It was quite comical.

I made it to my gate with about 40 minutes to spare so I made some phone calls (so happy to have my phone back!) and then I boarded the plane, there were actual TV's on the planes so I started watching a show but quickly fell asleep. I woke up an hour later and we weren't moving so I figured that we were already in Portland because the flight was only supposed to be 47 minutes but I asked the lady next to me and she told me that we still had not taken off yet. We were supposed to take off at 10:30 but didn't end up taking off until 11:40 and didn't arrive in Portland until about 12:20 and then was happily greeted by my parents. :) We collected my baggage and then drove home and finally arrived home around 2am but because I was so excited I didn't end up falling asleep until 3:30 am and awoke very early because of jet lag. That happened for the next few days I was home, it didn't matter what time I went to sleep, I would still awake at 6am WIDE AWAKE (noon time) in Italy and therefore could not fall back asleep. So then in the afternoon, I just wanted to crash but I kept forcing myself to stay awake so I think I'm finally over the jet lag! I miss Italy but it really did feel so good to be home!

The Final Days...

The BIGGEST Gelato Ever, the same place we ate at our first night in Florence.

A few of the girls from Chocolate Class with our famous Chocolate Teacher!

Caleb & Emily! :)

So, when I last updated you on my Italian life, I had told you that I had dislocated my shoulder again and that I was in the middle of finals week. Well let me update you on my final days in Florence, mind you it rained almost every day in the final two weeks..

I completed all of my finals, I am not positive how I did yet though because they won't give me my grades until I fill out this survey but I keep putting it off but I promise to fill it out today and I'll update you all on how well I did once I receive the grades. I feel like I did pretty well on the finals but we will have to wait and see.

Emily was kind enough to pack up my suitcases for me and hand rolled every piece of clothing I owned in order for it to all fit in the suitcase. I honestly do not know what I would have done without her.

We spent some of our final days wondering around the city taking pictures of some of our favorite places in Florence. I will put that in a future blog. We re-visited a few of our favorite places to enjoy them just one last time. We also enjoyed our last bit of freedom as being "21" year old because we're now back in the states and can't drink again for another 7 months. I definitely will miss the Tuscan wine, nothing will ever compare.

We dined out a lot because we were too lazy to go to the store and cook, so I definitely ate well in my final days in Florence and I tried to eat every last bit of gelato that I could.

We were a few of the last people in Florence so we had to say goodbye to everyone and watch them leave. We were kicked out of our apartment on the last night (because new people were moving in the next day) so we had to stay our last night in the hostel (primarily backpackers) so when we showed up with our 6 pieces of luggage, they thought we were crazy. We explained that we had been in the city for 4 months and the guy who helped us with our luggage at the hostel, laughed at us because he told us he had been there for 4 years and he didn't even have that much luggage. Future advice to travelers: PACK LIGHT! It is such a pain to carry around very heavy bags even if only for a short distance.

Ultimately, in our final days... we tried to soak in every last bit of Florence that we could. It's unbelievable how fast time flies. I can still remember laying in my bed under 4 blankets and writing my very first blog. It is seriously scary how fast time flies by, it makes you realize that you have to do as much as you can because life literally flashes before your eyes. I'm sitting here at work now at the gym and I still cannot believe that I lived in Italy for almost 4 months. It's so crazy but I'm so glad I did it and would definitely recommend it to anyone who is even considering it a little bit. I'll tell you that studying abroad is definitely not for everyone and it is an adjustment and like anything, it has it's ups and downs but in the end, it's so worth it and memories have been made that will last a lifetime. I can't wait to start traveling again. I thought about going to Australia next spring but at this time in my life, I don't know if I could be away from my family for that long again so for right now, I'm going to stay put and start saving my money again for my next adventure.

Physical Therapy again?

Alright, well I'm back at school now. Yes, at school. I was home for only just a few short days but decided a month ago that in order to make money, I had to re-located to Massachusetts for the summer where I will be working at a Country Club and at the gym on campus. It was just too hard to find a job at home in Maine especially while being abroad and I knew that I automatically had a job lined up at the gym and then the country club job just sort of fell into place so it all worked out and I'll be at school for the summer, which shouldn't be too bad since the beach in my backyard and Boston is only a mere 20 minutes away so it should be a pretty nice summer.

However, I have to start physical therapy again tomorrow. As I let you all know, I dislocated my right shoulder again (yes, it's the 2nd time). Last April I fell down the stairs and dislocated my shoulder, I went to the hospital, they popped it back in place, and I was in the sling for 2 weeks and then I quickly recovered with only 3 weeks of physical therapy and was back to my normal exercise routine by the end of the summer. So, in the last few weeks of Italy, almost to the exact day, I dislocated my shoulder again. I simply moved it the wrong way at the wrong time and wrong angle and I knew instantly that I had dislocated it again. So, I can cross riding in an Italian ambulance and visiting an Italian hospital off my list. Although health care is free in Italy, it's definitely not the greatest. They only spoke Italian so it was very hard to understand and they were very rough in the whole process of popping it back in place. Luckily, my roommate Emily can understand some Italian and was able to communicate with the EMT's and doctors. So, they popped it back in and I have been in the sling for the last 2 weeks. I took the sling off yesterday and it's still very stiff and I'm afraid to move it. I went to the specialist on Thursday and I'm going to start physical therapy again tomorrow.

Because of my young age, I was told last time that there was a 95% chance that it would happen again and with less trauma and sure enough it did. :( It was easier to get around this time with only my left hand though because I was used it the second time around. I'm hoping that it won't happen again because each time it happens, it worsens the ligaments and strength of the shoulder and could result in severe arthritis, limited mobility, and the need for surgery. I'm hoping this is the last time and it never gets to that point. I'm starting physical therapy tomorrow though and hoping that all goes well and I recover as quickly as last time. I definitely would not have been able to survive though without the help of my friends and family, they put up with my whining and did a lot of things for me that I couldn't physically do, so thank you to all those that helped!

CALL 118!

So, I'm going to make this short and sweet and to the point. I dislocated my shoulder again so it's rather hard to type with one hand. I will explain the whole story later. I am just going to delay making any more blogs until I return to America which is in 8 days! I am really ready to go now. Hopefully the ash stops and the other volcano doesn't erupt so I can return to America next Tuesday!

I have been forgetting to take my camera out with me so I unfortunately have no new pics to post. Although the last week has consisted of:

1. Eating lots of yummy food!
2. Taking long walks!
3. Enjoying gelato!
4. Doing a little bit of studying. I completed 2 out of my 5 finals today!
5. Fun with friends!
6. Making chocolate chunk cookies in Chocolate Class.
7. Dislocating my shoulder.
8. Riding in an Italian ambulance.
9. Reflecting on my time in Italy.
10. Anxiously awaiting my arrival home!

I promise when I get home I will update you with new blogs on:
- My final week in Italy.
- My shoulder incident.
- My journey home.
- Best/ Favorites of Italy.
- My experience abroad.

Stay tuned for those blogs to come!
Miss you all!

2 weeks to go...

So, exactly 2 weeks from today... I will be on a plane back to America. It's sooo crazy to believe that my time in Florence is coming to an end so quickly. It's a bittersweet situation though because I have grown to love Florence and the city is beautiful and there is so much to do, and I really am not looking forward to going back to "reality". Although, I really miss everyone at home and anxious to be back in America. Although, enough about this, I will start reflecting on my experiences here in a later blog.

Finals are next week... gah! I have done little to no work for the entire semester and now it's crunch time. I am sure I will do fine but I always get nervous and freak myself out because our grades are literally based on the mid-term and final exam so I must do well on them. Also, the weather for the next 10 days is calling for rain. I can't complain though because we have had absolutely beautiful weather for the majority of our stay here. Although, it is a bummer that our final days in Florence will consist of rain. :( It makes you want to hibernate inside all day!

Monday night, I went to a new restaurant called 4 Leoni with some of the girls in my Mediterranean Diet class where I had this amazing salad, I wish I could remember the name of it but the whole menu was in Italian. It had spinach, pesto sauce, pecorino cheese, and avocado... most delicious salad I have had since I've been here. I would go back to this restaurant just for this salad. The main course was even better though it was a cheese and pear ravioli. You wouldn't think that it would taste good but let me tell you it does. At first you just taste the cheese because it is a bit overwhelming but then you fell the crunch of the pear, it's a perfect combination! I really am going to miss Italian food although we have made a pact to start trying as many different restaurants as we can before we live so that we can give recommendations to next year's study abroad students. Ciao for now!

Tuscany & Its Wines

Friday we awoke to another gorgeous day in Tuscany but instead of spending the day in the city of Florence we took a bus to the Tuscan countryside to Gaiole in Chianti to take a tour of the Castello di Brolio which is a small castle that in no way compares to the Disney Castle in Germany that we visited last weekend. We then had a mini tour of the wine cellars and the areas in which the wine is produced. We saw where the wine is initially fermented, where the wine is aged in the French new oak barriques, where the wine is placed to age in the bottles (the red wines are aged horizontally so that the cork is always touching the wine to help in the oxidation process), and finally we saw the labeling and packing of the wines (almost completely done by only machines), it was really neat to see the machines at work and the stamping of the labels on the boxes. We then proceeded to our wine tasting where we tasted the Brolio Chianti Classico DOCG, 2007 which was very good and made of about 90% of Tuscany's Sangiovese grape which I have grown to like because of my wine class but during this tasting, I actually preferred the other wine, Casalferro Toscana IGT, 2005 because it only had about 60% of the Sangiovese grape and more Merlot, giving it a drier more tannic taste. I have really grown to love red wine since being here in the Tuscan region. We were all starving by this point and ready to chow down. We were not sure of what to expect because the brochure said "light lunch" but we were pleasantly surprised by the wine, cold cut meat selection, bruschetta, bread, lasagna, and apple dessert. After our delicious lunch, we transferred to Montalcino, another area in Tuscany to visit a medieval fortress where we walked on the terrace above and were able to overlook much of the Tuscan countryside. The views of the Tuscan countryside are very different from the views overlooking the city center, they are beautiful and you can oversee all of the fields and vineyards. Tuscany is a must-see when visiting Italy.

We arrived back in Florence later that evening where we took-away pizza and carried the boxes back to our apartments and again everyone stared at us like we were crazy but yes, we are American, and yes, we like Pizzza, and yes, we like to take away pizza because that's what you do in America. It really is funny how many people stare and you and make comments because you're carrying a pizza box down the street. We then got ready for La Notte Bianca, or White Night in Florence where the shops and museums are open until midnight and there is music in every piazza until 6am and basically people just flood the streets. I am not really sure of the meaning behind it but I can just say that the night had potential to be great but I really just hate crowds sometimes and it irritates me when you can't walk in a straight line down the street, I really think it may have been worse than NYC, I honestly do not know if I could ever go to New York City for their New Year's Eve Party... wayyyyy too many people for my liking. It was a fun night though and the city was very much alive. Our favorite gelato place was even open late and we got gelato at 2:30 AM... it was amazing! :) However, I feel like I am coming down with a cold and could not make myself stay out until 6am although one day, I will wake up really early and be able to see the sun rise in Firenze!

At least I don't look 16...

Alright, so I know this post is a few days delayed and I am being extremely lazy but it's all this nice weather we are having in Florence, it has been in 70's the past 3 days... soooo nice! We walk around in shorts and sun dresses because we are sweating on our way to class and all the Italians are still in their sweaters and scarves with their jackets zipped up like it's freezing outside. They all look at us Americans like we are crazy.

So, like I said before I am being really lazy with this post and am re-routing you to my fabulous friend and roommate's blog because well she is hysterical and wrote a very accurate post about our past weekend in Munich, Germany. I literally love Germany and Munich is by far one of my favorite cities in Europe. The city is so clean, safe, and new because it was all re-built after WWII and the city is so safe that 5 year old can walk themselves to and from schools and even ride public transportation alone. Okay... here's the link... check it out and you will see how amazing our weekend was in Germany. We loved it so much that we were greatly considering going back again this weekend for another round of Beerfest!

http://takenbytoday.blogspot.com/2010/04/spring-beerfest-2010-munich-germany.html

A very accomplished day!

Quote of the Day: "There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will." Epictetus

So, today was a very good day!

I woke up, watched American TV (yes, I found a website to watch shows from the U.S.)! Then went to Ganzo and ate a delicious chicken and broccoli calzone with chocolate cake for dessert. I then decided it was time to see the Michelangelo's original and real David at the Academia. The museums are all free this week so I decided it was a great time to go see it and luckily I only had to wait in line for 20 minutes. The statue was huge! There are other fake David statues though at Pizzale Michelangelo and Piazza Signoria and they are just not as impressive as the real one. I then decided since it was a sunny day it was about time to climb the Duomo. I climbed the tower about a month ago but I had yet to go up into the dome. 463 steps later, I had made it to the top. Phewwww, the stairways are soooo narrow and soooo small and soooo windy! It's crazy and rather difficult because people are both trying to go up and down at the same time (very poor planning!) Although, the views are all worth the huffing and puffing on the way up. Florence is absolutely gorgeous. Then today was also the second day, I went running. I ran for thirty minutes in the park and it felt amazing (yes, tiring because I haven't worked out in like 3 months but it still felt very good). The release of the endorphins just makes me feel so alive and the weather has been gorgeous lately so I just can't pass up the opportunities. I plan on running from now on because well, bathing suit season is coming up and I really need to start working off all the cakes, gelato, and pasta!

Then my friend Brittany's 21st birthday was this past Sunday so of course we had to go out for a birthday celebration dinner! :) We went to a restaurant called Acqua al 2, which is owned by the same owner as The Diner and they also have locations in Washington D.C. and San Diego. I had steak with blueberry sauce, very different but very delicious. This is like the first time in 4 months that I have had steak and well I realized that I really do not miss it that much. I could live without it and I have eaten a lot of seafood and mostly vegetables/ pasta/ bread here so like I wonder if I'll eat red meat when I get back in the states?!?!

Finally a weekend in Florence...

We finally were able to spend a weekend in Florence and we had a whole agenda planned out for it of what we wanted to do and although everything didn't go exactly as planned, we still had so much fun. It was nice to finally not be traveling on a bus, train, or boat, using a map to get around, taking a 3 hour long walking tour, or taking a million and one pictures of monuments. I'll fill you in on a few highlights of the weekend...

1. I LOST MY PHONE. I know I said it got stolen and essentially it did but I lost it before it got stolen. I have this little clutch that falls loosely on my shoulder and Friday night when we were walking home I was taking pictures and it must have fallen off my shoulder and I didn't realize. I suddenly stopped in the street and freaked when I realized I didn't have it anymore. We re-traced our steps but it was ultimately GONE FOREVER! Luckily, the only thing in the little clutch was my phone and 5 euro. I frantically felt my pockets and thank goodness I had taken my camera and keys (the two most important things) out of my clutch earlier. Oh well, hopefully I'll have my phone replaced by Monday.

2. Kristen, our friend from Rome came to visit for the weekend and we had soooo much fun with her and did lots and lots of shopping! I actually finished up all my souvenir shopping!

3. Friday night was one of the BEST nights ever at our favorite bar, AMADEUS. Although, sadly we found out that the owner just sold the bar to someone else so all our favorite bartenders will be there no longer. :(

4. We took away PIZZA and saw the sunset at Pizzale Michelangelo. Well, we kind of missed the sunset a little bit because the pizza we TOOK AWAY was on the other side of the city but it was still amazing to sit on the steps and eat our pizza and see night fall. It was the funniest thing ever to walk through the city (3 American girls with 3 pizza boxes). So many people asked if they could have some and they were laughing so much at us. They do have take away pizza here but it is very rare and you definitely stand out running through the city with pizza boxes!

5. We went to American Diner again and I had the most amazing veggie burger made with spinach, onions, and broccoli and of course FRENCH FRIES with HEINZ ketchup! We actually all had burgers, you can tell we really miss home!

6. We met a girl from Australia who was traveling in Europe but who lives in Australia but is originally from America. She studied abroad in Australia while in college, met a boy, fell in love, finished school in America and then moved back to Australia. She talked about how much she loved it, and I had been thinking about going to Australia and now I really want to. I don't know if I could be abroad for another semester though, but who knows... maybe after I graduate?!?!

7. This beautiful weather in Florence is not helping my studies. I just can't resist going outside when the weather is so nice. So I have decided to spend as much time outside during the day and will be staying up later at night to do all my work.

8. The volcano in Iceland is a terrible thing. Many of our friend's parents who were due to visit this week cannot fly over. One of my roommate's parent's were in Spain all last week and were due to fly to Florence on Saturday but because of the volcano, the Florence airport shut down all incoming flights to Italy. I feel really bad but there is nothing anyone can do. Hopefully it clears up soon or we'll all be in trouble when it comes time to fly home.

9. I love staying in Florence on the weekends because that means we can go to BRUNCH at Ganzo. The brunch at school back home will never compare to the brunch in Florence!

10. I fall more in love with this city everyday. As much as I'm excited to come home, it will be really hard to leave.

We finally rode the Carousel!

With only 30 days left in Florence, we are trying to make the most of everyday. We even have a list on our bulletin board of all things we still want to do in our remaining days. Last night, we accomplished just one more thing on our list... ride the carousel in Piazza del Repubblica! It was so much fun, made me feel like a kid again! Funny thing is... we were the only ones on the Carousel!

Let's go back to Thursday...

I love Thursdays. Especially this past one because we made chocolate cake and souffle in chocolate class, went to our favorite wine bar to enjoy wine, lunch, and the sunshine, we tried new gelato ice pops, shopped all afternoon (I got a new dress and jumpsuit!), and tried a new bar called Art Bar where their drinks really are a piece of art. I'm not going to write too much because the pictures explain it all...

Free AMERICAN Coffee on Wednesdays!

So, last week Wednesday we went to The Diner which is like your all American Diner and I was so excited when we got there because there was a sign outside that read, FREE AMERICAN COFFEE ON WEDNESDAYS, and the day just happened to be Wednesday. I have not had real American Coffee since being here in Florence. I have had a few Espresso shots now and then but not a real big cup of coffee. Everyone had been raving about this place and we had to try it! The menu was in English, thank goodness! The walls are pink and the food is soooo good! Probably the first real American food I've had since being here. I know that you are all thinking that I'm in Italy and should not be eating American food but sometimes you just have to give in. I cannot tell you how good the HEINZ ketchup tastes and the 100% maple syrup. So, we went to the Diner last week for breakfast and that's what the pictures are from but it was so good last week that we decided to go again this week and get scrambled eggs and french toast! I love Italy sooo much but there are just some things I really miss from back home. I also learned that the man who owns the diner, started it when he was 18 and he also owns another dinner type restaurant with one location in Florence and one is actually in San Diego and he is about to go back to the U.S. to start another one in Washington D.C. He is a very smart man!

Only 34 days left in Florence! It's hard to believe that time has flown by soooo fast! We plan on the making the most of our remaining days in Florence though. I am so excited to finally be spending a full weekend in Florence, we have so much planned and the weather is supposed to be absolutely gorgeous and in the 70's all weekend. Although, a few weeks left of classes = work, papers, presentations, and preparing for finals. It is nearly impossible to do work in Italy. Although, I have 1 paper compete already which means I only have 4 left.