A lot can happen in a month! I turned 22 whoop whoop! It was a wonderful and relaxing day! I went to lunch with Katie O'Hanlon at my favorite bagel place in florence (actually it's the only bagel place in florence) and then went out and bought some WONDERFUl vintage italian leather boots. Came home relaxed and caught up on my sappy ABC TV. Then later that night went to dinner with the people that make me happiest here in Florence and out to drinks with a few more of my favorites. All in all it was one of the best birthdays I have ever had. I remember growing up how much emphasis everyone puts on a birthday. When I was younger and invited my whole kindergarden class to the skating rink and it was this big to do but, as i'm getting older I realize more and more your birthday is what you make of it and a quite relaxing day with a great purchase and a table full of close friends was the perfect way to bring in the new year of age!
I also went to venice for the second time. We went with some of the carabinieri and majority of them had not been to venice yet ( which is strange I know). We didn't do much just walked around enjoyed the scenery and ate gelato and other fatty foods!
My latest distant place was Morocco!! Boy was that an experience. This entire year I have been traveling to all these foreign countries but I had never felt so far away than I did in Morocco.We arrived and found out our reservation was lost and so we were invited to stay in the rooftop hookah tent for the night. It was so cute and fun! They gave us like 20 blankets and we all piled up together. It was actually quite comfortable. We had a room the rest of the time there but honestly I secretly missed the hookah tent.
While in the souk I got my camera stolen by these little boys. I was not happy for a good 4 hour span. The souk was really neat you can seriously get lost down there. There are miles of endless shopping; I was in heaven. The selection was so large and I am the most indecisive person ever..so I only ended up buying a little hookah. which I like but jewelry probably would have been more practical. ha
we also went camel riding. It was a fun but we were so sore so we book massages for the same day. The BEST massage I have ever had!! Anyways while we were riding camels we got to stop in a little village and have a light snack and tea which was so cute and nice! the next day we also did a cooking class which was amazing. This awesome guy moved to morocco from paris because he was tired of being stressed for no reason and wanted to live a more natural and simpler life. He built a beautiful facility for us to learn to cook a traditional moroccan dish called fish tagine. It was so easy and was absolutely delicious! Although Morocco was an amazing experience I was ready to return to a more familiar way of life after 3 days. The way women are treated in Morocco is just ridiculous and can get pretty tiring. So if you want to go bring a male figure it will completely change the entire tone of your trip!
My last small little vacation was to Pescara for the weekend. After midterms and some unnecessary caious that has been going on within the program it was a much needed vacation away from everyone. Pescara is gorgeous. It's mountains and beaches on the Mediterranean sea. it's unreal. I really wish I had a camera so you can see the sunsets and the cloud over the mountains. it was seriously a fairytale. We did try to go buy a camera but they wont let you try the ones on display so, I didn't really know how to choose one with out seeing how it works. I just ended up getting overwhelmed and left. But It was a wonderful getaway all in all. I tried Rustelli which is sheep on a skewer. It was very good and I also was able to have some homemade italian dishes which was AMAZING! I was so comfy in the cutest little studio apartment I could have ever imagined. Great weekend and I am hoping to go back before the year is over!
