It's Been A While!

It's hard to imagine that things get busy in Italy, but it actually does happen. The past two weeks, along with the next two are full of activities, loads of school work and random adventures! Let me start by trying to catch up on the two biggest trips of last month.

MILAN

    Milan was absolutely amazing! I could write a whole chapter on Milan alone.When we first arrived we were whisked off to appointments immediately.Unfortunately we were running a bit behind schedule because one of our professors and fellow students got their wallets stolen while we were in the train station.They luckily got things settled and we were able to make it to the trade show. The trade show was Overwhelming. It was very neat to see all the collections for fall 2011 and actually talk to the designers about heir work. Our next stop was the antique market. It was about two miles of vendors selling antique/vintage goods! I felt like I had reached heaven on earth.
     Our second day was quite early. We started at 5:00am on a bus to Lake Como(One of the most beautiful lakes in the world). There, we visited the silk factory where we saw future prints for Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci and many more while they were in the works!  We then went to the  fabric archive that had famous fabrics from the 1800's it was insane! After all of our industry appointments we were able to have a little free time to eat lunch and enjoy the views of the lake.When we returned to Milan our next visit was Corso Como 10.  Corso Como is one of the most famous stores in Europe. It's a concept store that tries to sell an entire lifestyle. It included a bar, bookstore, art gallery, rooftop lounge, retail store and small hotel. We did spot Taylor swift picking out a few items  to be sent to her hotel. After Corso we were free for the day. A small group of  us decided to do a little retail therapy and grab some "appertivo," which is an appetizer buffet and drinks at a small quaint little bar.
    Our next day, we went to the Dali exhibit, which was AWESOME. Then we had a meeting with the Rinascente  (one of the most incredible European department stores) executives and a store tour. After that we went to the Gucci headquarters and met with their executives.It was very interesting to look at their business structure and listen to their ideas behind their brand image. We were also able to offer our opinions and suggestions on how to better build their brand. We then got tickets to see the original painting of "The Last Supper" which was extremely cool! That night was our night to go out and boy was it an experience, to say the least. That's the most detail I am going to give on that subject.
    The last and final day we spent climbing the Duomo and shopping in the Golden Triangle. The Golden Triangle is poison for a shopaholic's wallet. Lucky for me I'm not a shopaholic so I am proud to say, I came very close but, did not purchase anything!  Although Milan is a lot like Manhattan, I was happy to return home to quiet, quaint, little Florence.

Oktoberfest

    Our next adventure was OKTOBERFEST, Boy was it amazing! We took a bus at midnight through the night and woke up in Germany. We arrived a little late, so finding a tent that would let us all in was a little bit of chore. Eventually we found one but couldn't find a table for thirteen of us to sit. So we split up and put on our American charm to get invited to join strangers tables. It didn't take very long for four of us to find one, but the rest had a bit more trouble which was frustrating. My first table was hilarious. I met my new best friend, Alessandro, in a matter of  five minutes. He was quite the character to say the least. After a while I got a little tired of that table and went to join another table.
     My second table was by far my favorite. It was a group of guys that had studied abroad in tiawan years prior. They are from all over the world  but they manage to meet every year at Oktoberfest and they were so much fun! We got to know them well after eight hours of endless singing, dancing, jumping on table tops and laughing! The guys were planning on going to eat at a restaurant across Munich, so we decided to tag along. The restaurant was great, but we were exhausted after 10 hours of Oktoberfest. We headed back to the park to ride bumper cars, get waters, load up on  memorabilia and head to the bus. All in all it was a fantastic day. If I had to recommend anything that you must do at least once in you life, Oktoberfest is definitely it. Beers are huge and delicious, (and I am not a beer drinker) the music is super fun, and your among thousands of the happiest people you will ever see.

Florence 

    I am now back in Florence for a little bit. It's been nice to be back for a week but these next few weeks are full of papers, presentations, tests and midterms it's unreal. Unlike most study abroad programs, we are actually full time students. We take 18 hours of school. Most schools send students abroad having two classes that are pass/fail but, we are hanging in there. Somehow we find time to hang out with our Carabinieri friends. This trip would not be same without them. This weekend they are making us dinner at their weekend house outside of Florence and  then we are all road tripping to a chocolate festival on Sunday. We have tried our best to fit in as many adventures as time and money will allow us for this semester. Coming up we have Lucca for the jazz festival,  Halloween,Venice, an Italian ballet and soccer game, Xavier Rudd in Paris and maybe a sick trip to Morocco. I will do my best to blog about all of them!

Home Sweet Home

Buon Giorno! This week has certainly been a crazy one. We are finally getting settled in and starting to get a routine. We started school which was harder than ever. Unfortunately school is located about 2 miles from where most of us lives so, we must leave an hour early for class and have a pretty strenuous morning hike. Our school sits on the top of a mini mountain therefore even when we reach campus we have quite the trek up to class. I must say it is absolutely breath taking once you get up there. The view of the city is awesome as well as the park that surrounds our campus. In my program there are 20 of us and we attend every class together. We have become extremely close and do almost everything together. It's nice for right now but, I think we all know that it will not be this easy for 9 months straight.

The most exciting part of our week was that we all decided to go out on Friday and then wake up and go to the beach all day on Saturday!  On Friday we went to small bar called Shot Cafe, where they serve 10euro pitchers of various mixed drinks.  It was the perfect way to start off the night! We ended up at a dance club called Twice where I have never seen so many amazing looking men in one place in my life! On Thursday night a few of us went to one of our favorite restaurant called Dante's. I have gotten to know the two owners, Eriko and Hani, quite well and they provide us with as much free alcohol as we can handle. Luckily for us the carabinieri happened to be there.  Carabinieri  is like the police except they control the Italian military as well. Needless to say pretty much all of them were very attractive and full of fun. We spent the night laughing, singing and drinking.We made plans to meet them again in two weeks at the same spot but, a few of them were able to meet us the next night at Twice. We had yet another fun night and we are hoping they will become good friends and will help us with our Italian. The most frustrating part of being here is not being able to communicate well!

The next day we left for the beach. the weekend before we went to Cinque Terre. I honestly don't think it's possible to see beaches any more breath taking then the five of Cinque Terre.This past weekend we decided to give Forte Dei Marmi a try. The beach resembled something you would see in southern California. I actually forgot we were in a whole other country until I saw all the nudity. Most beaches here are topless and the children are pretty much nude. It takes a while to get used to the 70 year old topless women but after a while you hardly even notice.

There are 9,000 American students studying abroad  in Florence at any given time. We are everywhere! We definitely stand out as we carry book bags, are extremely loud and travel in packs. Just as athenians are when all the college students are back, Italians at times can be extremely rude! I have never gotten so many extremely disgusted looks in my life. It's of course, mostly from the women. We have gotten doors slammed in our faces, pushed aside, rolled eyes and extreme glares. Honestly you just have to take it for what it is and just pay no attention to it. On the other hand we have met some amazing people who have helped us out so much with italian and directions.

Overall Florence just keeps getting better and better. We are booking up our weekends with amazing trips! This next weekend we planned a wine tour and short trip to Lucca. The following weekend dinner with our Carabinieri friends and off to Milan Fashion Week and after that Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany. Life is looking pretty good!

***Pictures of everything I have mentioned in my blog so far are located in the "pictures can't begin to describe" album on my facebook page! Love and miss you all!

I Moved To Italy?

   I am sitting here in this wonderful apartment in the heart of Florence wondering how in the world I got so lucky. I cannot begin to explain the amount of emotions I feel from minute to minute. I must say that reality is slowly sinking in. I am not on vacation, but living my new life for the year. It has been a big adjustment; from getting lost,trying to grocery shop in a different language, figuring out how to get cell phone service, trying to understand directions and learning the bus and tram systems, walking about 5 miles a day, the time changes, the different food choices...and the list goes on and I am loving every minute of it. The fact that nothing is easy and nothing is the same as it is in America is why I decided to make this journey. This year is going to be filled with insane adventures and stories. I cannot begin to write everything that has already happened in the past week.The challenges are endless and each day brings it's own set!

     My apartment looks like Spain. It is so colorful and fun. The walls are bright yellow with insanely eclectic, seizure inducing pictures all over the walls. Our bedrooms have blue doors and amazing windows. We are on the top floor so we get the most magnificent breeze at any given time of the day. We live in the "Times Square" of Florence. Our neighborhood is extremely tourist filled, which means it is extremely loud at all hours of the night and day. I don't mind it, seeing as how I spent the last year in the busiest city in America: New York City, of course. We are already making friends with local shop owners. We live above a gelateria so they will continue to get to know us quite well! The ice cream here is the best I have ever had in my entire life! We also live right around the corner from the central  market where they sell  fresh  meat, cheese, flowers, spices, handmade pasta and fresh local grown fruits and veggies. My eyes were about as big as my head when we first walked in. All the possibilities! Although it is quite pricey, it's nice to visit for those special spices, fresh vegetables and maybe even a bag of 10 euro pasta or two!

   Our kitchen is probably the best part of our apartment. It is located upstairs; which is the highest point of our entire building.The view and the breeze is so gorgeous it makes you want to cry! Last night I had just finished making an amazing salmon pasta (If I may say so myself), and a side of red onion and blue cheese salad. I took a minute to look out the window and take it all in. The skies are incredible here. For all of you that know me well, know that I am absolutely infatuated with the sky. As I looked up and took a deep breath, I heard live music coming from the streets. I waited and listened a little closer and recognized the song. It was a Dave Matthews cover band. Those who know me well also know that I am obsessed with Dave Matthews Band. I think at that moment, without a doubt, as corny as it may sound, I knew I made the right decision in coming here and that I am exactly where I am supposed to be. We all ended up going out to the piazza and listening to them as they covered Dave all night. It was the most content I have felt in a long time.

   Most people think it's insane the way I just pick up and move around so much. I get asked the same question over and over " Where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years".  Unfortunately I can not give the answer that many people are looking for because 5 or 10 years ago I would have never ever pictured myself  laying in this bed in Florence, Italy. What I can guarantee is that in 5 or 10 years I will be laughing, holding a huge glass of wine and surrounded by people I love and people that love me.