I'm a lucky girl

So, aside from traveling throughout Italy and Europe, I had a visitor of my own in Florence! Kyle came to see me for a little over a week around Halloween, and I had a fantastic time showing him around Florence and venturing to Siena. We hit most of my favorite spots, from Boboli Gardens to Gelateria alla Passera, and tried some new things I hadn't yet made it to, such as climbing the Duomo bell tower and walking up to Piazzale Michelangelo for sunset (we also tried to watch the sunset from the banks of the Arno but missed the sun actually setting...still a pretty view in the dark though!). 

View of the Ponte Vecchio while on the way to a delicious lunch

We explored Boboli Gardens, which is part of Pitti Palace, and found some new places I hadn't yet discovered. This park is at the top of the gardens and features the beautiful view below.

Overlooking Florence and Tuscan hills (hard to see here) as well as the back of the palace

Ran into several cool statues I hadn't seen before, and found this handsome man hanging out in front of this giant bust of an unknown figure.

Gorgeous fall colors throughout the gardens

View of the Arno from Piazzale Michelangelo shortly before sunset.

Overlooking the city center. 

Stunning sunset

And then Halloween...as per usual, I threw together a costume the night of. This year, I went with my newest favorite thing in life: Nutella. My roommate drew my sign and Kyle carried around a giant spoon. Easiest and most delicious costume ever.

A gypsy, nerd, garden of Eden, Ace Ventura, Nutella, and white swan

LOVED eating Nutella all night

In Piazza della Signoria with my beloved roommates

A few days later AIFS took us on a gorgeous walk up to San Miniato. This picture is overlooking the graveyard of the church, which overlooks the city.

His last weekend here we went to Siena. This is in the Piazza del Campo, where we ate lunch.

The Duomo in Siena is stunning both outside...

...and inside. One of my favorite churches I've seen thus far in Italy.

Got a bit lost trying to make our way back to the train station, but happened upon this lovely view. 

The next day, we climbed the bell tower of the Duomo after finally checking out the inside. The views were definitely worth the 414 steps to the top. All in all, it was a week full of views of Florence.

The actual dome seen from eye-level.

We hung out with Dante on Kyle's last night here.

Can you tell which is the real Dante?

On the Ponte Vecchio the night before he left. Can't believe how lucky I am to have spent a week in Italy with this guy.

Roma

Two weekends ago, AIFS (the program organizing my study abroad trip) arranged a weekend in Rome for the whole program. I loved Rome when we went last summer, so I was excited to see it again without the overwhelming heat and (I hoped) fewer tourists. We got lucky, and the weather was absolutely gorgeous, and the crowds were fairly manageable, at least in comparison to last summer. We saw most of the major sites, with a tour guide this time, which was fun. Our hotel was right in the center of Rome, less than a 5 minute walk to the Trevi Fountain, and with an amazing rooftop view. Though our program only arranged for us to stay 2 nights, a few of us stayed an extra night, which gave us a little more time to explore on our own. 

Trevi Fountain -- on 11/11/11 we all went down and made a wish at 11:11

Coliseum

The Forum

The Pantheon from the outside

Inside of the Pantheon

I was so entranced by the giant bubbles at Piazza Navona

Piazza Navona with my roommates

Campo de' Fiori

We bought each other roses :)

Apparently, the giant pinecone and peacocks have no actual significance, the designers just liked the way they looked together

I loved the map room in the Vatican Museum

Florence map!

Inside St. Peter's Basilica

To give you an idea of how massive this place is, the pen he's holding (that you can barely even see) is 9 feet long. NINE FEET!

That's the same picture...

Altar

Outside St. Peter's Basilica

We made Roman Build-a-Bear animals! Meet Mario, Marcello, and Francesca.

Villa Borghese gardens -- we spent a few hours just strolling through these gorgeous, peaceful gardens. We stumbled upon what apparently was a dog park and watched adorable dogs frolic in the sunshine for a while.

Then, we found this absolutely gorgeous lake surrounded by fall colors.

Me, Jessica, Marie and Jordan

Though I feel that we could have allocated our time better to experience more of the city, on the whole it was a great weekend and I'm really glad I got to see Rome again.

I am a bad blogger

So, I'm feeling a little guilty about my lack of blog posts, and even though I'm exhausted and not thinking clearly due to roughly 10 hours on a bus today, I wanted to post a quick update.

I spent this past weekend in Vienna and Salzburg, and the one before in Rome. I love all the traveling I've been getting to do, but I also love coming home. I've become so familiar with the walk back from the train station that there are a few key moments each time that I just look around and think how good it feels to be home. When I pass the Duomo I always take a moment to admire how gorgeous it is and how lucky I am to be able to simply stroll by. Walking past the Piazza della Repubblica is always a good time to pause or at least slow for a quick break from hauling my inevitably overstuffed suitcase and listen to whatever live musicians may be out. And finally, every time I cross the Ponte Vecchio I find myself smiling and looking at the equally gorgeous views from each side of the bridge. At this point I know I am not just in what I now think of as my city, but in my part of my city, and I feel so at home and so grateful for the opportunity to live in such an unbelievable place.

Even though I am lucky enough to live in a beautiful city in California as well, it's always a little bit of a letdown to come back from a trip away and back to "real" life. But here, I'm just as happy to come back as I am to embark on a new adventure. The whole time I've been here has felt like one big vacation as I've had next to no responsibilities, and have had the luxury of just soaking in the city in addition to experiencing new and beautiful places outside of Florence and Italy.

In short, I am going to miss this place more than I can say. I'm going to miss walking around the corner to the best pizza I've ever had, Gusta Pizza, and being greeted with "Amore mio!" I'm going to miss spending free hours roaming through Boboli Gardens and discovering new paths and alcoves. I'm going to miss getting gelato from the best artisanal chocolate maker after school -- vanilla with cinnamon and chocolate hazelnut at Vestri is one of my greatest loves in life. I'm going to miss buying parmigiano reggiano, brie and a fresh baguette from the supermarket around the corner and devouring it with my roommates. I'm going to miss being overwhelmed by the beauty of the city with every step. I'm going to miss hearing this lovely language and understanding a little more each day. I'm going to miss the people who have made this experience what it has been, from my roommates to other friends both in the program and from Cal Poly to the Italians I've come to know and the ones I simply see and hear throughout the city (I will not miss the tourists). Most of all, I'm going to miss the feeling of calling this place home and knowing that simply stepping outside my door will put a smile on my face.

Fall Break

So I realize I have not been doing such a great job with updating. But I figured I would take a few of my free minutes to at least share some of my favorite pictures from my amazing Fall break with my amazing mama :) We traveled from Genoa to Monaco, the French Riviera, onto Provence, through Geneva and some Swiss countryside, and finally ended by paragliding in the French Alps and then onto Milan for our last night. It was an unforgettable week to say the least. 

Outside the Monte Carlo on Day 1 (aka Monaco Is Not All It's Cracked Up To Be)

Cannes -- beautiful city and beautiful mother!

At the Fragonard perfume factory in Grasse, an adorable little French town. I bought 2 perfumes there and proceeded to break the one that was in a glass bottle less than a week after purchasing it. If anyone is looking for a Christmas present for me, you can order Fleur de Vanille Eau de Toilette on the Fragonard website!

Outside the perfume factory with mama bear. Note the scenic French trashcans.

Van Gogh's inspiration for "Cafe Terrace at Night" in Arles. Sadly, since he painted it in 1888, the cafe has been renamed Cafe Van Gogh and painted yellow to emulate the way his painting of it looked. 

Our view of the Roman Arena in Arles from our dinner table. 

The spot where I fell in love with the supremely expensive Gruyere cheese at an open air market in Arles. My heart may never be the same.

Under the Pont du Gard -- we picknicked on the banks of the river the aqueduct is built over and saw jumping fish.

A castle where you can wine taste outside of Avignon. We drove through several of these scenic vineyards before choosing one to do a tasting.

Palais du Papes in Avignon. As my mom said, "one of our only cultural experiences of the trip." We even got the audioguide, complete with British-accented recordings!

Stunning scenery snapped while we may or may not have been lost trying to follow Rick Steves through Provencial wine country.

Just a snapshot of the adorable town of Le Crestet. We spent some time just exploring the village, which was covered with beautiful ivy and made of old, picturesque stone buildings. We saw maybe two people the whole time.

View from our impromptu picnic and hot chocolate stop in Seguret -- ostensibly the "prettiest village in France," but I preferred Le Crestet.

Lyon at night. I heard that the city had mastered floodlighting, but I didn't see much to prove that, beyond this picturesque scene of a castle on a hill. We did have the best meal of the trip in Lyon though, which redeemed the city in my eyes (cheese omelette, salad with gruyere cheese, chocolate mousse, and French wine)

Stop at a random but gorgeous lake. I have no idea where it is or what it's called, but I want to find it again in summer; it was just a smidge too chilly for swimming in October.

St. Peter's Cathedral in Geneva, Switzerland

Enjoying Swiss hot chocolate at the Place du Bourg-de-Four, an idyllic square in Geneva

The flower clock in Geneva. We met a group of Swiss students trying to learn English and made the mistake of asking them to take our picture, leading to semi-awkward interviews about our feelings on Switzerland.

Jet d'Eau in Geneva. 

Gorgeous wine country in Switzerland by Lac Leman.

In front of Mont Blanc! My English major heart was far too excited to see Shelley's inspiration.

Ice cave and unbelievably perfect background. Sidenote -- apparently you are supposed to wear gloves when you go to the top of mountains in the Alps. Who knew?

View of Chamonix and the surrounding Alps while paragliding.

That's my brave ("sporty," in the words of our guide) mom!

Loving life!

My guide (who spoke little and heavily accented English) asked if I wanted to pilot...I thought he was kidding, so asked if he trusted me; he responded "Yeeeeeeahhhh!" (imagine a French cookie monster for the inflection), and I got to steer for a few minutes!

Post touch-down :)