Studying Abroad in Florence

So I have been back now for almost a month and it feels great! I am a little sad to see my term abroad in Europe come to an end; however, there is no place like home. I am living and working in New York City this summer and it's so nice to be back. I definitely feel like my time in Florence was an amazing experience and I think studying abroad is something I would recommend to all of my peers because it really teaches you about the world, other cultures, and to appreciate opportunities we are given. I am twenty years old and now I can say that I have been to eight countries in sixteen weeks and lived in Italy for four months. It's pretty cool and I can't wait to see how my time abroad will help shape the course of my life. I already am planning my next trip to Europe! Of course, I definitely miss the delicious food and wine but when I get nostalgic, I head over to Grom on Bleecker for my favorite gelato! Too bad it costs a lot more here than in Italy.

Thanks so much for reading. :)

jc

Finals season is in full swing right about now. I finished one paper and one exam and I still have two more exams and a paper to go. I can’t wait to be finished with work! I’m also excited to not be taking a summer class this year because I will finally be able to take it easy in New York City. I took a course last summer in my department on Film and it was amazing, but it will be nice to just relax this year. I am looking forward to getting back to NYC and moving into Carlyle with Alicia! NYU Students and also visiting students can live in NYU Summer Housing.

My last weekend abroad I went to Athens, Greece. I met Nathan, who is studying at NYU in London and his friend Rachel came too. Greece was amazing and one of my favorites countries I traveled to this semester. On Friday, it was Labor Day in Greece and we went to the beach. The water was so beautiful and the sky was clear. It was not humid so the sun felt so nice. I got kind of sun burned, but it was so worth it. Saturday we did touristy things around Athens. The Acropolis was amazing to finally see. I can’t believe that people actually built all of the structures we saw. The view from the top was breathtaking. The best part about Athens (other than being with Nathan and the amazing weather) was the food. Everything was so cheap and delicious! We ate so many gyros, I lost count and I also had Greek Salad, Moussaka, Spinach/Cheese Pie, and Potato Pastry. It was so amazing. Sunday, I came back to Florence to study for all of my exams.

Athens

the reunion

the Acropolis

paradise

tourism

This week school has definitely kept me busy. Monday, I had our Etruscans exam and today I handed in my Consumerism paper. I still have a lot of work ahead of me for the next two days and I also want to enjoy my last few days in Firenze. I can’t believe that the semester is coming to a close and I am so glad that I studied abroad. I also just found out that I will be going to Istanbul in January for Steinhardt’s Dean’s Research Travel Colloquium, so Europe can’t get rid of me! DRTC is an Honors program in Steinhardt for Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors to conduct research with a faculty member. I’ve totally been bitten by the travel bug and I already can not wait to get back to Europe next year. Now if I could just get through my finals first...

Last weekend I spent catching up on schoolwork and working on my Etruscans presentation on Religion. On Friday, we had our last field site visit to Chianti to see some of the tombs in Tuscany. As always, it was really interesting. One of the sites we visited was particularly cool because it was the site my professor worked at for several years. It was really nice out on Saturday, so I spent most of the day in the sun working on my non-existent tan. This weekend was mostly for getting ahead on presentations and papers since I am heading to Athens in two days before finals. I am so excited to go to Greece!

I can't believe that I go home in 10 days! I feel like I just got here and although I am so excited to head back to New York City, I really will be sad to say good bye to Europe.

I have been looking forward to visiting Katy in Prague all semester and I finally went last weekend. During the week leading up to my trip, I had so much work to do since it was only a three-day week. On Thursday night I arrived in Prague. The weather over the weekend could have been better, but the rain did not take away from my time in Eastern Europe. Prague was like no other city I have visited. The buildings were right out of a fairytale and the feel of Eastern Europe was just so different than Italy and the other places I have traveled so far this semester. Czech is really hard to speak and I give credit to anyone attempting to learn. If I thought Italian was difficult, I definitely have to rethink that comment. On Friday, we had a chill day and saw Confessions of a Shopaholic. The movie was super cute and it made me so excited to get back to New York. I am definitely going to finish the book once I get home. Saturday, we did all of the main touristy sites of Prague. I saw the castle (which is actually a really nice church), Old Town Square, the famous clock tower, Charles Bridge, the Jewish Quarter, and the John Lennon Wall. It was so much fun seeing Katy in Europe, her life in Prague, and experiencing the famous Prague nightlife. This week I have to write two papers and work on a presentation. I also have a class trip to Chianti. Wine tasting?! Let’s hope.

the castle

clock tower

taken from the Charles bridge

THIS IS NOT HERE

Easter in Italy was really cool. Unfortunately, I was away on actual Easter Sunday in Amsterdam but a lot of my friends who were in town went to the Duomo for all of the festivities. We had off school Monday because it is a national holiday here.

On Friday, I went to Amsterdam with Brenna and Lauren and it was wonderful! The city was so pretty and everyone was riding bicycles. It was similar to Venice in that it is built around canals and has a ton of bridges. It was really calm and a relaxing weekend. We went to the Anne Frank house, which was incredibly sad, but I am so glad that I got to see the actual place where she was in hiding. We also visited the Heineken Experience and it was just that. I got a bottle personalized with my name on it. I wasn't sure what to expect, but Amsterdam was definitely my favorite city that I have visited so far. I loved the architecture of the buildings and everything was so chill. The Red Light District was really interesting and definitely different from what I expected and the coffee shops were great. On Saturday, we sat in the park and tanned for a while. We had beautiful weather and I really wish we could have stayed longer to rent bicycles. I guess that just means that I will have something to look forward to when I go back!

flowers

I amsterdam

On Monday, I went to Pisa with Soo Yon (my friend studying at NYU in London) to finally seeing the Leaning Tower. It was pretty cool but so packed with tourists. I couldn't believe how crowded it was!

This week has been going really fast since it is only three days. Tomorrow I am going to see Katy in Prague and I could not be more excited! But first, I have a paper and a test tomorrow. I'm getting really excited to go home! I can't believe I have only three weeks left.

This past weekend I stayed in Firenze (for the most part). On Friday, I went to the Uffizi, which is one of the famous museums here in Florence. Our VIP museum passes really came in handy because we were able to cut the entire line and head right inside. Late that day, Lauren and I took the bus to Fiesole, which is a tiny mountain town outside of Florence. It was so cute. We went to the museum to see the old Roman theatre and Etruscan temple, as well as the Etruscan artwork in the Archeological Museum. We watched the sunset from a little café. It was so relaxing and nice to get out of the city for a change and see a different side to Florence. Saturday I did some errands downtown and went to the Archeological Museum in Florence to see the Etruscan artwork on display. Florence had a nice sized collection and my favorite piece was this bronze lion.

flowers in bloom in Fiesole

overlooking Florence

Roman theatre

Etruscan temple

sunset

Sunday, I went to Venice (finally) for a day trip and it was so pretty. The entire city is built around canals. There are no cars and instead there are water taxis, water boats (similar to city buses), and of course GONDOLAS! We took a gondola ride in the afternoon and ate a divine meal at Trattoria Wine-Bar Alla Palazzina (so delicious). We also saw Piazza San Marco, which was packed with tourists, St. Mark’s Basilica, and the Rialto Bridge. The masks were so beautiful and unique and the Murano glass was really cool also. The best part of this trip was how nice it was outside. I’m really glad I waited to visit Venice during the semester because the warm weather in this town based around water was so nice. I got some color too!

on the gondola

yum

piazza san marco

St. Mark's Basilica

taken from the Rialto Bridge

Yesterday my Consumerism class went on an excursion to a Waste Management Facility outside of Florence. Aside from the terrible smell, it was pretty interesting seeing how the garbage is processed and just how much people consume (or waste for that matter). Our tour guide talked about how tourism makes up the largest percentage of waste in the city of Florence and every night the city streets are cleaned by large machines that spray everything. We went inside the factory part of the facility to see piles and piles of waste, along with all of the machines that process the waste. Even though it smelled absolutely terrible, the trip was cool to see a not so glamorous side of the city and we got to wear hard hats and construction vests (see photos below).

I do not even want to know how much waste there is in New York City.

B and me looking super fly in our waste gear

EUROTRASH!

On an exciting note, I am going to Amsterdam this weekend, and the weekend after that I am visiting Katy in Prague! I can’t believe I have only one month left in Europe. With so many projects, papers, and presentations, there is still so much to see and do and I hope I can get to experience it all.

London makes me miss New York City.

Katy and I flew to London early on Friday morning to celebrate her birthday weekend with Nathan. We had a nice time relaxing, catching up, and experiencing London nightlife. I love that London is fast paced and there is a lot going on. Our reunion was molto bene.

I have a lot of big school assignments coming up in the next week or so. Today my Italian class went downtown for TANDEM, where we speak with Italian college students who are studying English. My italian has definitely gotten better in the past three months, but having a full on conversation is still really hard. I want to start using my italian more so I feel like I really picked up the language during my semester in Florence.

Finally, things I realized this weekend:

1. I appreciate growing up in New Jersey more than I would ever want to admit.
2. I've grown so attached to NYC and I can't wait to get back this summer!
3. I'm going to Amsterdam, Prague, and Athens this month, along with places in Italy (TBD).
4. My time abroad is quickly coming to an end and I'm not sure how I feel about it.
5. I need to find an internship ASAP.
6. I want to visit the main museums in Florence sometime soon. NYU provides us with a museum pass which grants us access to cut the lines (tourist season is now) and I need to take advantage of this.

Not sure what I am up to yet this weekend. I'm staying local though and possibly heading south to Pompeii or north to Venice. Nice thing is, I can decide on Thursday!

It was so hard starting up schoolwork again after Spring Break, but this weekend for my Etruscans class, we took our big class trip to five Etruscan cities! We visited Chiusi, Orvieto, Tarquinia, Cerveteri, and Norchia. It was really cool because these are probably cities that I would not have gotten to see otherwise.

We visited several museums to look at different Etruscan artifacts from the different cities, as well as lots of tombs. In Chiusi, we visited a museum, an underground water system and then climbed a tower to overlook the entire city. We also visited two tombs: La Tomba del Leone and La Tomba del Pellegrino. Orvieto’s Duomo was so pretty and lunch was divine. I had a pasta dish similar to potato dumplings with zucchini and cheese. After lunch, we visited another museum and several famous tombs in Orvieto. We also went inside an old well. We spent the evening in Tarquinia and in the morning visited another museum and several tombs in the necropolis. Cerveteri was really cool because their tombs were built into the ground and they were made to look as though they were built from the ground up. In Norchia, we hiked over to where the acropolis used to be and saw a medieval church.

Heading into the underground water system

Chiusi (looking towards the necropolis)

Orvieto's Duomo

Crocifisso del Tufo Necropolis (Orvieto)

Temple del Belvedere

Tarquinia

Necropolis of Cerveteri

hiking in Norchia

Carissa was in town for her travel break. She is studying in the United Kingdom this semester. We did all of the touristy stuff and it was so nice to see her and show her our campus here. It was so nice out on Sunday, but unusually cold on the class trip.

Katy gets to Florence on Wednesday and then we are both heading to London on Friday! I can’t wait. London was such a cool city and I’m really excited to get back there.

Spring Break was so much fun!

I went to Paris, London, and Dublin over 11 days with four of my friends from NYU in Florence! We flew out on Thursday evening after our Italian midterms and arrived in Paris around 11 p.m. I arrived at Mitchell’s apartment around midnight. Mitchell has been studying at the American University in Paris for the entire year. I missed Mitchell a lot so it was so nice to see him and stay with him while in Paris (especially because he lives one minute from the Eiffel Tower). My best friend Katy, who is studying in Prague, also came to Paris for the weekend!

On Friday, we went to the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, and Etruscan artwork that I learned about from my art history class. The Mona Lisa was much smaller in person; however, it was exciting to finally see something I have learned about for so long growing up. The Etruscan collection was amazing and because I am taking the class, I was able to tell my friends what they were looking at. After the Louvre, we grabbed a French lunch outside and I tried my first Croque Monsieur, which is bread with ham and cheese. It’s so delicious! We then walked along the Seine River to Notre Dame. The church was beautiful and the architecture was amazing. The glass windows inside were so intricate and the gargoyles were really cool. I wish we could have climbed to the top, but it was closed by the time we got there. We then walked back to Mitchell’s and had a very Parisian snack of wine and cheese (so delicious!) and then grabbed dinner in the Latin Quarter, where I had fondue!

Katy and I at the Louvre

along the Seine

Notre Dame

Eiffel Tower

Saturday, we went to Eurodisney and because I am such an avid Disney fan, I would definitely recommend it to everyone! It was really interesting because it was like a miniature version of Disneyworld or Disneyland. The park was much smaller and had similar rides with variations. Space Mountain 2 was way more intense in Paris because it went upside down and Crush’s Coaster was something totally different because Katy and I did most of the ride backwards. Disney was so much fun and I’m glad I spent one of my days there while in France. We went to Versailles on Sunday. The palace was beautiful. My favorite part was the Hall of Mirrors. We headed back to Paris and Katy headed back to Prague. I was so happy to spend the weekend with her and I am so glad she came to Paris! After Katy left I went on top of the Eiffel Tower with Ryan and Lauren around sunset and it was so beautiful (and cold from the wind). Paris is a really charming place and I’m glad I decided to see the entire city from this view. We all grabbed dinner at a nice place and then Mitchell and I went to see our friend Rachel who is studying at NYU in Paris. The best part about Paris was definitely seeing all of my friends who are studying abroad, seeing their lives in Paris, and hearing their abroad stories.

Disney dessert

Hall of Mirrors (Versailles)

my Parisian host, Mitchell

the Eiffel Tower

Arc de Triomph

On Monday we all grabbed lunch at an Italian (ironic?) restaurant close to Mitchell’s school and then we took the chunnel into Paris. Lauren and I took the tube to Leicester Square as soon as we arrived and bought tickets to see Billy Elliot! I was so excited and our seats were amazing. I loved watching Billy dance and there was a lot of British humor, which I sometimes did not understand. I think I am going to see the show when I come back to New York City because they have Student Rush now and I want to see the difference. After the show, I went back to stay with my other best friend Nathan in Nido (where the NYU in London students live). I missed Nate a lot and was so happy to see him!

Tuesday and Wednesday we spent most of the days doing touristy stuff along the Thames River. We saw Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace (sadly no changing of the guards), London Bridge, London Tower, and Parliament. We went to the Tate Modern Museum and Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum. We also took the London Eye and had Afternoon Tea. On Tuesday evening, we saw We Will Rock You, which is a musical in the West End that uses all Queen songs. My friends and I all loved it! We had so much fun and it was like a live rock concert. My dad would love this show! Wednesday evening I ate a family dinner at Nido with Nathan and a bunch of his friends. We then went out for the evening to see some of London’s nightlife and I got to ride the night bus. I loved that they played the Killers everywhere we went. The tube is really easy to get around in, but it closes so early! I also liked the metro system in Paris and being in these cities made me miss New York City so much.

Buckingham Palace

Big Ben

London Eye

(taken from the London Eye)

Dublin was a great way to end our trip! We ended up staying in an amazing hotel in Blanchardstown, which is about half an hour outside of the city by bus. The Guinness Factory was a lot of fun and the people in Dublin were so nice! I loved the live music in the pubs, and it was just like P.S. I Love You. Lauren, Lauren, Nicole, Amanda, and I had a lot of fun relaxing during the last part of our trip and we flew back to London for one night, where I met up with one of my best girl friends from home Carissa. Then I hung out with Nathan again and took an early bus to the airport for my flight back to Pisa.

the girls

St. Patty's Day!

Dublin at night

Carissa and I calling My Old Bridge Girls ©

Break was so much fun and by the end of it, coming back to Florence felt right. I wish I had all the time in the world to just travel and see Europe. Coming back to school has been kind of a drag, but I have so much to look forward to in the upcoming weeks! Carissa, Katy, and Nathan are coming to Italy to see me, and I am going back to London with Katy for her birthday. I am also heading to Amsterdam, Prague, and Athens, plus I have two school trips with my Etruscans class to see Chiusi, Orvieto, Tarquinia, Cerveteri, Norchia, and Chianti. I am really excited to go on these trips because these are cities that I otherwise would not have had the chance to see in Italy. I am also going to try to get to Venice, Milan, and maybe Pompeii. I have a bunch of presentations and projects in my classes, so I am sure to be busy. I can’t believe my time here is already half way over and I’m looking forward to the weeks ahead!

I am into my third day of midterms here at NYU in Florence and they are definitely not a joke. My Etruscans exam was on Monday and yesterday I had a paper due in Sociology. Today and tomorrow I have my Italian midterms and then I am off to SPRING BREAK!

I went to Madrid last weekend to visit my friend Ryan who is studying at NYU in Madrid and I had such a fun time! Of course I ate all of the traditional Spanish food, including tapas, paella, and CHURROS. Ryan was such a good host, showing me both the Prado and the Reina Sofia museums (I saw Guernica by Picasso) and we also went to an authentic Flamenco show and saw Hamlet in Spanish. Madrid was a modern city, with historical roots (it felt so different than Florence). It was so much fun and the nightlife there was amazing! I came back early on Sunday to study for my midterms and start writing my Sociology paper, but I am so glad I got to see Spain while I was abroad in Europe.

Churros and chocolate, my new fav

the Universe

lunch

in front of the Palace

another Palace shot

Tomorrow after my Italian comprehension exam, I am heading off to Paris to see Rachel and Mitchell (two of my close friends from Steinhardt Undergraduate Student Government). They are studying there and my best friend Katy is meeting me there too, along with Ryan! I am also going with four of my close girl friends from Florence. We are going to Eurodisney one of the days and I can't be more excited. Haha. I am so excited to reunite with everyone and then on Monday, I head to London to see my other best friend Nathan! Around Thursday we head to Dublin for St. Patty's Day! This is a much needed break and I can't wait to finish these two exams, pack up, and GO!