Studying Abroad in Florence

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.

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.

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

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.