Walking through the streets of Florence, I find it difficult to imagine having to live anywhere else. How do I explain falling asleep to loud drunk Italian men at 4AM and waking up to soft chatter drowned out by the melody of an accordion? How can I possibly describe watching the sun set over Firenze or the aromas of the secret bakery? No matter how hard I try, no photograph can justify the experiences I've had. Sometimes, I hold the camera to my right eye and think- this is useless. The sights are too stunning in real life to replicate on a mere screen.

I don't want to think about going home, yet all I've been hearing about are countdowns. Everyone is practically ready to leave; and to be honest, so am I. But one semester in Italy is not enough. There is too much to see and so much more to learn.

I'm going to miss this boot, but don't worry. I'll be back.

Obligatory Amsterdam letters picture.

Last weekend I made a trip down to Roma and Napoli. I don't know how we did it, but we managed to see the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Pantheon, Colosseum, Palatino, Roman Forums, Vatican City, and so so much more. It was a long day of nonstop walking and awe. I can't wait to go back.

Vatican City from the top of Basilica di San Pietro

Roman Forum

PS. I nearly got pickpocketed twice in Roma, but I caught them red handed. Are you kidding me? I can smell you gypsies from miles away. Leave me and my belongings alone.

BEST pizza from Napoli - 4 Stagioni

These past few weeks have been rough, and as a result, changed my study abroad experience completely. I no longer feel the thrill of traveling; and living in Florence almost seems normal, whatever that means. I don't want to leave here... but I can't wait to be home. I've been exhausted for too long now. Finals snuck up behind me, and I have barely caught up on all my assignments. How do you make the best out of the worst situation? It's the toughest thing, but I'm trying. I really am.

Nice views in Nice!

Clear skies, blue water, old colorful houses, waterfalls, art, beaches - you mean a place like that exists? You mean I just experienced that? Unfortunately, no photo can capture the warmth of the sun on your face nor the awe you feel after climbing up a hill to witness a scene too gorgeous for this Earth. After a weekend spent along the French Riviera with Graciela, my faith in this planet has been restored. I spent my weekend in Nice, with day trips to Eze, Monaco, and Antibes. They all have different personalities, but my favorite is definitely Nice. Every street I walked through in Nice was beautiful and quaint. The people are friendly and I am in love with the tram that silently goes through the city! It's so interesting haha. We visited the Jardin Exotique in Eze and it was WELL worth 2.50EUR. It is filled with a variety of cacti and a view to die for.

We only spent a few hours in Monaco and were suggested to visit the Monte Carlo Casino. It's a bus ride away and costs 10EUR to get in. Lined with fancy expensive cars and facing a huge elaborate garden, I expected this to be the most epic casino I will ever walk through. Excited, I walked in to find a room with slot machines and three other gorgeous rooms with no one there. No one was gambling, drinking, or even present on a Saturday afternoon. But my disappointment didn't last long. It's clear that it's a rich city and NO WONDER celebrities and rich people would go there. It's gorgeous and there really are no ugly parts (or ugly cars for that matter). 

On our last day, we said our farewells to Nice and headed off to Antibes. This city has 48 beaches. There were two things that made me upset: 1) It was chilly, and 2) We had less than four hours there. Not about to pass up the opportunity, I ran to find the Picasso Museum. It's not only a museum filled with tons of modern art, it was once the home and workplace of the great Pablo Picasso. The thought of being in the same city, building, and room in which Picasso once lived made me so happy. 

Graciela & I at the Jardin Exotique

Eze

l prit un peu de bou
Et de ses doigts me modela
...Voila, Je suis la.

Monte Carlo Casino

Monaco

Picasso's home.

Antibes

I didn't want to leave.

España con mi hermana!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! DRUMS! SINGING! BOOM BOOM!

These are the graceful sounds of Las Fallas. People from all over Spain travel to the small city of Valencia for this single weekend to celebrate the largest Spanish festival of the year. I could have never asked for a more surprising coincidence. There isn't a single street where you don't hear fireworks going off (even during the day), see children playing, or witness a parade where everyone is elegantly dressed. Also on every street are "ninots" or dolls built out of wood or plaster that can be a few stories high. The ninots remain in place until La Crema (the burning) when they are stuffed with fireworks. Crowds begin to form and children start to sing as these ninots BURN TO THE GROUND. 

El Principito Cafe! <3

La Crema

Just some bushes... wait....

Took a 4 hour walk to the other side of Valencia and ended up in the future.

Eating a plate of jamon at the Ham museum!

Spain has the most artistic graffiti artists :)

 When we got to Madrid, the sun went to bed and the rain came out, but that wasn't about to ruin our day. We did loads of shopping and visited three modern art museums including the Prado museum. Everything was gorgeous! I felt right at home since it's such a large city with lots of tourists. In a way, that was a turn off for me. I'm not ready to be back in a huge city yet. I've had twenty years of the hustling and bustling. Nevertheless, spending Spring break with my sister made this trip the best ever. Even though we were traveling in a new place, a foreign language, and a completely different culture, I felt comfortable. But spring break doesn't last forever. Back home to Firenze :)

Spring Break is here!

Amidst the midterm chaos, I regrettably neglected to update my blog. Despite having four midterms in one week, I must say that this was the best midterm week. I have never felt less stressed during exams; it's nice.
Last week, we got to experience two very different situations in my photography class. Our professor Lorenzo took us out to take some "street" photography. During our next class, we went to the studio for the first time to take a few portraits. We also got to be models if we wanted! Made for some awkward situations...

Her outfit, her hair, the sunglasses, flower, cigarette... everything just fell into place perfectly.

Lorenzo

Throughout the week, even more interesting things occurred. Although I'm certain I'm used to strange events living in NYC...

Found a dead clown in front of my apartment 

Florence at night 

Travel buddy drank a little too much wine...

 I took a long walk today through small streets I have never been on before, and just absorbed the subtle chatter and soft music from the street musicians. It was a nice and quiet day, despite the hectic errands I ran all morning. Funny how even though I am not in Baruch, they manage to make my life complicated. But I wasn't about to let that ruin my day. I wandered to Piazzale degli Uffizi to check out what my favorite street artist was painting today. I've passed him several times, and while all the other vendors are trying to get your attention, he sits there quietly with his dog, painting without a care in the world. Today, I saw him start and finish this beautiful painting of Tuscania. I gave in. No regrets.

Ciao Firenze, hola España!!! :)

Interlaken, Switzerland!

Two weeks ago, I nearly lost my mind trying to cancel my Florence 2 Interlaken trip with Bus2Alps. I knew it was going to be expensive and cold and I just didn't want to deal with all that, but they wouldn't let me cancel it because I used a $10 off discount code. Well, that was the best mistake because Switzerland is gorgeous. 

We arrived at 3AM Friday morning at Backpackers Villa hostel and of course I got no sleep at all, but what's new? When we all woke up and took our first step outside, I couldn't believe it. The sky was blue, it was warm, the scenery was PERFECT. I couldn't waste the day, so I spontaneously booked the next paragliding session. And it was so worth it:

UNREAL

Lake Thun 

Lake Brienz

with my roomie :)

At the Schuh (pronounced as "shoe") Chocolate show!

With Anna and Nicole, our hostel roommates!

Switzerland is statistically one of the happiest countries in the world, and even though everything is extremely expensive, I can definitely see why people would be so happy to live here. People are nice, scenery is gorgeous, and their dogs are adorable! I really had the best time :)

fyi... I found crispy m&m's! They were discontinued in the US in 2005 and I've been waiting to get my hands on them. Well, I'm nearly finished with my second bag hehe.