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With only a couple weekends left of the program I have chosen to stay in Florence till the end of finals. There are still many things that I want to do and see here in the city. I also simply want to just enjoy the city on the weekend, it is a much different experience than during the week. On Friday, a few of my classmates and I walked around Ponte Vecchio and the other shopping areas. The jewelry on the Ponte Vecchio is striking and every girls dream. There are millions of pieces of jewelry on that bridge, it is simply amazing.

On Saturday, we went to Fiesole a small town just outside of Florence. This small town houses an old monastery as well as some incredible views of Florence. Saturday night we went out for drinks to a place that resembled a speakeasy. It was a very interesting place, and the drinks were very exotic tasting. After, we went to a new wine bar that just opened up around the corner from our apartment. It was a cute little place with some very interesting and unique tables and wine glass holders.

Today is the first Sunday of the month which means free entry into the museums. We got up early to go to the Academia to see the statue of David. Although the statue of David is an iconic and amazing piece of art, the Academia museum is not impressive which made it difficult to pay to get in. Free Sundays are great days to take advantage of the city museums. This was a great peaceful weekend in the beautiful city of Florence.

Oh my Gaudi we went to Barcelona! Barcelona is the home of some of the most remarkable work done by Gaudi who is a very well-known architect. Many people associate him with Park Guell, Sagrada Familia, and Casa Mila, some of the most well-known buildings in Barcelona. On Friday, we visited the most famous attractions of Barcelona.  We walked almost 7 miles around the city. The Sagrada Familia is the most amazing church I have ever stepped foot into. The stained glass was incredible, and the structure was so unique. Park Guell was also amazing with its cave like structure as well as the surrounding mosaics. At the end of the day we ended up at the beach and it was a calm end to the day. It reminded me of home with the waves crashing on the sand and the ocean breeze blowing by. Later that evening we went out for Tapas and sangria which was some of the best food I have ever eaten. The sangria was so tasteful that we ended up getting two liters of it. The tapas and sangria alone gave me enough motivation to consider moving to Barcelona permanently.

Saturday, we had a slow start to the day but ended up walking around and we went to a café that had hammocks for their chairs. It was a unique café design and it got me excited for what I will be doing in the future. We enjoyed the sangria and tapas at this one restaurant so much that we went back for more. Later in the evening we went to the W hotel to have drinks in the eclipse bar and the view was amazing. We had a delicious final dinner at a cute little restaurant near our hostel. We seem to be getting used to the European time because we have been eating our meals at odd hours of the day.

Today we had an early morning, we had to leave our hostel at 5 in the morning to make our 7 am flight. It was a long day of travel but managed to get back to Florence at 1. Exhausted by this morning’s travel, it has become a lazy Sunday as all Sundays should be.

This weekend was the last trip together as a class and it was astounding. What better way to end a series of trips than with Venice. This city was one of the most amazing cities I have ever visited. It is so elegant and unique. We had the pleasure to visit some very well-known pieces of architecture and have it explained to us by our professor. On Saturday, we received an architecture tour of the entire city of Venice.  It was a long tour but very interesting. There is some amazing architecture that surrounds Venice. After the tour, we went to the little town of Burano. This little town is the most adorable and colorful town I have ever seen. It is guaranteed to brighten someone’s day. I highly recommend visiting this place to anyone. Since we were leaving to head back to Florence on Saturday, we were crunched for time. We were trying to fit in Burano as well as a Gondola ride and somehow, we managed to do both. Although we did both I do wish we had more time in Burano. The gondola ride down the canals was surreal.  One more thing to check off my bucket list. Today is another relaxing day in Florence and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Although I have been here in Florence for almost 4 months, there are still some things that I have not had the opportunity to see and visit. I took this weekend to see more of Florence and check more items off my list of to dos before I leave. On Saturday, we visited the Boboli Gardens, the largest gardens that were owned by the Medici family. The gardens were beautiful and peaceful to walk through. The locals are lucky because they have the ability to get into the gardens for free. The property of the Medici family is protected, it is not allowed to be sold to the Florentines but should always available to them therefore the gardens are free for the locals. We later went to the Piazza de Michelangelo to drink wine and watch the sunset on the steps. I truly got lucky with such a great location for my study abroad program. Time is running out and I am trying to enjoy every minute of it.

Rome is an amazing city. One to return to in the future. On Friday, we woke up early to hit the major attractions and avoid all of the tourists. We visited the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Coliseum and Trastevere. Out of these landmarks, the Coliseum was the most incredible. There is so much history in this building let alone the city as a whole. After walking around for the entire day, we went out to an ice bar. Everything inside the bar was made of ice including the cups. It was such a fun experience but a little chilly.

On Saturday, we walked around the less central area of Rome and enjoyed the nature in Villa Borghese. We made our way back to the Spanish Steps and experienced the main drag booming with tourists the complete opposite as the morning. The streets and steps were lively and exciting to be around. the next day we planned to go visit and see the inside of the Coliseum.

On the first Sunday of every month the museums and attractions in Europe are free to everyone. Our plan was to get into the Coliseum for free however the lines ended up being so long that it was worth it to pay. We also didn’t have much time since we had to catch our train back to Florence. All in all, we got to see the inside of the Coliseum as well as the ruins. Right after our tour, it began to pour and we got soaked as we headed back to our hostel to get our bags. We are now on our way back to Florence in dry and warm clothing.

Fall break was exhausting and the week of school after fall break was even more exhausting. A weekend in Florence is exactly what I needed. This next one was a recovery weekend. As much as I would love to travel every weekend, it is so tiring that it becomes difficult to do that often. This weekend we went to a hot air balloon festival that was a little disappointing since it took a while for the balloons to get up. On our way, back we witnessed a stunning sunset over the river. The sunsets are one of the many reasons I love this city. This rejuvenated me and was a postive way to end the weekend.

We were sad to have been leaving Greece but it was time to head back to Florence. All of us are very tired and slightly on edge already since traveling is exhausting physically and emotionally. Yes, surprisingly traveling is not always as glamorous as it often looks. There are definitely difficulties.

Today my patience and positivity were greatly tested. It is currently 7 pm on a Monday here in Italy and I have reached my breaking point. Today was our last day of travel on our fall break and we had run into multiple frustrating obstacles; unlike the rest of our trip that went smoothly with all forms of transportation.

The morning started off early, our first flight out of Mykonos was scheduled for 8:30 am due to weather, our flight was delayed until 4pm which was outrageous and very unnecessary. There was a little fog however it burned off by 10 am and the flight was still delayed. Unfortunately, this delay did not coordinate with our connecting flight in Athens and we were forced to buy another plane ticket. This was one very expensive obstacle but we could not miss our connecting flight because we have to get back to Florence today.

We arrived in Athens with plenty of time between our flights and everything seemed okay. We grabbed a bite to eat and continued to wait for our next flight. Our 3:30pm departure then turned into a 4 pm departure which at the time seemed like no big deal. Of course when we originally planned the trip we had plenty of time to catch all of our means of transportation without any glitches.

Once we got to Rome we realized our train time was sooner than we thought. We didn’t have much control over the train that took us to the train station. We had to accept the fact that we would have to run in order to make the train back to Florence. The train from the airport ended up being 5 minutes late so we literally had to sprint and of course we were on the farthest platform from our next train. All three of us sprinted to the opposite end of the train station just to watch the train leave without us. We missed it by literally a minute.

We watched the train leave in disbelief. We were so close. After everything that has happened today we just needed to make this train. A reservation compulsory train is not cheap last minute. We went to the support booth and explained our situation yet the lady said she couldn’t do anything because we didn’t allow ourselves 15 minutes to get on the train. However, in actuality we did but all of these obstacles hindered us from having that 15 minutes. We explained that the airport train was 5 minutes late and that our plane was delayed yet she continued to say she couldn’t do anything.

At this point we all are even more tired than we were this morning at 6:30am and we just wanted to get home. We had no choice but to purchase another ticket to Florence which was yet another expensive obstacle.

I am sitting here right now on the train to Florence feeling completely defeated. All day I have been trying to send positive thoughts and vibes to allow us to get home without any problems especially after our first flight delay. All of these positives thoughts yet we continued to be shut down by the universe. Sometimes I find it hard to grasp why things like this happen. What did I do to have this happen to me? Not only did it become a longer day but it was so expensive after an already expensive vacation.

I understand that issues arrise during travel, however the dominoe effect of issues just seemed to keep falling upon us.  I can’t seem to shirk this overwhelming negative emotion from circumstances out of my control.   What is this universe trying to tell me?

Fall Break would be one of the longest trips I would be taking during the semester which meant it had to be one for the books. A couple of my friends and I had common interest in Croatia and Greece. Naturally this is where we decided to spend our time. The first half of the trip would be spent in Croatia and the second would be spent in Greece. We ran into a few hiccups as we were planning however we managed to work through them and make the best of the situations.

The Thursday of midterms we hustled out of school to make it to the airport in time for our flight. Everything went smoothly as we headed to Split, Croatia. Our first journey was to Plitvice, a national park consisting of a multitude of waterfalls. The park was stunning as there was water running in every direction as well as the beautiful fall colors surrounding the area. The next day we headed to Krka National Park which consisted of more waterfalls. A small oasis in the middle of the mountains is essentially the premises of Krka. It was an amazing site to see. We also had the opportunity to swim at the bottom of the waterfall. The water was freezing and the current was extremely strong. It was such an experience.

We spent one night in Split and headed off to Dubrovnik early the next morning. Dubrovnik was an amazing city with the old walls used for defense back in the day. The show Game of Thrones is also known to be filmed here. Although I am not into the show, it was fun to see where all the major scenes were filmed. We spent the day touring the city, walking the wall which had incredible views of the city and the water. In the evening, we took a sunset kayaking tour that was amazing. The sunset was unbelievably breathtaking. An experience I will never forget.

The next day we had to catch a flight to Athens, Greece, moving on to the second half of our trip. We were only in Athens for a night so we engulfed ourselves into the native food. We went out to dinner and ordered just about half of the menu from Greek salad to hummus and tzatziki. The food was delicious. It is amazing how much of an experience food is to us. Food is a huge part of almost every culture and it is interesting to see how each differ.

Early the next morning we hopped on another long bus ride to Zakynthos, a smaller Greek Island that contains many beautiful beaches and amazing views. We spent the evening relaxing by the pool of the resort which was a nice change of pace. We had been running around trying to see everything, it was nice to slow down and not have to be anywhere. This nice change lasted one night since the next day we were off in search of Shipwreck Cove. We found the famous cove from above and the view was incredible. We could see everything from where we were. We underestimated the hike. What was supposed to be a leisurely walk ended as a treacherous downhill trek. There were also people slacklining which was very fun to watch. One guy made it all the way across without falling, I was amazed. For the rest of the day we beach hopped seeing the rest of the island. We ended the day with a relaxing evening for we would be on the road back to Athens early tomorrow morning.

Once we got back to Athens we thought we would have more time to see the city however our bus was running late. We ended up being more rushed than we thought and did not want to miss our flight to Mykonos. We went to the Acropolis, however, we were only able to see the outside due to our time constraints.  We rushed to the airport and were on our way to Mykonos, our final destination.

We arrived late into Mykonos and were staying at the cutest little hotel. We had an amazing meal our first night.  It was a great start to the last leg of our trip. The next day we toured the little city which was so cute. Mykonos is like a dream, it is exactly how it looks in all the pictures. I never really thought it would be that way but it is just that. It is such a stunning place; my breath was taken away. I have never been to such a beautiful place in my entire life. The rest of our trip was in Mykonos and it was so relaxing. We were finally done running around trying to see everything. Sunday, we spent the day laying on a beach soaking up the sun. It was a great end to a great trip. Today our trip ends and we head back to Florence.

This weekend we were in for a major change in scenery. We were headed for the Dolomites, the alps of Italy. This required us to rent a car and since I was the only one who knew how to drive stick I became the driver. Luckily the rental car guy was unbelievably nice and decided to give us an automatic without any extra charge. There is good in the world it’s just about seeking and finding it and somehow we did. But I will be forever grateful that he gave us an automatic because the roads we were on were insanely windy and hilly. Although I didn’t mind driving, it was pretty stressful because of the drive and having the responsibility of the car.

We arrived at our air b n b really late at night and it was already amazing. We were in the mountains at this little cabin and it was extremely relaxing. Florence can be a lot to deal with sometimes because of all the people and the craziness of the city. This change in scenery was much needed. Even though we got in really late we decided to get up early for the sunrise which was breathtaking. Sometimes you just really need to be with nature.

The next day or rather the same day we got a late start since we went back to bed after the sunrise. We were staying in a really small town that consisted of only two restaurants which we decided to support while we were there. We stayed locally and hiked around the trails, taking in the nature and the beautiful views.

On Saturday we drove a few hours to a place called Lago di Braies to hike around and see more cool views. The drive was amazing which made it suspenseful to get to. We could only imagine how beautiful it would be when we got there. Once we arrived of course it was breathtaking, like nothing I had ever seen before. The mountain formations are so unique and the water that surrounded them was so clear and blue.

On our way back we used a gps just to be safe and it took us on to a small, windy, dirt road that was kind of sketchy. There were multiple times where we would come across other drivers and the road was not wide enough. For them most part the other driver would either backup, or pull over however there was one time I had to back up a quarter of a mile down this rocky dirt road. It was a challenge however we got through it slowly.

All in all this trip was amazing and much needed. We saw some amazing views and got to really relax. We experienced some fresh air and saw some greenery and we felt like totally different people. It was very refreshing.

Milan Milan Milan! This weekend we had such a phenomenal trip to Milan. Our professor for the second half of the semester showed us around the city where she grew up. We had an early morning and very long day on Friday. Once we arrived, we hit the ground running.

Our first stop was a small firm that was incredible. We had the best tour and history lesson that I have experienced. This firm was one of the first firms in Italy and it started out with the design of furniture and other useful gadgets. It was very neat to hear about since our tour guide was the daughter of the architect. The visit was very intimate and personal which was inspiring.

Next on the to do list was an architecture tour of the city which was incredible. The city of Milan is one of the most amazing cities I have been to. It is a mix of old and new which makes it unique in contrast to many cities in Italy like Florence. Personally I enjoy modern design so it was neat to see all of the modern buildings in the newer part of the city. There were apartment buildings that were basically a living building, there were trees and plants all over the building, it seemed so futuristic.

Our third and final stop of the day was at a very unique furniture showroom. Many of the pieces were found and collected and others were designed by the designer. This showroom was very 80s in terms of its design and colors. It was very different than what we normally see these days but it was very interesting.

On Saturday we visited more furniture showrooms which were impressive. These showrooms had some very well known and famous chairs, sofas and so on which we were able recognize. We even had the opportunity to sit in them which is really exciting for us designers, it’s not everyday you get to sit in a Corbusier lounge chair. We also got to see some interesting furniture made of unique materials. It is amazing what you can do with certain materials.

For lunch our professor took us to get famous street food which was delicious. It was like a fried panini with pesto, tomatoes and mozzarella, it was amazing. After lunch we went and walked on the high line which allowed us to see the city in a different light. We got a 360 view of Milan, it was a site to see.

For the rest of the day we had free time and I decided to go on top of the duomo which had an even better view of the city. The duomo in Milan is one of the most amazing structures I have ever seen in my entire life. It is just mind blowing that these structures were built back in the day with such little technology and they are so intricate and detailed. You could see everything from up there. You could also see more detail of the structure up close. It was an amazing experience. Milan is definitely one of my favorite cities, I wish we had more time there however I am sure I will be back.

Every weekend I get to check something off my bucket list and it is an amazing feeling. This weekend Milan is checked off. It was such a cool experience to see Milan but it was an even better experience to get to see it with our professor. It was interesting to see her perspective of the city and it was fun to see her get excited to show us around. It was a memorable day to experience Milan with her.