Firenze has my heart*

So I have been terrible when it comes to posting on this blog! Haha, it is definitely because I have been so busy LOVING Firenze!!! This week at school we had midterms, its crazy to think the semester is already half over! I can't believe it! Next week is Spring Break.. and I am heading to Amsterdam for 4 days!! I am sooo excited to visit that city, I've heard it is out of control and completely out of the ordinary. Today we booked two weekend trips, one to Edinburgh, Scotland and one to Cinque Terre, Italia. We are staying at one of my roommate's friends apartments in Scotland! Cinque Terre is a BEAUTIFUL part of Italy.. it is right on the coast and it's made up of 5 different towns. Our hotel is a 5 minute walk down to the beach, where I plan on getting SUPER tan. I am soooo excited!

Jods, Stevie-O, Becca Boo, and Sabrinyyy weeny are coming on April 17th! I cant wait for them to get here, so I can be there tour guide and show them all around the city! I'm very sad my little white doggie cant come, but I think even she would get tired from all the walking we do here.

The past few weeks have been filled with AMAZING times. Our nights out at the Joshua Tree Pub (our favorite local bar) have been a blast. The people there are wonderful, and almost all of the people there are Italian, that are there almost every night. Needless to say, I have made lots of friends there. I try to learn as much Italian from them as I can.. but after a few drinks I usually speak Italian like I am fluent.. haha. Its awesome to be legal here to drink, and its going to stink waiting 5 months after I get home to legal in the States.

We went to Venice on February 13th for Carnevale! Carnevale is basically just like Mardi Gras in the US. It lasts for a week, and its basically one big party. Everyone wears masks, so we obviously all bought a mask to wear! Some of the costumes there were crazy! Venice was absolutely gorgeous. It was built completely on water.. so we had to take a water taxi to get around the island. My roommates and I went on a REAL gondola ride around the canals, which was incredible. Our gondola driver was an adorable older man, he sang songs to us in Italian. I even joined in with him to sing "Volare", one of my favorite Italian songs!

I have found the most beautiful place in the world.. and it is right in Firenze. Its called Piazzele Michelangelo.. it is a little hilltop that overlooks the whole entire city. We usually go up at night with a bottle of wine and chat. It is legit the most beautiful place I have ever seen. The hike up about 200 stairs at a 90 degree angle is WELL worth the view, after I regain my breath from the climb... haha.

I have definitely fallen in love with Firenze, and of course with Italia. The life style is sooo different than the US. People here are not very friendly, but that is the Italian way. They are only friendly to people they know really well, so I've gotten used to cold stares and very little eye contact. I've eaten SO much pizza.. I don't think I will ever eat pizza in the US again!

There are a few things I am missing particularly much lately: Mac & Cheese, obviously Dunkin Donuts, Jods & Steve, Nan & Bamps, my dog, Becca Boo, hot weiners!, DRIVING MY CAR (never thought i'd say that), and being able to walk into a restaurant and understand everything everyone is saying. Haha.

Okay... well thats enough for now.. enjoy the pictures! I will post pics of Venice, Piazzele Michelangelo, and some from the nights we've gone to the bar. Enjoy :)

Ciao, molti baci. xox

Vivo in Firenze!

Ciao Tutti! Sooo, I havent posted on my blog in awhile! I apologize, I have been so busy with classes, getting accustomed to living in Italia, and of course exploring the beautiful city of Florence! The past two weeks have FLOWN by. I can't believe it is already February, midterm exams are less than a month away, and spring break is only a month away! Today, I booked my trip to Amsterdam with my friend Owen for March 8-11 for spring break, its going to be amazing!!!! I cant wait to see how out of control that city is! haha.

Overall, I am definitely falling in love with Firenze. Everyday gets easier, and everyday I pick up a little more Italian. I am DJing at our favorite bar, Joshua Tree Pub, on Monday night-- under the name DJ J-Woww.. hahah. I figured, why not? Free drinks for the DJ, and the ability to play whatever music I want? Definitely. Next Saturday (Feb. 13) we are going to Venice for Carnevale.. its a crazyyy party in Venice, where everyone wears masks, kind of like halloween. Kim and I picked out masks today to wear for Carnevale.. mine is pink and white (of course) with sparkles and a diamond on the top! I can't wait to see the canal roads and hopefully ride in a gondola!

The pictures I have posted in this post are from Chianti (WINE COUNTRY!!!). We visited there last weekend, and got a tour of a castle where wine and olive oil are made.. and a homemade lunch and wine tasting! It was amazing... the view of the mountain sides was BREATHTAKING, i must say. It is SO different that anything I have ever seen in the States. Enjoy the pics!

SO basically, I have so much planned for the next month or so, I know it is going to fly by. I am making the best out of every single day I have here (even though its been really rainy lately) and I cant wait for the warm weather to come!

I will definitely be posting more frequently, now that I am fully settled in and the homesickness has disappeared.

Ciao Tutti <3
Con Amore,
XoXoXo,
Jenn

Pisa & Lucca!

Sooo we went to Pisa and Lucca today, and let me tell you- what an adventure! Our bus ride to Pisa was only about an hour long- not too bad. We had to wake up at 6:30am to get to the train station in Florence by 8am... BRUTAL! The bus ride was only about an hour long.. so i obviously didnt get any chance to sleep- haha i was too busy looking out the window at the AMAZING italian countrysides. I still feel like I am living in a dream world.. lol I cant really be LIVING in italy!!! Once we got to Pisa we obviously took the typical tourist pictures, of us holding up the leaning tower.. it turns out that the tower isnt the only building leaning-- the baptistry and the church are both leaning too! how weird!! overall pisa was very very touristy- so it was nice to see, but kind of dry and crazy busy. Lucca on the other hand was absolutely breath taking. It is not a tourist town AT ALL, so we were the only americans there. there were about 40 of us there- we didnt know riding bikes around the town was mandatory.. but we ended up riding them anyway. I am sooo happy I did. The whole entire town is surrounded by "Renaissance Walls"- the best way to describe it is like a smaller version of the Great Wall of China.. that surrounds the tiny town. You have to pay to get in the town.. haha. So we rode our bikes on the wall which has like a decent size road for bikes, walkers, rollerbladers, etc., for about 2 hours. It was amazing! I realized that riding a bike will literally KICK YOUR ASS! Haha. We had amazing pizza there too, at a small pizzeria where they didnt speak any english. Ill attach a bunch of pictures to this post so you can all see!

Anywhooo- I must go eat some bread with some balsamic vinegar (my biggest weakness here so far) and then its time for bed.

I miss lil rhody sooo much, but im starting to get somewhat adjusted.
Buonanotte tutti <3
Love always,
Jenn

Week 1: McDonalds, Legal to Drink?, No Hangovers in Florence... lies

So I have been here for just over a week now. I am still home sick =( which stinks! I get sad at night just because I cant say goodnight to my parents and see my friends and my boyfriend. But, Florence is starting to grow on me. Once my homesickness is gone I'm sure i will appreciate the city much more. I haven't really been skyping that many people from home, which bums me out. But, I will get through it. I am sure May 8th will come faster than I expect.

In the past week, we managed to find a McDonalds! It was perfect for our minor hangovers last Sunday, haha. The quality of food there is wayyyy better than any McDonalds in the states. We have found our favorite bar- its called Joshua Tree Pub. Its an Irish Pub that is about 4 blocks from our apartment. We are regulars there now, the bartenders and owners love us! It's weird to get served at the bar without being carded or needing a fake ID. haha. And just when I thought terrible hangovers never happened in Florence, last night happened. Haha. I know better than to mix a bunch of different kinds of alcohol, but last night I must have forgotten about what a hangover from 5 different kinds of alcohol feels like. But, I will know better for next time!

We are going to Pisa and Lucca tomorrow for a day trip. I am sooo excited to see the leaning tower and take the typical tourist picture of me trying to hold it up. hah. I know, realistically, I wont be able to travel too much while I am here.. but I definitely want to make it to Amsterdam, maybe Ireland, Greece, and of course Rome, Venice, and maybe even Sicily!

My first week of classes wasnt too bad. I have four classes on Monday and Wednesday from 9-530pm which stinks, but Tuesday I dont start til 230pm and Thursday at 10:45am. So i do get a few days to sleep in a little.

Well, I wish I could type all night. But I'm off to hopefully watch some of my tv shows online and then call it a night.

Buonanotte tutti,
Jenn <3

Ciao Firenze!

Ciao! So this is my first post of my new blog :) I arrived in Firenze, Italia on January 13th after a looong journey from Logan Airport in Boston. My first week here has been amazing so far, but I have to say that I am extremely homesick. I am taking four classes here and one workshop, and LUCKILY I get Fridays off with no classes-- basically for traveling! My computer may be in the midst of crashing, sweeeet. So hopefully luck will be on my side and it will live atleast until May! haha.

I never realized how old Firenze is! The city is just flooded with architecture, statues, artwork, and pieces of the Renaissance-- which happened like 5 centuries ago! It is amazing to be learning about the Renaissance while living in the center of the Renaissance. Did you know that Florence was the center of the Renaissance? Neither did I, until I learned it in class today-- haha.

This picture in this post was taken by me on the Ponte Vecchio (a famous bridge in Firenze that has lots of shops on it that is basically for walking) looking out at the Alps in the distance.. SOOO PRETTY!

I miss my mama, pops, seeester, puppy, my grandparents, my friends, my bed, my toilet, DUNKIN DONUTS, among MANY other things. But im hoping it will get easier soon!

I'll be updating this again soon, until then-- arrivederci!
ciao <3>