With the next few months being booked up with travel, visitors, and other plans, I have stayed put in Florence this past week or so taking advantage of as much as I can while having to deal with some rainy Tuscan weather.

And after spending the last weekend in Rome, I was able to enjoy some more Florentine specialties this week.

On Monday night for my Cultural Literacy course, my professor brought our class out to what he considered to be some of the best pizza in the entire city. There was definitely some hesitation when he let us know that the name of the restaurant was “Pizza Man” and not something a little more authentic sounding, but the final product definitely held it’s own against some of the best options we’ve tried so far.

I’m not sure that any of my friends or I really knew what we were getting ourselves into, but when we saw the opportunity to check out a different kind of show we jumped at the opportunity. The show we went to was called “Nabucco,” a retelling of a biblical story through an opera that was written over 150 years ago. 

With a good group of friends, old and new, with me for every new destination we set our sights on, it makes me feel pretty good about the fact that I won’t see a full Florence weekend again for quite some time. 

I’d like to close with another line my Cultural Literacy professor dropped on our pizza night out. In talking about pizza’s history, he admitted that the history of its creation is a little murky (The French and Greeks may also have some claim). The Italians may not have been directly involved with inventing it, but that wasn’t really a worry to him.

“Italians may not have actually invented pizza. But like everything else, they certainly made it better.”

Arrivederci for now.

(For more pictures, check out my Facebook)

I am currently writing this blog post from our Via Del Moro living room absolutely exhausted from a blast of a weekend in Rome.

I’ve made it outside of Florence twice technically with school trips since arriving a few weeks ago, but planning a trip by ourselves with a big group was all the more satisfying (I’m such a world traveler, I know).

But in Rome we were able to see as many of the main sights as possible within the 48-hour window we were working with. On Friday, we were able to see all of Vatican City and its museum which ended up at the Sistine Chapel. And having already seen the chapel before in my life, I was amazed with how much it was still able to take my breath away. There was a strict no photo policy, but it’s safe to say that Pat was still able to sneak in a selfie with the ceiling in the background anyway.

On Saturday we took a huge walking tour that they offered right out of our hostel. It really seemed like it hit every monument and cool spot in the city that you would want to see, but our tour guide Lucas may have been the best part of the whole thing. Born in Brazil, fluent in five languages, and now working at a Roman hostel definitely made his perspective on some things very interesting, and his historical knowledge was one that may just rival that of my brother Ralph's. (Just kidding, Ralph.)

But what made our weekend in Rome so unforgettable were the two nights we had as a group when the sun went down. My spaghetti carbonara at Da Tony's in Rome's Trastevere district was one of the best meals I've had since getting to Italy. The whole atmosphere of the restaurant and area just felt so purely a part of the city, and it was a nice added bonus that the owner seemed so happy to have a big group that he brought out more and more wine bottles as soon as our glasses were half empty.

The Roman nightlife was a blast too as every big piazza and street was beaming with life from the start of dinner until all the late night stops closed down. The first bar we stopped at Saturday night, a classic gathering spot for visitors called The Drunken Ship, was packed with people drinking, dancing, and even playing beer pong in the corner (a nice American throwback). Within five minutes of arriving, Kevin, Pat, and I were splitting a pitcher of Sex on the Beach...it just seemed like the appropriate "When in Rome" kind of thing to do.

And when Kevin met up with us in the piazza after about twenty minutes of dancing, he immediately taught the guitar player a few new chords that let him play some Beatles songs to end our late night experience together.

But after our fun in Piazza Navona we continued on throughout the city to keep finding as many of the spots we remembered from walking around. Finding the Trevi Fountain again, which strangely had no other visitors around it for the majority of the time we were there, was the best though. Sitting on the steps and taking in the fountain and the surrounding area just by ourselves in the middle of the night nears the top of the list of most surreal moments I've had so far this semester.

It has now been about two and a half weeks since I arrived in Florence for my semester abroad, and it is now finally just starting to sink in that I am not really just a tourist vacationing in a new country. Yes, I can still get picked out as an American from a mile away, but it has definitely become more of a reality that the next three months of my life will be spent exploring and taking in as many aspects of a different culture as I can.

And on the eve of our weekend trip to Rome, I was looking at my calendar of events for the next few months and decided to do a quick count. As of last Thursday, I had exactly 100 days left in my young study abroad journey. Knowing that might not really change anything, but it does put my time here in another perspective. 

I have 100 days to see as many cities and countries and try as many new things across Europe. And at the same time, I'm still here in my new city working to immerse myself into Florentine life as much as I can.

 I’m beyond excited to continue on with these adventures, and I can't wait to keep sharing them in turn with as many people as I can.

After two full weeks in Florence, there are times that it seems like it was just yesterday since I said goodbye to family and friends and there are times where it feels like I've been living in my new city for months. All I do know is that I have officially been here long enough to fall in love with Nutella, something I don't plan on eating scarcely this semester from now on.

These past seven days have been another jam-packed week of seeing new sights and figuring out where the real best spots in this city are hiding, starting with a few day trips outside of the city itself. Our first stop last Friday was to Villa Vignamaggio in Chianti, the vineyard that has hosted Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa, the wine that it's named after, and a good hundred drunk spiders covering the centuries-old walls.

The next day we were able to sign up for a bus trip to the nearby towns of Siena and San Gimignano. Siena, in a word, was gorgeous. In a way it almost seemed like a mini Florence with a large Duomo of its own and some more amazing Tuscan views, but it had its own special charm about it that definitely makes me want to return one day. After a quick tour of the main square, the Duomo, and the Museo Civico, five of us decided to climb massive bell tower in Palazzo Publico to try and get the best view of the city we could. It didn't disappoint.

If there was any time where the rain really got in the way last weekend though it was in San Gimignano, but we were still able to take in the whole visual impact it had to offer. And since that it has been another crazy week going to classes and somehow still getting lost coming back to the apartment from different spots in the city.

For even more pictures, if you haven't seen them yet, please check out my Facebook page where I'll be posting the best hundreds of photos out of the thousands that I do take.

To close this chapter though, I'd like to share I line given by one of my favorite professors on the trip so far, who is so far great with one-liners that can sound both randomly strange and beautifully philosophical at the same time. When asked about tips for navigating the city, he said, "For Italians, the quickest way from point A to point B is never a straight line. There is always a much prettier way."

Arrivederci for now.

As I write this post regrouping from my first full week of classes, I finally feel like I have enough time to breathe and reflect a little bit on my past and future experiences so far in Florence.

For starters, as mentioned in my last brief post, this past week has been an incredible amount to take in. It has kept bringing me back to the way I felt freshman year in college where everyone was just looking to meet new people and try new things as often as they could. That being said, so much has happened this first week that it has felt more like a month. It's still a blessing every time I make it back to my apartment without getting lost but I am already getting comfortable calling Florence my home for the next four months.

Classes have been a great experience so far. My schedule is surprisingly more busy than I had anticipated, but the routine in itself is enough to help these days feel a bit more normal. And it helps that I can honestly say I love all of my subjects and teachers. It has been inspiring to hear about some of their experiences that have led them to teach American students in Florence, and the cultural miscommunications are always funny for both parties. Some highlights:

• My entire Sociology of Art class got to experience our professor's mind being blown in front of us as we explained to him who and how popular a cartoon named Spongebob Squarepants was.
• In an attempt to translate the Italian phrase, "Once you have seen Naples, you can die happy," our European Union professor shared a more ominous, "You go to Naples, and, how you say, you die." This was followed up by, "Luxembourg is very boring. There is a bridge in Luxembourg that is very famous. For suicide. Because of all the boredom."
• After letting out a loud laugh in our first cultural workshop, the professor asked if that was how my laugh sounded normally. After confirming that it was, he nodded and let me know that that will just be one more thing to add to the list of things that will make me stand out here.

The stairs leading up to the the top of both were wide enough to fit maybe one fat  guy, which made things difficult when too many people would collide trying to go up and down. But each view was like something out of a postcard.

We also made it up to Piazzele Michelangelo which is on the other side of the River Arno from our apartment and quite a ways up some Florentine hills but also provided one of the best city views I've ever seen. What makes me most excited about exploring new spots and finding new exciting areas is the prospect of sharing them when friends and family come to visit. Hopefully by the time my first guest stops by I'll be able to plan a full itinerary of the best places to go and see.

It's been difficult finding consistent breakfasts that we're used to (They're not big on that over here so we've been relying a good amount on cereal and pastries from cafes when we're on the go) but the lunch and dinner options have been reliably amazing. My most authentic experience so far has been at a panini shop near one of our campuses called The Prosciuterria. On the way back to our apartment, Kevin and I stopped in and tried the store's namesake with some mozzerela. Our waiter immediatley grabbed some meat the size of my abdomen that was hanging from the wall, butchered it in half, and sliced about a quarter pound of it onto my sandwich. It's safe to say I'll be stopping by there pretty often.

Needless to say, thank you again for stopping by. To my friends, I can understand that with so many people we know studying somewhere else beautiful in the world, one more blog may come off as white noise. But it has been all of your support and best wishes that have helped to make the transition into a new place all the more easier.

Expect my next post to cover this weekend's day trips that we have coming up. Tomorrow we are heading to Chianti for a tour of the city and some of it's vineyards (Hopefully the expected rain will hold off for a bit) and then to Siena and San Gimignano for the entire day Saturday.

Arrivederci for now.

I have been thinking about how to frame my first blog post from Florence since I arrived Wednesday afternoon, but the overwhelming nature of our first few days in a new country has left me too in awe to really focus in on one specific matter.

To start things off though, I'll share a little about our Via Del Moro apartment in Florence's historical center.

The neighborhood we're in seems like a great location. We're in the midst of busy streets a few blocks away from the Duomo and the Arno River. We're also only a few blocks away from Palazzo Rucellai, which is where about half our classes will be held when we start Monday.

Our apartment itself, after a considerable stair climb, is the perfect setup for everything we'll be needing for this semester including a full kitchen, a living room with a couple couches, two bathrooms, and four bedrooms for the seven guys who will be living here for the spring. Not pictured below is a picture of our balcony (Which is strangely where our washing machine is located) overlooking the apartment complex's center because I keep forgetting to take a picture of it during the day.

If you're reading this then you are probably a good friend considerate enough to check out my study abroad blog. Well hey, thanks for stopping by!

There are now less than 24 hours until I board my flight to Florence for four months of studying abroad with some of my best friends. Although the stress and anxieties that come with leaving the country for a semester are in full swing, the excitement that comes with the new possibilities and exploration overseas are still the dominant feeling.

Thankfully, I have already crossed a the majority of items off of my pre-departure list including:

• Enjoy some last meals from Taco Bell, Garden Catering, Little Nick's Pizza, and my mom's home cooking.
• Return sweatshirts and other clothing items to friends before they collect dust in my closet for four months.
• Take Chaseman for one last walk to Cranbury Park (Him getting lost from me for a good 10 minutes provided enough dog excitement for a semester, too).

What may be making me the most anxious is that there may not be much to do except play the waiting game now until my flight tomorrow. Granted, my final suitcase packing list still needs to be scrutinized by everyone in my family at least one more time before it makes the final cut, but hopefully that process shouldn't be too stressful.

With many more updates to come, thanks again for checking out my blog! Arrivederci for now.