Nighttime at PlusFlorence

What buckets for 15 Euro?!  Im down every night. 

 The view from our Rooftop - no camera could capture how amazing it really is. Just send me your eyeballs and ill try to show you. 

Cooking in Florence!

So today we woke up early and had to find some kind of fan. Its way to hot to function. Our advisor at school recommended a place so we set out on the cobblestone streets. After we got a fan we also found some cases of water much cheaper then what we have been paying so we stocked up. (This is a bit of a boring post so far sorry... fans... water...) 

Then we decided to go food shopping! wooooo. We headed to a place called COOP but of course no one at our hotel knew how to get there so we just winged it from google maps and decided to try taking the Florence Buses. Well let me tell you they are the most confusing things ever. Could not find where to get a card to get on the bus, then we found some machine that either gave us bus tickets or a parking pass... still am unsure. When you get on the bus they dont take the ticket from you, its more like an honor system - you're supposed to validate it then you're good. Well we were not sure if ours were validated blah blah blah and we just rolled with it. 

We got to the supermarket and had a field day stocking up on stuff for tonight's dinner and for some stuff to survive on. 

I also bought this pizza/ focaccia bread for lunch at the bakery section in the store. IT WAS DELICIOUS. It was mozzarella cheese/sauce/prosciutto. Seriously thinking about going back tomorrow just to get this. Mouth watering now..... Oh I also was trigger happy and took a bite before taking a picture sorry :) 

We went back to the hotel and hung out at the pool and then the rooftop terrace before making a feast!!!
Some tomatoes/mozzarella to start us off, then pene pesto, string beans with some olive oil and garlic and some kind of meat skewers. They looked good so we got em. All of it topped with a few cocktails made for a perfect dinner.

Heading out to the rooftop bar now to have a few drinks and look at the city! Ciao Ciao

Found This!

Forgot to include this last night! Last night as we were just strolling around Florence we stumbled across a carousel  in the middle of a Piazza, of course I could not resist. I paid my euro and hopped on while the crowd around it stared at me. But I mean who can say they they rode a carousel in Florence! Probably alot of people, but I just had too haha!

Florence - The City of Music

After not getting much sleep from a mixture of the sweltering heat and the celebrating of the Soccer game, we woke up bright and early to go to orientation for Lorenzo de Medici. Finally young people speaking english! 

We were in and out of sessions all morning and afternoon and I had to take a placement test for my Italian class. 

After we took a siesta and then strolled around Florence! I also finally got a working phone to use so now I can keep in touch with my family not only over skype. 

Around dinner time we found this really good restaurant close to our Hotel called Osteria All'Antico Mercato. We had a huge portion of fresh bruschetta with fresh mozzarella and olives! nomnomnom and then I had some Gnocchi with a blush tomato sauce. The place is fantastic and we are definitely going to be going back. 

After dinner we decided to put down a map and just walk. We strolled around The Duomo and walked into a Opera performing outside of it. It was amazing just sitting and watching them. We then strolled down a street and were standing outside a church while a choir was performing inside. Every turn we made there was some kind of live performance. 

We got some gelato of course! I decided to try the Panna Cotta flavor and almost died of happiness. Literally scoffed it down and looked like a child the way I was covered in it. Just as we finished the gelato we got to the Ponte Vecchio one of the most magnificent bridges in all of Florence. We sat and took in the live band playing across the street and just admired the city. I cant believe how amazing this city is. 

Arrivederci Rome! Ciao Florence!

Our final day in Rome! One afternoon left to fit in Vatican City then off to Florence.

First off. Let me reiterate how hot it is here. Plus we wore pants because you have to cover your shoulders and your knees in order to get into the Sistine Chapel and St. Peters Basilica.

First we went into the Vatican Museum aka the maze to the Sistine Chapel. Tons of sculptures, tapestries, paintings, and murals paved a path to the Sistine Chapel. 

 Finally we got to the Sistine Chapel. Of course I broke the rules and had to snap a pic of the ceiling. I never knew how many paintings were on the ceiling, I just thought it was The Creation of Adam. The room was chilly and eerie and you were not allowed to speak. I had chills running across my body as I saw it. 




After we left the Sistine Chapel we went to the cafeteria ( I KNOW HOW COULD I HAVE FALLEN FOR A MUSEUM  LUNCH IN ITALY) It was terrible. That is all. 

Aww look at me in front of St Peter's Basilica with my awkward arm pose. Its just wonderful. The entrance of the Basilica is one of my favorite things. Seeing all the statues around it guarding it, and to imagine how long they have been there watching over this sanction its just incredible.

Once we were inside the Basilica I couldn't help but feel so overwhelmed. It is enormous and floor to ceiling marble.  Inside we saw The Pietà and Pope John Paul II tomb. The Basilica is so grand that you can spend hours just walking around admiring the architecture and attention to detail .

After Vatican City it was the end of our trip to Rome! This is where the day got eventful. Living in another country where English is not the main language is hard enough, but trying to run around a train station wondering where your train was while no one spoke english was the most stressful experience ever! When we finally found the train, we had to lug our 7 pieces of luggage on down these tiny aisles bumping into everyone on the way. The train itself was great and after we settled in the next two hours were amazing. The scenery as we travelled was breathtaking. Rolling hills, vineyards, farms, mountains and small towns passed along side of me on our way to Florence. I can not wait to take the train again, with less luggage! 

Once we were in Florence we settled into our apartment ( home for the next 4 weeks! ) Its located in a Hostel which is beautfiul. We have a pool, poolside bar, restaurant, club, rooftop terrace at our disposal. The only negative thing is the AC is not working at all and we are about to hit a heat wave in Florence with temps at about 105 for this coming weekend! Other then that the city is beautiful, after we ate at the hotel restaurant - and caught some of the Italy - Germany Soccer game - we sat on the Rooftop Terrace overlooking the entire city and Tuscany. 

I am so happy to be here! 

Rome Day 2!

We went to the ruins in the morning and saw the Roman Forum, you can spend the whole day there just exploring. PS. IT WAS SO HOT THIS DAY! Literally was just one giant sweat ball. I also realize how awkward I am starting to look in these pictures... oh well!

After the forum we headed to the Pantheon, which may be one of my favorite things I have seen so far... Even though I keep saying that after I see something new. This was just amazing though. The architecture was amazing, the sculptures and paintings were amazing and the whole on the dome was amazing. I could not wrap my head around how this structure was built so long ago. I could just sit there all day and still be amazed.

From the Pantheon we walked over to Piazza Navona. It was one of the most beautiful Piazza's I have ever seen, not that I have seen so many haha. The buildings around it were all different colors and the fountain in the center was just as impressive as the Trevi Fountain. We had lunch on recommendation again at Tre Scalini (Thank you Lois for all of these!!!) I had a carpaccio panini with arugula, parmesan cheese and olive oil. It was AMAZING. Followed by their famous Tartufo it was a great lunch.

We went back for our daily siesta ( my only sleep source) and then headed out to Campo Dei Fiori to eat at La Carbonara which was recommended to us by one of the workers at the hotel. Obviously by the title I had to order the Carbonara sauce, and it did not disappoint. It was delicious I ate the entire thing. We also had great appetizers. Fried Zucchini Flowers stuffed with Mozzarella and Anchovies. DELICIOUS.

After dinner and a nice bottle of Rose wine. We found an american bar called The Drunken Ship. It was alot of fun, bartender was from NY and people were singing Karaoke. If we were staying in Rome any longer I can see this as my favorite place to go out.

Rome Day 1!

I decided to start blogging about my trip, mostly for myself so I can remember everything that happens.

Since I am behind about 5 Days this will be a very long post...

The flight to Rome was a nightmare for me. I stayed awake the entire time while John and Fred slept. It was miserable. We got off of the plane and were greeted by the amazing city of Rome.

We went to our B&B (basically a private apartment) and one of the owners gave us a map and planned out the days for us. The first day we went to the Colosseum first, it was amazing. How a structure like this is still semi-standing today is amazing. Its the oldest thing I have ever seen and I was just in awe at the size and detail of it.

We ate lunch at a small cafe outside of the Colosseum and I had a simple caprese panini, it was wonderful. We went back to the room for a little nap since I was going on little sleep.

Later we walked around the streets and went to the Trevi Fountain. Seeing it in person was insane, and I of course threw my coins in making a wish.

That night we ate at a small restaurant outside the Trevi and I had some delicious pasta. Pene Arrabiata. Also ordered our first legal drink! A bottle of white wine with dinner.

We went to a nice gelateria on a recommendation and I got Carmel Gelato. I don't think my mouth was ready for something so delicious. I could probably just survive on that for the next 5 weeks. After our stomaches were full and our feet were killing us, we headed back to our room... Where I thought I would get a nice sleep.

Side note - I had left my phone on EST so I can see what time it was home to talk to my parents - even though my phone is not working over seas.

I wake up look at the phone and notice its 4:30am. Thinking its still EST I wake John and Fred up and tell them we need to start getting ready for breakfast. They proceed to yell at me and say its 4:30am Italy time. I was so jet lagged and delirious and stayed up the rest of the night.


So Day 2 of Italy started with no sleep at all again and I had no concept of time whatsoever haha.