i left my heart in the amalfi coast...

wow--i am still in awe of how wonderful the past weekend was. we started the trip in naples, which is really just a big, dirty city. but i was really excited to try the pizza! last year i read the book 'eat, pray, love' and the author talks about this tiny pizzeria that is considered the best in naples. she goes on to say that if the best pizza in the world comes from italy, and the best pizza in italy comes from naples, and the best pizza in naples comes from this pizzeria then technically its the best pizza in the world! after the reading the book i knew i had to find this place. after a little research, i found its location and two of my roommates and i went on our search to find it. the pizzeria was totally full of locals which was another good sign. they only offered cheese pizza but it was, without a doubt, the best pizza i have ever had! it was worth the 45 minute walk to find it. 

after our delicious meal, we began our drive to mijorie, a small town on the coast next to positano. the drive was spectacular! the winding roads went through vineyards and lemon groves on one side, with a flawless view of the ocean on the other side. it was like a scene out of a movie. when we arrived in mijorie, i immediately noticed the smell of gardenias and fresh lemon in the air. the ocean breeze made the entire atmosphere seem even more unreal. in addition to the beautiful scenery, the southern italian men were just as charming. it is true what they say--southern italy is where you find the stereotypical italians who are just so friendly and love life. 

the next day we took a ferry to capri for the day. once we got there, we hopped on yet another boat to take a tour around the island and see all the grottos. it was a blast!! the weather was perfect, i was in great company, and our boat driver was an absolute italian stud! it was during the next few hours on our excursion that i officially fell in love with italy. i wish i were a better writer and were able to describe just how beautiful the views were from the boat, but words just cant describe them. 

after the boat ride, we went up to capri and spent the day eating (of course) and walking around the town. the shopping was insane! prada, gucci, stewart weitzman and one of a kind jewelry lined the streets. the best part of capri were all the dogs and cats i saw throughout the day. i wanted to take them all home with me. but i think they would rather bask in the sun and eat fish all day then come to live with me..i dont blame them! the next day we headed to pompeii to check out the volcano ruins. it was interesting but nothing could compare to capri.

i have lots of pictures to upload so i promise to get those up soon!

mom and dad went to visit bubba this past week and dad is continuing for the next few weeks on another motorcycle trip throughout the east coast! so, send some positive thoughts his way--i still get nervous when he leaves on these trips!!

mom--cant wait to see you in 2 WEEKS!!! schweebop!

lovelovelove

back from budapest and off to the amalfi coast...

sorry i haven't written sooner--the past week just flew by! 

budapest was absolutely fantastic! cory and i had no idea what we were getting ourselves into and it ended up being one of the best trips we've made. when we arrived on friday, we checked into the hostle and met ulga. she is the owner of the 'buda bubble' who we had heard so much about. from the minute we walked in, she was so warm and welcoming! she sat down with us for a good half hour and told us all about the city and where we should spend our time throughout the weekend. it was great because she encourages everyone staying in the hostle to go out together and get to know one another. she gave off such a wonderful vibe and we felt right at home. 

we spent most of friday just walking around trying to find our way around the city. that night we we decided to hop around and sample a bunch of different foods instead of doing a sit down dinner. we found a great little street that was lined with bars, restaurants and pubs all with outdoor patios lining the outsides of the streets. between the goulash, cheese french fries topped with horseradish mayo (supposedly a hungarian specialty), and various types of pickled veggies we were stuffed! while we were walking around that night we saw this guy drinking a HUGE three liter beer. cory and i decided that we had to try it! the bartenders thought it was hysterical that two girls were trying to tackle the massive drink but we were up for the challenge.  as we sat on the patio for almost two hours finishing the beer, we made SO many friends! people were constantly stopping to talk with us when they saw what we were drinking. 

the next day we decided to cross the river and walk on the buda side through the gorgeous hills. the buda side is mostly residential and totally different from the pest side. it was a beautiful day to wander through the parks and take some really fun pictures. we found an adorable coffee shop where we tried a bunch of different local coffee drinks. we became friends with the guy who worked there and he let us try the traditional hungarian liquor. it reminded me a lot of fruit infused sake--mom, you would have LOVED it! after chatting with him for a few hours, we continued our walk up to the national museum and church that looked over the parliament building. the church was one of my all time favorites! it was so different from anything that i've seen in florence. the top of it was tiled in bright colors and in the sunlight it was spectacular. by the time we finished walking the buda side, it was almost time for dinner. after a quick nap back at the hostel, cory and i went for dinner along the river to see all the bridges and buildings lit up. we decided to call it an early night because we had lots of plans for the next day.

on sunday, our first stop was at the local market. cory and i have made it part of our itinerary to see the local markets no matter where we are. its a great chance to check out all the local food and shopping. after trying even more incredible food we went to visit their synagogue. it is the largest in europe and the second largest in the world! it was unreal! i have never seen anything like it. we then went to the 'terror museum' which we had read about as being a must see when in budapest. the museum is in the building where nazi's used to live during the holocaust. our last stop of the day was to see the bath houses (hot springs) and the huge parks that surround it. the parks were filled with playgrounds and families having picnics. it was a great way to end our trip! one of the best things about this trip was that, because of the conversion, everything was DIRT CHEAP! we spent less than $100 the entire weekend, including our hostel.

with only three weeks left, school is starting to get a little hectic but my roommates and i still found time to celebrate cory's 21st birthday. it was a blast! and as for this weekend, we are leaving tomorrow for amalfi, capri, pompeii and naples. i continue to remind myself how lucky i am! 

i will post pictures as soon as i can! i hope everyone is doing well!

lovelovelove

weekend getaway to budapest...

i am SUPER excited for this weekend!! one of my roommates cory and i will be leaving tomorrow morning for a weekend trip to budapest! she is such a fabulous travel buddy and i know we are going to have an outrageous time. supposedly their food is just as yummy as italy so we cant wait to try their traditional dishes like goulash. we heard the greatest reviews from a hostel called 'the buda bubble" and were lucky enough to get a reservation. usually people book months in advance to get a spot. we were also told that things are relatively cheap in budapest but the currency conversion is bound to confuse us. i didnt realize that they are on the forint system and not the euro where 1 euro equals about 293 forint! i had a similar experience with this type of conversion when i was on my europe trip after high school. i forgot where we were, but at the ATM we each took out what seemed like an insane amount of money when in actuality it was only 50 dollars. 

while i am very excited to see a new city, everything in florence has been so fabulous that i am a bit sad to leave. the girls and i have been laying out on the local bridges in between classes to get some color. the weather has been absolutely wonderful! we are always finding new and exciting aspects to the city. florence continues to amaze me. it is impossible to go a day without seeing something that reaffirms just how lucky i am to be here. 

im sorry the pictures have not been posted yet. internet connections are still slow and i will make sure and post the link as soon as i can! i hope everyone has had a fantastic week. thank you for keeping up with my adventures!!

lovelovelove

happy easter!!

first off, i want to wish everyone a happy easter! i hope it is a fabulous day filled with lots of family and chocolate!

this weekend has been fabulous! yesterday, one of my roommates and i decided to make a day trip to chinque terre--a beautiful area north west of florence. the stretch of land on the coast consists of five towns that are all totally breathtaking. we started out at the 5th town and worked out way down the coast. we hiked from the 5th town to the 4th. the hike was really difficult! we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. the scenery was incredible because the trails take you directly along the coast line.  the 4th town (the picture above) was our favorite of the day. we decided to stop and have their specialty food which is foccacia bread with olives, pesto, onions or cheese. we tried a little of each--they were so yummy!  from the 4th town, we took a fairy past the 3rd town and directly to the 2nd. the hike from the 2nd to 1st town is a breeze compared to the hike we started the day with.the buildings in the towns were painted different vibrant colors built up against massive mountains. there are even little beaches in each location. all of the towns looked like they were straight out of the movies 'sisterhood of the traveling pants' and 'mama mia'. it was a long day but absolutely worth it. it is one of my all time favorite places--i cant wait to go back someday!

this morning, the girls and i went to an easter mass at a great church located on the other side of the river all the way on top of a hill. the church is called san minato (mom and dad--thats the one i took you to when you were here!) a great story behind the church is that during the war, michelangelo covered it with mattresses to protect it from being destroyed. san minato was one of his favorite churches so he had all the florentines carry their mattresses up the hill and tied them all together to cover the face of the church. the mass was in italian but i could piece some of it together but for the most part i was lost! as for the rest of the day, i am planning to hide easter eggs around the apartment for the girls and they are going to hide the packages that mom gave me to open on easter. could mom be any more amazing? im half way across the world and she still finds a way to bring me gifts from the easter bunny!

thats all for now but ill make sure and post pictures from the weekend as soon as possible. again, happy easter and big hugs to all!!

lovelovelove

only 5 weeks left...

everything around here has been pretty low key since spring break, which is exactly what i needed! after a fabulous week of non stop traveling, it is nice to be back "home" and catch up on sleep and school work while making time to bask in the beautiful spring time weather. the only down side to the arrival of spring is the number of tourists who have taken over florence to also experience this wonderful time of year. i was talking with a couple of locals the other day and they joked that between april and september they "forget what native italians even look like". the tourists really do just flock to the city and fill every inch of the piazzas with their obnoxious yelling and double decker tour busses. my roommates and i had no idea that florence streets were even big enough to allow for those kinds of busses! i know that i sound snobby referring to others as tourists when, in actuality, i too am a tourist in some ways-- but i try to blend into the local scene as much as possible.

everyones parents have been visiting for the past week which makes me feel a little homesick sometimes, but the upside is that i have had a wonderful meal almost every night! its fun to go out to dinner and meet parents because you are able to see why your friends act the way they do. 

school continues to go really well. history of christianity is still my favorite class! my professor is such a wonderful person and a fabulous teacher. i finished the book 'under the banner of heaven' that i was required to read as research for my paper and wow--what an interesting book. i would recommend it to anyone!

the girls and i will be spending easter weekend in florence. we are really excited because weve heard that the city has some fabulous festivities to celebrate the holiday. we are going to cook a big easter dinner on sunday night and spend monday having a picnic at one of the local parks. on the monday following easter, the entire city is pretty much closed and its a tradition to spend the entire day outside! hopefully we can even get a little tan!!

it should be a fun weekend and i will make sure to post pictures sometime next week.

lovelovelove

pictures...

here are the links for the two albums from spring break. i am still adding but for the most part, all the pictures are up!

album 1

album 2

lovelovelove

back from spring break...

the past ten days have been a total blur! my crazy spring break began on friday with a 2am trip to the secret bakery since we were already awake to catch our 3am bus to the pisa airport. after an hour bus ride, we caught our 6am flight from pisa to eidenhoven where we took another hour bus ride to amsterdam. the whole reason we took that particular flight was to save money, but at the end of the experience, i think i would have rather paid the extra money to get a direct flight from florence to amsterdam! regardless of our lack of sleep, my roommate mairin and i were so happy to finally arrive in amsterdam around 11am on friday. it was so different that i had remembered it to be! while the city has its crazy parts, the residential areas are BEAUTIFUL!!! it reminded me very much of london. the first thing we did was find this restaurant that a couple of my other roommates had told us about called "wok to walk". everyone who has been to amsterdam says this place is amazing--and i couldn't agree more! you choose from different noodles, veggies and sauces. then, they mix it all up on these big iron bowls. yum! on our last day, we went to the anne frank house which was just as interesting as i had remembered it.

from amsterdam, we took a train to paris to meet up with the rest of our roommates. the three days we spent in that city were just so fabulous. the entire time i was there i couldn't stop thinking about my mom. every little thing there reminds me of her--it is such a magical place. we did all the typical sights along with some great restaurants and shopping. i told a couple of the girls that we needed to go to the trucadero where we could get an unbelievable view of the eiffel tower and take some great pictures. the minute we got there i had the most unreal flashback from my europe trip with my friends after highschool. on that trip, we took some of the most incredible pictures! i could close my eyes and imagine my highschool friends standing right next to me. as happy as i was to be there again with my new friends, i still wished i could be back in that moment from a few years ago. while in paris, we found the most delicious macaroons at this bakery called laduree--i have never tasted anything like them! 

after paris, we took another train to bordeaux. honestly, i had no idea what to expect! but once we got there, we had a blast. the tourist office told us about a wine and cheese tasting that was only 20 euro so we couldn't say no. the tasting ended up being just our friends and it lasted 3 hours. the best part was at the end when they told us it was time for the cheese tasting. they led us downstairs to this little room FULL OF CHEESE and said, "grab a plate and help yourself." we just about died!!!!! i had never seen that much cheese in one place and i didn't even know where to begin. every single bite was a bit of heaven!!! our favorites were the cheese rolled in apricots and the fabulous selection of brie. wow--even thinking about it now makes me smile! but the best part of bordeaux was yet to come. as i said, we had no idea what to do or eat while we were there so i went online and researched some places to eat. i came across a review for a restaurant called "cafe cassolette" that sounded great so we decided to go. it was probably the best decision we made while we were on spring break! the entire meal, start to finish, was totally and completely fantastic. we decided to order off of a section of the menu that allowed each person to select 5 different dishes--all of them were served in little casserole plates. our favorites included: chicken salad with pesto, salad topped with sauteed onions and cheese, chunks of potato with melted cheese and bacon, warm bree rolled in pepper, and warm apple topped with melted white cheese. i feel 20 pounds heavier just thinking about how much we ate. honestly, if anyone ever has a chance to go to bordeaux or is even in the area, it is worth it to go in to the town  JUST TO TRY THAT RESTAURANT!!!! we loved it so much that we went back both nights for dinner. i definitely left a part of my heart at that restaurant.

we took an overnight train from bordeaux to nice which was interesting. it made the most sense based on our limited amount of time to travel, but it wasn't the most comfortable choice! regardless, we got to nice early friday morning for the last part of our spring break. it was such a relaxing and fun town. by this point in the trip, only three of us were left (the rest had gone form paris to venice). it was the first time our bodies had seen bright sunlight in months! we were blissfully happy. as we sat on the beach drinking bottles of wine, we had to pinch ourselves to make sure it wasnt a dream. we agreed that we are, without a doubt, very very lucky girls. the rest of our time in nice was spent eating great food and visiting all the adorable local markets. we had read about a local speciality called "socca"--a thin chic-pea bread. while at one of the markets, we saw a woman cooking it so we immediately got in line to try it out. of course, it was delicious. i don't think we ate anything we didnt like! thats probably the reason some of my jeans don't fit anymore--good thing its springtime and i can wear dresses!

our last train from nice to florence was a long one but i was with great travel buddies so the whole experience was perfect! once we got back to florence, i was so excited to be "home". i just love italy! i had such a sense of calm when we all walked into the apartment after a crazy ten days of traveling. all in all, spring break was an absolute success. out of 7 girls noone lost their passport, missed a train, or had anything stolen--horray!

i have a bunch of pictures to post and will have that done tomorrow so i will post the link as soon as possible!

and now it's back to classes! 4 out the 7 girls  families are visiting this week so it is bound to be busy. i can't wait to continue exploring the city and preparing for my next trips to cinque-terre, budapest, the amalfi coast, capri, pompeii, sicily and possibly a day trip to naples just to taste the pizza. with only 6 weeks left i know i have to make the most of every moment!

i hope all is well with everyone! thank you for continuing to read about my adventures!!

lovelovelove