Thursday, May 19, 2011

Adventures In...Italy: Part 1

It's been a little over a week since I've been in Italy, and I've finally found a time during my busy study abroad schedule to write up a post! I'm loving it here. Something about being in a country that is so different and beautiful is breathtaking. It was quite the long flight - 12 hours total - and I hardly got any sleep. Partially because of the time difference, and partially because of the small child in front of me who kept talking to me. We chatted about his Spiderman watch, Silly Bandz, animals, and Mario Kart. Little kids are so funny. Anyways...

Our session started with an opening tour in Rome - what a beautiful city. History textbooks definitely do not do Rome justice! Walking around town, you'll see all these incredible buildings with statues, fountains, water fountains (Rome is known for their water), and ancient ruins. I cannot describe how crazy awesome Rome is - you just have to see it for yourself.

All the people in this program are awesome. I love Gonzaga..what a great school. After seeing the Colloseum, Villa Borghese, the Pantheon, where Caesar died (right next to my hotel), and plenty of other places, it was time to head to Florence.

Florence is a beautiful city as well. It is much cozier than Rome, but still fast-paced. It'll be my home for the next month, so I've been getting used to it. I've been using the funny toilets, paying for water at restaurants, having paninis, gelato, and giant salads, wearing my gladiator sandals, and soaking up everything that I can. The fashion here...is incredible. Everyone I've seen in Italy is much more dressed up than in the States. I haven't seen a pair of flip flops or a sweatshirt on an Italian person yet! And then men and their suits - love it. It's so cute when an older man in a suit is walking a tiny dog. (My assumption is that there are so many dogs because there are so many tiny cars - and the reason there are so many tiny cars is because there are hardly any parking lots!) I'll post more on Italian fashion later. I've already gone shopping twice this week and my bank account has a lot to say for it. Haha.
All in all, this has been incredible so far. The photo above is a picture of St. Peter's Basilica - I got to see the Pope's blessing! Yes, I got to see the Pope. When in Rome, right?

It's crazy to say that I've seen the Pope...in Italy. I've eaten pasta...in Italy. I've gone shopping...in Italy. I ate gelato...in Italy. I am taking philosophy and marketing classes...in Italy. I even sneezed...in Italy.

Anyways. More "Adventures In...Italy" posts to come!


Ciao gente bella, ('till next time beautiful people!)
xo

PS- for all you Jersey Shore fans, they are here in Florence filming currently. A few of my friends have already met them. Maybe I will too... ;)

PPS- more photos to come on Flickr!

PPPS- my bestest friend in the entire world, Jenn, is graduating today! Congrats girl!

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