The Beautiful Italian Island You've Probably Never Heard Of

When you think of Italian islands, names that often come to mind are Capri, Sicily, or Sardinia. While there are plenty of Italian islands, one of my favorites, Elba, lies in the Tuscan Archipelago. Think the bluest water you can imagine, delicious Italian food (one of the best paninis I've ever had was at Elba), and plenty of sunshine. Elba Island was an easy choice to choose for a weekend away during my study abroad experience, after a friend suggested it and we got a group together to go. Elba is a great place for a quick getaway, and close if you happen to be in Florence, like many students, or in the Tuscan region. 

How To Get There (From Florence)
Take a train from Florence Santa Maria Novella to Pisa Centrale. From there, take a train or bus to Piombino. At Piombino, get on a ferry to Elba Island. We stayed in Cavo, which is a small beach town on the northeast tip of the island. There are only daily ferries to Cavo, but there are hourly ferries to Portoferrario, which is more of a common town for tourists.



The only English-speaking person we encountered in Cavo was an Australian man that owned a restaurant. This was refreshing because we had just spent the previous weekend on an opening tour in Rome, and while it was beyond incredible, it was nice to get away from the hustle and bustle and all the tour groups. We went up to Portoferrario during one of the days to relax on the beach, do some shopping, and grab a bite for lunch.




Oh, and did you know that Napoleon was exiled there in 1814?

Photos: My own

alla prossima, italia

Alla prossima, Italia...

I just got back to the States a couple of days ago and have been trying to recover from pulling two all-nighters, plus a 9-hour time difference. Jet lag is back once again!

While I'm very excited to be back in my hometown and get some time to catch up with some friends I haven't seen in a while, I will still miss some things about living in Italy.

There are plenty of other places in the world I have yet to explore and am just dying to see. (Thailand? South Africa? Australia? Yesssss.) I do hope to make it back to Italy at least once more in my lifetime though! 

xo-ally

winter beach outfit in viareggio, italy

Nordstrom t-shirt (similar) | Longchamp bag | Hudson jeans | Diva Shoes Florence boots (similar) | Chanel sunglasses | Michael Kors watch | Stella & Dot bracelet | Seattle boutique bracelets | similar jacket

This is my last outfit post of 2013! Last week I went to Viareggio, a small beach town on the Italian coast. It is only about an hour and a half train ride away. (Yup, those are my pink ear buds you can see peeking out of my Longchamp...didn't realize they were showing until after the photos were taken...haha). Even though it was winter, it was only a little chilly because of the sun. It was so refreshing to be on a beach and by the water and to get away from Florence for a day.

xo-ally

instagrams from europe 2013

 

It's been quite the time here in Europe...adding 11 European countries to my list of places I've been, I've gotten to live my dream right out of college. I'm so happy I was able to make traveling happen. It was something I worked so hard to do and to figure out. I only have 10 more days until my return to the States - and I'm making it count!

European countries I have been to as of December 2013: Italy, Ireland, England, Slovenia, Croatia, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Turkey

There's still so much to see in the world. Feeding my travel bug has helped sustain it for a little, but also made it worse - I have even more travel dreams, and hope to make them happen someday.

xo-ally

follow along on instagram

photo diary: prague [nov. 28-dec. 1]

We had our last trips of the semester last weekend, and I went to Prague! Prague is a big city in the Czech Republic. It is one of my favorite places I've been to, and am hoping I make it back there for New Year's Eve! It reminded me a little of Budapest, but more colorful, pretty, and less spread out. I ate goulash and sausages, and tried a trdlnik roll (a baked roll of dough covered in cinnamon sugar). We held a pub crawl with one of the companies there one night and took everyone to a five-story club the next night. The Christmas markets were open during the day, which were fun and charming, and seemed like a perfect fit for the city's atmosphere. Oh, and they had a lot of Starbucks - so of course I filled my addiction with some iced coffee over the weekend!











xo-ally