Holiday Festivites with my Florence Friends

As I have said before one of the greatest parts about traveling is getting to meet new people. You may remember from my last trip (back in November) to Italy that I had made friends in Rome with two girls; Giada and Alice, who are originally from Florence. We have since continued to stay in touch and made plans for when they come to the states.  With the holiday break both girls had come back home to Florence and I got to meet up with them again. Giada was gracious enough to invite me over to her home to celebrate the holidays with her and her friends the real Italian way. Which consists of; great company, a first course, wine, second course, wine, cigarette break, espresso, main course, wine, cigarette break, desert, desert-wine, another espresso and of course tons of conversation. Giada was such a great host, and her friends were very welcoming. Giada’s group of friends they have an annual holiday dinner together (Something I am planning on incorporating in my life when I get back home). This is an all day event, so apologies if I am not making much sense, I am tired and still in a bit of a food coma. So the day pretty much went like this; Giada woke around 7 to get a friend at the train station, came home cooked two turkeys, along with all the other dishes, we watched Miracle On 34th Street, listened to 80s music (which is quite popular here), ate, drank wine, talked… all over about 9 hours. This was the first time Giada had cooked turkey, apparently that is only an American thing. Luckily I’ve had plenty was able to help them carve it, cause they were a bit unsure how to serve it. It was funny once they set them down on the table they stared at the turkey, said something in Italian, looked at me, looked back at the turkey and looked back at me for a cue. It was great though getting to experience a holiday in a new way.  The food was amazing! Unfortunately I am not able to share it with you but here are some pictures, sorry. I can’t wait until they come to visit in the states so I can return the favor.

 

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Merry Christmas!

I hope you all are having a Merry Christmas! This year I spent Christmas in Roma, we started the day off with a couple of cappuccinos and mass at the Vatican. It was such a great experience to attend mass by the Pope himself. I can cross that off my bucket-list (which I’m still writing). The plaza in front of the St. Peters Basilica was filled with hundreds of people from around the world all gathered to celebrate together, it was a lot of fun to look around and listen to all the different languages. But however you celebrate from my family to yours Happy Holidays ❤

 

 

Fall Break Part III -From Roma to Firenze We Go

I recently got busy with school (yes I do have class and homework for all you wondering) so I haven’t had a chance to finish sharing the rest of my fall break adventures. After Rome the girls and I took a train to Florence where we stayed for two nights. Florence is a lot more laid back and relaxed in comparison to Rome. It’s a lot smaller of a city and the people there are in even less of rush. But we didn’t complain we were very much looking forward to relaxing. Rome was a nonstop trip, with no down time. There’s just so much to see and do. Here are some photos from our last afternoon in Rome before we left for Florence.

Throwing in my last coin into the Trevi before leaving Rome

Fall Break Part II – ROMA!

One of the best parts of traveling has been meeting new people along the way. In Rome I had the pleasure of meeting Giada, Alice, and Valentina, who were born and raised in Florence, Italy. Giada currently is going to school in Rome, she study’s theater there. Her two friends Alice and Valentina were visiting for the weekend, they both are living and studying in Florence. It can be a little bit intimidating when your traveling to try and make new friends. But for me I love meeting knew people, there’s an old joke in my family that half the time we’re so friendly we could talk to trees. There’s been a few times I’ve caught my dad talking to some palm trees. None the less I think it’s important to let that guard down and just go up and talk to someone you find interesting. The worst thing that could happen is they just walk away, and you move on.

It was our first night in Rome and the nice gentleman working the desk at our hostel gave us a few suggestions of places to check out, that weren’t touristy and/or expensive. Let me tell you I’m a student ballin’ on a budget. Taking his advice a wondered in the direction he suggested and came upon buzzing streets, of bars and restaurants filled with a lot of young and hip adults. As we continued to explore we could hear live music, so naturally we followed our ears and they led us to a square where people were dancing, and playing homemade instruments. It was here where I saw Giada and Alice sitting together, and something told me “Hey, they look fun, go talk to them.” So I did. And I’m very glad that I did cause they were amazing! I don’t think there was ever a moment we weren’t laughing.

The girls were so kind enough to offer to take us out (Roman style) our last night in the city. By the time we met all met up it was around 7:30pm and the girls and I had been out walking since 10:30am, we were so looking forward to eating. But in Rome there’s no urgency for anything and they eat dinner extremely late. Which is great because back home I’m used to rushing and getting as many things done as I can in a short amount of time. However it’s not ideal when you’re starving. So us three meet up with the other three and the first thing they notice is how tired we look, and then Giada and Alice look at each other a giggle and say the reservation is at 9:00pm! Then we all laughed, note to anyone going to Rome anytime soon, carry snacks! Luckily Alice took us to an amazing Italian restaurant which was more than well worth the wait. But in the meantime Giada took us to a bar, which is apparently the usual thing to do, you go out get a drink, talk, go to dinner, drink, talk, end dinner, talk, go out, talk, drink (responsibly, ofcorse). It was truly a priceless evening, one I hope we can all come back together again and share.

The front of the resturant.

Fall Break Part I – ROMA!

My fall break consisted of 7 days, 5 cities and an endless amount of memories. From my previous post you may know our first stop was Naples, from there we took a train to Roma! Where we stayed for two nights. I had been to Rome once before about two years ago, and absolutely loved it! That trip was the first time I had ever been over seas, and without family traveling with me. I have to admit I wasn’t sure if it was going to be the same. The previous time I had been I loved it so much I didn’t want to leave. Seriously, I remember calling my mom and asking her what would happen if I stayed or “happen to miss my flight” and she reminded me that eventually I would find my funds nonexistent. But hey, a girl can dream, right?  Anyone who has been Rome can tell you that it has an ability to fill you with happiness almost like you are in a dream. I can confirm it was just as spectacular as the very first time I was there. Only only difference this time was I didn’t need a map. I was able to recall my way around, which was really neat, cause I was able to be a little tour guide to my friends. It also allowed us to branch out and to non-touristy things. None the less you still have to go visit the famous sites; the Vatican, Trevi, Pantheon, Colosseum, etc which we did. I don’t think I have every done so much walking in my life. On the full day that we were in Rome we literally walked, and I kid you not for 16 hours straight! From 10:30AM-2:30AM! Yes we stopped for a pizza, and cappuccinos here and there but we were determined to see and do it all – and we did!

Roma!

Roma my favorite place on earth! So blessed to be back!