From Paris, With Love

So I know that I finished up my trip almost two weeks ago, but I almost forgot to write a blog post on my last traveling adventure. Paris.

Of course, like every other little girl in the world, I have always wanted to go to Paris. Trust me, Paris did not disappoint. While we were driving into the city, one of the first things we saw was the beautiful twinkling Eiffel Tower. Little did I know the Eiffel Tower only twinkles once every hour for three minutes. It was a beautiful sight. Driving through the city, I felt a little more at home. I saw a couple Starbucks, the streets seemed to be filled with life, and it honestly felt like I had just jumped into a storybook.

I didn't get to spend quite as much time here as I would have hoped. However, the time I did spend here was not wasted. It was filled with good food, amazing sights, and adventures I only imagined in my wildest dreams.

Since we were in Paris our first stop had to be to the Eiffel Tower, because you really can't go to Paris and NOT go to the Eiffel tower.

We unfortunately did not get to go up into the Eiffel Tower but the view was still amazing.

I just can't get over the fact that I actually saw the Eiffel Tower.

Our next stop was the Louvre. Again, we didn't go inside but we saw the outside, which was pretty grand.

One place I wanted to see was the Locks of Love Bridge (Pont des Arts). I knew the bridge had started to collapse so I wanted to see it while it was still around. It was a pretty cool sight.

That night we returned to the Eiffel Tower to watch the sunset and see the Eiffel Tower twinkle.

This is a picture of it when we first got there. I love how the sun made the pink streaks across the sky. It was gorgeous.

When it got a little darker, the sight was absolutely enchanting.

A picture of my mom and I right after the sun had set.^
Then finally, it was completely dark. This was the sight I had been waiting for...

Of course, since it's a picture you cannot really see the twinkle. So hear it is:

The next day we went to the Louvre again. It was on the way to where we were going next so we stopped by to see the beautiful building again. While we were there the second time, there were what seemed to be wedding photos taking place. It looked incredibly romantic. There were pigeons and they looked super in love. Unfortunately that was a lie, they were magazine models and they were just having a photo shoot. :( That could have been an extremely romantic photo shoot. The day was wonderful for taking pictures, as well.

Next we walked down to Notre Dame. Unfortunately, I did not meet Quasimodo.

The outside was spectacular, but not quite as spectacular as the inside:

The windows were grand and it was absolutely enchanting. One of the windows from the outside:

Later we returned to the Louvre in the hope of getting inside to see the Mona Lisa and the other magnificent works of art. Sadly, when we got to the beginning of the line they cut it off and said there would be no more sales. :( I never got to see the inside of the museum. When I go back, that will be my first stop. I love art museums and it breaks my heart that I didn't get to enjoy one of the most iconic art museums in the world.

When we realized we could not enter the Louvre, we decided to see the Arc de Triomphe. We rode the metro down to Champs-Elysees (I forgot to mention the metro was a pretty awesome experience as well.)

We walked down the Champs-Elysees, and at the end was the grand Arc de Triomph. The Arc was a tribute to Napoleon by himself to commemorate his victories. So it was pretty incredible.

After that, we walked along Champs-Elysees to shop and have dinner. This was the last thing we did in Paris. It was totally worth it. 

Now that I've talked about all of the sights, I HAVE to take a moment to talk about the food. My god, the food. Imagine the best food you've ever had, then multiply that by 10. The food was amazing. I don't think I've ever had food that rich and wonderful. French onion soup (obviously) is the best in France. Everything was made to perfection and I miss the food so much.

Paris may have been my favorite stop. I fell in love with this city and I regret that I didn't spend quite enough time here. I cannot wait to return, because I have already made the decision that I WILL return. :)

"No matter what the new season brings, we'll always have Paris."

**On a final note, thank you so much to everyone who has read my blog. I hope I did Italy and France justice. It really is a wonderful place and I was absolutely thrilled to write about it. Finally, a special s/o to my wonderful boyfriend Jared Mann who encouraged me during my entire trip and religiously read my blog. You really are the best.

Arrivederci Italia!

Yesterday I had to say goodbye to beautiful Italia. I spent my last few days in the wonderful country in Rome. Rome was a great place. I was in awe of the ruins. It's crazy how something so old is able to stay standing for such a long period of time. Vatican City was also a great experience. Walking through the Sistine Chapel was truly an experience. My last full day in Rome was filled with sight seeing. I slept in and after eating a huge breakfast at our hotel, we got started with our day. We began with some shopping. This was probably one of the most relaxing days to me. It was nice to just walk around and enjoy the city. Especially on my last day in Italy. We started our sight seeing in the late afternoon that day. Around 4:30 we began the long trek to the Trevi Fountain. Unfortunately, the Trevi Fountain was having some work done to it. That didn't stop me from throwing a coin in the fountain though...

This is what dreams are made of. 

After the Trevi Fountain, we were close to the Pantheon. We continued on to stop there. If you don't
know much about the Pantheon, it's an ancient Roman ruin that has been preserved wonderfully. The building was a Basilica and now holds a couple tombs including tombs of the first king of Italy and the artist Rafael. It has a huge hole in the center. My first question was, "What happens when it rains?" Luckily, a lady next to me was explaining it to her son. There's holes in the floor that act like drains. When it rains the water is collected here so the place doesn't flood.

On our way back we stopped in a mall. Honestly Italy just does malls so much better than us. 

That's stained glass ceilings. It was pretty fantastic. On my last half day in Rome we spent the day shopping. On our way back to the hotel I found the Opera House!

That's all of my adventures in Rome. We left yesterday and now I'm in wonderful Paris. It's so easy to fall in love with this city, and I wish I could stay here longer. I will post tomorrow about all of my Paris adventures! Bonne nuit!

When in Rome...

First off, I would just like to mention that the post I just posted before this was supposed to be posted yesterday and for whatever reason didn't upload. :( Sorry!

Rome is magnificent. That's all I can say. Today I had the great honor of going to Vatican City. We first saw the museum which included the Sistine Chapel (Capella Sistina) which is more amazing than you can imagine.  I sadly was not allowed to take any pictures, but I did take a couple of the museum. This is just one: 

It really shows how incredible the detail is in the art here. I was in awe. We also went to the St. Peter's Basilica which was also an incredible site...

Look at that detail!!!

We got to see the legendary Pietá inside the chapel...

After resting a bit at home, we stopped by the Spanish Steps in the evening. It was quite a sight. 

(Even though it was under construction. Tomorrow I get to explore Rome some more and get some shopping done. In less than a week I'll be back in the States! Although I will miss this place a ton I am so excited to see all my friends and family again. :) I miss you all.

Ciao Firenze!

I know I haven't posted in awhile. To be honest I've had little to no time. I had finals and then my parents got here and everything started to rush by when I realized I hadn't posted in awhile. Right now I'm on the train leaving the city and I am incredibly sad. After living in Florence for almost a month, it saddens me to leave that beautiful place. However, as I said before, I will return to Florence. I have made that promise to myself and the city that I will definitely return. Until then I can give a little recap of everything I've done in the past few days... Which was A LOT. 

Thursday was a quick day. I had tons of studying to do so I didn't actually get to do much. I went to an event at the fashion school in FUA. It was tiny, but the apertivos were amazing and the company was even better.

I've realized I have a warm place in my heart for macaroons. They are slightly amazing. 

Friday was my last day studying at Florence University of the Arts. It was surreal and it went by WAY too quickly. I started out the day by going to see one of the most incredible pieces of art in history. Michelangelo's David. It really was incredible. 

I finished up my Sustainability course with my final and last cooking lab. As I was leaving my adorable teacher told the class to add her on Facebook. Of course I did as soon as I got home. She's a pretty avid facebooker. She tagged me in a bunch of pictures from my class. I was pretty impressed with her Facebook skills. 

After I finished the class we had a farewell dinner, my friends and I decided to explore Florence one last time beforehand. We enjoyed a glass of wine by the Palazzo Vecchio while listening to a musician play some music next to us. It was a great way to finish off my last day with them. 

The next day was a marathon. I had to be out of my apartment by 10 am (not a problem) BUT I couldn't check into my room until 2pm..... MAJOR problem. One of my friends ended up getting stuck in Florence for the night so I offered for her to stay with me. She helped me find my hotel and rode with me in the cab. I probably would've had a meltdown if she wasn't there. When we got to the hotel they let us store our stuff there until we could check in later on. Everything ended up working out and it was grand! When my parents got there I showed them around Florence. There was a lovely symphony outside that was absolutely enchanting.

On Sunday I didn't do too much. I just enjoyed a relaxing day. Trust me, it was very much needed! However, on Monday I started all of the adventures. I climbed the Tower at the Palazzo Vecchio and I was able to view the city from a great vantage point. 

This is what I climbed:

It was pretty cool to see the city from that angle. 

Tuesday was my last full day in Florence. I tried to get in as much as I possibly could in the 12 hour period I was in the city. I started the day with mass in the magnificent Duomo.

After mass I decided to climb the bell tower of the Duomo. It was about ten times more amazing than the view from the Palazzo Vecchio.

After that I went to see the David... Again... (It's just so majestic I just had to see it again before I left.) :)

I stopped by the Boboli Gardens as well. Although I didn't get to see to much of it I promised myself I would go back when I have a sufficient amount of time to look at everything. It's just too gorgeous to try and fit into 30 minutes. 

Can you imagine this being your back yard?! Lucky Medici's... The final adventure I went on yesterday was to climb the Duomo. Let me tell you, it was an adventure. There were so many stairs! However, it was totally worth it. 

I went to Ganzo one last time as I said goodbye to the city I loved. :( Today I tragically had to leave. It was a terrible feeling. :(

I took a walk and said bye at the gates to the city. 

There is a bright side though... Now I'm in Rome. :) it is BEAUTIFUL. I went to the Colosseum today. It was amazing. 

I can't think of another way to describe it. Here's a picture of my dad and I at the Roman ruins.

 

That's all I really have! Good night everyone! 

Just kidding, good day everyone!

ALMOST THERE.

I finished one of my classes today! I got a 97% on my presentation and I am so ecstatic about sleeping in tomorrow. I will sleep in forever, I promise. So I know I didn't post yesterday, but I went to some of the coolest places. First, I went to Lucca. Lucca is a city that demonstrates a "built environment". A "built environment" is a city that has everything within walking distance so you don't actually have to drive anywhere. Lucca is surrounded by a wall for protection. In the past, Florence and Sienna would frequently fight. Lucca built the wall surrounding the city to protect itself from any attack on their town. Now, they have a park ontop of the wall where you can walk or ride a bike. It's actually a really cool sight.

Also, we found a restaurant that had a chef with an AWESOME name:

Lucca was beautiful and a peaceful break from busy Florence. After walking around and shopping in Lucca for a few hours we headed to Pisa to take pictures at (of course) the Leaning Tower of Pisa. 

I had to take a stereotypical picture so I have one of me blowing a kiss (and blowing over) the Tower. 

I capped off my night with an iced coffee before finishing my assignments and heading to bed. 

This morning I had a presentation bright and early. My presentation was on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention relating to the Mediterranean Diet. I did a section on diabetes and if you ask me I will tell you all of the benefits to eating a Mediterranean Diet for diabetes prevention. Before our presentation my group and I went and got coffee at our favorite spot (where I got the iced coffee above) and prepared for the presentation. My friend got a cappuccino and they decorated it with the symbol of Florence:

With all of my assignments due today I didn't get to do much in Florence. However, after my last class I finished off my night with a wonderful Japanese Iced Tea. AKA one of the coolest drinks ever. 

I can't believe the program is almost over. I wish I could stay here longer and every day that passes I get more and more upset about going home. That being said, I can't wait to see you all. I've missed everyone terribly. :)

Crunch Time...

Most of my day today I spent studying. That sounds awful when I say it. However, to be honest I don't mind studying in Florence. There really isn't a bad place to sit and get some work done. Also, our school's buildings are so beautiful it would be a shame to NOT use them. For example, this is where I studied today: 

I studied on a terrace over looking the river. I really don't think you can beat that. This was the area below me:

You can't see the whole thing but that tree in the middle is the only existing palm tree in Florence. On the first day our teacher took us to the highest peak in Florence and had us find the palm tree. It was like a Florentine "Where's Waldo". On a completely unrelated note, I was the first one to find the palm tree. No big deal or anything. Another awesome thing about the school... We have a dog that just roams around the courtyard. He's pretty chill. He just sleeps all day. Not too much of a guard dog, but whatever he's adorable. 

He just loves that Florence sun... On my way back from our library there was a carriage parked in front of the Duomo. I thought it would make for a pretty candid photo so I nonchalantly took a picture as I walked by so I wouldn't be that annoying person that causes 20 people to run into each other.... This is the picture I got:

Honestly, props to this guy. He not only successfully photo bombed my picture, but it's actually not a bad picture. It's kind of cool with the horse in the back. Sorry guy, if I knew you I'd totally tag you on Facebook. This is pretty profile pic worthy. 

I don't know if I've mentioned Fedora yet but it's our school's bakery, (this school is also a culinary school so you know it's amazing) but I successfully had all three meals today at the school. 

Breakfast:

Yeah, I was totally sick from all these sweets after.

Lunch: 

 DELICIOUS.

Dinner was at the school restaurant and I did not take a picture of it unfortunately... However, I had a zucchini flower and roasted red pepper risotto. It was amazing. I did take a picture of my dessert though...

By the way, a special note to my parents and my aunt... I will be taking you here when you come to Florence... And you will love it. I guarantee it. 

Also, we have a meal plan at this school kind of like the dorm meal plan. Except instead of crappy buffet food THIS is the stuff I can get on my meal plan. Yeah. You can go ahead and be jealous now.

For one of my classes today we went to a grocery store. At grocery stores in Italy you can also get bulk items like you can in the US... It Italy though THIS is a bulk item:

 WHO NEEDS THIS MUCH OLIVE OIL. SERIOUSLY THOUGH.

 That's really all I have for today, but as a final note here is the gondola picture I promised: 

 

Candid. Flawless. Perfect. Good night.