My last three days in Florence and I still hadn't found the perfect piece of the city to bring home with me. I was staying with my roommate in a low-key but beautifully situated hotel (Hotel Benivieni) and living out our last few days. I was absolutely craving a bagel, so I headed over to Snack … Continue reading My Favorite Florence Jeweler
Hi friends! I have exactly one week left in Italy as of the time of writing this. How crazy. This month has gone by so so so quickly and I caught myself so many different times looking up at the buildings / sky / whatever in tears thinking "I am so grateful to be in … Continue reading Update From The Elusive/Distracted Nik
Hi!! I'm in Italy! My mom, stepdad and sister dropped me off and the airport. I went through security. I sat down next to a charger in my gate and thought....what now? Why? Why am I going to Italy? What am I doing? I wanted to gather up all my things, run to baggage check … Continue reading Come Hell or High Water (…or Ants)
The first time I went to Italy, something clicked. I had to go back (check out that first picture from our boat ride on the Amalfi Coast...how could you not fall in love!?). I applied to study abroad in Florence for the following spring and two years later, I'm heading back again.
I was fortunate enough to study abroad in Italy twice throughout my four years in college – I spent five weeks in Pisciotta, a small mountaintop town near Salerno, and a semester in Florence, the cultural mecca of Italy. I hold both experiences very close to my heart and fell in love with both places for different reasons but I feel I need to make a case for venturing off the beaten path and going to a small, unknown (to tourists, at least) town.
Although I graduated from college last May, I didn’t let that stop me from taking a spring break! Lol, my best friend is still in college so I joined her on her spring break to Barcelona. I hadn’t left the country in probably two years so I was really nervous but it was SUCH a great time!!! Below is a bunch of my favorite things I did there!
I studied abroad for the spring semester of my junior year and fell in love with the city and culture. I have spent my fair share of Saturdays in Florence, and have come up with a pretty sure-fire way of spending them. Florence, especially on the weekends, is always buzzing with tourists and locals, so it’s best to head out of your hotel/airbnb/etc with a plan in mind so you see as much as you can! Here’s my list of what makes Florence so unique:
