When I took my first art history class, I didn't really know what art history was but I was pretty sure that I wouldn't like it. Five courses later, hours memorizing titles, artists, years and mediums, and countless visits to museums all over the glob in search of seeing the works I learned about in … Continue reading Not an Art Historian? A Beginner’s Guide to the Uffizi Gallery
(A Bar for Everyone) So you're in Florence, you've seen all the museums and gawked at the Duomo and ate as much pasta as your stomach can handle. So now, let's get down the the real important stuff: drinking. Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance, is also a major hub for Italian nightlife. In part … Continue reading Un Bar Per Tutti Quanti
Just before I left New York to study abroad for a full semester in Florence, Caryn introduced me to Girl in Florence - American expat ( & immigrant, as she often points out) who wound up in Florence and has become guru for all things Italian. I scoured through her blog, soaking up all of the recommendations … Continue reading Escaping Crowds: Going off the Beaten Path while Traveling
I've been applying to jobs semi-regularly lately and after I get a rejection letter from a job I didn't even really want in the first place/after an especially trying round of applications, I say "wait why don't I just teach in Italy? What's stopping me again?" Then, I remember............. The Visa (dun dun dun). So … Continue reading What’s a Girl Got to Do to Get a Visa Around Here?
Drunk and on my way home from my friend's house in Oltrarno to my house in Santa Croce, I stopped to sit on the bridge and look at the Ponte Vecchio while I FaceTimed my friend. A man on a bike rode by and we greeted each other and then he stopped. I hung up … Continue reading “You are not like other American girls; You are not scared.”
I wish I could say that studying abroad in Florence was the best semester of my life -- that every moment was a dream and that I was never sad. However, I was in the process of losing my friend group, I was away from my parents for the longest time of my life and … Continue reading Beating the Blues Abroad
I don't take buses. I grew up in a suburban neighborhood in upstate New York where cars ruled the road. Just now, in 2017, has one singular bus appeared. So with that background information in mind, let's get into my harrowing tale of getting stranded on the side of a Barcelona highway. I went to … Continue reading Getting Lost: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
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
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.
