Florence week one
I have never been one to blog, usually because I write down my thoughts and ideas in journals, notes on my phone and on the rare occasion through the voice app on my phone. However, since this next semester is marking an important turning point in my life, and I want to remember all the good, bad and in between moments that occur over the next 4 months, I thought I should give blogging a try. I am currently a student studying graphic design in California and have decided to take my education overseas to the beautiful city of Florence, where I will be learning about all things italian. With a group of eight women living in one apartment, a Washington girl now living in Italy, and alot of life lessons to learn and pasta to eat, I am excited to invite you along on the journey !!
The beginning of this adventure started not when I landed in Italy, or even when I got on the plane in Seattle, but back in October when I made the life changing decision to apply, pay and move across the world. After growing up in a household with two parents that studied abroad in their college academic years, and also having an itch for travel and adventure my whole life, studying abroad was a no-brainer idea. After going through the visa process, attending orientations and spending more time on google maps than I could have ever imagined, I am now sitting in my apartment across from a bookstore, next to a coffee shop, and in one of the most gorgeous cities in Italy.
I left on Thursday January 18th, after many days of packing, and took a 9 hour and 18 min flight to Paris, followed by a short 1 hour and 45 min flight to Florence italy. For the first five days I stayed in an airbnb across the river and enjoyed life in solitude while fighting off jet lag. I was in Florence when I was thirteen and found that coming here again, small memories have flooded back, like walking up the steps to the Michelangelo plaza, or seeing the jewelry shops on the Ponte Vecchio bridge, but it has been totally different living here knowing that i am not just on vacation or having a small layover before the next thing, but that i am stationed here till May. On the first day I made it to the grocery store, cooked some well earned pasta, and passed out at five after watching the Proposal on netflix. Day two consisted of walking around the city, finding my new favorite coffee shop, Ditta Artiginale, and exploring the different look outs and restaurants that fill the city. Day three I spent mostly sleeping, but i had a few hours of walking in the city and grabbing gelato with some friends.
The day before I had to move out of my airbnb, move into my eight person apartment and go from a solo traveler to an American college student, I took a slight detour to the city of Pisa. Throughout the first couple of days i wanted to challenge myself to set mini goals: order my coffee in Italian, go out into the city even when i want to stay in bed, go to a restaurant alone and be ok with it, and lastly i wanted to travel on the train by myself to navigate the train system and get out of the city. The trip to Pisa logistically consists of a twenty minute walk from the Florence city center to the central station, a hour long train ride, another twenty minute walk from the Pisa centrale station. I started the day with a flat white and a short walk to the station where I scanned my trainline ticket and got on my train. My first stop after arriving was the Keith Haring mural, painted as one of his last before he died, which covers the side of a huge building in Pisa. I found my way to a specialty coffee shop called Filter Coffee Lab where I drank a 2 euro flat white and enjoyed the company of locals, tourists and coffee consumers alike. I ended up slowly walking to the leaning tower, which was a short walk across the river and into town, where I watched hundreds of people snapping photos of themselves holding up the tower or kicking it or hugging it, pretty much any pose possible of someone supporting the tower was happening. I found that being there alone resulted in more people watching and exploring random side streets versus spending extended time in the museums and main hot spot areas of the city. I enjoyed an amazing stack of pancakes at a panoramic restaurant next to the tower and walked my way back to the train station. I made a small mistake of assuming that I would want to linger in town until four but was really ready to leave at two, so I booked an earlier train and made my way back to Florence.
So, with a few days down and many more to go, I am excited to keep exploring life as a study abroad student who is on the move and taking each day one flat white at a time!
