Future Destinations

It has been almost a year since I went on my European adventure. Once you have traveled, that craving to see more never fades. Ever since I left Europe, I have been considering places I would like to go and monuments I want to see.

Places to Go/Things to See

• The Musée Rodin in Paris, France
• See Rodin's The Thinker and The Gates of Hell
• Spain
• Sevilla
• Barcelona
• Switzerland
• The Swiss Alps
• Africa
• Safari 
• Italy- take a trip from North to South traveling to various cities and Italian hillsides
• Milan
• Perugia
• Naples
• Sicily
• Greece
• Brazil
• Mexico
• Japan
• China
• Canada
• Toronto
• Ski Whistler
• Alaska
• The Northern Lights
• Merion, PA to The Barnes Foundation
• See Matisse's Le Bonheur de Vivre

Tips for a Florence Trip and Beyond

I took note of all th places, restaurants and sweets I loved while I was abroad. Here is a list I compiled including suggestions other people sent me. My best Advice if and when you go to Italy is to Get Lost! This is the only way you will learn your way around. Also once you start to wander you end up finding the best food, the best sites. Something I learned best in all of my traveling is to always look up, follow the signs and the streets, they will led you the right way.

Here goes...

Tips for Florence:


Places 
-The Duomo- I would recommend going early in the morning and climbing to the top (this entrance is left of the main entrance on the side). Best view of the whole city
- the markets- great for leather, ceramics, hats, and gifts...easy to bargain, esp. When you buy several things
      NorthWest of the Duomo...go up Borgo S. Lorenzo and it will be on your left for blocks and blocks
       Be sure to hold tight onto your wallet or purse here. Lots of pickpockets 
--Galleria dell' Accademia- must see the David. Plan for long lines if you do not have a pass.
-Piazza Della Repubblica is great to chill in on a hot day if you want to people watch and it's close to the shopping stores i.e. H&M and all the fashion.
-Piazza della Signoria/Palazza Vecchio is a nice place to chill and listen to music
-Galleria degli Uffizi- full of art from all time periods. Very long lines and could spenda whole day here, but well worth the art it you have the time. 
-Ponte Vecchio- a well know street/bridge for its gold and Jewelry...it is a fun place to hang out at night and listen to music
-Palazzo Pitti ( Pitty Palace) a gorgeous palace. My favorite is the gardens behind the palace: Giardino di Boboli. This is a great place to spend the afternoon!
-check out Piazza Michelangelo, great view. 
-Chiesa di San Miniato al Monte--- the monks make amazing honey that they sell in the gift shop. Listening to the choir sign is cool too,  around 5pm

Food
-best known for this thick bread soup...it's a Tuscan soup 
-Hit the Diner if you are craving an American breakfast/burgers/shakes. 
-The Oil Shoppe has great sandwiches, get the meatball. 
          22r S.Egidio Firenze (Italy)
 -If u want a Kebab, Mesopotmia (sp?)  Kebab (  Via Dell'Oriuolo) is the best, gotta get the 5€ one with cheese
-I due fratellini ---great, cheap sandwiches 
      http://www.iduefratellini.com/
    Via dei Cimatori, 38-red
      50122‎ Florence‎ Tuscany, Italy
        (around the corner from Palazzo Vecchio
-Ristorante Pizzeria il Teatro-   Via Ghibellina,128r.   50122 Firenze 
      Best gnocchi!
-Cebero Trattoria (sp)..... Nicer restaurant, but best food I have ever had!
-Ostaria dei Pentopoveri     Via Palazzuolo, 31/r
         www.centopoveri.it        tel. 055.21.88.46
-Gusta Pizza - best pizza ever!
         Via Maggio 46r-Firenze   Tel. 055285068
-Ristorante del Fagioli - Corso Tintori, 47r- 50122 Firenze.       Tel. 055 244285


Gelato 
-Gelateria La Carraia - my favorite gelato place, get the biscotti 
           Piazza N. Sauro, 25r- 50123 Firenze
           www.lacarraiagroup.eu
-Antica Gelateria Florentina - by the train station
        Via Faenza 2a-50122, Firenze
        The best here is the chocolate peanut butter
-Vivoli is said to have the beat gelato in Florence
   Via Isola delle Stinche, 7
   50122‎ Florence, Italy
- Grom
      South side of duomo 

The secret bakery!  A block south (away from the river) from Santa Croce
        Might be off Borgo Allegri 
        Opens at like 1 or 2am, when the bakers are making the pastries for the next day. 

Drinks/bars
- known for Spritz
-Eby's Bar     Via dell' Oriuolo 5R, Arco di San Pierino, 50122 Firenze 
     Straight from the Duomo, around the corner from The Lions Fountain
       Must get Eby's drink
      " Manja , Vai, Vai Vai, and a BANANA"
-The Lions Fountain
- Bar Near Duomo
    Drinks and appetizers
     Might be off Via Tosinghi
-Strip by santa Croce is full of fun bars
    Moyo is a good one
- discoteca's are full of creepy men and pure grinding if you are into that kind of stuff 





Side trips 
-Take the train to La Spezia for the day, then get a Cinque Terre day pass and hit the 5 different towns "cinque Terre= five lands". 
-Siena - small town, u gotta pay for the museums/ to climb the bell tower church place. 
    Best Gelato in the center of town: Gelateria il Gelato
                 Piazza del Campo, 41
     Fun to see the rival areas, otherwise not much to do, except during the horse   races
    Food- known for pucci (sp?) an thick spaghetti like pasta
-Pisa-- this is also a small town, not much to do beyond seeing the main highlights. In the middle of June there is a cool candle lighting ceremony
     Must see---  the Campo dei Miracoli including the Baptistery, the Cathedral, the grave yard and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It was cool to see some very famous artists work here, like the work of Cimbue, Giovanni, and the architects of each building.
-I never went to Assisi but I heard it's really beautiful.
- The amalfi coast is a must. We went to Maiori and stayed, pricey but worth it. -Blue grotto is a tourist trap,  you'll Pay like 15€ for a 5min boat ride through it, kinda weak. 
-If ur with a large group take a boat ride around Capri during the day (lasts like 4hrs or something), take a lot of beers with u :). 
-Milan is too metropolitan. 
-If ur looking to party hard one weekend with nothing but foreigners go to Rimini or Riccione. 2 party cities on the east coast, one of my favorite places during my trip.


Venice 
   A beautiful city surrounded by water 
    The Jewish Cemetery is cool
     Must go to the surrounding islands Murano and Burano. they are known for their laces and glass blowing.
     A gondola ride is fun, but very expensive 

Rome-
Hotel: Best Western Hotel Globus.   Viale Ippocrate 119, 00161 Roma
        Very nice, good location by university, expensive approx €163 a night 
Gelato: Gelateria Artigianale.   Via del Governo Vecchio, 112, 00186 Roma
       www.frigidarium-gelateris.com
       Best gelato! Get white chocolate nutella gelato, dipped in chocolate
Restaurants: Braci e Abbracci- Ristorante Pizzeria
      Viale delle Provincie, 136, Roma
Sites:
-Spanish steps
-Trevi Fountain--- night is best 
-Vatican City--- must see Michelangelo's Last Judgement in the Sistine Chaple...it takes a long time to get to because the make you walk through everything else first, but it is well worth the site.
   ---St. Peter's Basilica 
-The Forum and The Coliseum--- very Hot in summer
-Piaza Navona
-The Pantheon
- the Castle and the Bridge of Angles 


 

The Last of Italia-- Rome

Well my trip had to end somewhere. Instead just leaving Florence straight for the States, I chose to end my trip in the ruins of Rome.

I had been to Rome once before, but I was excited to see it with a new perspective five years later. This is a city that I do not feel a love for as I do for Florence, but there is a lot to do and see. I saw all the main sites including the Vatican City (with the Sistine Chapel and St. Paul's), the Froum, The Colosseum, the Spanish steps, etc.... I kept my talent as gelato guru and managed to find the most amazing gelato in town. It was homemade white chocolate nutella  gelato in a cone and dipped in chocolate! Talking about good gelato, this was amazing! We enjoyed our lasts tastes of real Italian food over the three days we were there. I decided the best way to end the trip would be to sit by the Trevi Fountain on our last night in Italy. After a delicious last meal and gelato we wandered over the the fountain and took in the last moments of Italy. I emptied my wallet of coins and turned my back as I tossed them all in the Trevi Fountain. That has to be good luck right?! Either way it was the perfect way to get rid of allllll of the coins I had accumulated in my European travels. 

Italian adventure ended here in Rome. It was a lot easier for me to leave Rome then Florence. We got up bright and early and made our way to the airport. 

On my two flights back home I made new friends and shared stories of our separate adventures together. I found that at my age, friends are easy to come by and it always nice to share your stories with someone else. I realized there are a lot of good, nice people you come by in this world. Over this trip I learned an immense amount, faced all of my worst fears, and tried new things. These were all goals of mine, but I got way more out of all of this adventure then I ever could have expected. What an adventure I had!


Jamie



This is my last trip blog. A little late, but better then never. I wanted to thank you for those of you that read. Be looking out for a tips for Florence that I have compiled

Places visited, Lessons Learned

Places I have been in Italy:
Fiesole
Pisa
Vada beach
Siena
Montaeperti
Monteriggioni, Badia a Isola, Colle di Val d'Elsa
Rome

Sites I saw in Florence:
The baptistery- Battistero di San Govanni
The Duomo-- inside as well as climbed to the top of the dome
Bargello- the oldest public building in Florence
Museum of San Marco
Church of San Miniato  al Monte- best view of Florence! Overlooking the city
Casa de Dante- tackiest museum ever!
Uffizi Gallery- full of masterpieces all in chronological order of time periods...basically like walking through my art history book 
Church of Santa Maria Novella- one if my favorite site visits, just beautiful
Church of Santa Croce
National Library-- Biblioteca Nazionale- very secretive and incredibly interesting for a library 
Galleria dell'Accademia- my true love, "The David"
Piazza Michelangelo- best view of the city
Piazza Della Repubblica- best people watching place, saw Oasis walk through here
Palazzo Vecchio- full of statues, the original location of the David
Ponte Vecchio- jewelry bridge
....Many more piazzas and places off the map or just not commonly known


Crazy thing i ate- tripe--cow intestines and stomach. (yes I ate this) 

Things I have learned:
I need to have time to myself
A map can get you anywhere, but if you wander enough you will find the best things
Always climb the hill to see the view
Take risks and don't look back
Stay up until 2 in the morning just to get the "secret pastry" you have been looking for.
So much more.....


Jamie

My Life as a Florentine

The moment we moved into our apartments in Florence, our local program director told us that we are now Florentines. She said that you are no longer a tourist in a hotel, you are staying in an apartment and you must be respectful of the true Florentines.

After nearly four weeks of living and going to school in Florence I feel as though I got a good feel for the Italian way of life. I became very familiar with the cities, the best restaurants for what you are looking for, the best gelato, areas to see, and all that Florence has to offer. I even found the "secret bakery!"  Although there were ups and downs of four weeks with 9 other students, I had the time of my life and took every bit of Florence in while I had the chance. 

The food was to die for; I could live off real Italian food for the rest of my life. All of the ingredients are the freshest possible. The tomatoes are always ripe, you can never have too much cheese, the pizza is made in front of you and fresh out of the oven, and the herbs just pulled from the garden. You cannot find a horrible Italian restaurant in all of Florence, so anything is going to be a safe bet when it comes to food. 

With my class we traveled through Dante's Inferno (The Divine Comedy). Dante was perfect to study in Florence because there is so much to do with him as well as the Inferno. The class was intriguing and definitely helped open my eyes to one of the most famous literature pieces ever written.

Living in Florence was the time of my life. I mean how many people can say that they walk by such a magnificent master piece like the Duomo every day to class.  As the bronze boar predicted, I will most certainly return to Florence someday. 

Jamie

Monteriggioni and nearby cities

( Monteriggioni, Badia a Isola, Colle di Val d'Elsa )

The other day was yet another day trip. We ventured out about an hour into the Tuscan Hillside to Monteriggioni and nearby areas.

We began in a itty bitty town called Badia a Isola. It is in the countryside. There is not much there but a few shops, a gas station, some housing, and a little church. We meet our tour guide there. She was a nice Italian lady that lives in a nearby town. She took us into the church. It was cool to see this very old, relatively simple church. The part I liked most was that to walk in we had to go through the side entry passing through this storage room full of antique wooden furniture. The whole place smelled like antique wood! We gazed at the views from the town and then took a quick bus ride over to the city of Monteriggioni.

Monteriggioni is a medieval city built on a hill. Within Dante's Inferno, Dante refers to this city and that is the reason we went there. This city took a while to grow on me. I couldn't really understand our tour guide because she spoke a broken English so I just dazed gazing around the city taking photos as we went along. This whole city is surrounded by medieval Romanesque walls and only contains 30 families. We climbed grated metal scaffolding stairs that lead to a path surrounding the top of these tall rock walls. Climbing these frail stairs terrified me! Especially the height of this medieval walls and the little support we had under our feet. I sucked it up, faced my fears and stayed up there with the group. It was a breathtaking view of the Tuscan hillsides, but i was too anxious to really enjoy it. Once we were wrapping up I quickly bolted for the stairs. I have never been so happy to be on the ground. My knees trembled for the next half hour. I was glad I took the opportunity to face my fear of heights, but would not care to climb those stairs again. 
Once down we walked around the walled city, which was a very short distance. Then we sat down for lunch. I tried this traditional Tuscan soup made with vegetables and filled with bread and beans, a very hefty soup. It was amazing! After lunch we got to wonder the town a little longer before making our way back to the bus. By this time I had gained a liking for this area, enjoying the antique shops and gelato within it.

We got back to our bus and our bus driver insisted on continuing this adventure, contributing one more town to the trip. He dropped us at the top of this town, Colle di Val d'Elsa, which slopes downward to the base of a hill.  This town is known for their crystal and have a nice factory there. We strolled through this final town of the day and then got back to the bus to head back to Florence.

This day trip was yet another successful day in Italía!  This area would be a great area to come back to and hike through some day.


Ciao

Jamie

Siena and Monteaperti Day Trip

Talk about take your breath away. The other day we took a day trip into the country side of Tuscany. We rode in a Nice bus and made our way to Siena. The views from the drive were amazing, post card worthy. It was like one of those scenes you see in movies but not real life.

Siena was a place I definitely have to go back to some day. It is a place filled with rivalries and everything revolves around the city bank. The town is split up into many neighborhoods, each of which have their own rivals. We got the opportunity to see the main attractions of Siena and hear about the traditions and beyond. Every year there is a fascinating horse race between the neighborhoods. This is a fierce and dirty battle, put on in the center of the city.  
The cathedral was the most intriguing to me. It was a breath taking site filled with paintings, sculpture, marble "graffiti" (marble carved into and filled with lead dust), frescos and so much more. The library of the cathedral was my favorite part. I literally got an adrenaline rush and butterflies in my stomach from the beauty of this room. The walls and ceiling were covered with original frescos that have never been restored. They stood in deep color and glistening gold leaf. Wow! What a site! 
We also got to see the skull and right thumb of Sant Caterine. She was a very important Sant to Siena, but they were not able to keep her whole body. Bits and pieces of her body are spread throughout different cities of Italy and neighboring places. She was itty bitty, the size of a 10 year old of our time. Her skull and thumb were tiny as you can imagine. 
After our tour of the town we stopped and got a traditional Sienan lunch. I ordered Picci, which are thick homemade spaghetti noodles.....mmmmmm! In the city center my friend told me of "the best gelato he has ever eaten!" So we made a stop there for most certainly some of the best gelato ever!

Next we got back on the bus and took a little adventure to Monteaperti. At this site, Dante fought in one of the biggest battles of his time. There is a monument at the site recognizing this battle. Our bus driver thought we were crazy for coming here, he dropped us at the end of this long dirt road and had us get out to go explore and find the monument. We walked for about a mile in the Tuscan country side. What a beautiful site! You felt like you were walking through those amazing scene savers computers come with, but this was reality. It smelled crisp and clean way out here. After walking for about a mile and climbing a steep hill we found our way to the monument! We took in the site and got our photos and made our way back to the bus and back to Florence. 

This was quite the day trip! I have near witnessed such magnificently beauty in my life.

Jamie