Life on Lake Como

Today I'm doing a little throwback to our weekend in the Lake Como area of Italy! Somehow in my travels I forgot to share about this beautiful hidden gem of Italy, and one of my favorite places we traveled. My roommates and I decided to make our last weekend trip together a spa weekend, so we booked a spa day package at the Spa at the Hotel Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio, Lake Como, Italy. We stayed just outside Bellagio, in a little village called Lezzano. Despite a lot of rainy weather, it was such a beautiful area and was the perfect place to end our travels in Italy. The first day we just spent exploring, the second day there was our spa day, and then the third day we used the ferry to travel in between all the cities around the center of Lake Como. 

My favorite city, other than Bellagio, was Tremezzo, where we toured the gorgeous Villa Carlotta, which was once a wedding present! I'm getting married soon... Anyone want to gift me a villa like this one?! :) I kid, but it was an absolutely beautiful villa on the water. 

On our way back to Florence, we hung out in Como before hopping on the train. Finally the sun came out, and we had fun exploring and shopping!

I would love to go back to the Lake Como area. It would be the perfect place for a romantic getaway, possibly a honeymoon! :) It was so hard to get on the train... I definitely didn't want to leave at all.

I hope you enjoyed this little throwback, happy Thursday!

--Caroline

Pisa & Venice

As I write this, I am watching the beautiful scenery of England pass by the train window. Yes, it's been a long while since I've posted... But I have to say, it's been nice to take a little break while I'm studying, traveling, and immersing myself in the Euopean cultures around me. Classes ended about a week ago, and I've spent the past several days exploring Scotland whilst staying with relatives of my friend. It's been so fun! I can't wait to share more about Scotland in a later post, because today talking about the day trips we took to Pisa and then Venice.

We had heard that both were cities you could explore in a day, and after doing just that I have to agree 100%. Pisa especially is a small city, and really the main things to do are shop and take the quintessential pictures with the leaning tower. We took the train from Florence, got in just in time for lunch at a cute cafe right next to the Keith Haring mural, TUTTOMONDO. After our little pick me up, we  walked in and out of many cute shops on our way to the leaning tower. None of us quite felt like paying to get into any of the Pisa churches or museums, but I felt like I had plenty to see and do without doing so. Overall it was a fun day! 

The next day trip we did was a trip through a student tour company to Venice. Of course we picked one of the hottest days possible to do such a trip, but it was still fun. In hindsight, we all wished we had just planned the trip ourselves, outside of a a tour company, because we spent a lot of time waiting for everyone to catch up. I wish we had been able to explore more, because I feel like I would have loved Venice more than I did had we had more time. We did go on a gondola ride, which was a ton of fun! Worth the price for the experience alone! 

Even though the wind has been making things a bit chilly here up in the UK, I certainly don't miss the immense heat that was in Italy during our last several days there! 

Hope you're having a great Wednesday!

--Caroline

When In Rome Part 2... And Pompei

Part 2 of this mini-series continues with our second day in Rome, when we toured the Vatican Museums and the awe-inspiring St. Peter's Basilica. Again, it was so cool to see everything I've seen in textbooks or talked about during lectures right before me! When we walked into the Sistine Chapel I thought to myself, "Is this real life? Am I really standing right underneath this amazing work of art? Is that really Adam about to touch God?!" And then when we walked into St. Peter's my thought process didn't change much! To think about the architectural advancements made back then, the care that was taken into the decoration and the layout... It blows my mind! And then it hurts to think about how, more often than not, building buildings today is all about building it cheaply, cutting costs, and not caring about the details. What changed in our society? Why must it always be about the money? Anyway, that's a rant for another day, but regardless everything was so beautiful, and I felt honored to be able to see all this history in person. 

After Rome, we trained down to Pompei to check out the ruins there. I was especially excited about seeing Pompei (I will use the Italian spelling) because the eruption of Mount Vesuvius has always been one of those disasters from history that has intrigued me (in addition to the Titanic). Just thinking about being so close to the eruption gives me chills! Although the city of Herculaneum received most of the lava damage, it was very interesting to see how the damage from the layers of ash effected the town and the people inside. The size of the area they have excavated is much larger than I expected, and our tour guide explained the differences in the structure of the ruins and what they would have been like back in the day. Very interesting stuff, and it was neat to be able to walk around down the little streets of ancient Pompei. 

On our way back to Firenze, we stopped in Napoli with the hopes of seeing the Pompei exhibit at the Architectural Museum there, but the exhibit had closed before we got there unfortunately. We still enjoyed seeing the artifacts in the museum, and then were able to catch an earlier train back home! (Ahh, I just called Firenze home!!! I'm going to miss Florence very much when this program ends...)

I want to go back and explore Rome for longer and not in the pouring rain one day, but I still feel like I got the most out of my time there! 

Ciao for now!

--Caroline

When In Rome Part 1

I couldn't stop myself from making the title of this post cheesy and typical... We toured Rome a few weekends back, and it was so amazing! I wish we could have spent more time there, because two days was not nearly long enough, but it was still so amazing to see many of the historic art and architecture that I've been learning about for years. I'm splitting this post up into two days' worth, because I fear that the amount of pictures if I were to do it all in one would crash the not-so reliable WiFi in my apartment here in Firenze. (One thing I will say that's nice about America is strong WiFi connections, but at the same time it's nice that they don't really care about that so much here in Europe.) Anyway, I digress. On the first day in Rome, despite the gross rain, we made it to the ruins of the Roman Forum, the Colosseum, and the Pantheon. I have always been intrigued by the history of the Roman Empire, so it was especially interesting to hear the history and see it coming alive right before me. I walked where there Romans walked!

Check back tomorrow for details of my second day in Rome, and details on our day trip to Pompei!

Ciao!

--Caroline

Cinque Terre: A Must See

Several weekends ago (yes, I'm a little behind on my blogging!) I went to Cinque Terre with some of my friends on the program, and we had a blast! So far, the Cinque Terre region is still my favorite part of Italy we have explored! Known for a serene countryside, great hiking, and beautiful seaside towns, if you ever get the chance to go to the Cinque Terre I highly recommend going! We stayed in a town outside of the five cities, a quaint city called Moneglia. Our hotel was precious, the beach there was beautiful and less crowded than those of the 5 cities, and there was the most amazing restaurant there called Tender. So delicious!

The day after we arrived, we made our way to Monterosso, where we hopped on the trail to make our way to Vernazza. (The entire Cinque Terre region has a regional train that has very inexpensive tickets, and is perfect for tourists. Each ticket lasts basically all day, and you get to hop on and off the train at anytime, which makes it very easy to see all 5 cities.) Anyway, the hike was just under 3 hours, and we couldn't have asked for better weather for a hike! There were many cute vendors that lived in the area that set up camp on the thicker parts of the trail, and our crew ended up purchasing anything from homemade limoncello to handmade jewelry! By lunch time it was definitely getting hot, and we were very happy to reach Vernazza and sit in the cool AC for lunch. We spent so much money on water at that meal! 

After we had regained some energy, we hopped back on the train and visited the rest of the cities! Riomaggiore was next, and was probably my least favorite, just because there weren't that many shops to wander into or things to see and do. It was still pretty, of course, but just wasn't my favorite!

Manarola was our next stop. Another short visit here, as Monterosso and Vernazza are the bigger, more touristy cities. But again, still fun and gorgeous! 

Finally, and as if we hadn't hiked enough that day, we walked up the 382 steps to Corniglia, walked around a bit, got a fruity little drink in celebration of making it to all five cities, then made our way back down the hill of steps just in time to hop on the train back to our hotel! 

Overall it was a wonderful weekend, and it was so fun exploring the Cinque Terre region. I definitely see a return trip there in my future, and would love to hike more of the trail next time I go! 

Ciao and Happy Tuesday!

--Caroline

Neutral Monochrome

The other day, I purchased a beautiful leather jacket, handmade in Florence by the lovely shop owner and his team. Already this trip I have purchased a nice leather bag, but after speaking with him and learning about his process I knew that I would regret leaving this city without a jacket of his! Today, I'm pairing it with a printed wrap dress, for the perfect neutral monochromatic look. My recent obsession has definitely been neutrals, and I love that it fits in so well in this historic city! I highly recommend you check out Michelangelo's Leather if you ever make your way to Florence... His level of craftsmanship and pride in his work is unparalleled! I love the surprise detail on the back of my classic jacket! I know that I will have this jacket for years to come, and I know that I can come to him forever for all my leather needs. Love that!

Ciao! 

--Caroline 

Weekend Travel Style

This past weekend we went to Rome and Pompei, and I am starting to just feel tired from all the traveling and exploring we've been doing. So for now, I'm just going to share a little bit about what I packed for a short weekend trip, and the outfits I wore. On the weekends I've been traveling with just a backpack and a small purse, so I definitely make sure I only bring the essential toiletries and just enough clothes. We've gone away twice now, and I'm sure by the end of my time abroad I'll have it down to even more of a science. But for now, this is what I set aside for last weekend's rainy trip to Rome and Pompei:

- 2 pairs pants (I traveled in yoga pants the first day, wore jeans the next two)

- 2 sweaters to layer over tanks

- 2 tanks (1 camisole and 1 stand alone tank)

- 1 rain jacket 

- 2 pairs of shoes (a pair of sandals and a pair of Keds) 

- socks, undies, pjs, etc

I could have definitely gotten away with packing one less sweater, but with rain in the forecast I wanted to make sure I had a spare in case I got drenched. But aside from the first day in Rome, we didn't get as much rain as we expected, so that was a nice surprise!

So there is a little glimpse into both my weekend and what I wore! I'm a little behind on blogging, so look for posts to come about Cinque Terre, Rome, and Pompei! I promise I'll share all my experiences in time with y'all :) 

Thanks for reading, and Happy Memorial Day!

--Caroline

Rain Rain, Go Away

Or stay, because I have a cute outfit! :)

This is what I for our rainy trio to Siena, and it was definitely a hit. Not originally intended, I didn't realize until others mentioned it that the print in my pants was very similar to the lining of my rain jacket! (Side note, shout out to my mom for spotting this awesome jacket in Macy's and suggesting I get it for Italy!) This was a no-frills outfit, but the beauty is that it looks like I put a lot of thought into it. My secret for a look like this is stick to classic colors, and you can never go wrong with a basic v neck tee paired with any kind of printed bottoms. Here I paired it with some of my favorite pants, this navy and ivory pair from Old Navy. I threw on the rain jacket because that's the only jacket I brought, and that's that! 

How do you dress for the rain, especially when limited to a smaller travel wardrobe? 

--Caroline

A Medieval Siena

Last weekend, our program headed to Siena, Italy on a day trip. Despite the rain, it was still a beautiful day (I mean, it is Italy!) and I really enjoyed the rich culture that is in Siena. First, we toured the Siena Duomo and the attached museum. When the church was being added on to, the Black Plague swept through Siena, causing so much death to the towns people that the construction of the addition came to a screeching hault. Today, the addition serves as a museum, housing many art and artifacts that were planned to be in the new bigger church. We didn't see everything in the museum with our tour, but we did see many frescos that I have learned about in my art history classes, so it was so awesome to see those in person!

We then made our way into the Duomo itself, and while I haven't been into the Duomo here in Florence I have heard that the Duomo in Siena is far for decorated and adorned on the interior. Siena and Florence have a rich competitive history, so it doesn't surprise me that Siena felt the need to take it up a notch. I have been to many churches in Europe, we went to so many last summer, but this one was by far the most beautiful church I have ever seen. Every inch of it was adorned and decorated, and it's sheer mass just left me in a state of awe. 

We had a wonderful lunch treated to us by the head of the FSU Florence program (she has an exquisite taste in food!) and then we made our way to the city center area to tour the Pallazo Pubblico, a beautiful town hall. The interior frescos were just breathtaking, and the rich story they tell was so cool. One room housed frescos showing examples of good government and bad government, The Allegory of Good and Bad Government by Ambrogio Lorenzetti. Its a beautiful piece of work, and what I love about art like this is how much of a story it tells-- just from one piece we know what the people of the time wore, what they lived like, what their values were, and their hopes and dreams. And of course, what they feared. In that same room, I finally noticed why the ceilings looked so familiar-- the whole tour I noticed they were different than the other ceilings I'd seen in Italy thus far, but I couldn't quite place my finger on why they looked familiar to me. Turns out the architects and designers were influenced by their neighbors in the north, and I had seen almost the same ceiling in Germany last summer! Small world, even back in medieval times. 

The exterior of the Pallazo Pubblico is nothing special, but is very traditional medieval architecture. The fan-shaped square it sits in, the Piazza del Campo, is home to a very unique tradition. Twice a year, the districts, 17 "Contrade" of Siena get together for an incredible horse race, The Palio. Each Contrade has its unique emblem, colors, and mascot, and flags of each are seen while walking around the city. Just like many of us in the U.S. are born loving a sport team, the people of Siena live and breathe for their Contrade. The event takes place over 4 days, where horses are drawn out of a hat, jockeys are picked, trial runs are made, and the Piazza del Campo is prepared for the race. The winner of the race receives a large canvas to display victoriously in their part of town. Seems like a simple prize, but when the tradition dates back to the 6th century you don't really change a thing. On race day, everyone comes to the Piazza del Campo, and a parade occurs with traditional historical costume. After the sound of a firecracker, the jockeys are off, and after three laps around the Campo the winner is determined. A very narrow curve of San Martino proves to be a treacherous spot, where many horses and riders come plummeting to the ground. There is a great ESPN video about it, that shows just how deep the rivalry is between some of the Contrade. 

Overall, touring Siena and hearing about its rich and unique history was quite fun, even if the weather wasn't great! I keep saying this, but if you ever get the chance to go, then definitely check out what Siena has to offer. 

Ciao for now!

--Caroline