Italy Diaries
My best friend / roommate left me for a whole semester during our junior year (2019) of college at Elon University for a once in a lifetime opportunity. She studied abroad in Florence Italy during the spring. Lucky, I was able to visit her for spring break. I kept my family updated by posting daily blog entries but have since condensed them into this singular post. I’m so glad I have this to look back on :)
March 22nd, 2019
Quite possibly everything that could go wrong today, did. I was pulled over, as I was packing my brand new backpack completely broke, the fire alarm went off in our building while I was getting ready to leave, and there was a mix-up with my Uber. But, just getting all the bad luck out before the actual travels start — plus everything could have been worse.
I started my adventure at 3:30 pm where I headed to RDU. I got through security and was sitting at my gate when I realized that the currency exchange was before security. So, I am headed to Europe with a grand total of zero Euros. But, I am hoping to exchange some money when I first get to Rome.
I didn’t have to wait too long before my flight boarded and luckily I got a window seat. But, let me tell you. There is such a difference between a long flight when nobody is sitting next to you (the luxury I had for Australia). Of course, I slept on and off the entire 7.5-hour bumpy flight, missing both meals, like always.
This week was super busy with midterms and lots of assignments and as I was obviously excited for this trip, I didn’t have much time to really think so I was able to during this flight. I’ve been kinda nervous to do this traveling by myself especially not knowing if there would be a language barrier at any point in time.
But I’ve set some goals for this week for myself that I will reflect on during my time in Europe.
Become more confident (I can travel alone!!) Reach out and see as many people as I can
Try a new food
Do something that scares you
Be aware
Be present, live in the moment
March 23rd, 2019
Paris, France; Rome & Florence, Italy
After some time travel, I made it to my first stop, Paris. I was nervous about this layover because I knew I would have to re go through security and I didn’t want to miss my connecting flight. But, all of the signs and information made the transition really easy.
I went through security and got my first stamp in my passport!! I couldn’t figure out the vending machine (because I don’t have a credit card that taps, and didn’t have any coins) but I found a kiosk where I got water, fruit, and chips to hold me over.
I got to the gate at [my body’s] 3am but France’s 8am. Currently running on 5 hours of sleep from the night before + some airplane sleep since I skipped my night time.
I waited around a bit and then boarded my
10:05 flight which was delayed 15 minutes. It’s crazy to think about how similar people are. I was preoccupied thinking about how hard it would be to communicate with people but I personally, as well observing others, noticed how capable people are without even speaking the same language.
I landed in Rome and had to get to a train that took me to a different train station. I bought my train ticket and read online that you must validate your ticket before getting on or else you will get a fine. I heard that this policy is very strict even though there was not a lot of information in the actual station. I could not figure out how to validate my ticket. Other people had trouble figuring theirs out and were also trying to help me. I only had a few minutes before my train was leaving but I found someone who worked there and explained that I couldn’t validate it but she said it was fine because I scanned myself in. Since I couldn’t figure it out I had to trust that she right. I got on board and some of the people who tried helping me asked if I was able to get it and I just said that I’m hoping for the best. I had to wait 15 minutes for the conductor to check tickets and I was just hoping and hoping that my ticket would work. The fine wouldn’t be THAT big of a deal if I had ANY euros with me. I don’t know what I would have done but luckily my ticket was correct.
This train lasted a half hour and took me to the main train station in Rome. Here I had to wait for my train to be listed on the departure board but luckily my many trips on the LIRR prepared me for this. At first I was a little unsure because I didn’t see my train time listed but I figured it out that Florence was just a stop on the line which is why it wasn’t listed. I had to wait in the station for over an hour and haven’t had wifi since I left Paris so I was super grateful that I didn’t get a fine and was able to figure out my train.
This next train lasting an hour and a half was pretty nice and provided water and snacks. At this point I was just really excited to get to Florence.
Taylor told me she would be at the station a few minutes before my train arrived. I pulled into the station and got off and was greeted by a huge crowd of people. I walked out of the gates to find even more people. Thankfully, I heard Taylor call out my name. After not seeing each other for 99 days I was super happy to be with her. It was about a 10 minute walk home. Her apartment is in a really good location and is really cool. We hung out for a bit to relax before walking around. We went through the city to a bridge for a nice view then made our way to the Ponte Vecchio for another view and little shops. We hung out for a little waiting for Hana who led us to dinner. The place was okay but considering I hadn’t had a real meal in 24 hours, it was good. I was already seeing some differences. At dinner, you have to pay for water, you don’t tip, and it’s more of a social situation than just food — so you really have to flag the waiter down when you want your check.
After dinner we stopped for gelato which you can find basically on the corner of each street. I got the yogurt flavor which essentially tasted exactly like yogurt but was good.
When we got home we were pretty tired but wanted to wait for Kelly to get home from her day trip. When we knew she was close we sat and watched out the window for her until we saw her and called her name. She filled us in on her trip and were able to catch up.
March 24th, 2019
Florence & Tuscany, Italy
Taylor and I woke up early to get ready for a fun day. We walked to the chain coffee place, Shake Cafe, where she got coffee & a croissant and I got a yogurt. We walked to our meeting place and checked in for our tour. When everyone arrived we got vanned 30-40 minutes outside of the city to Tuscany. We had a winery tour and then rode vespas throughout the hills.
Originally we were both supposed to drive our own vespa but I ended up being the passenger for Taylor which ended up being better because we were able to talk the whole time and I could take some videos for us. Also, during the tour, poor Taylor rolled her ankle after having ligament damage in her other ankle a few days prior (sorry tay). After our drive we had a lunch of wine, bread, cheese, salad, and pasta. It was a really nice time because we were with 20+ other people ranging from other students to families to older couples. They were all super nice and most of them were actually from the Northeast (shocker) so it was nice to have lunch with all of them.
After lunch they surprised us with a dessert wine which really just tasted like juice and then we headed back for the city. On our way back to the apartment we stopped at a pharmacy for an ankle brace for Taylor because she was falling apart. We got back and relaxed until it was dinner time. Taylor, Kelly, Shanley - who just got home from her weekend trip, and I went to Il Teatra which was SO good. I highly recommend the pasta balls for the appetizer and the bread they give to the table was amazing. It was nice to be surrounded by good people for a good meal.
It’s currently the girl’s midterm week because their spring break is next week so they all have a bunch of homework and studying to do. So we had a relaxing night but Kelly was able to start planning our Rome trip for the end of the week which I’m excited for.
Before bed me Taylor and Kelly were just hanging out but were laughing so hard at every little thing. I missed them and in the moment was happier than ever to be back together again.
March 25th, 2019
Florence, Italy
Woke up to walk with Taylor to class to see her school as well as carry her coffee (because crutches). I ended up seeing my former student who is in Taylor’s class and actually sat next to each other on their flight to Florence. I went back to Shake Cafe where all of the students go to do homework. I found Hana in their doing homework and sat with her while eating a creme filled croissant (highly recommend). I had a little more than an hour before I was meeting Taylor again so I wandered around a little bit past her apartment. I saw some statues and sat in a plaza with a carousel and music.
About an hour later I met back at Shake Cafe waiting for Taylor to get out of class. Hana was still there and now Kelly so I hung out with them. Me and Taylor went to Le Mangera for amazing pancakes topped with fresh fruit. Taylor had some time before her next class but was headed back to get some work done so I was on my own for the rest of the afternoon. I went shopping (and by shopping I mean looked around in stores but didn’t buy anything). After, I wandered and wandered (still knowing where I was) and went across the bridge. I remember that there was an outside sitting area by where our first night’s dinner was so I went in that direction. I laid down for so long just relaxing and enjoying how nice it was outside.
March 27th, 2019
Florence, Italy
First day all week I didn’t set an alarm / walk Taylor to class (sorry girly). I was considering taking a train outside of Florence for a few hours, maybe to the coast? But I decided to stick around the city and do the things I hadn’t yet before leaving tomorrow.
First things first, I went to shake cafe for my daily croissant then head across the bridge again. I think that the gardens I was originally planning on going to were still closed so I went back towards Piazzale Michaelangelo. I climbed about halfway but then saw a small entrance. There was a smaller section of gardens with benches and lookout points. I sat here just admiring the outdoors and the view with very few people around me.
I stayed for a long time before heading back into the city. I was planning on going to a famous panini shop. As I was on my way I saw a store that looked cute and ended up buying a bathing suit and a dress. I got to the panini shop and it’s so popular that they have 3 shops all next to each other and all of them were so packed so I decided it wasn’t worth waiting for. So I went to a place near Taylor’s store that I knew she liked. I got a sandwich and ate it outside.
I went to shake after to wait for Kelly to get out of class and Taylor ended up getting out at the same time so we walked home together. Kelly had some studying to do but when she was ready to take a break we had plans to get crepes. We went 3 blocks over to Le Milkeria with Joey for a snack.
When we got home Taylor was on the phone for an interview (yay) so we hung out with Shanley in the living room until T was done. T ended up getting a panini from the shop under their apartment (convenient). We ended up hanging out the rest of the night and watched Monte Carlo.
March 28th, 2019
Florence & Rome, Italy
I woke up around 9 and went straight to shake. Luckily Kelly and some of her friends were there studying so I helped her with that. When it was time for Kelly to take her exam, Taylor finished hers. Me and T got the best brunch from shake (pancakes and potatoes) and then went home to pack. I re organized my bag and T packed her suitcase for her 10 day trip to 3 different places.
When I was done I went back over to Shake to meet my cousin Olivia who I don’t get to see all that often. We talked for an hour which was really awesome. By the time Olivia left, Kelly finished her last class and we walked around the city for my last time before leaving Florence.
We got home and got everything ready to go and then I ran back out to get Taylor and me a panini to hold us over. After eating we ended up going back out to get more crepes because why not.
We hurried to grab our bags from the apartment, take some photos in front of the Duomo and got to the train station to go to Rome!!
I am grateful I was able to stay in Florence for these past few days. I am happy that the girls were able to show me their home and I was able to experience part of their semester abroad. Florence is unlike any other place I’ve been (since it is my first time in Europe). I couldn’t see myself staying in Florence for too long a period of time (theres not very much green — you have to search for nature) so this was perfect.
I am excited for Rome with Kelly and Taylor!
We arrived in the Rome train station and it was huge and super crowded. We ended up finding our way to the metro and got on the correct train!
Unfortunately the escalator was not working when we got off at our stop so carrying a huge suitcase plus Taylor’s broken ankle made for a scene. We also had to cross what seems like the world’s largest intersection before continuing our 10 minute walk to our airbnb. When we got there we were greeted with keys to the apartment and 4 more flights of stairs to climb.
When we finally got settled in we did not feel like leaving again so we ordered food online. The three of us all sat in the king bed together eating and watching the Lizzy McGuire movie (because what else would we watch while we are in Rome???)
March 29th, 2019
Rome, Italy
Long day ahead! About to complete Rome in one day.
We all woke up and got ready early so we could get to the Colosseum before it opened (highly recommend). Instead of getting back to the metro we took a cheap uber over. We waited on a line that we were told would take an hour but really only took half that. We bought the cheapest ticket available — not getting a tour (which we don’t regret at all). Our ticket was good for entrance into the colosseum as well as the Palatine Hill. After purchasing our ticket we had to wait just 15 minutes before being let in. We were able to walk around and go to the different floors. The whole experience was really really cool. I grew up seeing so many photos of the Colosseum that it was amazing to just see it in person, and going inside was even better!
We spent probably an hour walking, looking, and learning about the history of this structure. When we were done we waited in a short line to the Palatine Hill entrance. This place was huge and included SO many different things to see. A person could easily spend an entire day here. We sat down and enjoyed how nice it was out and how pretty it was around. We climbed some more steps and got an amazing view of the entire land as well as of the Forum.
We could have stayed for much longer but we had others things to do throughout the day and we were all pretty hungry since we didn’t eat breakfast. We went to the metro station across the street and figured it would be worth buying an unlimited 24 hour metro card (key word, figured). But, when we got on the correct train we were confused when it didn’t stop at our stop. We had to get off at the next closest and do some walking. Turns out, the three stops we would need throughout the whole day were the three that happened to be closed for some reason. But hey, we tried.
We walked through a plaza and down a main street before finding a small place for lunch. The set up of this city and location was more of my vibe than Florence was. We sat for a quick lunch of salads and sandwiches before making our way to our next destination.
We continued down the street which was a lot more wide, open, and colorful — which I liked. We stopped at the city’s oldest coffee shop for a quick cup and then went to the Spanish Steps. We hung out there for a while soaking up the sun that we haven’t really felt for a few days and honestly just people watched. After a little bit, we went to the top of the stairs and found a big open “garden” which was more like a central park type of area with bike rentals, music, benches, and gelato. We searched for what seemed like an hour to find a bathroom so Taylor wouldn’t pee her pants (again). But ended up having to pay 4 Euro for her to go to the gelato shop. After that, we were able to enjoy the area and I really liked it. This is another reason why I ended up liking Rome so much. Besides this, there was nature and lots of trees and flowers throughout the city. In
Florence, I had to search for greenery and nature and hardly found it. But in Rome, it was just there.
After the gardens, we realized that we were right back where we started when we got off the metro (oops) but had to walk back and past the steps to the Trevi fountain. I am glad I was able to see this because it is so iconic and you can’t go to Rome without seeing it. But, it was a very stressful 10 minutes. It was so packed and there is hardly any room to stand there as it is. So I was trying to navigate through the crowd as well as keep an eye on all of our bags and stuff. Overall, I am glad I went and made a wish (even though I was in Rome with my best friends, what else could I need??).
Taylor had the great idea of getting smoothie bowls so we found a juice bar (thanks, Yelp), and of course it was a long walk that would have been very short if the metro stations were actually working. But, we got there and the bowls were well worth it. We hung out there for a little while before figuring out what to do next. We weren’t hungry for dinner yet but we knew that if we went back to the apartment we would never wanna leave again to go back out for dinner. So, we decided to kill some time by getting a taxi to the Pantheon and then walking to Piazza Navona.
Afterward, we found a place close by to eat an appetizer. We sat at dinner with a glass of champagne for my last night in Italy and reflected on the week and what we were looking forward to (mostly them, for the rest of their spring break). While at dinner, we looked it up and realized that we could take the public bus with our metro card — so we ended up getting our money’s worth. On the way to the bus station we stopped and got snacks (lots and lots of oreos). Kelly’s phone died and mine and Taylor’s had less than 10% and the bus didn’t say which stops were what. So, we had to do our best by tracking ourselves on the map and relying on our memory of the area.
Luckily, we were able to navigate our way back to our apartment for yet another movie. We didn’t even end up finishing the movie because we were too busy talking and laughing. At 1am we figured I should at least take a nap before having to leave for the airport at 3:30am.
March 30th, 2019
Rome, Italy; Paris, France; North Carolina
Woke up at 3 for my taxi ride to the airport. I planned to be at the airport with plenty of time for international travels but I was legit like 1 out of 3 people I saw in the entire airport (but I would rather that than be stressed about being late). I sat around and got a croissant (last real one for who knows how long) and waited. I boarded the flight and had a window seat by chance and had a smooth flight.
At the Paris airport I had plenty of time to get through security and passport check points and ended up waiting for about 2 hours before my next flight. I got a sandwich to bring on the plane.
I boarded and had another window seat and fell asleep before we even took off. I slept on and off for over half of the flight and then watched “A Simple Favor” which I have been wanting to see. I missed the first meal but was awake for a really good cookie that they brought around as well as a pizza twist before landing. I honestly had no idea how long the flight was because I didn’t bother checking but it was 9 hours and was too long. But, it was fine.
When I got back to RDU, after 19 ours of travel, I ubered home and fell asleep right away at 5:45pm and slept until 8am the next morning. So, I am hoping that I am all caught up on my sleep and back on track.
I had some goals for this week and I definetly accomplished them.
Become more confident — I was really nervous to do all of the traveling and navigating on my own but I had no problems and even made my way around Florence for most of the days and didn’t get lost once!
Reach out and see as many people as I can — I reached out to some people who didn’t end up being around / able but I was able to see my cousin Olivia who I don’t get to see often
Try a new food — tried (and liked) a bunch of new food (mainly because I couldn’t read the menu and didn’t know what I was ordering)
Do something that scares you — got on the back of a vespa with Taylor after watching her drive into a ditch into a bush
Be aware — I people watched and was always aware of my belongings
Be present, live in the moment — didn’t try to plan too much ahead even during the week, went with the flow and enjoyed where I was at that exact point in time.
Traveling, especially when you do so alone (even just for a portion of the trip) gives you the opportunity to learn. I learned about the areas I visited, about me, and about other people. Traveling with others really lets you see more of the person than you would ever think especially when you are in high stress situations. I was able to learn about Florence and Rome, mostly history, but also little bits of random knowledge. I learned about myself, I learned that I need nature around me. I do not like just city. I learned that Taylor and Kelly are both good at navigating throughout cities. And I learned that I am able to figure out my mental map of an area pretty well.
I enjoyed my time in both Florence and Rome but I did like Rome more. Rome is a very big and spread out city so it would be nice to go back and see more of it, but I am happy with what I did and what I saw.
I am very grateful for the people in my life, especially for Taylor, Kelly, Hana, and Shanley letting me stay in their apartment for the week and for letting me distract them from their midterm studying (kidding, kind of). I am happy that I only have to go 48 days without seeing Taylor instead of the 99 days we just went from Fall semester. I can’t wait til everyone is back at Elon so I don’t have to travel 20 hours to see them (even though it was very worth it and I would do it 100 times over again).
