goodbye, florence.

A summary of my three days in Alicante, Spain requires really only one photo:

I literally did nothing but lay on the beach, eat, sleep, and the occasional crossword puzzle. Now that's my kind of vacation! I walked away with minimal sunburn (it's hard to get your whole back, doing it by yourself), feeling very relaxed and ready to face the difficult week ahead of me.

On the other hand, my time in Florence can barely be summed up in the thousands of pictures I have taken since January. How is it possibly May 25 right now? When I booked this flight seven months ago, all the way back in November, I really thought this day would never come.

In this entry, I will attempt both poignancy and humor...but it could get a little mushy. Bear with me.

I have moved before, and we all know that it is quite a sad experience to pick up and leave everything you know behind. I would never claim that I "know"' Florence. It is a city full of so many surprises, both modern and historic, that it would take years of exploration to truly conquer it. In these past four months, though, I have come to know my cozy corner of the city, and leaving it, as well as my experiences here, behind is proving to be more emotional than I had expected.

As much as I have enjoyed my time abroad, I have on occasion found myself wishing I could go home. Wishing that I lived in a place where asking for directions wasn't such a trial. Wishing that I could just get a freakin' iced coffee, not a caffe americano. Wishing for my own room. Wishing for my car back. Wishing I was with my friends back home as they celebrated Gator gymnastics victories and 21st birthdays.

As big as all of those details seemed at the time, it has taken all of four months for me to realize that what I've learned here far outweighs the cultural discomfort, homesickness, irritation, and frustration that I experienced here.


The experiences I have had in Florence (and elsewhere!) can never be replicated. That was why I decided to study abroad in the first place! When else would I ever get the opportunity to pick up my life for four months and live in a foreign country, with relative financial security? Answer: Never.

Leaving this part of my life behind is only slightly more difficult than leaving the people I've met along the way (mostly because I know it's an inevitability that I will see them again). Not to get all emotional and affectionate, but living together in a foreign country will bond you, no matter how different you may be. And let me tell you, differences abounded in our little dysfunctional Palace family.

But these girls have seen me laugh and cry, they've dealt with me drunk and hungover, consoled me, self-conscious and emotional, and more. Together, we have traveled all over Italy, exploring its culinary gifts, ancient ruins, and cultural history. Together, we took Barcelona by storm, one of the greatest experiences of my life. I cried as each of them got into cabs and drove to the airport, leaving me here, alone at last.

This experience has taught me more about myself that I thought. Even though this was one argument I used to convince my slightly reticent father to let me study abroad, I never imagined the kind of soul-searching I would have to do while living in one of the most beautiful countries on Earth. Stressful? Living in Italy at 20? Really?

The truth is that a lot of issues came to the fore while I was here. I had to confront my problems with food, self-esteem, and self-worth, as well as my feelings about alcohol, dating, and my friendships back home.

Being here introduced me to a lot of new interests, and rekindled some of my old ones (writing, for example). I learned the basics of a new language, and though far from fluent, my parents can attest that I am competent enough to navigate the complexities of Italian travel (and restaurants).

I didn't know what to expect, coming here. I kind of walked into this semester thinking that it was going to be all fun and games, all partying and playing. Honestly, most of it was. I can count on one hand the number of times I have been truly upset in the past four months.

Walking away from my life in America and into Italy gave me new appreciation for the things that I have back home, while also allowing me to emotionally separate myself from problems I have been dealing with. Coming home, I feel more emotionally complete, more mentally prepared to handle problems that come my way. And I will credit that to living with four complete strangers, and the necessity of developing patience when living in a country where there are essentially no traffic laws and no one knows what a clothes dryer looks like. [Exaggeration.]

Tonight, I will board a plane bound for London. From there, I will fly back to Tampa, where I will be reunited with my family and friends.

While part of me is not ready to come home, and probably never will be, while it is incredibly sad to turn the page on this chapter of my life, I know that what I've learned here and experienced here will be with me for the rest of my life.

And not just because I'm a compulsive photographer, or because I blogged about all of it along the way.

But because when you get to know another foreign country as I have come to know and appreciate (though not necessarily understand) Italy, it is a lesson that is impossible to forget.

So thank you to my parents, who supported me (both in financing and encouraging this whole shenanigan) throughout these four months...and through the planning stages, dating all the way back to April of 2009. Thank you to my friends for not forgetting about me while I was gone. Thank you to my Florence roommates who got more than they signed up for when I was assigned to be their roommate. Thank you to Sergio and Mario for being the only Italian men I could trust.

And thanks to all of you for reading. It's been real.

the blues.

I'm currently sitting in the Pisa airport, waiting for my flight to Alicante, and I have the fastest internet connection I have had since I got to Europe! It only took me about 10 minutes to upload all of these photos. Hot damn.

As promised, the Sorrento installment of The Week with the Parents. Also as promised, cats. Lots and lots of cats.

This fella was the B&B Welcome Wagon, always sitting on top of one of the cars as we were returning home from one of our daily adventures.

On Tuesday, the parents and I decided to do the island of Capri, since the weather was BLISSFUL, not a cloud in the sky, and not a sign of rain: the first day of its kind since my parents had arrived in Italy, if I'm not mistaken. Both Florence and Rome had nothing but rain for us, so at the first sign of sun, we took to the water.

Check out that sky! This was in Sorrento, on the way to the Marina Piccola ("Little Marina") where we caught our hydrofoil to Capri.

Waiting to board...

I actually read my book most of the boat ride there (whoops), but took some photos when we docked.

I have seriously never seen such beautiful blue water.

As soon as we landed in Capri, we went to buy tickets to see the Blue Grotto, which is (I think) Capri's major tourist attraction. At any rate, it's supposed to be gorgeous. Inside, the light refracts off the blue water and turns the inside of the whole cave an incredible shade of blue. But of course, our bad luck came through: due to rough seas and high tide, no boats were going into the Blue Grotto that day. Boo!

The boat took us around the entire island, though, which was fun. Here's me and Mom on the boat.

The Lover's Arch...you are supposed to kiss your significant other (or a friend) as you go under for good luck.

And here is Mom holding Dad in the boat as he leans dangerously over the rail, trying to get a picture of something. Typical.

After our tour was over, we grabbed a quick lunch before heading to the city of Anacapri, located on the other side of the island. The bus ride there was crazy. Combining the insanity of Italian drivers with steep cliffs that plunge directly into the Mediterranean is never a good idea.

In Anacapri, we went to see the Monte Solaro, which has an amazing view of the city of Capri and the coast. Wanna know how we got there?

By chair lift.

There she goes!

It was a little chilly on the way up and down, but the view was pretty incredible. And though I have taken many modes of transportation these past months (plane, train, automobile, boat), I do believe this was my first journey by chairlift.

You know, just chilling.

At the top.

Matching [tourist] hats. Awww.

Thennnn I decided I wanted to do a jumping picture.

Then Mom wanted to play.

We took our boat back to Sorrento around 4 PM on this monster of a ferry.

We spent the rest of the afternoon eating, shopping, and generally relaxing before headed to bed early. Our plans for the next day included visiting the excavation site at Pompeii, and everyone knows that you can't go visit ancient ruins on anything less than 8 hours of sleep.

Pompeii installment tomorrow (hopefully). Plane takes off in just over an hour (hopefully).

Only 5 days until I land in Tampa! How did that happen?

london by balconies, with coffee. and swans.

My spring break trip continued in the UK after my Irish adventures had ended. I landed in Gatwick Airport in London around 8:00 PM on Tuesday night, with the roommates of the two girls I had initially planned on travelling with. I do not know these girls well, and have very little in common with them...this may or may not have made the first leg of my journey through London slightly awkward.

At any rate, I steered us onto the right train from Gatwick into the city, and then onto the correct tube line to our hostel, where we arrived, exhausted from a full day of travelling, past 11 PM. I hadn't eaten dinner, so I headed out for a quick bite before returning to my room and passing out until morning.

I fueled up on free hostel breakfast the next morning before heading out for a bit of adventuring.

I walked through Russell Square, intending to head toward Covent Garden before being sidetracked by...


Starbucks. I hadn't seen one since I left America, and while Italy's coffee trumps 'Bucks' EASILY, I had to sit down for a chai latte, in the name of America. I promptly fell asleep in my chair.

After rousing myself, I wandered down Oxford Street (accidentally) and bought myself a pair of jeans, thank the dear sweet Lord. Aftere that, it was time for me to go meet up with Jessica, a friend of mine in high school who permanently resides in London (well, at least until 2011, anyway).

Since I hadn't been planning on hitting all of the touristy spots that I went to when I visited London last year in any kind of depth, we decided to hit most of them on a whirlwind three hour tour of the city that included...

Somerset House

The Thames River

This is technically not a tourist sight, but a place I stopped for my dear friend Onalee, who studied in London through FSU last spring. Shout out!

Jess also took me where her school, London School of Economics, is based near Aldwych. They had apparently just finished a new building, so after slipping past the high security guards at the front desk (no lie), she took me to the balcony for the view.

'Twas a bit windy.

Then we walked a bit more...

This was so not here at this time last year.

More Thames.

Then we crossed the river on Jubilee Bridge, and after landing on the south bank we headed straight for...

Coffee, of course! From a little caffe called Vergnano, where they actually spoke a little Italian to me! This particular latte was enjoyed on a balcony overlooking the Thames.

Then we walked some more...

Back across the river...

Big Ben, and the scaffolding that was covering Parliament.

The National Gallery

Trafalgar Square

At this point, we had been walking for at least a couple of hours and needed some sustenance. So we headed to Covent Garden where Jessica played the part of Eve to my Adam and introduced me to the sweetest sin since Genesis...

Ben's Cookies.

Oh, dear sweet Jesus, how can I ever choose?
[Small hint: I don't have to. But that comes later.]

Check out the ooey-goeey melty goodness of this white chocolate macadamia nut cookie.

My day in heaven continued when we we returned to Jessica's flat, where her boyfriend, Lucio, made us Moroccan food.

Where can I find a man that will cook me lamb with raisins and saffron and cinnamon and all kinds of other spicy goodness?

Never let him go, Jessica.

Our tour of London's best coffee continued the next day at Cafe Manon, which Jessica and Lucio agree is definitely near the top of the list (if not number one, but we won't argue about silly things like that). They also took me to one of their favorite lunch joints, Benito's Hat, which is kind of like a Moe's or Chipotle in America, with burritos the size of your head. These were fresh and delicious, and this store is not chain, which somehow made me feel less guilty about all of the guacamole I consumed.

It seems like we walked all afternoon, just around and around, so we retired to Jess's flat again to watch a movie. After my nap...er..the movie...we headed to Soho to a Japanese place called Satsuma, where we shared some sushi and rice bowls over a couple of beers. Not quite ready to call it a night, we also went for a pint at a pub close by. Eventually, they dropped me off at my hostel, making sure that I was safe and sound.

Awwww.

The next morning, giving Jess some time to sleep in, I walked down to Covent Garden where I went to -- you guessed it -- Ben's Cookies and went big, buying a special tin that allowed me to also get four cookies for less than 6 euro! Sweet deal! And don't worry, I later shared my goodies with Jess and Lucio.

After that, I took a metro over to Regent's Park, where Jessica had suggested I check out Primrose Hill, both of which I had failed to see on my previous visit.

It was a totally gorgeous spring day.

I stopped here, at the Cow and the Coffee Bean, for a quick latte.

Primrose Hill may not look steep, but let me tell you, I was out of breath when I got to the top.

(Then again, you are talking to a girl who regularly eats gelato before her nightly dinners of pasta with insane amounts of cheese, and whose only exercise these days is trucking it through the streets of Florence in search of more delicious eats. But I digress).

The view from the top was spectacular.

But of course, this is London, and sunshine doesn't last long. The clouds started rolling in before I left the park around 12 PM.

By the time I got to Jess's flat, the sky was downright ominous, and when we set out for Borough Market around 2 PM, it was totally pouring. Typical. Fortunately, Borough Market is almost entirely covered, so the weather did little to deter us.

It was actually Onalee's suggestion that I visit the market, and I must admit, when she first suggested it I was kind of on my Italian high horse.

"Oh, a market? We have those in Italy. You know, fresh fruit, vegetables, olive oil, and all of the bloody meat your heart could ever desire. What's the big deal? But in the name of 8 years of friendship, I'll check it out. No skin off my back."

And can I just say that I am SO glad I went! This market totally kicked mercato centrale's butt. Don't get me wrong, I'm still totally in love with my market here, but this was a whole 'nother playing field.

Freshly made sangria

It also has a significant size advantage over il mercato centrale.

Every spice you could ever need.

But I think it was the prepared foods area that really put it over the top. Here, I ordered a veggie burger on top of a bean salad with some of the best hummus I have ever had. Italy has refused time and time again to provide me with hummus, and I may or may not be holding a slight grudge.

Also, dessert was to die for. Jess and Lucio sampled each other's selections and ended up swapping.

There was also a beer stand that was endlessly amusing.

After leaving the market, we walked along the river bank toward the Waterloo station, where we caught a train to Kingston, located just outside the city.

In Kingston, we met a couple of swans.

Which turned into a whole swan army.

In Kingston, we got some drinks at some pubs and stayed out pretty late, since I didn't actually book a hostel for Friday night. We got back to Jess's flat around 3 AM, where I grabbed my luggage and caught a bus and then a train to Stansted airport. My flight for Eindhoven, in the Netherlands, departed at 6 AM, and from there, I took a bus, then a train, then another bus, then another train to the great city of Amsterdam. But that's another story.

Speaking of other stories, Gillian and I went to Bologna today. And tomorrow is Easter, which means big things in Florence. But if my internet doesn't get it together, you will never get to hear about any of these things, because I will constantly be backlogged on spring break entries. This is actually the second time that I wrote this London entry, becuase when I wrote it last night, my internet crapped out just as I hit "publish post" meaning that I lost everything. It took all I had not to pitch my computer out the window that we have left open to enjoy the beautiful weather. After reminding myself that it is not my baby Dell's fault, but the fault of the Solving Problem network (irony, yes?), I decided that bed was a better option.

So hopefully my internet will be cooperative enough tomorrow that I can post about both Bologna and our Easter celebrations. If not, my parents may have to buy me a new laptop when I return to America.

(I'm only kidding guys, don't worry.)