Amo Italia

One of my most favorite life experiences is my study abroad to Italy. I went through UVSC and we studied the marvelous art and architecture that Italy is so famous for.

We began our adventure in R O M A
I met and became fast friends with Shelley who would be my roommate for the month that we were abroad. This video clip is just a glimpse into what it was like for us exploring the streets and shops of Rome and getting to know the friendly local Italians. Below is the view outside of our top level hotel/apartment room that had a lovely wrap around balcony which was perfect for late night get togethers with our group.

We took a day trip to Asisi which is an amazing little medieval town.

Im pretty sure we sampled every gelataria there was to be found in Rome and this place was the absolute best! oh my goodness sooooo good and so cheap!

We would go to the beach every weekend it was a beautitul beach and so fun

I realize that not everyone shares my zeal for art but I had to include some of my favorite sculptures they are just so stunning!

FIRENZE

Don't be fooled it looks absolutley amazing, A+ on presentation but its better in Rome and half the price ...

One weekend we took a bus to Greve, the tiniest little town in the middle of the gorgeous tuscan vinyards. Here we rented bikes and motor scooters and spent the day admiring the stunning country side.

Several nights when we were in town we would go to the movies and on our way home we would pass this charming carousel, after passing it a couple of nights we broke down and went on a ride I love pretending to be a little kid. However going to Gilli's after dinner for desert crepes was a nightly tradition, they were cheaper and much tastier then the local gelato and you get to watch them make it plus you get to pick from variety of things to make your crepe different every night! We also met some very friendly locals there which made for an entertaining evening.

One Friday evening me and my adventurous roommate decided to sign up for a cooking lesson just over the pont de vecchio. It was simply delighful, at least the preparation part, most of our fellow cookers were also students from the US or Canada. We made chicken liver patte, beef stew and yummy custard filled mini pies for dessert. Our expert teacher became my new best friend, goodness he was hilarious. While walking back to our cozy apartment we got to see all the monuments, streets and bridges all lit up it was quite magical.

Our last weekend in Florence was an absolute blast. We began with a day trip to Pisa which was beautiful and very fun, then we all got matching tee shirts and went to support firenze in their last home futbol game of the season and they won! European soccer games are by far the most fun to attend, they are better then any American crowd for sure. Then our teacher bid us farwell and sent us all on a weekend vacation to Cinque Terre while he stayed in the city. This was by far, no competition, my favorite place in all of Italy and most of Europe its gorgeous. Its five little towns (cinque means five in italian) that are right up against the coast and you can hike to each one its amazing. We stayed at the most awesome hostle, camp Sfinge, it was jus rows of these nice tents, oh it was so fun!

VENEZIA

By the time we reached scenic Venice we had already taken the final and finished all the classes that we had signed up for so it was pretty much just a bonus vacation with a close friend as a tour guide instead of a study abroad with a professor. I loved my time in Italy and am desparate to go back, I was lucky enough to go with my family the following year. I have also been studying Italian for my major for the past 4 semesters which was also deepend my appreciation for this wonderful culture (but don't ask me to say anything in Italian perche non lo so!)