One Last Goodbye

Today is literally the day I leave my study abroad trip in London and Dublin. It was one of the best experiences in my life, and I don’t regret anything. I’m glad I signed up for this opportunity. One question most people asked is would I live in the cities I’ve been to? I would love to live in Dublin, Ireland at one point of my life to work. In my studies I was able to understand the Irish economy, and I realized the major American brands have their headquarters in Ireland. The reason for that is because they have the lowest corporation tax out of the other European countries. But some companies like Facebook and Google found ways to not even pay any tax at all. When comparing London and Dublin, they are two different cities that honestly cannot be compared. London is 10 times bigger than Dublin. Both cities have their interesting and quaint things that make them different and appealing. This experience definitely broaden my view about working abroad because I have a better idea how each culture is. One day I will be back for either work or a vacation.
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The picture is a collection of all the post cards from every city I visited this summer. The pictures I took are always a great memory, but after packing and going through things the collage of post cards are nice to look at. I kept saying to myself, “wow I can’t believe I went there and saw this place.” But 10 weeks abroad was a nice change, but I think I’m ready to go back to reality.

Home Sweet Home

Since my program in Florence was 6 weeks long, that left me with 5 weeks to spend at home in Boston with my family.  I easily could've spent 10+ weeks in Italy, but I'm glad that I've had time to relax and collect myself before heading back to Drexel for senior year.  Boston is such a great city, and I've been having a lot of fun taking advantage of everything that the city has to offer.

As great as Boston is, I miss Florence and Italy everyday.  I miss the people, culture, art, and food, of course.  It is such a different lifestyle there - everyone is on their own time, life isn't rushed, and they really enjoy every moment with their family and friends.  I wish we could adapt a bit of that lifestyle, but I'll have to wait until I'm old and retired.  I can't wait to return to Italy, and I hope that I get the opportunity to do so very soon!  I'm going to try my best to keep up my Italian language in the meantime.

I wish everyone a wonderful few weeks before heading back to Drexel!

Ciao,
Adrienne

Pit Stop in Dublin - Almost Home!

As I've said before, I am really fortunate enough to have several friends also studying abroad in Europe this summer, which makes it very easy to travel around and visit new countries and cities.  When booking my flight home from Florence, I realized it made a lot of sense to stop in Dublin on my way and visit a couple friends there.  I have never been to Ireland or the UK before, so I was really excited to have a completely new experience.  I arrived in Dublin with no troubles, and took a cab to my friend's dorm.  I instantly found it disorienting to be speaking English and be surrounded by people speaking the same language as me.  The fact that I found this so odd, solidified that I really did call Florence home.

Upon arriving in Dublin, my friends showed me the neighborhood around their school and dorms and we went out to a few pubs that night.  I'm not a huge beer drinker, but was introduced to cidar and I absolutely love it.

Bulmers Cidar - Dublin, Ireland

Dublin, Ireland

Cidar looks like beer and has a similar consistency, but is a lot sweeter and more enjoyable for me.  We planned on spending the day Saturday going to Cliffs of Moher through Viator, a company that busses tourists from Dublin to the countryside and visit sites such as the Cliffs.  They stopped at several neighborhoods along the way and really gave me a sense of what the Irish countryside looks like.

Cliffs of Moher, Ireland

Erin, Zac and I at Cliffs of Moher

We had a beautiful day for exploring the Cliffs, and I'm so glad I had this opportunity!  It wasn't so much of an "oh-my-gosh", breathtaking experience as I found the Amalfi Coast much more impressive, but it was wonderful and beautiful nonetheless.  We spent Saturday night at Copperface Jack's - a well-known Irish club and danced the night away on my last night in Europe!

Dublin was a really quick trip as I had a morning flight on Sunday back to Boston.  I'm so glad I had the chance to visit a new country and spend some time with friends I hadn't seen in weeks!  I definitely would love to return to Dublin, and I hope everyone that is studying there has a great rest of their time!

Arrivaderci,

Adrienne

A Roman Holiday!

As a surprise when we got to Florence, our program directors told us about a weekend trip to Rome they had planned for all of us.  As excited as Julia and I were, we realized this happened to be the same weekend we had planned to go to Paris with our fellow Drexel friends in London.  Determined to find time to pack Rome in during our 6 weeks, we were able to find a weekend to sneak it in.  Neither of us could come home saying we hadn't been to Rome, so we were determined to make it happen!

Like a few of our day trips, we planned this weekend all on our own.  With the help of Trip Advisor, Rick Steves, and our best friend and D&M student Jessica Mattern, we were able to plan 48-hours of non-stop Roman fun!  I have seen plenty of pictures of the city and certainly studied key pieces of art and sites that inhabit Rome in art history classes, but seeing things first hand in Rome is truly an experience.  A quick two hour high-speed train ride from Florence, we were in Rome!

We checked into our hostel called Alessandro's Palace (highly recommended if anyone is looking for a hostel in Rome!) which is really close to the Termini train station.  From there, we grabbed a quick bite to eat at a local pizza shop and headed for the Colosseum.

Colosseum in Rome, Italy

The coolest thing about seeing the Colosseum in person, was realizing that we have nothing like this in America.  When I talked to locals in Italy, they had been to New York City and Orlando at most, and they define our country based on the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, and Disney World.  This was really upsetting as I explained to them that there's more to the United States then Mickey Mouse, but realized that ancient cities such as Rome hold so much rich history that our country doesn't have yet.  It's moments like these when I'm really thankful for my abroad experience!

From the Colosseum, we walked to the Spanish Steps, Pantheon, and Trevi Fountain.  The Trevi Fountain is one of my favorite places in Italy, minus the fact that it is always flooded with tourists.  We went twice, once in the afternoon and again at night to see the difference in how the statues looked and to see it lit up at night (and two wishes, of course!).

Tossing my wish into the Trevi Fountain!

We had done an incredible amount of walking in 95 degree heat, so we called it a night and walked back to our hostel.  We spent Saturday roaming around the busiest shopping streets of Rome, and spent the afternoon and evening in Trastevere - one of Rome's best kept secrets.  For two days I hadn't seen a single Italian in Rome due to the extremely high tourist traffic, and once we got to Trastevere, I was finally a minority as an American as I am in Florence.  Trastevere is a little neighborhood on the outskirts of Rome that has artists, incredible restaurants, boutiques, and winding cobble stone streets.

Trastevere, Italy

If anyone is planning on going to Rome, Trastevere is an absolute must!  It is by far the best food you can find in Rome and is a nice escape from the tourists.  Although it was a very lively city and I loved seeing the historical sites, I would definitely not return in the Summer or Fall months.  There are too many tourists that water down the Roman experience.  I'd love to return again in the Winter or Spring however, and enjoy returning to some of my favorite sites.

Arrivaderci,

Adrienne

The Leaning Tower

I am so lucky that my program in Florence is scheduled to give the students plenty of travel time.  I have really been able to explore Italy as well as take weekend trips to other countries.  One of my "must-do" trips was a day in Pisa to visit the Leaning Tower.

Much to my surprise, this thing actually leans.  How it's still standing is incredible, and I was nervous the whole time I was there that it was going to come crashing down.  I'm not really sure what the architects were thinking when they made it, but it makes for a really cool and unique site at the very least.  I didn't climb the tower (I had enough climbing two domes and mountains in Cinque Terre!) but just looking at it and taking cliche photos of the tower was good enough for me.

Leaning Tower of Pisa - Pisa, Italy

Unfortunately most of my pictures are too close-up to see how much this structure is leaning toward the ground.  If you look at the base of the structure though, you can see how off it is.  There isn't much to the city of Pisa other than this tower - a lot of typical shops I've seen in other Italian cities and tourist type restaurants.  We combined Pisa and Lucca into one trip in an afternoon and it was the perfect amount of time.  A lot of fellow students had told me it wasn't worth my time going, but I think it certainly was just to say I've seen this tower!

Julia and I in Pisa, Italy

Of course we had to stop for quite a while and make sure we had the perfect tourist pictures!  These two are some of my favorites from the day.  The great thing about Florence besides the food, art, and culture, is it's central location within the country which provides easy ability to take day trips such as this one.  Pisa isn't a place I'd make the effort to return to, but I'm really glad I went.

Arrivaderci,

Adrienne

Venezia!

A city built on the water, Venice is one of Italy's most unique cities.  Since the weather in Italy has been high 80s to mid-90s, the thought of a day trip being on the water was more than enticing.  Unlike a few of our previous trips, we decided to venture into Venice on our own and not with a tour group or company.  It was a bit more relaxed and we were able to travel around on our own schedule.

We spent most of our time at Piazza San Marco, and the winding cobble stone streets that surround it.  This is Venice's most famous spot due to the San Marco church.

St. Mark's Square, Venice

One of the biggest reasons to travel to venice is the famous Murano glass.  Jewelry, homeware, statues - you name it, and Venice has made it out of glass!  I was able to pick up a few souvenirs while I was there, including several pieces of jewelry and a wine stopper.  We got around the island via water taxi, and also took it to the island of Murano where many artists have their glass galleries and workshops.

Venice, Italy

Murano - Venice, Italy

It was a short and sweet day trip, but exciting as always!  We unfortunately didn't have time for a gondola ride, but instead watched them pass by while dipping our feet in the canal.  For anyone that needs an escape, Venice is a great choice!

Arrivaderci,

Adrienne

 

Back to Reality

After a week living in hostels, I was excited to come back to the United States. Once the excitement of being home passed, I quickly missed being abroad and the jam packed days I had. I escaped to the beach for the first few days back which was a great (once I conquered the jet lag).

While traveling I learned several things. Here are a few things that I found most important..

Tricks of the Trade, or Travel.

• It doesn't hurt to have a bunch of locks. Before leaving I bought suitcase locks and a normal lock which was super helpful while staying in hostels, you never know who you'll be living with.
• Bring medicine. Everyone told me I'd get sick at least once while abroad and I didn't believe it, but I did. Vitamins were what really helped me throughout the trip. 
• If you have an iPhone or iPad, bring it. Some people thought bringing a phone abroad was silly, but free wifi isn't hard to find and no one wants to be carrying a laptop around with them. 
• Do research before you go. As a part of the Prague summer program, we were required to take a pre-trip class to learn about the Czech Republic's history and culture. It made the experience much more meaningful for all of us. 

Best of..

• Architecture. Out of the 4 cities I went to while abroad I found Prague to have the greatest depth and mix of architecture. Prague is the only city to have cubist architecture, and has some of the greatest Art Noveau buildings. 
• Shopping. London was one of the best places to shop, as expected. Whether you're looking for luxury shops or flea markets in Camden, it's all there. 
• City Feel. I enjoyed Vienna's cosmopolitan nature the most. It doesn't feel as dense as NYC, but is still full of arts, culture, and various events that keep you busy.
• Food. I couldn't get enough of Munich's beer gardens. Roasted chicken, potatoes of every kind, pretzels and then a liter of beer on top of it all, it doesn't get better than that.