A Swiss Wonderland and Risk Taking Adventure

     Switzerland, my most spontaneous and beneficial study abroad excursion. While studying abroad this past summer in Florence I took a long weekend to travel to Interlaken, Switzerland. Three friends I'd met during my six- week study were taking a bus to Interlaken for the weekend and asked if I'd join. Another country to add to the list, absolutely.
     We arrived after a six hour bus ride to a quaint little hostel called Balmer's. It looked like it'd come straight out of a fairytale with the greenery growing up the side of the cottage- like structure and rooftop shining with early morning sunshine. We were in wonderland, a Swiss wonderland to be exact.
   The place was beautiful, quite, quaint and exactly the paradise I'd needed after the hustle and bustle of a city like Florence. I actually got to sit down a read my book for the first time since I'd arrived in Europe. Plus, the view was incredible. Sweeping mountains, fields of flowers and a clear blue river were about all that made up Interlaken. It was the perfect place for a relaxin weekend or an adventure sport.
     Interlaken, Switzerland may look like a fairytale but its one of the most well-know places to participate in adventure sports in Europe. Between paragliding, canyoning, skydiving, white water rafting, bungee jumping and much more there is plenty to get your heart racing, all it takes it a leap of faith, sometimes quite literally.
   Though I was enjoying the peace and quiet take a leap of faith I did, I went bungee jumping. I'd never done anything so daring in my life so far but I signed up and I was going to do it. The day of the jump I arrived with butterflies in my stomach and determination in my step-- or should I say jump.
    The whole experience was a bit nerve-wracking but worth every mini panic attack and every penny. Going up in the cable car to jump my knees were shaking and heart was racing but I was determined and ready. The jump was unlike anything I'd ever experienced before. I took it almost like a dive off the block in swimming and for a moment you feel weightless but, before the panic has time to set in you're already falling.
     The whole experience was surreal, probably the best 30 seconds of my life. The adrenaline rush was amazing. For those few seconds I felt on top of the world, confident and happy. Yes, it's a little crazy that only one long rope is keeping you from certain death but the feeling of jumping is like a little imprint on your soul that you'll remember forever. I took a risk but that risk gave me one of the most memorable and rewarding experiences of my entire study abroad experience and I don't regret it for a second.

Croatia >>>>>

This past weekend I went to Split, Croatia and Krka National Park with my roommate Nicole. Croatia was my favorite place so far; it is absolutely beautiful and not quite so touristy yet.

We got there Friday morning after a long bus ride, breakfast and settling in to our super nice hostel (each room got its own bathroom and the beds and pillows were memory foam) Nicole and I headed straight to the beach before canyoning. The beach was really nice, it wasn't super crowded and in the water you could see straight to the bottom about 20 feet out.

Also on Friday I went canyoning. Canyoning is basically where you get in a full length wet suit, life jacket and helmet and hike for a few miles into and down a river thats in a canyon. In Croatia we went canyoning in the Cetina river. It was gorgeous, the water was fresh, blue and safe to drink, we got to walk through a tunnel under a waterfall, jump off huge rocks and drift through tons of rapids. Canyoning was difficult and I'm disappointed that I don't have a GoPro so I couldn't take pictures but amazing all the same. Being me, I fell and slipped between rocks often and canyoning puts a lot of strain on muscles your not used to and your knees because your climbing from way up high into a canyon and trying to stay upright and not trip on slippery rocks and fast rapids but it was awesome. I definitely felt my legs for a few days afterwards, it was a workout.

Canyoning is something I had never heard of before this trip to Europe and i'm so glad I got to do it no matter how much it freaked out Mom :)

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On Saturday, I went on a 7 hour boat cruise to tour two islands and jump into the Blue Lagoon, it was wonderful, though it did come with some complications...

We first went to the Blue Lagoon to jump into the water because it was so hot outside and our captains dropped the anchor... as in the anchor wasn't attached to the boat and they dropped the anchor.

So the created a make- shift anchor out of a rock and a rope... it wasn't very effective but we all got to jump out and swim anyway :)

Then after we were all done swimming WE SAT ON THE BOAT FOR 2 HOURS AND DRIFTED AROUND while the captain called up his buddy and he and his 14 year old grandson came in a little skipper and searched for the anchor. He had flippers and an air tank on and everything, never mind the fact that we were swimming for about two hours so he could of came and looked for the anchor earlier.

The never found the anchor, after 2 hours of floating around our group leader had to call the boss to get the captain to move the boat on to the next island.

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After that we went to Trogir Island to get lunch and relax for two hours before we headed back to Split, we weren't going to have time to go to the third island after searching for the anchor for 2 hours.

Overall the boat tour was nice and the Blue Lagoon was awesome, I suppose I'll never know what I missed on that third island.

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On Sunday we headed out early to go to Krka National Park and explore the waterfalls, they were beautiful, I even got to swim out pretty close to them in the fresh water. The national park was really pretty and amazing for a little day trip on Sunday before our long bus trip back to Florence.

Things I Learned about Croatia:

1. Dalmatians were first bred there

2. Game of Thrones Season 5 was filmed there (awesome right!!)

3. Croatian limestone is everywhere and really easy to walk on (YAY! no cobblestones)

4. Everyone I talked to was really nice

5. Their currency sucks :(

6. I was surprised by how many stupid people on our trip asked the Croatians what language they spoke... Croatian... they speak Croatian.

7. Its not very touristy (thank goodness)

8. The guys there are really attractive and SUPER tall (YES!)

Rome, Naples, Sorrento, Capri and Pompeii

This past weekend was an eventful one, I went on a class field trip to Rome, Naples, Sorrento, Capri and Pompeii with both my classmates and my roommate Nicole.
I have been in Italy for quite a few weeks now but never before have I felt like such a tourist, I mean we carried around those stupid earphone tour guide systems ALL weekend.

Rome:

We took a train to Rome on Thursday night and had a wonderful 3 course meal at a restaurant near our Hotel after arriving there, I'm still not quite used to Italian dinner time but I'm working on it. It is normal for Italian's to not start eating dinner until about 8:30pm and then sit there for 3 hours and I'm just not used to that, its an interesting change.

On Friday we explored The Vatican, which was absolutely amazing. I could stare at the walls of the Sistine chapel and the inside of St. Peter's Basilica for ages. We had a pretty good tour guide that explained everything about the Vatican very well and I found it all interesting. After exploring the Vatican we visited the Spanish Steps, The Pantheon, The Trevi Fountain (which is disappointingly under construction until the end of 2015), Piazza Navona and Castel Sant'Angelo.

On Saturday we toured the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. I have always love Greek and Roman mythology so these tours were awesome, I just wish we would have had more time to explore a little bit on our own. We were on a time crunch because we had a train to Naples later that day so the tour was a nit rushed. I'm really glad I get to go back with my family when I meet them in Rome after my program ends, hopefully I will get to explore a bit more, Rome is HUGE.

Naples:

On Saturday after the Colosseum we took a two hour train to Naples to check in to our hotel, do a quick tour around the top of the city and eat some pizza for dinner in the city where pizza was born. All of us were completely exhausted at this point and though our tour guide for Naples was really cool and the views were fantastic, I wish we wouldn't have had to fit so much in one day. At this point we walked over 50,000 steps in just 2 days, crazy right!

On another note Naples definitely had the best pizza I have ever had, it was delicious and having a nice casual dinner was great.

Capri:

On Sunday, we got up really early at our hotel in Naples and ran to catch a ferry boat to Capri where we would be spending most of the day. Capri was probably my favorite place so far on this whole trip, it was absolutely beautiful!

Right when we got there we took a private boat tour to the Blue Grotto, the water was so blue it looked like blue kool- aid, it was awesome. From there we tour our boat on a little tour around most of the island to see the cliffs and look for mountain goats :)
The boat tour was lovely, I missed being out on the water, Florence doesn't really have any lakes or beaches.

After our boat tour we headed up to the main piazza of Capri, Piazza Umberto and took a bus to Anacapri to get on the chair lift that goes over most of Anacapri, the views were awesome and the 15 minute ride was really relaxing.

For the rest of the day we pretty much just got to explore Capri, it was relaxing and really beautiful. Just like most of the places I've been to so far I want to go back.

Sorrento:

After Capri we stood in line to get on a ferry boat to Sorrento... and we got poured on. Bythe time we all got on the ferry boat my whole outfit was soaked!

In Sorrento we had a lovely seafood dinner, I even had clams (which is a new one for me). Sorrento was pretty but we didn't have much time there so I didn't get to see much.

Pompeii:

On Monday we headed to Pompeii for a tour of the ancient city, the tour was super interesting and it was really cool to see Mount Vesuvius from so close, I hope someday I get to go back and climb into the crater.
I feel like I learned a lot in Pompeii, it was interesting to see how people lived back then and the aqueduct system that is all over Italy is insane. With some of the amazing innovations I saw I almost wonder if society has gone backwards slightly.

It was an exhausting but incredible weekend! I learned a ton and walks at least 35 miles in like 3 and a half days. I'm sorry if this post is rather boring in comparison to some of my others, we just fit so much in to so little time that there was a lot to talk about!

This weekend I am off to Split, Croatia and Krka National Park with my roommate Nicole. I plan on going white water rafting, on a boat tour and exploring the city of Split and some of the sites that Game of Thrones was filmed at, can't wait!!!

#PeaceOutPisa and the rest of the week

On Monday my roommates Nicole, Miranda and our friend Christina and I all took a day trip to Pisa to see the leaning tower. We got train tickets for 16 Euro and I honestly think this was the first time I have wasted money since I got to Italy.

It was great to go to Pisa and take the infamous leaning tower picture but the tower itself is rather unimpressive. It's actually not really that tall and its randomly in a the middle of a courtyard next to Pisa's church and that's basically all of Pisa. 

There is a church, the tower, some touristy shops and that's it. The town is not very clean and is infamous for pickpockets, you can pretty much see all of Pisa in an hour.

All and all i'm glad I took the day to go do something but I don't recommend Pisa to other travelers!

On the plus side once we got back to Florence (home sweet home!) I found a flower shop with my name :) you wish you were cool enough to have your own flower shop!

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The rest of the week was pretty relaxing, on Sunday Nicole and I randomly stumbled across a Fiat parade and a flea market and then went to the beach and then on Wednesday Nicole and I found a local community pool that's about a 40 minute walk from our apartment so we ventured out after class and swam in the pool for a few hours. The beach here backs up to the Arno River which is not swimmable so we were both eager to get in the water and swim.

Plus we met a guy who went to University of Michigan at the pool, how random I know! He saw my Saline Stingrays Swim Team beach towel and asked if I was from Saline, Michigan. Small world right?

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Tonight Nicole and I head to Rome for our huge weekend class trip to Rome, Naples, Sorrento, Capri and Pompeii. I can't wait to sleep in a comfy bed (yay were staying in a hotel!) and explore Rome and part of the Amalfi Coast. Hopefully I get to chairlift over Capri and explore the Blue Grotto. I'll post all about it when I get back :)

Cinque Terre

I went to Cinque Terre this past weekend on a bus2alps day trip, it was amazing!

We hiked over 84 flights of stairs (according to my phone) from Vernazza to Monterosso which was absolutely brutal but the view was totally worth it and when we got to Monterosso we got to go to the beach and jump in the water. 

The beach was pretty nice but the best part was the water, it was super blue and refreshing; exactly what I needed after a long hike.

Things I learned about Cinque Terre:

1. They have the best seafood ever. I ate the best calamari I have ever had from a paper cone...

2. The hike was brutal but necessary

3. Cinque Terre is probably the most beautiful place I have ever seen in my life thus far.

Overall, the day was exhausting but like so many of the other places I have been on this trip I hope someday I get to go back to Cinque Terre :)

Pienza and Montepulciano (plus a random concert)

Today I had a field trip for my class to Pienza, a small town in tuscany that is famous for it's pecorino (sheep milk) cheeses and renaissance architecture. We got to see this amazing view (me of course... just kidding, LOL), taste test some local cheeses and explore a little bit of Pienza.

My class also traveled to Montepulciano a town in tuscany famous for it's wine and that scene in Twilight: New Moon where Edward takes off his shirt and sparkles (ugh) BUT for shits and giggles I did reenact the scene (I mean.. I took a picture in front of the same church... but that's basically the same thing due to the lack of acting in all the Twilight movies)

Montepulciano was my favorite, though the climb was exhausting, the view was totally worth it.

At the wine cellar we visited, we tasted 3 different wines and had a light lunch with some local dishes which was delicious plus I've never done anything like it before and I even found a red wine I actually enjoyed (a first for me).

Overall this was a really great field trip and I can't wait for the one next weekend to Rome, Sorrento, Naples, Capri and Pompeii.

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After our bus arrived back in Florence around 5pm I went to get some gelato with two other girls who were on my bus, Christina and Alyssa. On the way there we randomly stumbled across a concert, weird right?

We stood in the crowed piazza for 10 minutes trying to figure out exactly what was going on surrounded by other tourists with the same confused looks on their faces and young middle school girls. It appeared we had found the Italian version of One Direction, oh joy. Let's just say we listened to one song, quickly decided that gelato was the better choice and kept moving.

Later, after googling it, I found out that the group we saw, Braccialeti Rossi, is actually a teen medical comedy- drama television series cast so I'm really confused as to why they sang... and I supposed I'll never really know why.

Today has been exhausting but I feel like I learned a lot about the tuscan region and overall just had a really great day. Tomorrow my roommates and I are off to Cinque Terre and I can't wait, I heard that you can go cliff jumping and kayak through a waterfall there so I hope I get to do both!

Week 2 and some side notes

Monday:

Rachel and I got in from Barcelona after both sleeping through our early 7am flight and though we both planned on going back to the apartment to take a nap instead I went to the beach.
 Nicole and I went to the small beach across the Arno river to soak up some vitamin D and relax... I probably fell asleep at least twice and burnt my shoulders slightly but now they're a nice tan color.
Overall the day was pretty relaxing and we didn't do much but after a crazy busy weekend in Barcelona, it was exactly what I needed.

Tuesday:

We ate cheese with flower infused honey today; it was weird and I still don't know how I feel about it.

After class, my roommates Nicole and Miranda and I headed over to Pitti Palace and The Bobolli Gardens for a day trip before the rain was supposed to hit later in the afternoon
The palace I could have done without, because there were a lot of little trinkets and nothing was being explained to me we were just walking through so I didn't find it all that interesting BUT the gardens were GORGEOUS and we all had a blast imitating the statues that are all over the place.

It was a long and exhausting day, and I'm pretty sure we walked over 15,000 steps just inside the gardens, but the view was 100% worth it.

That night all three of us plus Rachel and another girl I met recently, Christina, went out to have margherita pizza at this place called Gusta Pizza that is supposed to be amazing and its only 5 Euro for your own personal pizza (which in Italy is basically your own medium sized pizza)

It was delicious! and super cheap! (honestly, everything a college student could ever want or need)

We even got to write our names on our ticket and stick it under the glass on the restaurant's table

Wednesday:

For some reason, I still haven't figured out why but I'm not complaining, we didn't have class today. I actually got to sleep in (till like 10 which is still pretty early for me) it was amazing!

The weather was kind of unfortunate today so Nicole and I stayed inside watched movies and planned the rest of our weekend (she's heading to Venice on Friday with Rachel while I go on a class field trip to Montepulciano and Pienza and on Saturday Rachel, Nicole and I are all heading to Cinque Terre for a day trip through bus2alps)

Plus! Rachel made us dinner which was wonderful :) 

Thursday:

Today during class I got free gelato (pistachio and chocolate) so as sad as it sounds that was definitely a highlight of my day and then later after heading to Mercato Centrale to pick up fruit and sandwiches for lunch Nicole and I headed to the beach to meet up with 4 other girls from Central Michigan University and build up a tan.

I was the perfect beach day, not too hot, not a cloud in the sky and a light breeze, it was wonderful.

Tonight we (Rachel, Nicole and I) thought we were going to Gonzo for another fabulous six- course meal but the way they have you sign up is through email and they never responded to our email so that fell through. We were disappointed but decided to go to Hard Rock Cafe instead. I know that's lame I'm in Italy why am I going to a Hard Rock Cafe? 

BUT as much as I never ever thought I would say it I'm starting to get sick of pasta and I really wanted some good old fatty American food, like a burger or something.

It was ridiculously overpriced but totally worth it, yum yum!

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This week may have been a relatively relaxing week so far but it's about to get much busier!

Tomorrow I am going on a class field trip to Montepulciano and Pienza so look out for an upcoming post about cheese and architecture (oh joy!) and Saturday I'll be in Cinque Terre hiking through the five beautiful coastal towns, collecting beach glass and HOPEFULLY cliff jumping (it's on my Italy bucket list) so look out for a post about that as well :)

Ciao!

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SIDE NOTE: So do you remember that creepy bouncer guy from the bar that my roommate Nicole and I went to to meet up with her CMU suitemate Kate? 

Funny story, apparently Kate went back there roughly a day or two later and he gave her his number to give to me... 

According to Kate apparently "he's in love" 

I find the whole thing utterly hilarious and I'll definitely be avoiding the Atlantic forever and always.