"Goodbye to You"

16 weeks ago I left home feeling excited, nervous, anxious, sad, elated, scared and confused. And tonight, I feel every single bit of these emotions all over again as I watch my room empty out and prepare to leave Florence tomorrow. These past 4 months are unlike anything I have ever imagined I would experience in my lifetime; I am eternally grateful for this opportunity.

7 countries, 13 cities. I feel like I should be telling you all what my favorite place was, or my favorite night in Florence, or what I am going to miss the most. But I really can't. What I can tell you is the cliche thing that I am sure every person (girl) going abroad will say: It showed me so much about myself. I seriously hate that I am writing that because it is so typical but I think I've grown up so much this past semester- more than I ever expected to. I learned that I need to have a plan at all times (sorry roommates), that I can be adventurous (despite all your beliefs), that I appreciate my family more than ever and that I am maybe too obsessed with my friends....So this brings me to my abroad family.

10 girls in one apartment was more than we all bargained for, but given our circumstances, we did a pretty damn good job. I want you all to know that each of you has made this experience for me. Together, we saw the most amazing things and I dont know how many people can say they traveled the world with their best friends. I am going to miss our pre-bed-time chats Em (what would I do with out you), making fun of Jess for her countdown and Sam for her selfie obsession, having Kerry and Marissa as my rocks here, laughing till I cry with Deyon and CeeCee, having heart to hearts with Anna and being absolutely so inappropriate with Maria. There is just way too many of us to mention but I hope that you all know I love you all so much. Thank you for making this that much better. 

This entire experience was a risk-one that I was obviously willing to take, but one that was completely terrifying and absolutely life changing. I want my family to know how incredibly thankful I am for this. Thank you for trusting me, enabling me to do this and being so supportive because I would not even be able to make it a day without you guys.

I'm not quite sure when the next time I will see Buckingham Palace in London, eat the most amazing food in Siena, paraglide off the Swiss alps in Interlaken, tour the colosseum slightly tipsy in Rome, visit Paris for less than 40 hours, ride a gondola in Venice, spend a week with my best friends in Barcelona, walk down cliffs in the Amalfi coast, tour the islands of Croatia on a boat OR camp out during a beer fest in Germany, but I definitely will cherish these past 4 months of my life. What I know I probably won't be able to do again is wake up every morning to be greeted by the Ponte Vecchio. How did I manage to get so lucky?

So now the time has really come. As we all push through the tears and pack up our inappropriate amount of baggage, I am so ready to come home. I miss everyone and cannot wait to see you all. And with about 2,000 views on my blog, thank you to everyone who has traveled with me and read through my experiences- it means more to me than you'll ever know. I have to stop here because if I continue I'll never stop. SEE YOU TOMORROW NEW YORK....CIAO FOR NOW FLORENCE, you have the biggest piece of my heart.

xo Bria 

SPRINGFEST.

I have sat here for an inappropriate amount of time trying to think of a title for this post that would be clever yet sum up my weekend.....and so on that note, "spring fest" it is because I got nothing. If we tried to think of another way to leave abroad with a bang, I don't think any other trip could have topped Munich, Germany...by far one of the best weekends.

We embarked on yet another 7 hour bus ride to get to Munich on Thursday....why not, right? We got dropped off around 2:30 am and the pressure was on to find our destination for the weekend; because in true fashion, we decided to CAMP for the weekend instead of staying at the hostel with the rest of the group. Not knowing one lick of the elegant German language, 6 of us scrambled for cabs and gave the most vague directions possible to this poor cab driver. He responded with "hmm I've never heard of these campgrounds." So needless to say, I was feeling more secure than ever....Eventually, we solidified our destination and arrived to the Stoke Travel camp site. I don't think I could give the moment we walked up to the site justice but lets just say we were greeted by the Pearl River crew still drinking from the day and an Australian throwing beers in our face before we even could put our bag down. We quickly came to the realization of what we were in for.

The next morning we wasted no time and decided to tackle Munich at 8:30 am (after we had our kegs and eggs of course). We headed into the city and went right to the festival to see these infamous tents. It was basically set up like a huge carnival; there was rides and food and then the big beer halls. We all ordered our first steins (the huge beer cups that hold about 3 beers and cost 9 euro) and some pretzels. The atmosphere was really cool and we luckily went at a down time so we got to sit at the tables and actually get served. After spending the day, we headed back to our lovely camp site for some more beer...

The Saturday morning wake up call was pleasant as I came to the conclusion I had no choice to do the bike tour around Munich with the rest of the crew. I was more than concerned that I did not know how to ride a bike and was about to be mortified in this huge city on a tour with a million other people. After about an hour of whining, I sucked it up and did surprisingly well at managing my bike. Although I didn't want to admit it (especially to Danny) it was probably the best way to see Munich. We had a guide to fill us in on what we were riding past and we stopped about every 10 minutes at different beer gardens, monuments, etc. At the end of the tour, we decided to head to another huge beer hall. But me and Tori took a slight detour as we proceeded to loose our entire group. Thank god she had a picture of the beer hall we were trying to get to on her camera...this resulted in us asked multiple Germans for directions....how we found our friends? I don't know, but we did it!  On the bright side, we got to explore a little bit more of the city? Which is absolutely beautiful by the way. Our Saturday night once again consisted of some more partying at the campsite...This blog post is really doing no justice to the camp staff, camp site or camp activities, but I just don't think I know how to appropriately word where we were staying this weekend.

Sunday was one of the most eye opening days of my entire abroad trip. We headed to Dachau concentration camp. We had these controllers that told us about each part of the campsite. Walking around was absolutely unreal; to think that we were standing on the grounds where something so tragic and historic took place was mind blowing. It really hit me when we watched the videos at some of the stations. They would show piles of dead bodies in the middle of the camp, torture methods and the amount of people that were crowded onto these grounds. We saw the ovens and the gas chambers right in front of us. It was amazing to see a place that each of us had learned so much about in school. Not everyone gets the opportunity to visit somewhere like this so I was grateful to be able to see such a crucial part of history.

I think it is unfair to say that this was my favorite trip, and I know my family makes fun of me because I come back from every place and say "it was the most amazing weekend." But I've concluded its impossible to choose so I just wont. I will say that I don't think we could have ended abroad in a better way, and it made it that much harder for me to come to terms with the fact that this is over. I will be back home in THREE days. I feel like I just left yesterday, yet feel like I haven't seen my family in years. So, keep an eye out for my last blog post and maybe I can show everyone a fraction of how I am feeling (highly doubtful)!


xo Bria

"Guys, where are we?"

Maybe I'm wrong but I feel like most students coming abroad expect to travel to Paris, Amsterdam, Germany, etc but I wanted to do one trip that was out of the ordinary so to speak. So, on a whim, me and 3 other girls decided to head to Croatia. And as I write this post, after the weekend is said and done, I still could not tell you where on earth we were this weekend.

Just when we thought we could not out-do our crazy travel plans, why not take a quick 12 hour bus to get to Split, Croatia. It actually wasn't as bad as you're thinking, but then again, this is coming from the girl who has slept through multiple fire alarms...So as I was on my 100th dream, we drove through the night and arrived in Croatia at about 9 am. Delirious, we hopped off the bus and were greeted by palm trees and this harbor filled with boats on the most beautiful blue water. We decided to spend the day at the beach when our post travel exhaustion hit us head on.  We passed out for 2 hours and woke up to some alarming sun burns, but it was worth it. Known for its sea food, we went to a local place for lunch and got some amazing fish. Oh, need I mention it was the most inexpensive weekend abroad BY FAR. So note to future abroad students, go here! The kuyna (the croatian money) is a nice change from the euro; it's about 8 euros for every one kuyna. Needless to say, we wined and dined! andddd to top our day off, we did a pub crawl at night which was surprisingly so much fun.

The next day the girls and I paid for an island hopping tour for the day. It was one of our better decisions because I'm not really sure how we would've explored this beautiful place which we knew nothing about, couldn't communicate with one single person and STILL could not figure out where the hell we were. The boat took us to 3 different places, and we got off the boat at each stop for about an hour. It was very relaxing and simply stunning. It was a nice change of pace; there was nothing really going on, it was mostly just the beach, the water and the views.....enough to keep us happy!

On our 12 hour adventure home, we stopped at Krka National Park. Where we got dropped off, there was a trail to walk down and it felt as if you were walking in a rain forest. For about 20 minutes, you were surrounded by little water falls. But when you got to the end, the "rain forest" opened up and the prettiest waterfall I've ever seen was in front of us. It really looked like it was out of a magazine. Once again, we all looked at each other and said "where the hell are we." That was the quote of the weekend.

So after 24 hours on a bus, this weekend was amazing. Like I said, it was the one trip I definitely did not expect to do, and it really didn't even cross my mind until we booked it. But, I realize how lucky I am to be able to see a place like this. I would say it's one of earth's so called "hidden treasures", as cheesy as that may sound. Now, its time to commence my 21st birthday celebrations and end this abroad experience with a weekend in Munich, Germany for spring fest! Words cannot express my excitement. To think I will be home in 11 days, though? Absolutely insane and the biggest mix of emotions I've ever felt!

xo Bria

In Awe of Amalfi

Note to future husband: I would not mind a ring from the Ponte Vecchio and if you just so happen to plan our wedding/honey moon in the Amalfi Coast, I promise I won't complain.....simple requests?

So if you couldn't tell by the above statement, the Amalfi Coast went above and beyond my expectations. I admittedly went into this weekend knowing that this would probably be my favorite trip, but I didn't think it would be my favorite place I've ever been to. If you're ever in Italy, YOU NEED TO VISIT HERE, it will disappoint. We started off the weekend on a ferry to Capri after a quick 3 hour nights sleep. We took a boat tour and got to see some really cool historical things besides from the breath taking views. The water is almost fake looking with how blue it is; it didn't feel like Italy at all. We ended the boat tour with the blue grotto. There is a bunch of grottos all around, but blue grotto is the most well-known. Its this cave and upon going inside, the water is the clearest, most pure color of blue when the light hits it. Luckily, it was open (if the tide is too rough, they will close it) and we got to go inside. 5 of us piled onto a small row boat and were forced to lay flat to enter the cave.....it was bizarre. The inside was unreal but it was impossible to get a good picture and capture how pretty the inside was. It looked like a place The Bachelor/Bachlorette would be taped because it was that amazing....(my reality TV obsession coming out.) After this, we made our way to Anacapri, which was all the way at the top of Capri. It was this adorable little town with restaurants, shops and lots of homemade sandals. Our exhaustion was slowly creeping up on us so we spent the rest of the day taking in the sun that we hadn't seen in forever thanks to all the rain in Florence.

When I thought this place couldn't get any more beautiful, Saturday was a beach day in Positano. The black sand beaches are so exclusive that if you were to take a cab there, it would cost you 100 euro. So we took a 20 minute bus ride around the extremely windy cliffs and then walked down to the beach for about another 20 minutes. The views while we drove/walked were so picturesque. The beach was beautiful of course, surrounded by all these tiny shops, cafes and restaurants. Needless to say, it was the most perfect, relaxing day. Just what we needed after spring break.

On our way home, we stopped in Pompeii to end the trip. It was cute and kind of just what I pictured it to be. Besides the obvious ruins that are Pompeii's main focus, there were little markets set up so we got to fit in some shopping before heading home. And I obviously was not leaving Pompeii without trying the pizza since it is right by Naples and is infamous for its pizza. Delish! Overall, the weekend could not get anymore perfect. Other than that, let the panic set in that there is less than 20 days left. Next up: Croatia for the first of my 21st birthday celebrations!

xo Bria

Barcelona, we meet again.

I really hope you all didn't forget about me! I'm finally back to traveling and back to blogging. The month of March was filled with so many visitors and lots of weekends in Florence. But obviously it flew by and now were already into April, I cant believe it. So, to start April off, we took our week long spring break vacation in Barcelona....and I fell in love all over again. I went to Barcelona when I was a junior in high school with about 7 of my best friends. I remember loving it so much and calling my mom at the end of the trip not wanting to come home. Needless to say, not much had changed this time around.

We left Easter Sunday and little did we know we were about to get ourselves into a 7 day "bender." Coming from the Florence weather, we acted like the Barcelona sun was as if we were in Puerto Rico (the 65 degree weather was so nice, but the 8 bathing suits we each packed was a little aggressive). Luckily, we had my best friend Danny, who studies there, to show us around everyday. The city was almost like a taste of home because it reminded me of New York a little bit; I guess coming from Florence any city reminds me of home because Tuscany doesn't exactly scream "the big apple". Our hostel was in the most perfect location, which we quickly learned was ideal when in Barcelona. Danny and his 10 lady friends ventured down Las Ramblas, which was just like I remembered....such a cool street. We visited Parc Guell in the most perfect weather; the walk up there is 100% worth it, I promise. We fit in a FC Barcelona game which was even cooler than the first time I went, and after about 86 attempts, on our last day we took a cable car across the city and walked up to the Olympic Stadium (where the olympics were in 1992...fun fact...). Oh and of course, almost everyday included a visit to the beach....I'm not mad about it, and still jealous that all the people studying abroad there have a beach at their fingertips. #bitter.

The week absolutely flew. Maybe it was because we started everyday at 2pm. Why? Because Barcelona night life was literally crazy. When we weren't pouring our own drinks at the bar, a concept that Barca thinks is appropriate but is so very dangerous, we were casually prancing around the 26th floor of the W hotel with models and the richest humans I've ever seen.....I guess my H&M dress and shoes from Target were just short of embarrassing; It was hands down the nicest bar/club/place I've ever stepped foot into.....when in Barca I guess?

Other than that, we kept it classy at all the other clubs Barca had to offer and usually pranced home around 5 or 6 am. Now that we're back in Florence, our bodies hate us and all I want to do it sleep, but I would do it all over again in a heart beat. I know for a fact I'll be back in Barcelona some day; maybe to visit Danny or Steph who claim there moving there.....(I just don't know if I'm willing to let that happen). But, it was by far one of my favorite weeks abroad and I can't believe it is over....all good things must come to an end I suppose. Now, we have about 48 hours to unpack, unwind and prepare for our trip to Amalfi coast. I remember booking this in Siena and remembering my grandma saying "If you go to Italy and don't go to the Amalfi coast, don't come home!" So, I have a feeling I am going to be in awe and I can't wait. Time is going by way too quickly here and I am not really ready to come to terms with it. But enough of that, time to enjoy everything that these last 3 weeks have to offer!

Xo Bria

More than Halfway there......

So believe it or not, IM ALIVE. I know I haven't posted in ages, but the last few weeks have been all over the place. Lets start with Rome: Rome was incredible, and overwhelmingly large. With the Pope stepping down, it was just as crowded as we expected. The weekend was filled with rain, colosseum tours and 5 hours at Vatican city. The Trevi Fountain was probably my favorite thing we saw; luckily the rain held up long enough for us to be the obnoxious tourists and take 1000 pictures throwing coins in the fountain.....  Although our feet were crying by the end of the weekend, it was amazing to be there at one of the biggest moments possible. 

Rome was followed by 2 weekends in Florence....which I couldn't even tell you guys how excited I was for them. It sounds bizarre in a sense that I take advantage of living here; Everyday, I say "Oh, I'll climb the Duomo next week or see the David tomorrow" Then, more than 2 months in, I realized I haven't done either....which is embarrassing. (Promise I wont leave without seeing them.) So it was nice to take a break from the stress of traveling and just enjoy Firenze. On top of that, we had about 86 visitors stay with us, including one of my best friends. Although the rain did not stop for the whole weekend, Emma and I managed to climb "Piaza Michelangelo," to see a view overlooking all of Florence.....Unreal. Needless to say, I think we showed everyone how amazing of a city we live in.

And last but not least, this weekend was our trip to Venice. Besides from Switzerland, it was probably my favorite weekend abroad thus far. Venice was absolutely breathtaking. Even though we didnt do as many activities as we did elsewhere, the sights/view alone was enough to make you fall in love. However, if you ever go there, you only need about a day or 2 to get your Venice fill; it was plenty for us. And then we topped off the weekend with a day/night long st.patricks day pub crawl.......yeah, so that was that.

Now, I am left counting down the days to spring break in Barcelona. Less than 2 weeks.....oh and as a depressing side note: I only have about 45 days left abroad.......not real life, not okay.

XO Bria

Passport to Paris!

First, I am sorry for the delaying in blogging this time; I think Paris actually took a mental and psychical toll on my body and I've been unconsciously avoiding writing this post. Maybe it is because I truly am at a loss for words about this weekends events! Let me start by saying that if this weekend didn't solidify my questions about being some sort of event planner in the future, I don't know what will ever give me my "ah-ha" moment. Going abroad is all about learning more about yourself, and I think this weekend to Paris showed me I most definitely like to have a plan, a to-do list, and a clear map in front of me at all times (the map part becomes difficult when you don't even know how to say thank you in French...)

So, Friday morning, 5 of us ventured off to Pisa for our flight. After an incredibly quick hour and 45 minute flight, we landed in Paris! We bought our tickets to the metro, grabbed a map, and asked for some last minute directions to our hostel. We realized this trip was about to be an hour to our hostel, apparently a standard travel time from the airport. Things were smooth sailing as we oddly navigated our metro transfers perfectly. Then, as we were crammed more tightly than on a subway in NYC, we realized 2 men consistently starring at us for the duration of our last metro. As our stop approached, we quickly got our bags and jumped off....but so did they. We realized we were being followed and I realized how badly I needed Liam Neeson's skills; all the prior departure "Taken" jokes were becoming somewhat reality. Hiding our obvious panic, we went upstairs and managed to loose the men, thank god. It was very scary but the 5 of us stuck together more than ever and eventually got to our hostel. We were ready to explore the most romantic city in the world.

First stop? The Eiffel Tower of course. Let me just say the Eiffel tower at night time is unlike anything you've ever seen. It literally took our breath away. If you ever are there, the tower sparkles at every hour, so try and catch it! While we were too exhausted for our own good to do anything else Friday night, the rest of the weekend was filled with more mishaps and beautiful sights. Although our time in Paris was short, we got to squeeze in the Lurve, Notre Dame, the love lock bridge and the Eiffel tower round 2. Oh, and managed to get Nutella and banana crepes.......AMAZING. The amount of people pushing and shoving to see the miniature portoirt of Mona Lisa at the Lurve was unreal and it gave me anxiety, but we made our way through to see it. The love lock bridge was definitely my favorite part of Paris. On this bridge its tradition to buy a lock, write the name of whoever you love, keep one key and throw the other key in the water, symbolizing eternal love. The bridge is absolutely filled with these locks which was just incredible to see. Fun fact? putting these locks on is still very controversial despite how many there are. So buying the locks on the bridge from these sketchy men was interesting; if the police were in sight, they took off running with your money and the locks.....catch them if you can?

For me Paris was just one of those unfortunate trips where anything that could've gone wrong, went wrong. By the end of the weekend we had to just laugh. Between almost debuting in Taken 3 on day one, to my scarf getting caught in the metro and having 9 strangers ripping it off me, it was certainly an interesting weekend to say the least. BUT I would've been absolutely devastated if I did not get to see this city. It truly is beautiful and there is so much to see. If you're abroad, Paris is a must-see (so I really hope this post didn't scare you away). My advice: 1) stay somewhere close to the heart of the city!! Paris is tremendous and our hostel wound up being way outside the city in a very sketchy area. It was somewhat inconvenient for us to get to and from places. 2) give yourself enough time to see everything. Although I'd be lying if I said I wish we had more time there, it's impossible to see everything you want to see in a day and a half; give yourself a long weekend if possible.

Like I said before, going abroad is one of the biggest learning experiences I am sure I will ever have; Paris happened to be my first uneasy weekend in Europe, but we definitely had some lessons learned. And just as we start recovering from traveling, were off to Rome in the morning! Pray that the rainy forecast is just a joke because I can't imagine the 8 am tours of the Colosseum being enjoyable in the rain :(. BUT, either way I am excited!! Thanks for reading

xo Bria

(W)INTERLAKEN

If you cant picture me on top of a mountain in Switzerland, I am by no means offended, because personally, I still cant believe anything I did this weekend. My roommates and I decided to take our first weekend trip abroad to Interlaken, Switzerland. As I drugged myself for the casual 9 hour bus ride, I opened my eyes to find the real definition of a "winter wonderland." (Sorry, all of you at QU, Hamden's 40 inches of snow this weekend has nothing on the Swiss alps....)

I remember talking to my best friend who went abroad last semester about how amazed she was by Switzerland, and it all made sense to me as we pulled up to our hostel at 5 a.m. Friday morning. The entire town is boarded by the most picture escque mountains and the brightest snow. To say it was breathtaking is an understatement. I feel very repetitive when I write about the scenery anywhere I have been going in Europe, but I promise I'm not exaggerating, and there is no other way to describe it.

We shacked up at "Balmers" hostel for the weekend. This hostel is 300 years old.... so I was concerned about what I would be sleeping on. Although the 30 second spurts of water in the showers were interesting, my first hostel experience was a pleasant surprise! All 9 of us in my room felt like we were at camp with our bunk beds and shared little bathroom. We came to love it by the end of the weekend. We pried ourselves out of bed on Friday to sign up for activities. Whatever came over me that morning, pushed me to sign myself up for night sledding and paragliding. I don't think I knew what I was in for...

That night I (and the rest of the girls) "bundled up" in our leggings, combat boots, headband, sock bun and little gloves and deemed ourselves ready to tackle the Swiss alps........the man in charge actually laughed in our faces when we pranced down to the bus. Needless to say, we arrived at the top of the mountain in rented snow pants and boots. and THANK GOD we did because the hour run down the mountain would have been miserable in my H&M leggings. The whole experience was kind of a blur. We took a gondola up to the top with our tiny plastic sleds. The string attached to the sled was our steering source....I'm not going to lie, I was internally panicking. Not only was I so very far out of my element, the miniature glow sticks they gave us as our only light source were less than comforting. BUT, once we got on and got the hang of it (or at least somewhat), we had a blast. When am I ever going to sled down the Swiss alps again? Probably never.

I guess I was trying to top one activity after another when I signed up for paragliding the next morning. My 2 roommates and I got on our snow pants and boots again and headed for the mountain at 9 am. The only thing that genuinely confused me about all of these activities were that the people running them just chose not to mention that before we would actually paraglide, we would have to causally hike to the cliff first....so we pull up on the side of the mountain, and surprise! Hiking in feet of snow, falling every two steps, was absolutely hysterical and the men in charge got a kick out of us. (Throw yourself in the middle of the Swiss alps, its impossible not to feel so incredibly awkward...) Anyways, coming out of that hike, we saw the most BREATHTAKING view. I was stunned. The mountains in front of us and the lake right below us was unreal. After the initial shock of the view, I remember that I am about to hurl myself off this mountain and fly across Interlaken. So, I harnessed up, strapped a 250 pound man to my back, along with the parachute, and was ready for take off? Well, Take off didn't go quite as smoothly as one would have hoped, being that I almost lost a shoe in the midst of it, but I made it up there! And it was totally worth it. I recommend paragliding to anyone especially if you ever have the chance to go to Switzerland. I promise these views are even more surreal when you're FLYING. As my hands decided to go numb and my motion sickness kicked in, we tumbled down for landing, and I realized that I probably just had lived the coolest 10 minutes of my life. It was worth the numbness and vomit that followed! When am I ever going to paraglide off the Swiss alps again? Probably never.

The rest of the weekend was spent getting lost in the best way possible and seeing as much of Switzerland as we could. That included long bus rides, a language we actually did not speak one word of, and discovering amazing chocolate! I was so excited to get back and blog about this trip; although it was my first, I feel like it is going to be one of my favorites. Not only did I get to see one of the prettiest places in the world (in my opinion) but I learned that I had this new side to me? Adventurous, outdoorsy, daring, winter-loving? Who knew. Guess my diva ways aren't everything :). Sorry this post is a bit long, but I wanted to include as much as I could! So now its time to rest for a few days, but then celebrate my roommates 21st in PARIS on Friday. I will be sure to inform you all how Valentines day is spent in the most romantic place in the world....

xo Bria

Firenze Fanatic

So remember my first post about my mixed emotions and admitted sadness leaving Pearl River? I would be laughing at myself if I could've only been able to predict how I feel right now, fast forward a month into being abroad (ah, its already been a month!) Words cant express how in love with Florence, or should I say Firenze, I am. With the first week living here under my belt, it still is weird walking out of my apartment, with the Ponte Vecchio in front of me, and believing that this is my home until May.

If you have visited Florence before, you've seen the Ponte Vecchio, one of the most famous sights in Italy. And yes, I live directly across from it. Living with 10 girls may seem like a ridiculous task to some, but equipped with our apartment, I don't think one of us could ever complain. I wish I had my camera on me to capture the smiles across all our faces, after lugging 20 overweight suitcases up 3 flights of stairs, to find our new home!

Like I said in my post about Siena, the culture shock is still in full effect. But Siena and Florence seem like 2 different worlds. Florence is way more of a city and has become a bit more Americanized. However, it is absolutely saturated in culture and history. Just blocks away from us is the Duomo. Some of you may have heard about this church before, but I can tell you words can not even give this building justice. It is simply stunning in person.

Every day we learn at least 3 new things; whether it be a new cafe discovery or a shortcut to get to school, we're still getting the hang of things! And that is one of my favorite parts about being here, we're never going to know enough about this place. During our orientation, one of the people in charge of our program told us to "put away the maps and just get lost." Ignoring the initial panic that comes with the word "lost" for me, it really is the best way to get to know Florence. Just last night, some of my roommates and I stopped 6 times for directions on our way to this pub......I don't know what is more embarrassing, holding a map to your face or our awful attempt at asking for directions in Italian.

And on that note, nightlife. The clubs, or should i say discos, are hilarious. We've had a blast every night we've been out so far. When were not dogging the Italian men and their ever-so-charming pick up lines, safe to say were dancing until were inappropriately being kicked out at 4 a.m. (sorry mom and dad). The bars and pubs are my favorite. There is even an American pub that takes American money and has college tshirts covering the walls. Everyone signs their names and sororities/fraternities on the walls too, making the atmosphere so cool. The music is my favorite part of going out though. I've come to the realization that my going out experience abroad will be summarized by American throwback music. For example, Black Eyed Peas' song "Pump It" came on, and every single person in the club acted like they just hit the lottery. Kerry and I looked at each other and died laughing...but we went with it. Since then, we've come to fully appreciate and embrace the best of the 2000's.

I'm sitting here trying to think of everything I can squeeze into one post, but it's just impossible. I'm sure I will do more posts on Florence, so I will leave you with this tonight. Now, the traveling part of our experience is about to begin..... I CANT WAIT. We're headed to Interlaken, Switzerland on Thursday for the weekend. I've never put skis on in my life so wish me luck fitting into this winter wonderland!

Xo Bria

Under the Tuscan "Sun"

For the past 2 weeks, I've been living in Siena, Italy. For those of you who don't know, because I didn't either, Siena is a very small town in Tuscany. When I thought about what I was going to call this blog post, and "under the tuscan sun" came to me, I actually laughed because it hasn't stopped raining here for more than an hour these past two weeks.....so obviously, this was the title of choice.

Anyways, besides the terrible weather, Siena is absolutely breathtaking. When I talked to my family and friends back home, the best way I could describe it was "a typical, small Italian town. When you picture Italy in your head, this is it!" And I really think thats true. The streets are these skinny, stone roads accompanied by old, rustic buildings. Everything and anything is walking distance. Our furthest destination was probably a 20 minute walk away from our hotel. Its a very quiet, old fashioned place. There is maybe about 3 bars here total, so we wound up going to the same club every time we went out...but still managed to have a good time! We had a lot (maybe too much) down time, but then again, how could I complain because I'm in Italy.

Every day for the past 13 days has made me realize how much of a culture shock I am experiencing. Their way of life is so different from ours back in America, its actually unreal. And I think that in it of itself is going to be one of my favorite parts of being abroad; seeing how other people live. It also makes me realize what I take for granted (hair straighteners, iced coffee from dunkin donuts, my car, etc...). It's funny because back home in New York, especially the city, its so easy to spot a tourist. Just look for anyone walking remotely slow, taking pictures, looking up and carring a map...you might as well have a target on your back. And obviously, that was us in Siena; a group of 150+ American students dressed nothing like they are here and speaking a foreign language. But I didn't think I would be THAT noticeably American for some reason.....so wrong. Even when we simply walked into a store, or a restaurant without speaking, they knew we were American. We quickly learned the people here aren't too fond of us, and hated even more if we didn't attempt to speak Italian. This was an issue because I can assure you the only word/phrase in Italian I can confidently say is Ciao....(hopefully this will be a different story in May?)

When we weren't in basic italian class every morning from 9-1 (yes, it was as bad as it sounds), we ventured off to wine tasting and cooking class. Some pictures are on my Facebook, but I'm sorry that I was slacking, and I always forgot my camera. Wine tasting was in this beautiful building that had a wine cellar downstairs. These brick arches housed more wine than you could ever imagine. We tried 3 wines, 1 white and 2 reds, and learned about each of them. One of the red wines was 80 euro a bottle.....oh, it was disgusting. Cooking class was one of the last things we did and it was absolutely worth the wait. This cute, little woman instructed the class knowing not one lick of english. We got to make a traditional italian tomato soup, thats made with stale bread and tomatoes. It is UNREAL. Also, we made pici, the pasta you find here in siena, a sauce, and tiramisu for dessert. Food coma? yes. Which leads me to say, in general, the food is just amazing here. Surprising, right? Everything is really fresh and the portions are small. Oh, and the gelato? Tiramisu and "baccio" gelato has become the new love of my life. Just saying. (side note: this gelato place "GROM" in this picture is the best gelato in Siena. Personally, I loved it because it was more of a froyo/ice cream, not like a heavy gelato. But we all seemed to have mixed opinions.)

Overall, if you ever wind up coming to Italy, definitely come here on a day trip or something like that. As much as we got sick of it, I think it is so cool how this town has managed to stick to their roots and let very little crazy technology and/or modernization intrude. Their life is simple and like I said before, it's just a little, typical, cozy Italian town; the views alone are worth seeing! 

So, I promise to upload more pictures on my Facebook! (If they ever upload with this atrocious wifi). One test and an hour bus ride stands between Florence and I. Words cannot express how excited, and anxious, I am to just get there. I can't wait to see where I'll be actually be living and going to school and we finally get to UNPACK! YAY! Sorry for the delay in posting, I just figured I would wait and do one big blog about Siena. Well, thats it until Florence. I miss everyone at home and I'll post soon! Thank you to everyone who has been reading :)

xo Bria

first stop? LONDON.

So Marissa, Emily and I had an entourage saying goodbye to us at the airport. We all sobbed and tried to pull it together to get through security. We walked away while Marissa's grandma screamed "NO ITALIAN MEN!!!" at us repeatedly, and it started to sink in....this is really happening. Just like that, we were on our 6 hour flight to London!

I have to admit, London was not really what I expected. Where our hotel was located, everything seemed more "old fashioned" equipped with its beautiful architecture. We spent our first day not only trying to ignore our jet lag, but just exploring this city for the first time. I was shocked how gloomy and cold this city was, but it didn't stop us. We made ourselves obvious tourists by taking too many photos, especially pictures at the red telephone booths (but how could you go to London without taking at least one, right?)

Day two we were up early and ready for our tour around the heart of London. We got to see major sights including Big Ben, The Royal palace, the London Eye and even where Kate and Prince Harry kissed after their wedding!

The heart of London really reminded me of New York City. At the finish of our tour, we got to explore by ourselves. We took the "tube," which is their version of a subway. Coming out of the tube, theres traffic,lights, people and so much to do in this big city. It was nice to feel at home even when I'm across the globe. Later that night, we went out to a London club to top off our full UK experience!

I think each of us fell in love with some part of London. For me, I think it was the accent, surprisingly enough! (if you know me, you know how I feel about accents.) But I thought they were adorable and became more jealous throughout the weekend that I didn't have one.

And today concluded our weekend in London, and was the start of our 2 weeks in Siena, Italy. The 5:45 am wake up call was pleasant and so was the 12 hours of traveling. But I guess it wouldn't be a true study abroad experience if 40 of us didn't loose our bags..........When we got to Sienna, we were enlightened with the news that a good portion of our bags didn't make it on the plane due to lack of space. As we waited and waited in the airport, filled out missing luggage forms and trekked in the rain to get to the 2 hour bus ride to our hotel, all we could do was laugh. Hopefully our traveling goes much smoother from here! Our first 2 weeks in Italy have officially begun. So excited to see what Siena has to offer!

xo Bria

Here We Go....!

It seems like yesterday where I sat around my kitchen table with my roommates and talked about wanting to study abroad. As we discussed destination possibilities, they seemed like just that...only possibilities. Fast forward a little over a year later, I'm packing up 2 suitcases and a duffle bag, and heading to Florence, Italy for the next 4 months. Unreal, I know.

If you know me even a little bit, you can only imagine how dramatic this going away process has been. The Italian themed "going away dinner" and the 650 goodbyes I have said to my family and friends?completely necessary (...i'm not kidding). It doesn't seem real that I won't be coming home until May, and I guess I'll have to get over my Pearl River obsession just for now, to casually travel the world.

So, with that, the public relations nerd came out in me and decided to create this blog. Not only do I love to write, but I feel as if it is only fair to let my family and friends join me on whatever is coming my way. While I am overwhelmed with excitement, nerves, anxiousness, fear, and happiness, there's a part of me that is a bit sad to leave my family and friends behind because they are the reason I am about to do this. So thank you to the friends of mine who pushed me to go, listened to my never-ending concerns and made me jealous while I lived through your abroad experience first. Thank you to my friends who are just as excited for me to go as I am because I needed your words of encouragement. Thank you to my sorority sisters for being a constant group of support, no matter where we all are. Last but not least, thank you to my family, for trusting me, for enabling me to do this and for giving me an opportunity of a lifetime......literally.

Ready or not, I am about to have the time of my life. Thank you for reading and I cannot wait to update you all.

Xo Bria