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