I think my absolute favorite part of Rome was Nonna Rita, our airbnb host. She is a small, old woman who speaks NO english. She is also the sweetest lady in the whole world. Our trip to Rome started off rather rough. Katrine and I were both tired from our last weekend and Florence and we had to clean our apartment and get all of our stuff around to be moved out. Then I had to drag my nearly 50 pound bag and my carry on that doesn't roll around the crowded train station in Florence only to find out my suitcase WOULDN'T fit on train. I struggled a lot but made it work somehow. Getting off the train a nice Italian knew I had been struggling and carried my suitcase off the train for me. Maybe this was because he was nice, but I think it was mostly because he was tired of me taking forever. Either way I was very grateful. We then took a taxi to our airbnb which was our first big mistake. ROME TRAVEL TIP: Do not take a taxi from the train station. They charge you wayyyyyy more and you will end up being broke the entire last week of your trip. After we were overcharged we could not wait to get inside and take a little nap. Except we couldn't get in because sweet Nonna Rita was not answering and the number we called would not pick up :) We got someone to help us and finally made it up. We had to take several trips up an old rustic elevator but we were treated with a kiss right away from Rita. She was adorable and one of the highlights of my trip. I will say I enjoyed Rome because of its amazing historical sights and the fact that it is Rome, but I am glad I chose to visit for a shorter period of time. We bought a "Skip the Line" pass for the Vatican Museum because we knew that was something we both wanted to see. You can also do this for the Coliseum, but we chose not to. We had 24 hours to see all of the major points in Rome. I loved the Trevi Fountain and the Sistine Chapel. I can't explain it but it's an overwhelming and beautiful feeling being present in both of these locations. While we had the major sights we wanted to see we also hit a few places along the way. We went to the same coffee shop that Kourtney Kardashian had been at the previous day. Of course it was crowded so I couldn't recreate the picture I wanted, but it was still cool to see.
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We had a free weekend where we were not planning on doing any traveling, so our roommates suggested we all do the Cortona & Wine Tasting day trip through Smart Trips. It was a reasonable price and an opportunity to see the countryside in Tuscany. It was also well worth it. We had to take about an hour bus ride to get to the country but like I said it was BEAUTIFUL. IT was a side of Tuscany that we hadn't seen being in the city. The trip started off with a trip to the spa. We went around to each bath trying to find the warmest one since it was kind of a cloudy day. The sulfur baths gave off a bit of a stench but we all just laughed about it and made jokes about egg salad. After a few hours at the spa we got dressed and headed to the wine tasting. First they gave us a tour of the vineyard and showed us the garden and where it is stored for years! Then we took a bus to a separate location for the actual wine tasting. The table was filled with plates of cheese, tomatoes, bread, olive oil and the BEST Balsamic glaze. We were also served multiple different pasta dishes. The food was amazing and the wine was just as good. The offered a white wine to start which was one of my favorites. It was similar to Prosecco, but not quite the same. Then we tried a red wine, which wasn't my favorite but after the tasting I ended up liking red wine a bit more. The best though was a strawberry red wine. It tasted like candy and we couldn't get enough. You definitely get a lot for the low price and they keep you full and well quenched :) After the tasting we went to Cortona, which was up on this huge hill. It's like a hidden magic kingdom that definitely looks like a place princesses would live, so I loved it. Despite how full we were we all got our favorite dessert, gelato. We watched it melt on our hands and it was definitely the messiest gelato I remember having but the view made it worth the hassle. This was a great day trip that I definitely recommend to others. My class was taken through Lorenzo De Medici in Florence. The first day we were required to attend an entire college orientation and then a smaller orientation based off of our programs. One thing I noticed that was different right away was the class sizes. At Iowa State we have large lecture halls. My class was around 15 students and there were even some smaller. Another difference was that we were all from different places. There were students from all over America, Mexico, and Belgium specifically in my class, but the class was taught in english by an Italian professor. Although his accent was sometimes heavy we were still able to learn a lot. The class I took focused specifically on Luxury Brands. I wanted to take this class because being from Iowa I had not had a lot of exposure to physical luxury brands. Before coming to Florence they were just pieces celebrities wore and what was displayed in magazines and big cities like New York. One day we got to go to tour all of the luxury stores right there in Florence. We were allowed to explore and note what we found different. What I noticed specifically was the clientele was usually older and more distinguish. The security was also high. Some places they would open the door for you, which was definitely different from department and fast fashion stores. The way they sell is also a lot different. They would show off the key features of the item. If you asked for assistance they would spend all the time you needed with them and were full of information about the product. It was a very different feel going into the stores. Something that also surprised me to learn was that brands in the US that aren't necessarily luxury are in Italy like Lacoste, Coach, Michael Kors, North Face and Apple. We had two tests and most of our classes were discussing readings and class presentations. At the end of the semester we worked in groups to evaluate a luxury brand. My group chose Versace. We researched the history of the brand, the Brand Identity Prism; Promotion and Marketing; Products and Prices and suggestions we had for the brand moving forward. Overall I learned a lot from my class. It was interesting to learn from others outside of the Iowa State AMD community and learn something new. Usually when you get a four day weekend at home you lounge around or work, but when we had an extra day off from our class we decided to use that time to go to Crete, Greece. We knew we had a short amount of time in Florence but we always knew that if we were going to take a big trip somewhere we wanted it to be Greece. The journey to get there was the most exhausted part and we definitely deserved the next couple days of relaxation. In order to get there we took a 7 hour bus ride from Florence to Venice overnight, but we couldn't just sleep all the way through because there was a transfer where we had to wait in a bus station from midnight to 2 am. That was the worst part of all the traveling. We both thought it would be hot so neither of us brought sweatshirts and that was the only time it rained the entire time we were abroad, at 2 am outside a train station. We stayed positive because we knew our end destination would be well worth the hassle. We made it to the Venice airport in the pouring rain and enjoyed fresh orange juice and a donut. My favorite part about traveling especially in the morning was orange juice and some kind of pastry for a reasonable price. After all the constant traveling and hauling of luggage it was nice to sit back for a nice, calm flight to Crete. We were staying at an Air bnb and our host, George arranged for a taxi to pick us up. Katrine's friend Claire was meeting us at the airport from her study abroad program in Prague. The first thing I noticed about being in Greece was that the people were genuinely friendly. Our taxi driver told us if we ever needed a ride then we could call him and he would be there or send someone. On our way to where we were staying he even offered to stop at a ledge with a beautiful view so we could take a picture. Most taxi's don't do that. They get you where you need to go and you're on your way. The place where we were staying was at the very top of a hill. You will probably notice that these are no foothills from our photos, so even getting to the grocery store 5 minutes away was a workout. Our host George was very kind to us. We had the perfect size apartment and a pool with a view. The first night we were there we laid out by the pool for awhile. There were no clouds in the sky so it got extremely hot. We later went to get some groceries and then went down by the beach to eat. A lot of their food consisted of seafood, which I do not eat, so I got a pizza instead (basically what I lived off of). We usually went to bed pretty early in Greece because we wanted to wake up and enjoy each day. The next day we were taking a sail boat out through a company we found online. Our taxi driver came to pick us up and bring us to the port we were supposed to meet them at. When we got there we waited outside this bar/restaurant to be picked up. The wait staff told us they had a bet going on whether we were from England or the United States. The sailboat was THE best day of my life. We found it online for only 70 euros and we got 2 hours on an island, dinner/drinks and an unforgettable experience. I have never seen water this blue in my entire life. I went snorkeling, got to swim and relax at sea. On our way back to the dock the water got a bit wavy. I kept thinking we were going to tip over but our sailors seemed to not be worried at all because through it all he had a cigarette in his hand the entire time. When we got back we called the cab driver and he said he would be there to get us shortly. We sat at the port restaurant until his cousin arrived to pick us up. He spoke less english than our previous cab driver, but was just as kind. He offered to stop at the grocery store on our way home, which ended up being a lifesaver. My favorite fruit in the entire world is watermelon and the grocery store had the biggest watermelon I have ever seen in my entire life and for CHEAP. I went to pick it up and bring it to the cash register and you will see in my photos that our cab driver T$ wouldn't let me carry it myself. He brought it out to the car after I paid and then a man from the grocery store next door started yelling at him. I had accidentally taken a watermelon from one grocery store and purchased it at another. In that moment I thought, "Great, because I'm dumb I am going to end up in Greek jail." But the man was so kind and understood and just let me have it. That was not the end of our journey with T$ he took us back to George's but took us the scenic route and showed us the sunset from high up. You can ask Katrine about her photoshoot. By the time we got back we were exhausted. We cooked up some pasta and went to bed so we could wake up early to relax at the beach. We went to the "best" beach. This is the one everyone suggested we should go to. They were definitely right because it was AMAZING, but also very busy. Some people told us that many Greeks go to the beach on Sundays. We still enjoyed our time there laying out, exploring shops and finding cool locations surrounding the beach. We found an awesome store of glass pieces and other cool things handmade in Greece, so I took the opportunity to get some gifts. After that we spent awhile longer at the beach until our friend Claire had to leave. We attempted to walk up the treacherous hill to George's, but we realized that was a terrible mistake. Like we said before George is a saint and called us a taxi to where we were so we could get back in time for Claire's flight. As for Katrine and I we spent the night by the pool and enjoyed our last little bit in Greece before heading back Monday morning. One of the first weekends in Florence our roommates said they were taking a trip to Venice and asked if we would go with. We all booked our train tickets, which were not too expensive but well worth the money. We also booked our boat ride in advance, so we would know in advance and make sure we did not have to wait once we got there. Once we arrived from the train station we got water taxi day passes. I recommend doing this because in the end you are spending less. We then walked around trying to find some food. We found a nice restaurant with a beautiful view. Venice is known for their Prosecco, so we tried that out. This is the only time I had the typical spaghetti in Italy. It was better than any other spaghetti I had ever had. The staff was also so kind. The manager would come over and bring us whatever we needed. After our meal he brought us a free dessert and it was the most delectable chocolate cake I had ever had. We walked around a bit and saw a few things before going to our boat tour. We walked to see St. Marks Basilica and Doge's Palace. If we had more time we would have toured Doge's Palace but our train left at 6 and by the time our tour was over we did not want to risk missing our train. The gondola tours are a must if you are visiting Venice. One thing I wish we would have done is do the singing gondola tour. It was a fun trip and I felt like I really got to enjoy the beauty of Venice even if it was just for a day. The most beautiful place to see the sunset in Florence was the Piazello Michelangelo. We went two times to this location. At the top of the hill people would sit on the steps and all around enjoying music, wine and of course the beautiful sun setting over Firenze. It was hard to get there from our apartment so we had to take a taxi. One night we tried to go and we called the taxi company at least 30 times BEGGING them to send a taxi to san Gallo. Our favorite line became, "Caio, can I get a taxi." Katrine and I arrived in Florence close to the same time as each other, so in an effort to save some money we planned to share a cab to our housing orientation meeting at LDM. While I was waiting for her plane to arrive I had my first coffee in the "Coffee Capital" of the world. It definitely was nothing like I was used to but I figured I would find a Starbucks or something similar in the city (SPOILER ALERT: IT'S NOT A THING HERE). Once Katrine arrived we went to our housing meeting to receive our keys and housing location. When we arrived at the address of our apartment we were very curious as to what we would be getting. Before we could know we had to drag our luggage 4 flights of stairs, which isn't so bad besides the fact my checked bag weighed a whopping 47 pounds !!!! We also were not aware that we would have roommates, Kathleen and Christina from New York. The first night we were not really sure where to eat considering there are food places every 10 ft. After walking around we decided to try an organic pizza place by our home. I should have been celebrating my one year of being vegan, but instead I ordered a pizza with organic mozzarella. IT WAS AMAZING. I hadn't had cheese in over a year and it was well worth it. We also got gelato from our now favorite gelato place called "My Sugar" it is handmade gelato just up the street. The best is the salted caramel or the coffee. The next morning we had orientation with the school. We were all jet lagged and tired and all we wanted was an iced coffee to bring with us. We saw a few other people that had them so we worked up the courage to ask someone where they got it. They said Green Street bar and Shakes cafe both had iced coffee you could bring with you. After a long orientation we had some free time before we had to meet with our advisor. So we all ventured to find Green Street Bar. I ordered an iced coffee with caramel. Everyone was thinking the same thing but in an effort to stay positive about our caffeine addiction we stayed silent (it was no Starbucks). Katrine and I then headed back towards our meeting location. We tried to order food and in an effort to at least be vegetarian I ordered what I thought to be a veggie sandwich. Except the red on the sandwich was not tomatoes, it was raw fish. After that I was more careful when ordering.
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