Images taken from around the city. (It's really interesting to look at these.. and then compare to the other blog I posted of the Graffiti found not so far away in Berlin.)... read more

It was the semester break for our studies in Florence, Italy, so myself and my roomate, Lindsey, decided we would take advantage of the opportunity and head to Brussels, Amsterdam, and Berlin for the week! Brussels was a stop-over for us because ultimately it did not cost much more at all to fly into the area (Charleroi airport) and then take a train into our intended destination of Amsterdam, than if we had just flown straight into Amsterdam. Who were we to complain about the opportunity to see an extra city/country! The arrival airport was a small one, and after a bus ride which took a little over an hour in the rain, we were in Brussels. We stayed at Hotel La Madeleine which, thanks to booking online, we only paid 25 euros each, as opposed ... read more

After leaving Siena, we stopped by the midieval town of San Gimignano. The town itself is a upward hill, and we were only given 1 1/2 hours in the city. This was just enough time to make it to the top of the slope, enjoy the view, and then return. The view was nice though. :)... read more

Wow.. I'm going to attempt to put two months of happenings within Florence in this entry. I knew after living in the North of Italy for Summer 2004, that I wanted to return to this amazing country, so I was thrilled to find a program that fit what I was looking for. I enrolled for 2 month long semesters at Santa Reparata International School of Art near the city center of Florence and decided upon taking their Italian language classes. For the first month I would be taking intensive intro to Italian, and the second month I would take a normal speed class... and I loved it! But I'm getting ahead of myself! Arriving into Florence was pretty simple... it was another trip alone across the world for me, but this time with no nasty layovers... ... read more

(entry added January 29, 2006) Tramonti is an amazing little area north of Aviano that we heard about through a friend. It took a while to get there, winding through roads and even having to back up in areas where it was only one lane... with a truck trying to go the opposite direction around the curves! ...but once we arrived, we realized that it was well worth it. Nestled between the mountain rocks was a clear, blue, pure river with slow flowing waters. The water was extremely cold because of the snow melting and adding to the water supply that came down, but the view was beathtaking! We had to park the car on the side of the road on the overpass we found for the area we wanted to swim in, and then shimmy ... read more