Fall break in the city of lights. So the art school I am attending here in Florence has this wonderful thing called a fall break. Basically a week off from all things school related. After four mid-term exams and I project in my photography class I was more than ready to leave Italy. Originally I was going to be in Greece for a week of letting loose with Molly, Daisy, Emma, John and Zoe, but after our first reservations fell through I was able to change plans the week before break started and head to Paris. Katherine (who studies at UMiami) and I bought one way train tickets to Paris the thursday before we left. In retrospect I probably should have figured things out further in advance, but everything turned out alright in the end. We ... read more

So I spent the last weekend in September touring Sorrento, Pompeii, Capri, and Naples. It was interesting going to such a different place, well different from Florence anyway. It is so therapeutic to ride on the trains in Italy. Crossing fields of grapes and cutting through the hills going through tunnels that make your ears pop. People watching and seeing who else is also riding with you. Small casas pass at lightning speed, like they were never there to begin with. The old blending with the new in the form of power lines next to ancient battle sites. This small country that is only 70 miles across at one point, full of history that would make any writer excited. Passion is not an emotion that Italians are short on either they definitely have it in abundance. ... read more

So another week in Florence pasted and this one was much more interesting than my last entry. I have FINALLY started to know where I am going in Florence, so that when walking home at night I can actually get home. So long as I find the Duomo, Santa Croce, Arno River or the Hotel Bernini (which is next to the Bargello) I can make it down the impossibly narrow streets and back to my apartment. Florence is such an interesting city that even people who have lived here their entire lives still get lost. I have met several that could not tell you certain streets if they are not on them. Most, when asked for directions give landmarks, because everyone knows the main landmarks in the city. Usually the Duomo or Piazza della Repubblica are ... read more

So HUGE update about my upcoming trip to Italy in 38 days! My plan had been to apply for a visa using an online site that "claimed" it would be able to send in my visa for me, so that I would not have to travel to apply in person. Well, about one week ago I received a message that this site would be able to complete my visa at this time. OKAY.... well this left me with very little time to find a new way of getting my visa without having to go in person to the Italian Consulate. Which by the way for Washington state is located 700 miles away in San Francisco, California, not exactly close by. One more small slightly more important piece of information about Italian visas is that you have ... read more