Friday, May 17, 2013

My Semester Abroad in 50 Pictures

Top pick Amarillo. Bottom pick the coast off of Rome.


Well, I started the semester off the right way.... driving on the WRONG side of the road (we were in England driving in the left lane).


This is the moment I realized I overpacked....


First day in Florence. Met my roommates, Katie and Jenn.



My first time at an Italian supermarket. I had NO IDEA what was going on and knew ZERO of the language. Just a bunch of fun and games


So, I bought the only thing I knew... frozen pizza. And, it's actually really good! I still eat a couple every week. I will miss the Italian pizza. That's for sure!


Kissing the boar in Florence. Tourist stuff.


Said goodbye to my daddy who brought me to Florence by way of London and Rome. Also, I'm rocking my new Italian haircut (the first of four).


Went to my name's sake!!! Parigi in Italian


CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL!!!! Enjoying some yummy chocolate covered strawberries with my sweet Will!


Took a self defense lesson. Ready to take on the semester.



Having fun at Carnivale in Venice with Will.


Giving the Fish Pub a death wish... They are STILL bumpin' those beats.


My European shoes rubbed a whole in basically every pair of socks I own.


Ate a lot of gelato this semester...


WENT SKIING!!!! This is the one that still freaks me out... who goes skiing in Europe/Italy?! So. Insane.

I took Will to his first Pro-Soccer game!


Ah... The insane amount of train tickets for Spring Break


Fist pumpin' in the stairwell.


Milan with my fam. Me and Kristen (my cousin) in front of the duomo. I still don't know what my dad (left) is doing...

While in Milan I saw the Last Supper. And took an illegal picture of it. WHAT UP!


Found my birth street. All the cities in Italy have one, literally. It's the date that Italy became unified. Who knew my birthday was an Italian Holiday?!


My family taking over Milan at the InterMilan Soccer game! It. Was. Awesome.


Jenn and I creeping on Katie's vegetable photo shoot.


My mom brought me girl scout cookies!!! FOR REAL! I still have 5 cookies left. That is self control people!


THE ELECTION OF THE NEW POPE!!!!


The sea with the fam. After we all fell into the freezing water.

I bought a leather jacket... When in Florence...


Don't worry, I took my leather jacket on Spring Break so you'll be seeing A LOT of it! And we found a boar in Munich, just like our Florence hog.


I mailed a post card to Will in EVERY city we went to over spring break (this picture taken in Lucerne, Switzerland). Literally the most fun ever tracking down post offices and where to find stamps. I love mail y'all. Sending and receiving.


Cinnamon rolls in Prague... I ate a lot of them.


Just guarding the Prague Castle


Eurail Pass FAIL!!! We sat on the floor by the bathroom in the train for three hours. It was quite the experience.


CHEESEBURGER!!!! In Budapest. Literally one of the best burgers I've ever had. And I'm not just saying that.


Fat man statue in Budapest.


Will took me to the zoo in Vienna after he surprised me. I LOVE GIRAFFES!


My roommate is getting married!!! I got the bridesmaid invite in the mail one day. SO MUCH FUN!


Istanbul. Bucketlist. Check.


Tuscany.


There were Arezzo signs EVERYWHERE driving through tuscany. So I had to take a pic with one and send it to Will... Except I wasn't tall enough for the Arezzo sign to point at my hand heart.... short people problems. 


Hiking the Cinque Terre. Photo cred. Will!


POMPEII!!!! With William and our audio guide!


Got this shot of a pigeon. He literally swooped in RIGHT when I took the picture... how does that even happen?!

Silly Willy ridin' the dinos in Lerici


My PRECIOUS Italian professor. He is the reason why I didn't lose it through the semester. I always came out of that class loving Italy.


She is finally finished! My copy of Boticelli's painting "Madonna with Pomegranate". So glad that class is over. I spent an ENTIRE semester on this little thing. Respect for the Master's y'all. Respect.


I found my flower shop in Florence. It's named after me!


Went to the Specola Museum... Which ended up being a creepy amount of taxidermy. Very disturbing. In the ape room they had an open display case for "man" or "uomo" in Italian......


Last day in Florence. Had to take the exact same duomo pic as our first day together.


Dear Florence, Thank you for having so many awesome festivals. Last day in Florence was the first day of the Gelato Festival!!! We definitely lucked out! A chocolate AND gelato festival in the same semester!


My last night in Florence. Sunset on the Arno.


I leave in..... 4 hours from now to head to the airport... that 4am. But today was a blast and sad as the roommates left one by one. Just Jenn and Katie and I are left here. We went to some museums, got our last souvenirs and had a cleaning dance party and ate 5 gelatos at the festival to end the semester off with a bang today!

I am so blessed to have spent the last 4 months in Florence and traveling around Europe. I can not thank my parents enough for the opportunity they have given me! CAN NOT WAIT to be home tomorrow though. Eating steak and sleeping in my big bed. God is good and tomorrow is a long long day so I need to sleep! I will miss Italy and Europe and the many challenges and blessings I encountered along the way.

Ciao Firenze. Ti amo. Buona Notte