FLOAT ON

On the 15th day of abroading, Europe gave to meeeee


#17 - GELATO
#16- ABROAD SONGS


#15- PERSISTENT HAWKERS


Have you ever visited a large European city? If so have you ever tried to I don't know casually walked to, from, or past a national monument or famous square or even just tried to find a bathroom near something even remotely famous? Then you inevitably encountered one of the lowest forms of human society, the persistent hawker. They are the scum that have the potential of ruining your not real life moments. They are the annoying middle aged men who look like they haven't showered in a week and have the social skills of an STD if it was in human form, the most irksome, dirty, rude, and never seems to go away (yeah that metaphor was gross, sorry I'm not sorry). The hawkers are obnoxious and at their worst when persistent. Heads up for all my friends studying abroad next semester or in the future at all, the worst are ALWAYS the ones trying to sell you flowers. My advice for when you encounter the hawkers, DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR EXISTENCE.


Not even worth a Jenna Marbles the face. Seriously, do not look at them do not talk to them (especially do not talk to them) do not tell them no. No means try harder in their language. No I don't want you stupid useless crap leave me alone I'm trying to enjoy the view of the Eiffel Tower and considering I just was attacked by 5 other dudes selling me the same crap I wasn't waiting to walk 10 feet to get your crap. Back the fuck down homeboy and try reevaluating your life decisions that led you to this profession. The worst hawkers were definitely in Paris, but Florence ones get on my nerves constantly. Luckily I am not a girl, otherwise its worse. Then you get the ohhhh america lady gaga 1 euro 1 euro ciao bella ciao sexy. NO. just NO. stop that. immediately. Why have them on this list you ask? Because if it was not for these annoying pricks I realized the need to be a complete and utter ass to another person is sometimes necessary and deserved. Do I want to breeze by and ignore another person, not really (though I'm good at it at this point) but call me meredith grey with a loud SERIOUSLY? SERIOUSLY? moment because just leave me and everyone in the vicinity of this place alone. Personal space is a common courtesy if I say no, accept it and move on with your life. Don't provoke me, that's not going to help you case.

IF YOU DON'T GET ENOUGH I'LL MAKE IT DOUBLE

On the 16th day of abroading, europe gave to me...


#17- GELATO


#16- ABROAD SONGS


You can pretty much define any part of your life by the music that was hot at those moments. 2-4th grade... the Pokemon tv show theme song. 5th grade.. Macarena. 7th grade... the Outkast Love Below/Spearboxx album, 8th grade.. the entire Now 16 CD. 9th grade... poser emo phase insert any alternative band here. Freshman year of college... I Gotta Feeling, Shots, Your Love Is My Drug, Party in the USA, Hello Seattle Remix, Sexy Bitch, and my adventures into loving Country music. Sophomore year of college.... Super Bass (knew before it was popular), Raise Your Glass, What the Hell, Outta Your Mind, Arab Money, Home, Dog Days Are Over, and Awake My Soul.


Sparknote version of my evolution of music life themes brings me to my Junior year (vomit upperclassmen status) and the songs that frequented my abroad experience and made everyone chuck their hands up in the air with excitement in the clubs.


Mr. Saxobeat by Alexandra Stan,
The quintessential Italy abroad song for me.


Levels by Avicii
Epitome of good music hitting Europe far before America


Danzo Kuduro by Dom Omar ft. Lucenzo
I should probably try to learn the actual dance to this


Loca People by Sak Noel
Even though a friend showed me this forever ago, it's massive in Europe. From hearing it in the clubs to hearing it in the Venice McDonalds, it's everywhere and I don't hate it.


Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5
Damn does Italy love this song, and it's by my favorite band so no complaints


What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction
So it might be a little late hitting Italy, but heard it while I was in Ireland


Save the World by Swedish House Mafia
Beat the beat. In Italy, France, and Ireland.


Feel So Close by Calvin Harris
Ignore the fact that he made We Found Love so damn good because of his beats, this is where it is at. The beat that drops after the chorus, killer.


And I could probably throw in any Katy Perry seeing as Italy LOVES her, but I won't. Oh Europe, I will miss you and your harsh house music influence. Not looking forward to getting back to America and hearing the same 12 songs over and over and over again and having crappy please the masses but not really Spring Weekend bands, why can't I just be rich and see deadmau5 in Rome or Tiesto in Paris. Life goes on. 

NIGHT AT THE ITALIAN OPERA

Our last excursion in Florence (aside from the farewell dinner but I refuse to acknowledge that exists for the time being) was going to the La Boheme Opera. We all got dressed up and went to get apertivo before the opera at this ridiculously swanky restaurant/bar called Ideal. It was clearly ideal for all things and people that are classy. So I gorged on bread, pasta, hot dogs and random other weird appetizer food (it was super classy so therefore didnt have the need for legitimately filling food). I ate probable a full baguette of bread via small slices, but it was free so hell yeah am I going to pig out. Pretty much all of us followed suit of Chiara's drink and we all got capriosca fragolas (spelling?) which was super strong but super good. Never had a strawberry/lime drink so why not, all for try new things especially when its FO FREE.


Then we head to the opera and shortly after we get there it starts. Oh so the singers are going to elongate every syllable of what they are saying... oh luckily there's subtitles, oh wait I don't speak read or understand Italian, fun. There was 4 parts to the show. Needless to say I got a good couple naps in that night. Hey I went, I am trying to get cultured even when I knew I wasn't going to enjoy it, but yet again it was free so I went.

IT'S DECEMBER 1st.....

DAMN. It's December. Since when?

so since I'm a Grinch (thanks to a birthday that is always overshadowed by the holiday seasons) but I still love the month of December, I figured a good way to keep me in check of the reality that I leave on December 17th is to improve upon the 25 days of xmas and have a 17 days of studying abroad. (You'll have to deal with the daily posts, but I pretty much post daily as is).

So what does the 17 days of studying abroad mean you ask? I'm going to finish off my last 17 days with recapping 17 moments/things/days/trips/people that helped define my studying abroad experience and how it has influenced me as a person.

On the 17th day of Abroading, Europe gave to meeee

(It's going backwards, so work with me, I get it doesn't make complete sense)

#17- GELATO.

Now why not I say Italian food in general? Well gelato deserves a category all on its own. Considering I have 3 favorite gelateria's (Grom, Gelatissimo, and Festival del Gelato) that should say something in itself. Grom was the first Italian gelato I had and there was no going back from there, it was a necessity of life. Gelatissimo gives the best portions for price, not to mention I have a loyalty card and get free gelato.. and the workers there are so peppy and friendly (which is the most rare in Italia). Then Festival has over 50+ flavors to choose from, most of which I cannot get at other places. So my vice is gelato. Yes, Italian food is bomb and has forever ruined pasta and pizza for me in America, but considering the ratio of meals I made myself to meals I ate out, I barely ate actual Italian food BUT I did eat a lot of Italian gelato. Need a pick me up? Gelato. Want to casually go out with a few friends after doing something? Gelato. Feeling like a fat ass walking to class? Gelato. Not sure what to do? Oh let's go get some gelato. Gelato solves any and all problems.

Sidenote Favorite flavors: TIRAMISU, Caffe, Limone, 5 Cereali, Mint, Espresso, Cantaloupe 

THANKSGIVING IN SOUTHERN FRANCE

It was the first time I could utilize the fact that I don't have class on Thursday to leave early as I was traveling by myself for the first time, to get back to one of my obsessions... FRANCE! I don't even have to explain how much I love France, the language, the food, the nice people, so it was so nice to be able to see a completely different part of it than Paris (though still would die to go to Paris again and again).

Start off my morning early to catch a train to Pisa, have a complete running after train just as its leaving moment, but I woke up early for this reason to be at least 2 hours early to Pisa Aeroporto, so didn't matter I was still really early. Made progress on reading The Last Lecture (stolen from a London hostel, very useful to killing time while traveling as my Soduko book is getting old). Ate a sandwich in the airport (that's major progress, still hate sandwiches). Then it's on a small jet ready to arrive in my layover at Charles de Gaule in Paris... oh but wait there's fog over Paris jk Pisa you're gonna now be delayed for a half hour, oh you only have 45 minutes to make it to your layover terminal that's so far away it requires a bus? So yeah it did not even matter that I was full blown Amazing Race style lunatic sprinting through the airport to get to my terminal, I wasn't going to make it. They apparently knew the delay screwed me over and automatically put me on the next flight to Nice...which was 3 and a half hours later WOO. So I got to spend my Thanksgiving dinner eating a vouchered sandwich and soda from Air France. Then after finally landing in Nice (I see palm trees WHAT?) I get there too late for a direct bus to Cannes so I have to take the city bus which takes twice as long, so my entire Thursday was shot by traveling for 12 hours, but I was happy because I was finally there and not worried because I knew I would get there eventually, hassles and bad travel karma or not, and I was in friggin' France! (Thanks in large part to my two sisters and two of my aunts for helping me out, no 21st birthday gifts or xmas gifts for me, but I'm perfectly okay with that, I'm in Europe)

It sucked missing Melissa's program's dinner, they all dressed up like Indians and pilgrims, but it was all good. We relaxed and then went out with a few of her friends in her program to their favorite place to go out, an Irish bar called Morrisons. Hey Strongbow, I missed you.

The next day she had class, I deal with the rude French people that work at her college that were psychhhhoooo, then we head to Nice for the day and night. I was pumped to be able to city another city in France, and it was very close to Cannes (wish I had another day there otherwise we would have gone the extra 20 minutes to see Monaco). 

The view from Melissa's dorm room

Random xmas festival being set up in Nice

Nice beach

Yes, this is real.

In Nice we explored a little, saw the city, climbed up a lot of stairs to see the panoramic view of the city and see this man made waterfall that overlooked the city.

Melissa and I + Nice

The waterfall, clearly.

Are you so filthy rich you don't know what to do with your money, oh well buy an enormous yacht and then park it in Nice

Chilling with some palm trees in the end of November

Dinner at a random French cafe, Espresso, a sugar crepe and then a FRESH LEMON CREPE!? yup I was in heaven. Oh and then there was bread too, om nom nom.

The streets of Nice at night

So the next day I went with Melissa and a bunch of people in her program to go olive picking, something she thought was only going to be in the morning followed with a free Provencial lunch, but then we found out the hard way that was false and worked for a few hours after gorging ourselves with the free food, but it was still a really nice day and who can say they went olive picking in the French hills? I can. Damn the amount of work that goes into getting olives for olive oil is insaneeee.

Can't eat these kind, not that I would either way

Me with this weird olive picking tool that vibrates and pokes at the tree to get the olives off to catch them on the nets below.

Sifting the olives, juice be all over your hands.

The family was most def rich and richie rich.

The sunset was the most beautiful

Yeah we got McDonalds, it was so damn worth it. Though not to self, find out French translation for Sweet + Sour Sauce cause that worker looked at me like I had a second head, but he understood Ketchup. Oh I need fast food back in my life STAT.

We explored Cannes a bit at night, I saw where they host the Cannes Film Festival and all the crazy celebrities and artsy film directors romp around.

Drinks that glow in the dark? CHECK.

Melissa was determined to get me to a gay club, seeing as Cannes is the gay capital of France, but alas yet again shit happens, don't feel like paying annoying cover charges, people bail, and Melissa nearly flips a shit but I was still having a damn fun night, it wasn't on my priority list anymore. I'm perfectly happy still figuring my own shit out, but damn did the place we stayed at have some weird ass music videos being played that did not correspond with the bomb music that was being played.

Wake up and see the Cannes beaches, or what's left of them after the storm that washed them out a month or two ago. Runners and bikers were everywhere, yet another reason I love France. I'd run while there constantly if I lived there, well run even more than usual.

I want a boulangerie put in the atrium next to Dunkin AS SOON AS POSSIBLE Stonehill please and thank you. Croissants and pain au chocolates all day errday

We climbed to the top of Cannes to see the views from there, still unreal.

Overall was an extremely successful and great last trip outside of the country. I have Rome this weekend, but to end my not real life travels abroad in France I am very happy with that. This sunset that I viewed on my flight home to Pisa was INSANE, best sunset I have ever viewed in my life. Oh yeah and I ran like a lunatic in Charles de Gaule to catch my layover flight back but luckily there wasn't any delays or other numerous things that were out of my control impeding my travels so I made it with a half hour to spare (made it to a complete other terminal, bused it, made it past security, shouted excuse-moi like 4 or 5 times, and all in a matter of twenty minutes. SUCK ON THAT AMAZING RACE. I have fully decided that I never ever ever ever ever want to be on the Amazing Race, love the show and I have always wanted to be on a classy CBS Reality Competition but damn do I hate traveling because so much of it is out of my control. Not to mention I don't think I could find a partner that is so impatience, competitive, and has the stamina to keep up with my running and stubborn tendencies. To each their own, next flight I get on is heading home to Boston with a layover in Switzerland. So weird.

SAD REALITY

So I'll get to posting about my amazing weekend in Southern France with Melissa soon enough but I just realized that...


I have 20 days left abroad.... TWENTY. WHAT?


That means I turn 21 in 22 days and I will inevitably being doing my last moments in Florence so soon. Last Gusta Pizza, last Tijuana Thursday, last time photobombing hundreds of tourists photos of the Duomo, last time walking up Strozzi's 96 steps to class (though not so sad about that one). etc etc you get the picture I am just not okay with lasts. This weekend was potentially the last time I would be in France... SO not okay with that one.


What can you get done in 20 days?
Without me even thinking for more than 2 minutes within the immediate future I am going to an Italian Opera (wouldn't if it wasn't for free and when else can I say I went to an Italian opera?), a weekend in Rome, an art history presentation IN the Uffizi, and now Elyse is visiting Florence my last weekend here? Life is grand, but this is still not real life. The reality is setting in that fake abroad life is ending and I must accept it's shelf life.


twenty frigging days.... I can't get over it. I remember when I was thinking oh I have 67 days left this is going to be forever. WELP life moves on a lot quicker than expected.

DAVID MEETS THE REAL DAVID

It finally happened this past weekend, no morose feelings coming from me despite yet another walking tour guide (thank god to the one I don't believe in LAST ONE...well til maybe roma). Woke up ridiculously early for a saturday to go to the Accademia and see Michelangelo's David. The fake Daves don't even remotely compare to the real one, it is massive, pristine, beautiful, stoic, strong, and the museum definitely knows how to bring a person's attention to a statue with this structural white dome accenting it.


Here is where I would showcase a not real life photo of it from my perspective but oh wait NO FOTO in the museo. Italians don't want you average 1,350,000 visitors ruining this masterpiece with your inability to turn your camera on museum mode or oh wait turn the flash off... silly tourists, trix are for kids.