One of the best parts about living in Italy is, of course, THE WINE! Part of my program was taking a "Getting to know Arezzo" course. This course included things such as walking around the city and learning the history, making pasta from scratch, and my favorite class- the winery visit. Getting to visit a winery in Italy was one of the coolest experiences of my study abroad trip thus far. Visiting a winery specifically in the town i've been living in made it that much more special.
It was interesting to learn about how wine was made and of course I enjoyed all the swirling, smelling, and sipping! If you ever find yourself in Italy, make your way to the Tuscan region and go wine tasting, I promise you won't regret it!
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Another great weekend at the beach!Over Easter weekend some friends and I traveled to and Island in Greece named Corfu. We spent the majority of our time their on the beach, or sitting beachside at a restaurant we found the very first day, eating greek food and drinking wine. The weather was beautiful while we were there. It was nice to enjoy to beach two weekends in a row. Although laying out by the ocean was great, my favorite part was probably the toga party we went to the first night. It was fun to get to dress up and they even smashed plates and screamed "OPA" just like you see in the movies.
This island was so beautiful. I really hope I get the chance to explore other islands in Greece. Athens is still on my bucket list as well! There isn't much else to say about this trip so here are a few pictures. Enjoy! :) I've missed you sunshineMy trip to Ibiza was probably one of the first times i've experienced warm weather since being in Europe. Barcelona was a nice breezy 70 degrees when I went, but it still not nearly as warm as Ibiza was.
This little island was BEAUTIFUL! A few friends and I stayed in a hotel right on the beach while another group of our friends stayed in a villa just a 10 minute walk from us. We spent most of our days there laying out doing a whole lot of nothing, and if you know me, you know that doing nothing and being lazy is what i'm best at. All along the beach there were places to eat or grab a drink. The food was delicious and so were the frozen drinks! This weekend was one of my favorites thus far. I love the beach more than anything, and it was awesome to get to experience sand between my toes in EUROPE! It was an exciting first for me. Sadly I forgot my camera charger and my battery died so I didn't get many pictures. Here are a few that I did take from my phone. Low quality and mostly just saved from snapchat but oh well. My very first "business trip"On Wednesday April 5th I was invited to join my internship supervisor, Lucia Fanfani, on a day trip to the University of Torino to present the market research I had been working on this semester for Borgo Italia.
We left Arezzo at 6 o'clock in the morning. We took a train from Arezzo to Milan, then from Milan to Torino. It was a long morning of traveling but finally around 10 o'clock we made it. One of the professors from the college picked us up from the train station. And of course we stopped for coffee (it wouldn't be Italian of them if we didn't!). I'm not much of a coffee drinker but considering how tired I was I ordered a cappuccino and tossed it back in just two gigantic gulp. I've decided that coffee is still not for me, but it did do the trick and wake me up so I may drink it in case of an emergency. When we arrived at the University we went into an office. Lucia met with a few master students that were interested in interning for Borgo Italia. They spoke in Italian for the most part then Lucia would translate for me. After almost three full semesters of the language I still get very lost when I listen to conversations in Italian. I was able to speak with the potential interns and share with them a little about my job and what I thought of it. After the meetings we went to the classroom where Lucia began giving her presentation about Borgo Italia to a group of master students. In her presentation she included the video she had also asked me to put together. This video consisted of clips from various companies Borgo Italia works with. After the video I had the chance to present some of my research. I discussed some of my responsibilities as an intern and what my main job was for the company. It was exciting to actually share some of the hard work i've done since starting my internship. After we presented to the class we went and had lunch. When we were through with lunch Lucia met with the last potential intern. Then we headed back to the train station. We ended up missing our train home by one minute so we ended up having to wait quite a bit for the next one. After a long journey home we finally made it back to Arezzo around 10 o'clock at night. It was a long day but it was a good one, in fact, it was one of my favorite days working for Borgo Italia. Not only was it fun to share my research, It was also really interesting to see an Italian university. It was much different than any university I have visited back home. I'm so thankful my supervisor Lucia invited me to come along with her on this trip. It was definitely one of my favorite parts about my internship experience thus far! When in Rome...Class field trips aren't so bad when you're traveling to different cities in Italy. The last weekend of March/first weekend of April, we traveled to Rome for a school trip. I was able to see the Colosseum, Spanish Steps, Pantheon, and the Trevi fountain, all of which exceeded my expectations. I created a little video so as soon as I can figure out how to upload it on here I will! Although I didn't meet a guy named Paolo and I wasn't mistaken for an Italian pop-sensation, i'd still say my trip to Rome was successful! Stay tuned for my next post about my trip to Ibiza, Spain!
Second Times The Charm..As some of you may know, I went to visit my sorority big, Chandler, while she studied abroad in London at the end of my Freshman year. When my friends wanted to spend the last part of our spring vacation in London, I was a little hesitant since I had already visited this city. I was scared I would regret going back to somewhere i've already been rather than going somewhere new. Well, I was wrong. No part of me regrets going back. In fact, visiting London was even better the second time! We arrived late in the afternoon on Thursday March 16th. We went straight to our hotel in West Kensington to settle in. Once we were all settled and freshened up, we went to go find somewhere to eat. We ate at a The Famous Three Kings Pub where I had an amazing burger that tasted like America. After dinner, we headed to the theater to see the musical, Mama Mia! Not only was it an amazing show, but how cool is that, that I saw my first live musical in London? After the show ended we headed back to get some rest. On Friday we had a full day ahead of us. We started our day off by doing some shopping in the Kensington area. Then, we headed to my favorite place, PRET. I ordered my favorite sandwich and smoothie and we headed to Hyde Park to have a picnic. Hyde park is located just right outside of Kensington Palace. After getting to see the palace and eating lunch, we then headed to Abbey Road! And of course we had to take a touristy picture. So... who did it better? The Beatles.. or me and this random lady? Friday night we headed to the Piccadilly Circus area to meet up with some friends. Once we met up with them we headed to a pub near by to begin celebrating St. Patrick's day! On Saturday we had another full day! We started by going to see the Tower Bridge, which is not to be confused with the London Bridge.. while being there for the second time I finally realized that the London Bridge is just a bridge across from the Tower bridge and the Tower bridge is where all the tourists stop to take pictures. Next we took the underground to the Westminster area, where we saw Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) and the houses of parliament, the London Eye, and Westminster Abbey. After that we ventured over to the National Gallery. Next we headed to see Buckingham Palace, and the flag was raised which meant the Queen was home! And finally we ended our last day in London by going to a soccer game! Guess who's idea it was? Yep, thats right- it was Jordan's! We went and watched the Queens Park Rangers play at home. Although i've never been much of a soccer fan, in fact, I only ever really watched it when he played at ORU, or he'd want me to watch the Arsenal games with him, I still had a lot of fun. It was an awesome thing to be able to experience and i'm really glad we went! Overall London was great. Even better than the first time I visited! I think later on I may do a post about the top things to do while in London... In fact... I may do that for each place i've been. I'm not sure yet. Stay tuned! My next trip will be my class trip to Rome at the end of March/beginning of April!
The City of LoveFirst I want to start this post by saying that there is SO much to see in Paris. And in a short three days we managed to see almost every touristy thing you can possibly see. On our first day there Jordan and I met up with my best friend Brenna. Once we got settled into our Airbnb, we headed straight for the Eiffel tower. We stopped to get a couple croissants on the way, then proceeded to eat our croissants by the Eiffel tower. How french is that? Actually, I bet we looked just as American as ever. After taking plenty of pictures, we headed to lunch at a little cafe with an amazing view of the tower. My trip to Paris was amazing for many reasons. One thing in particular that made it so unforgettable was that I got to go see Drake in concert Monday night. His concert was amazing. Not only did we get to see one of our favorite artists preform live, Nicki Minaj came out and surprised the crowd. It was honestly one of the best concerts I've ever been to. I had so much fun! On Tuesday we went shopping down Champs Elysées. On this street there are endless shops, ranging from high end stores such as Louis Vuitton and more reasonably priced stores such as H&M and Zara. On this street they also have numerous places to stop for lunch and for all you Gossip Girl fans this street contains the original Ladurée, Blair Waldorf's favorite Macaron place (if you don't want to wait in the long line at this location, there is a stand in the Paris ORLY airport, which is where I tried my first Macaron ever!). After shopping and eating lunch, we continued down the street to see the Arch of Triumph. Tuesday evening we went to see the Eiffel Tower at night. If you're ever in Paris this is MUST! The tower was even more beautiful at night. There are plenty of spots in the park to sit, enjoy some wine or champagne, and watch the tower light up! On our last day, Wednesday, we still had a lot left to do so our day started early. After breakfast at another adorable French cafe, we started our day off by going to the Louvre Museum. For those of you who don't know, this is where the Mona Lisa is located. Also, if you're a student studying abroad you can enter the museum for free if you show them your student visa! If you do not have a student visa, I believe its right around 15 euros to enter. After visiting the Louvre, we headed towards the "Love Lock Bridge". A few years ago, the locks were taken off the original bridge because the weight of all the locks were doing damage to the bridge. They even put up new railing along this bridge to keep people from putting new locks on it. I was extremely disappointed I wouldn't have the chance to add my own lock, but a little further down the way we noticed another bridge, covered in locks. 7-year-old me would not believe that 21-year-old me got to put a lock on this bridge with my very best friend. Our last touristy stop was the Notre Dame Cathedral. Another beautiful site you must go to if you ever travel to Paris. After the cathedral, we went to a nice dinner with the Eiffel tower as our view. It was easily one of the best meals i've ever had. We called it an early night and headed to London the next morning. Stay tuned for my next blog post about my time in London!
For Spring Vacation I began my journey in Spain...on Friday, March 10th, I set out to Barcelona. This was my first time traveling to Spain and I can easily say it exceeded my expectations. A friend and I stayed in an Airbnb in the La Rambla area. We were in the perfect location! The apartment we stayed in was directly across from the beach and it was also near a ton of places to eat, grab a few drinks, and listen to some live music. The best part about this location is we never once had to look up where to go, we could literally just walk down the street until we found a place that looked good! If you ever find yourself visiting Barcelona and looking for a great place to stay PLEASE let me know and I can give you the contact info for the Airbnb we stayed in. I'm not kidding, it was one of the best Airbnb experiences I have had to date, it was a fantastic location, the owner was extremely friendly and help, AND it was reasonably priced!
I will say we didn't do much site seeing in Barcelona, in fact I feel like all we did while we were there was walk around and eat, but still it was one of my favorite trips that i've taken. If I ever go back i'd love to see more of the historical parts of this city. But due to the fact my friend is obsessed with soccer, we did manage to make our way to check out Barcelona's stadium, Camp Nou. In Italy there is no spicy food... And if there is spicy food I have yet to find it. So being in Barcelona was a nice change. Everything we ate had a little kick to it, and if you know me you know how happy I was to finally be eating something spicy! Not only was the food a nice change.. but so was the weather. This trip was the first time I have been in Europe and been able to enjoy warm weather. It was so nice to be able to wear a cute top and sandals... no heavy winter coats were needed. With the amazing food, colorful atmosphere, and beautiful weather, I could have stayed much longer than we did. But sadly, our time in this little slice of heaven came and went far too quickly. We left for Paris extremely early Monday March 13th. So needless to say, my next blog post will be about my time in Paris! There isn't much else to share about my trip to Barcelona, so here are a few photos from my time there! Enjoy! This place has my heart.The first weekend of March some friends and I decided to travel through Bus2Alps and go to Interlaken, Switzerland for the weekend. From the moment we arrived I knew I wouldn't ever want to leave. Not only is this place beautiful, but the people are kind, the food is delicious, and the atmosphere just radiates with positive vibes. We left Thursday night and traveled by bus 8 hours. When we arrived Friday morning, we got settled in our room at the Balmers Hostel. Friday morning I went skydiving! Skydiving had been on my bucket list for as long as I could remember, so I decided to go for it while in Interlaken, since this town is known for its adventure and thrill seeking. Words can not describe how incredible this experience was. Skydiving over the Swiss Alps will forever be the most amazing experience of my life, and the coolest thing I will ever do. If you're interested in seeing the video of my jump, heres a link: twitter.com/Harper_Peterson/status/839180786368671746 Friday night some friends and I went night sledding down a mountain. I couldn't believe how much fun this was, it made me feel like a little kid all over again. After sledding, we went to a resturaunt near our hostel and ate fondue- a real Swiss delicacy- and It was even better than I imagined! On Saturday my friends and I had planned to go up to the mountain and snowboard and skii. I had never been skiing or snowboarding so I was excited to give it a try. But unfortunately, the weather was bad up on the mountain so they closed everything. Although I was a little bummed I didn't get to try snowboarding, I guess it was a good thing I didn't try my first time in the Swiss Alps, and at least this way I knew with certainty I wouldn't come home with a broken arm. So Saturday afternoon one of my friends and I explored the town. We went to eat, walked around a few shops, and then went to The Funky Chocolate Club were I got to try real Swiss Chocolate, and like the fondue, it was even better than I imagined! Saturday night we went on a pub crawl, where I met my very first Swiss friend named Flo. It was fun to get to experience multiple different bars in the area and also get to hangout with other students studying abroad who also traveled with Bus2Alps. Sunday morning I was able to catch the sunrise. Watching the sunrise over the Swiss Alps was one of the most breathtaking things I have ever seen. This picture does not do it justice. After checking out of the hostel Sunday morning, some friends and I headed down to the lake. Again, this was another beautiful view. Pictures don't give this town enough credit- I can't stress that enough! After we saw the lake, we went and ate lunch. Then, we said our goodbyes to this beautiful town and headed back home to Italy.
This trip was by far the best trip I have taken thus far. I can not get over how beautiful it was and how much fun I had. I hope more than anything that I am lucky enough to get the chance to go back! Interlaken, Switzerland, you will forever have my heart! CarnivaleOn Friday we went on a school trip to Padua. After a full day of exploring this town we stayed the night in this town. The next morning some friends and I took a 20 minute train to spend the rest of our weekend in Venice to celebrate Carnivale.
Even after experiencing Carnivale first hand i'm still a little unsure on how to explain it. So instead of creating some long lengthy post about my weekend, I figured for this post i'll just share some of my favorite pictures that I took. Hope you enjoy! |