Okay, I'll apologize beforehand. I have to get better at loading pics and have to start with the end ones first. The pictures are in reverse order of the spring break trip, oops! I started at the island of Corfu, Greece and stayed there for 2.5 days and then traveled to Athens, Greece and was there for just under three days. Enjoy!

The girls that made the trip!

The first Olympic Stadium in 1896 in Athens. And to think 113 years ago they were running here.

Jumping in front of the Olympic Zeus' Temple, in Athens.

On top of the Acropolis looking out at Athens. There are over 4 million people living in Athens.

The Parthenon on top of the Acropolis in Athens. It was hard to get a decent picture because there are major renovations going on outside the building.

On the beach on the island of Corfu, Greece. It only got in the 60's but hey, when in Greece!

The sunset on the beach in Corfu. I watched two whole sunsets while in Corfu and both of them were amazingly beautiful. 

The Pink Palace we called home for our two night stay. It's one of the best hostels/hotels in all of Europe.

Our cruise ship we were on that we took overnight to and from Greece.

This upcoming weekend I am planning on going to Valencia, Spain and I will make sure to upload pictures when I'm done with that visit. 

I can't believe there are less than seven weeks left in studying abroad. It is true, time really does fly when you are studying abroad. Hope all is well back home - love from Italy!

Live-Or-No...in Livorno

Finally, another post! Yesterday Gina and I woke up and decided to just get on a train and go to Livorno. We didn't know anything about the city, how long it was to get there, just up and went. We got there and rumor on the street was they had white beaches - why not! We asked the man working in the tourist booth where the white beaches were, in our broken Italian, and then hopped on a bus which took us to the coast. We didn't know anything about the bus system: how long it was to the beach, where the beaches were, what the beaches 'stop' was called. We ended up just hopping off at a spot and walked a good fourty-five minutes, just taking pictures of the coast. We eventually hopped back on the bus, and luckily our bus pass wasn't expired - we still had 10 minutes - because there was an inspector checking bus tickets. Luckily we both still had ours too! It was the first time I've ever been asked/checked for my ticket. We rode a little longer and then got to the end of the route. We ended up doing a little cliff climbing and we found the BEST view of the day, right on top of a cliff, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. We took some pictures, took refuge in the sun for a while and did not have a car in the world. 

It was so good to be by water again, and I was actually reminded of Florida at first glance. There were palm trees in Livorno and the sea smelt just like the ocean that I've smelt from back home. It was in the 60's and a tourist could not have asked for a better day. The sea itself looked just like jewels on the water, it reminded me of Incubus's song "I Wish You Were Here.

"I dig my toes into the sand,

the ocean looks like a 1000 diamonds strewn across a blue blanket.

I lean against the wind,

pretend that I am weightless,

and in this moment I am happy..."

All in all it was a great day - not knowing our way around made the adventure even better in the end. We never did come across the white sandy beaches that we were told were here but it didn't matter - it was the first time I was somewhere and completely felt like home. I think the sea had a lot to do with it - or it could have been the guys in speedos, you decide.

This upcoming week is midterms and to be completely honest, I have put them on the back burner until today. My day is going to consist of studying and staying in, probably with a little gelato break though. Midterms shouldn't be that bad, it reminds me more of a test back home. However, after this week, we leave for Greece lasting just over a week! We stay on the island of Corfu for three, and then in Athens for three, with traveling to and fro the other two days. I'm excited and it's just dawning on me that when we get back from Greece, it will be almost April! Time is flying by so fast. 

As fast as time is flying, I am trying to soak everything in: the culture, language, sights, smells, feelings, sounds. It is at sometimes overwhelming but I am beginning to feel at home here. Every now and then I think about being back in the states after studying abroad and how awkward it is going to be to have to drive every where and once again rely on a car. AND not walk past the Duomo everyday to get to class. There will definitely be pros and cons but I'm just going to keep trying to live up Italy and Europe as much as I can!

I hope everyone is enjoying wherever they are and God Bless!

Alicia

This sign goes out to all of my guy friends from back home. Haha, I know you'll appreciate this. This sign was in a small, Irish pub where we bought our bus passes to head back to Florence from Fiesole.

The view from Fiesole. I again had a Pride Rock experience here. I felt like Mufasa (from the Lion King) was telling me that everything the sun touches was mine. This view was indescribable. We watched the sunset from this view and it was breathtaking. 

My friend Patrick showing that it IS possible to hold the sun, in your hand.

The view of Florence (below) watching the sunset fade behind the mountains. This is a hazy picture because it was a hazy day but the picture doesn't do justice to how amazing this scene was.

Profile picture of me absorbing the view below. 

Florence has been fabulous this past weekend. On Friday we went to a small city, north of Florence called Fiesole. It was about a good, crammed 20 minute uphill bus ride there but what we found there was worth every second being crammed/shoved on the bus. We found a road and walked a good 5 minutes up a steep incline to a small area overlooking Florence. The view was a tad hazy but you could still make out the famous sites in Florence: the Duomo, the river Arno, Firenze Santa Maria Novella train station and many church steeples. We stayed there for about an hour, on top of this road and watched the sun set behind the mountains. Future reference for anyone if they are looking to take their loved one to a perfect getaway makeout point, this would be it, but it might be costly but worth every penny - ha.

This past week the weather has been amazing. My umbrella has been held hostage in my room and the sun has shown every day - it reached 64 yesterday! However, I didn't knock on wood and we're gearing up because the forecast shows rain everyday this upcoming week. It is, in fact, the rainy season.

We don't have anything planned for next weekend but my roommate is having her friend come in from the states which should be exciting. I am currently stalking ryanair to see if I can find any flights for upcoming weekends in the semester - London looks like a possibility as does Dublin and Paris :)

I hope the states are still together and to my fellow Wisconsinites - I hope you're enjoying that stuff called snow, I am almost forgetting what it looks/feels like (bad joke).

Until later! Wishing everyone the best,

Alicia