PICTURES!....Loads of 'em.

Budapest, Vienna, Salzburg.

First of all...
I'M SORRY! 
I started another blog, picked up on my own journal writing, got really busy, and kind of just left this one in the dust. It happens.
There is exactly 2 and a half weeks until I return home, and it's literally unreal. Literally.

(p.s. in Italy, you might accidentally order your drink iced instead of hot and it will make you very sad and cold)

ANYWAY, the last couple of weeks were absolutely incredible! Starting with 2 weeks ago when I got to see my lovely parents and get away with them and Braxton for a week.
I learned that I'm in love with Paris. We had a blast!

This last week, on Wednesday, I got to sing again! But this time it was even better. The environment wasn't as elegant or prestigious as the Gala, but it was still classy. It was an apperitivo in the coolest bar I have ever seen. We reserved the "dome room". It had a dome ceiling and it was so modern/chic, if that makes any sense. But even if it was in a dump, it would have been better than the gala because
THERE WAS A PIANO! 
A beautiful, grand piano. I have never felt so relieved as I did when I finally got to play and sing my favorite (what used to be daily) songs. I won't even try to explain how I felt because it is honestly indescribable.
If you want to watch a video of me singing "Only Shadows", it's on my Facebook here:

I went to get food after I sang, and one of the bartenders came from the other room and peeked his head in and said "Sorry I just had to tell you how incredible that was!" Then he ran back out. It was really nice and made me feel so good!
There were other performances as well, and I'd say a total of about 80 or 90 in the room. It was basically all of the students and staff from Richmond, plus some Italian students and other random people I've never seen. It was such a great night! One of the best since I've been here.



The very next day, Thursday, after school Braxton and I packed up to leave on our first solo (well, duo?) trip that we booked through Euroadventures!
Budapest, Hungary, Vienna and Salzburg, Austria all in a span of three days! We were stressed about it at first, and didn't know what to expect since literally 24 hours of it consisted of sitting on a bus driving from place to place. But we couldn't have been more satisfied with this trip!
Budapest was scary at first because we didn't know a single word of the language! Not Hello or Goodbye or Thank You or anything. It was so odd! But the city was so amazing, I couldn't even tell ya!
It was a bigger city than I expected. We strayed from the group tour and decided on taking a double decker "hop on hop off" bus. (We did those with my parents in Paris and Rome and loved how they worked, so we were quick to make that decision) It really payed off! We got to see more of Budapest than the rest of the group did.
The first stop we got off was Hero's Square where just a little further ahead we saw a gorgeous, small body of water with a bridge  so naturally we walked to it. Across the street from that, we ran into a ZOO!!!!! We decided to be spontaneous and go in and OH MY best choice ever! It was like an interactive zoo. We literally walked into most of the animals cages. It was actually kinda terrifying. But I LOVED the sloths. Haha. We got off at the caste next, and had an amazing panoramic view of the other side of the river, including the beautiful Parliament building. We got a couple souvenirs, then headed back to the hotel. (Obviously there were stops in between. Including Starbucks. Twice.)


VIENNA! Vienna may have been my favorite, but it's an almost impossible decision. It was similar to Budapest as it was a big city. But it was a little nicer, and easier to navigate with it's fabulous Metro system. That's how we got around.
We went to a modern art museum...super weird...To a CHRISTMAS MARKET with the most wonderful food, and we saw the outside of the building where Mozart lived. We walked around a bit, found ourselves in a theme park with the oldest ferris wheel, found Starbucks, and a shopping center that reminded me of the Champs-Elysees. There were Christmas decorations everywhere, and it all made me feel so happy! Oh and St. Stephens Cathedral is a must-see. Vienna, well Austria in general is all one big MUST-SEE! We stayed in our first Hostel here, too and surprisingly we loved it! It was better than the hotel, and I wouldn't mind going back at all. It was such a "student life" environment and a nice place to just chill and feel at home.

And SALZBURG <3 <3 <3
One of the most beautiful places I have ever laid eyes on. It is where the famous Sound of Music tour is, and it's even more famous for being Mozart's hometown. His face is literally EVERYWHERE. Braxton and I went to the Mozart museum which is where he lived until he was 17 years old (went to Vienna after that) and it was such a humbling, neat experience. We got to see his piano and his violin... It was surreal.
We hiked up a mountain to the castle, which unfortunately we couldn't go inside of because we didn't have enough money to get in, but the view from the mountain itself was worth the hike. Honestly, no picture could ever do it justice, and I feel so blessed to have been able to walk this city for hours and just take in its beauty. I know there aren't many people who can say they've done what I've been able to do this semester.
And yes there was a Starbucks.

I have been having wifi issues lately, so pictures will be posted when that is all fixed. Promise.

Ciao for now!

It's not 1 AM!

So I came across some free time today, and decided I should take advantage of it and make a post when I'm not half asleep. 
Except for the fact that this really isn't free time. It's just me deciding it's definitely time for my brain to take a break from its nonstop recent "research paper mode". That being said, I'm pretty sure I'm half asleep right now too. But we'll just pretend this isn't the case. 
I'm at Arnold's Coffee Shop (The American Coffee Experience) right now. I'm always here around this time on Tuesdays and Wednesdays because it's when Braxton has his painting class. And there's just something about an AMERICAN coffee shop that relaxes me and helps me focus, especially when it comes to studying and getting things done. Apparently I'm not the only American student who feels this way either, as this entire bottom floor section of the shop is filled with other Americans my age with their laptops, headphones and textbooks out. And I'm sure I speak for us all when I say that the "Italian coffee experience" is the exact opposite. I can't explain to you the anxiety I get when I walk into any cafe. I usually just stand in the corner every morning while Braxton orders his breakfast, then we just hightail it out of there. No I am not close-minded, I had my fair share of this part of the culture for my first two months here, but at this point, I'm just done with it. I still order everything in the Italian language here so it still counts :)

"Ciao!"
"Ciao, prego!"
"Posso avere un 'large chai tea' per aportare via, per favore?"
"Si, certo! Con panna?"
"Ehhh...certo, perche no? Grazie!"
"Prego!"

And that's how it goes! Sometimes it's accompanied with some huge speedy fast Italian sentences that I can't understand, then I laugh as they realize I'm American and translate it into English for me. Only sometimes. Haha

So not much has happened if you're looking for huge adventures that I tend to go on a lot out here, but sometimes the day to day things are the funnest, most memorable parts. So if you're looking for those kinds of days, then a lot has happened! On Monday, Braxton and I decided that we wanted to stroll around Florence, and do something spontaneous like go inside of a museum or gallery that we didn't know existed. Or maybe go inside a few of the churches. We realized that we hardly have any sentimental Florence bonding time left over, which is actually a sad thought! Starting next weekend, the pace picks up, and we'll be out of the country just as often as we are in it. So we headed out, and ended up at Piazza San Spirito, which is where the San Spirito church is. The doors were open so we went inside. But after about 5 minutes, all the lights turned off and the doors started to close... It was kinda creepy. We laughed so hard and thankfully made it out the doors in time. We weren't quite satisfied with that adventure alone so we kept walking, and saw this familiar painting hanging on the outside of Palazzo Strozzi, so we went inside. 
We realized it was Modern Art, which we kinda make fun of sometimes...It's just odd to us. Normally we would avoid this kind of museum, but the fee to get in was 4 euro, and YOLO. 

K AND IT WAS FREAKIN WEIRD.

At one point, Braxton literally was laughing so hard that he was crying. If any of you know what his drawing of Bandit looks like, I kid you not, there was a painting worth millions in there that looked insanely identical to the Bandit drawing. It was terrible!! The whole thing was just terrible. I try to read the explanations, and I try to admire the message behind it, but I just can't. We can't do it. It was bad, but it was hilarious and we had a good time.
After that, we went home.
The next morning, I slept in and missed class (oops), but Braxton went. And came back with the news that our papers were due in 2 days instead of 9...So that started some commotion for us, and that's basically what we've been doing for the last day and a half. I'm done with mine finally, besides the Work Cited page!

And last but not least, Braxton's roommate AJ started a Fantasy NBA league and invited all the guys in the program to be a part of it, and myself. I'm glad my love for the NBA is recognized enough to get me a spot in the league. haha. Last night, we had our fantasy draft, and I drew for the last pick...of course... but I still got a killer team, and I'm excited for that to start. (Braxton's team is aight too, I guess)
But that was a nice little taste of home, and it gave me a 2k fix for the time being. Thank goodness for American friends when living in Italy <3 


Ciao for now! 

Counting down.

October 21st. (Wait what?) We are more than halfway through our Italian adventure. Time doesn't even exist, I swear. 

For this post I'm actually going to copy down what I already wrote in my journal yesterday. One reason is because I can write a lot better in there, cause it's personal and I take more time, and journal writing is just what I do. And another reason is because right now my mind doesn't want to think up new things to say, when I really already said it all in my journal. And it's 1 AM. So here ya go: 

"Today was an absolutely wonderful day! (Despite waking up at 7:00 am on a Saturday) We grabbed breakfast to go at our favorite Cafe, and headed to Santa Maria Novella, the train station, to get on our bus to SIENA! I'm really getting good at sleeping on buses, by the way. The drive was about an hour and 15 minutes long, but the sleeping made it seem like only a few minutes. But when we got there I felt so great!! That makes two field trips in a row where I didn't feel sick. I love feeling well and being able to focus and thoroughly enjoy the experience. Siena was not at all what I expected it to be. I pictured it to kind of be like Cinque Terre, but it was more like Lucca, maybe even a little smaller! It was still beautiful but to be honest, I was expecting our tours to be similar to ones we have already been on. There is a huge Duomo that we were able to go inside of and Frans was our tour guide, as usual. Braxton and I have really gotten to know and love this sweet man - the first tour we went on with him was in Pisa, and we have gone with him ever since. He's just so smart and hilarious too! Through the Duomo, we wore little ear phones so Frans could talk quietly into the microphone, and we would still all be able to hear him. Even that simple detail was a fun, new experience. After that and a couple little random tours and lectures, we had some free time. And thank goodness for that because today I think I may have experienced my favorite part of this entire trip so far!!
Ian, Dylan, Braxton and I-oh and Frans and Felicia-decided to check out the world famous Steve McCurry exhibit. 
I am literally sorry to say that I didn't know about this collection prior to today. I mean, I had seen some of the photographs just because of their fame, but I had no idea what or who they were, or what the significance of them was. And let me tell you, they were definitely significant. 
This incredible Steve MuCurry guy dedicated 30+ years to these amazing photos. The most famous one is a girl from Pakistan...He went into a school and asked if he could take pictures of some of the girls. He saw this girl, and the intensity of the story in her eyes, and he had to photograph her. He learned that this wa the first picture to ever be taken of her.
His focus is on the people in 3rd world countries. 
There was also a room that focused on the evil of the world. The display was called "Dizziness", but in Italian. The photos were set up in a way so you are completely surrounded by the photographs, which fits the sense of vertigo and nausea you get by standing in the midst of these real life, terrible, amazing photos. McCurry also just so happened to fly home to New York, from a 4 month stay in Japan, on the night of September 10th, 2001. So photos from that day were in this room as well. It was so emotional, words can't explain. Yes, I cried. We all did. But doesn't that just give you chills?? He got home the night before it happened. That just goes to show that this is exactly what this man was meant to do with his life. Ahhh. Incredible. 
I wish everybody in the world could see this. 
It'd change things."

So yeah! There's that.... and wow, I really can't explain to you how amazing it was. My roommate and her mom went today, and they listened to the audio tour, which was done by Steve McCurry himself, and they said it was unreal. We didn't have the time to listen to it, but I am planning on going back so I can. I can't even imagine having him tell the stories of each painting...


Look. ------->  www.stevemccurry.com

Gala, Gala, Gala!

Last week I got to have the experience of a lifetime: I got to sing an original song, I Will Fight, at one of the most prestigious events in Florence! I didn't realize what kind of event it was until I got there. IT. WAS. UNREAL. Absolutely unreal. And this event was no joke either--it was hosted by the Lion's Club and a program called ANT--it was held for fundraising purposes (The tickets were 100 euro per person. Ahhh! But me and 20 others from the program got in basically free) There was also an award ceremony being held for famous athletes in Europe. Like, Olympians!! I sat on a table next to an Olympian Gymnast who medaled! WHAT!? There was a little red carpet and one of those sponsor screen things that you take pictures in front of, we all felt famous, plus I was performing! And I wasn't even nervous which is HUGE for me, especially because I was singing without a piano. Before the actual dinner there was an "apperritivo", which in this case was everyone socializing throughout the building while caterers brought around trays of little appetizers. It was so yummy! The dinner was running late so we didn't even get in the room until midnight! They served two courses, but at that point I wasn't hungry as a result of me shoving my face during the apperitivo, plus it was passed midnight...And out of nowhere I came down with the worst migraine I have ever had! I didn't know if it was stress or nerves or something I ate, but it was bad... I got up to go get some air, but was stopped on my way out because it was my turn. I thought "Oh crap, I'm gonna pass out while I'm up there" but thankfully, everything just seemed to subside for the duration of my song. It was the coolest thing to me that even though there was a language barrier, and most couldn't understand what I was saying (they did introduce the song and its meaning in Italian, though), I couldn't help but notice that there were quite a bit of tears throughout the room, which made me tear up. The emotion in the room was so heavy, which is my main goal every time I sing for a crowd (250 people this particular time) and I felt so unbelievably good about it after the double applause. It was so surreal...
I ended up leaving immediately after my song, because I was feeling really sick. But from what I hear, two more courses were served and it didn't get over until about 2AM, and apparently it's normal for events to run that late. It's just crazy to me! 

&I have never seen a more beautiful venue in my entire life! Unfortunately, I had to use my phone for the minus track of my song so I couldn't take any of my own pictures. But thank goodness for the people out here, and for Facebook, I got tagged in a few pictures that I can share with you all! Like always, it will not even come close to doing it justice, but hopefully you'll get the idea of how elegant this was. The place was just incredible... Take a look.

Here's a bunch of my favorite people in front of the sponsors. 

Me and the lovely Dylan

Dylan, Chad, and myself

Me and the greatest housemate, Molly.

I look a bit like butt, but it's alright...If I find anymore pics, I'll stick them in another post ASAP

It was never my intention to sing for people out here- especially not one of my originals. But things just have a way of happening when you're passionate enough about something. I was more than happy with how this event went, but apparently that wasn't the end of my "Italian music career".
I walked into school this last Monday and one of the Staff ladies, Felicia, excitedly told me to check my email "now". So I went into the library and saw that I had an email from the head of the ANT program that I sang for at the Gala. She thanked me again for singing, and the asked me if I would be willing to sing the song again on NATIONAL RADIO! They told me the song was exactly what their association stands for, and they wanted to share it.
Of course I said yes!! I am so excited and so humbled from all of this. I wrote this song carefully, with sentimental attachments as it is something I fully believe in, but I didn't imagine it to make such an impact literally around the world. All I've ever wanted to do in my life is share my music for a good cause, and the fact that it is happening in Italy, a foreign country, is absolutely unreal. I feel so blessed, and I will let you know how the radio experience goes! 


Ciao for now!XOXO

Venice pictures!

Sorry about the quality of some of these pictures. Our cute Leonardo Da Vinci teacher, Angela, was our tour guide. And she is the most hyper woman I've ever met and walks super fast! She gives no time for pictures, so I snap what I can! She is amazing and I've learned so much from her, by the way. One of my favorite teachers I've ever had, and that's saying a lot because I tend to grow really strong bonds with my teachers. She's just the best!

Here's some pictures from the Fish Market they have! It's disgusting and smelly but so fascinating and

                                    FRESH! 

It was loaded with people. Seriously, I have never seen so much fish in my life:

After it rained for about 30 minutes straight, they put these cat walk things up for people to walk on instead of the sidewalks!! It went all the way into the museum, cause apparently they're super used to this type of flooding. The most interesting thing was that the water came from underground. We just watched it bubble up onto the surface, because this particular square is built on top of a canal! So cool! (and wet on my leather boots) 

New favorite food...

Designer stores EVERYWHERE. Kill me.

My whole life I've said I wanted macarons at my wedding, because I think they're the most beautiful things! But I'd never tasted one... So when I passed this cute sugar factory, I HAD to go in and buy a couple. And I'm hooked. Great reassurance for my future wedding treat! ;)

Braxton was dying to have a picture in front of this church, because it's where Indiana Jones and The Lost Arc was filmed! 

Safe to say we had a GREAT time! You all must put Venice on your bucket list.