Back to Reality... kind of

Ciao tutti!

I am back to reality today, meaning my vacation from my vacation is over! I went on a cruise with a bunch of my friends and had a blast! The ports were absolutely beautiful! Spain was by far my favorite ports of call, I really hope I get the opportunity to study there at some point in my academic career.

It does feel nice to be back in Florence even though it means that we have to go back to school. Florence really has become our home away from home because my roommates and I all agreed how great it was to get settled back into our apartment rather than sharing a tiny little cruise cabin.

Today is not only Monday but it is also Halloween! However, it Italy it is not celebrated like it is in the United States. In the States, Halloween is more for children to dress up and go trick-or-treating while the adults have some costume parties at night. Here, because there are many American students studying here the local bars run promotions for students to dress up which is nice but there is definitely a different feel about it. Halloween is on the up-rise here in Europe.

This coming weekend my friends and I are trying to plan a trip to Amsterdam! So hopefully all goes well and I will be able to tell you all about that trip. It is crazy to think about how quickly the time is flying here. There are only 6 weeks left! I have never experienced a semester passing so quickly, although I do think that by the time December 18 rolls around I will be ready to head back to the States and taste some delicious American coffee!!

Ci vediamo dopo,
Lindsay

Ahhh Midterms!

I cannot believe we are halfway through the semester! I know the semsters usually fly but this one has seriously been in the blink of an eye! So of course we are all going crazy pulling the usual "midterm all-nighters" but hey, well make it through. The best part of this all is that the end of the week starts our fall break! My roommates and I are going on a Mediterreanan cruise, that stops at Naples, Savona, Valencia (Spain), Palma de Mallorca (Spain) and Marseielle (France). There is a pretty big group of us going so we're all SO excited for this vacation, especially after midterms!

Two weeks ago, I had my best friend from New York come to visit so while he was here we did all the touristy things. We climbed to the top of the Duomo which I think is needless to say was absolutely breathtaking. We also went to the Uffizi and Piazza Michelangelo here in Firenze. One day over that weekend we took the train to Pisa and saw the leaning tower and hung out in the park there. The tower was actually a lot prettier than I had expected! Afterwards we took a train to Sienna and went to Piazza del Campo which was gorgeous! Afterwards, we ate at this little mom and pop restaurant right next to the bell tower in Piazza del Campo that was probably the best meal I have had since arriving in Italy. All in all, it was a good trip and so nice to see a familiar face from home.

Then this past weekend I went to Perugia for the Eurochocolate festival. It was started in 1994 because the founder was so inspired by Oktoberfest in Germany that he wanted to create one for chocolate. It was so delicious but by the end I had had my fill of chocolate. I was really glad I went though since it was a spur of the moment decision because I got to see Perugia which I might not have otherwise and experienced a once in a lifetime festival.

Well, I better get back to studying now! Wish me luck on these exams!

Ciao da Firenze

Hi guys,

My name is Lindsay La Marca and I am currently attending Florence University of the Arts and I absolutely love it so far! Firstly, I want to apologize for the late posting, as we had some confusion with the blog for a while there. Secondly, I will introduce myself a little bit. I am a senior at Stony Brook University, double majoring in Italian and Spanish with a minor in Political Science. I live at home with my parents on Long Island and commute to Stony Brook, so living abroad is all the more different seeing as this is my first time really on my own. So we have all been in Florence a little over a month now and I think I speak for everyone when I say we are finally settled in. We now know the best route to go to school or have discovered our favorite gelateria (which is WONDERFUL by the way). Thus far, the courses have proven to be very interesting, however challenging, and the professors all extremely helpful and nice. Just this past weekend the entire Stony Brook Program went on a trip to Sicily which was so nice! IT was wonderful to see an island so beautiful and scenic and yet so different from the city of Florence. The part I enjoyed most about the trip was that this vacation was the first time the entire Stony Brook program spent a lot of quality time together. Before this we all hung out with our respective groups but being together in the same hotel really helped bring us together! I suppose I will end with that but be sure to look out for a post next week, as this weekend I plan on doing all of the touristy things, like going to the top of the Duomo!

Ciao,
Lindsay