Ciao Bella: Adventures Through Italy

In 2015, I was given the opportunity to live abroad in Florence, Italy. While in Florence, I was able to not only experience Florentine life but I was also able to experience life in other parts of Italy as well. Here are my favorite moments from my voyage through Italia.

Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore

My journey began at 11:43pm Italian time when my flight from Fort Lauderdale finally landed in Florence Italy. As my ride from the airport to our apartment began, one of my first thoughts was “wow this is a bumpy ride.” I later learned about the joys of cobblestone roads and walking with my head down so I don’t trip. After sleeping off the jetlag, it was time to explore. I was living right in the middle of Florence! Ponte Vecchio and the Firenze Duomo were my neighbors and replicas of Michelangelo sculptures were my neighborhood’s decoration.

I learned so much about the influence Italy had on the arts, and they keep that influence alive today. As you walk through the city you can hear live musicians playing magical sounds of love and life on violins. I remember thinking “even the door knobs in Florence are beautifully designed.” Everything made in that city seemed to have meaning and/or serve a purpose;

Leaning Tower of Pisa; Pisa, Italy

whether I was substance or aesthetic, everything in Florence had beauty.

While in Italy, I obviously had to hit all the tourist spots (the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Colosseum etc.) but my favorite moments where on a weekend tour I took with Bug2Alps of the Amalfi Coast. The pebble stone beaches, the beautiful views, the blue grotto, it was all overwhelmingly breathtaking. I even got a crash history lesson about the volcano of Pompeii. The tour took us around a part of the city that was buried in ashes. I saw artifacts, even now “mummified,” if you’d call it that, bodies that survived the volcano.

From the little Mexican restaurant with great margaritas to the culture and stories that filled the country, my trip to Italy was one to remember! If you ever get a chance to visit Italy. Check out some of the places I visited, the info is captioned in each picture. Caio bellas!

A view of the Amalfi Coast from Capri, Italy