Florence Part 1 & Life Update

Well hello to the friends, family that used to read my blog.

Welcome back.

It’s been a while since I popped on the site and gave y’all an update. I stopped writing after I left Rome circa July 2019. Once I hit Florence, it was non-stop movement through Venice, Verona, Interlaken, Paris, Barcelona, and London. I was having the time of my life and I didn’t want to stop to take the time to write full length blogs. So instead, I kept a bullet journal as a means of recording my adventures. My experience abroad truly reshaped the ways I view myself and the world around me.

After my magical trip to Europe, I returned home with just over a week to do laundry, and see my friends/parents. Then I packed up my life once again and moved across the country. The Disney College Program was an incredible experience. I got to live and work at the Happiest Place on Earth; it was genuinely a dream come true. Everyday I would wake up, throw on some oversized khakis, a safari hat, and make magic with my favorite characters. I took strolls around Epcot with Daisy Duck, helped Goofy pack for his fishing trips and baked pineapple upside down cakes with Stitch. I built up an arsenal of magical moments that I will treasure forever. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. I had a cockroach crawl up my arm while I sat at my dinner table, was screamed at for ruining countless vacations and got more sunburns than I’d care to admit. But, overall I made some amazing friends and worked my dream job; for that I’ll always be grateful. 

I moved back to San Diego in early January to begin my “big girl” job hunt. It took nearly a month of applications to land just two interviews. Luckily, I found my perfect fit! I now work as a Marketing Coordinator at Trovata (shameless plug). I work mainly as a copywriter and do a lot of social media work. If you really love me then you will stop, drop, and roll on over to our Trovata LinkedIn account and FOLLOW our page. Thats mainly where I post all the really great projects I get to work on and every follow means the world to me. I have a great team, a very competitive ping-pong environment and even get free food fridays. I miss that routine, but feel so lucky to have the ability to work from home.

On that note, we arrive at the present. It is April 17th, 2020 and we are on week four (i think?) of the stay at home order. I miss my friends and adventures, but I have been making the most of my time at home. I’ve done plenty of Netflix parties and virtual happy hours and even started a podcast with my friend Jon. (another shameless plug)

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3MEelDNWtRkqPe2Dg67iNa?si=r9qbNGWNQS-noKEDwI6Fdw

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bs-in-life/id1508355914

Instagram: @BSinLifePod

And more importantly have finally finished my blog. I will be posting weekly and hope you enjoy reading these stories just as much as I enjoyed living them. Without further ado let’s take it back to summer 2019.

July 14th, 2019

The train to Florence was nice. I had my own row, a little tray for my iPad and a huge window. I ended up having to close the blinds because the high speed was getting to me. The train was averaging 140mph. I arrived in Florence an hour and a half after the doors closed. It was really cool (temperature wise) which was really nice for the 15 minute walk to the Airbnb. At first, I was worried about being so close to the station as in Rome the area around the train station isn’t a great neighborhood. However, my walk went by the Duomo, Gucci, Channel and a Nespresso and I figured I was pretty safe. 

I arrived at airbnb and dropped my bags. I was drenched in sweat, sunburnt and exhausted. I fell to the floor and FaceTimed my mom and dad. I held my phone above my head as I laid on the floor and as my eyes focused I noticed a fresco on my ceiling.

A. FRESCO. ON. MY. CEILING.

I recognized the artwork from the airbnb advertisement. When I was booking the airbnb I assumed it was from a nearby museum, not that it was my ceiling. I immediately sent a WhatsApp message to my host and asked for background on the fresco that sprawled across the room. Apparently, the building used to be one house not an apartment complex. She said originally a lot of the rooms had frescos in them, but most owners of the apartments just covered them or painted over them. Instead she chose to preserve hers. I learned that the fresco on my ceiling was painted around 1600, and boy was it breathtaking. Obviously I took EXCESSIVE photos and videos and you can see those below.

After my parents and I admired the art, I mustered up the energy to peel myself off of the floor and shower. I got ready and walked down the street. As many of you know, I recently did the Disney College Program in Florida. For the program you live on Disney Property, in housing with other interns. There’s a Facebook page where people basically online date to find roommates after they get accepted to the program. One of my roommates for the DCP happened to be studying abroad in Florence when I was there so I walked to her apartment and had wine with her and her roommates out on the terrace. It was really nice to be around people I knew, that spoke English and were my age. I realized it had been over a month since I had been with my friends.

After a few glasses I walked the two blocks back to my apartment. Even though it was midnight there were still a ton of people out. It felt really safe. As soon as I hit my bed, I knocked out. I didnt even shower or change, which if you know me, is SUPER out of character. What can I say, wine and life changing adventure make me super sleepy. (Well revisit this topic later when we cover the Tuscan wine tour) I woke up late the next morning and started googling good breakfast places. In Italy a typical breakfast consists of a croissant and coffee. They don't really do a big “American Style” breakfast. However, there’s so many Americans in Florence (mainly college kids studying abroad) that there are a ton of cafes/brunch spots opened by Americans/Canadians that have moved to Florence. There are two main cafes: Rooster and Le Vespe. Rooster is closed on Mondays so I made my way to Le Vespe which was only about a six minute walk from my flat. I ordered grilled cheese and an iced chai. This is how you know it's an American spot. Iced coffee/tea doesn’t exist in Europe, ice in drinks in general just isn’t a thing there. I love it because even during heat waves you see people ordering hot tea and expressos. I am not going to lie, I ended up drinking the kool-aid and became accustomed to drinking hot drinks in the heat. I generally ended my nights with a tea or caffe latte. Or on desperate days when the batteries are running low, I would throw an espresso back at noon. Anyways, my grilled cheese was DELICIOUS as was the chai. I stayed for a few hours writing and editing photos and ordered an iced coco coffee. ICED COFFEE, COCONUT MILK AND MAPLE SYRUP IT WAS PHENOMENAL. Truly inspired. Two drinks, water (which you generally pay two euro for), and a grilled cheese with a side salad and home style potatoes was only 16 Euro. It was a lot of food. I could have easily split that plate with someone. I didn't. But I could have. 

While I was sitting writing a girl from FSU came and sat down next to me and asked what I was writing about. I explained the blog and my travel plans. She said something about how she was bummed that her Switzerland trip got canceled because she wanted to go and now they are looking for a place to stay. I told her about the hostel in Interlaken I had a reservation for, and gave her some recommendations on stuff to do. (She actually posted about the trip that she ended up taking to Switzerland on Instagram a few weeks later. She stayed at my hostel and did the paragliding I recommended and it looked like she had a great time. Love when you recommend something to someone and it works out for them! I took screenshots of her pictures and included them below. IDK I just thought it was cool I helped plan a trip for a stranger lol.) 

After brunch it was cold and raining which was WONDERFUL. I walked in the rain to the Duomo and found a cafe with a nice view and umbrellas. Sat down and ordered a Spritz (Italian take on a Bellini/mimosa/day drinking) Sat under the umbrellas at the cafe, drank my spritz and people watched for several hours. After a while I left, walked around the block a bit, walked back home and KNOCKED OUT.

The next day I woke up and got breakfast at Le Vespe again. This time I ordered a Mexican rice bowl and another iced chai and a coco coffee. It was pretty busy and after a few hours the waitress politely asked me to leave. I headed back to the apartment to edit photos and write in my journal. Then I started to walk to dinner. It was a 30 minute walk to the other side of Florence. I walked along the river and saw a regatta. Looked like a family fun race. I crossed Vecchia and walked through some neighborhood streets until I arrived at La Vecchia Bettola. This restaurant was recommended by my favorite Italian blogger @girlinflorence (on Instagram). It was closed when I got there. So I waited outside as the people began to arrive. I saw the restaurant workers walk across the street, buy bread from the local baker, and take it back into the restaurant. I was seated outside at a family style table with other guests. I was given bread (part of the restaurant fee). I ordered a pear and cheese appetizer and rolled the dice on the cheese I was getting. The cheese was unrecognizable and not something I would usually order, but went REALLY well with the pear. My main course was the Penne Bettola. It’s the house pasta and the dish that @girlinflorence raved about. It was the BEST PASTA I HAD IN ALL OF ITALY. Thick creamy vodka sauce enhanced by the 2 euro, all you can drink, house wine, and CUP of shredded parm they left me. I ate EVERY bite and then used my leftover bread to scrape the sauce from the bowl, an act which the Italians call the scarpeta. While I ate my meal on the patio outside the resturant, I became the meal for mostiquos. I left COVERED in bites. I was stuffed and had no room for tiramisu so I headed back to the apartment. The walk back was during sunset and was as you might be able to guess, breath taking. As was everything else in Italy. 

I miss it so much my heart hurts. Especially now, when like Rapunzel I am trapped in my tower. But, I know that eventually this will pass, and hopefully someday soon I will be back in the motherland surrounded by all of the penne and house wine my belly can hold.

Thanks for reading, Ill see you next Saturday for another post. Until then Arrivaderci. 

NEVER MISS A BLOG! Click here to be added to my email list to get an email update each time I post.