Weekend Travels - Amalfi Coast

This weekend we traveled to the Amalfi Coast of Italy. It was absolutely stunning. The water is the most beautiful shade of blue and so clear. We did cliff jumping, cave swimming and a lot of relaxing on the beach! Here's a small video I made of the trip!

M.

2/15

A few things...

Patience is good, in every situation. I'm now an expert at packing my entire life into a single backpack. Granite may be the best drink to ever be made. When you're 20 and in Italy, the answer is always yes.

"A portait of me, once a week, every week in Europe"

home sweet rome.

next thursday I will have been in Italy for a month already. the time flies by so quickly and each day I panic a little more as I don't want it to ever end. i am truly happy to my core here however, there are a few things i am missing every single day.

1. My family - It's crazy how much I miss them. I would do anything to have an hour heart to heart with my papa, get a good morning hug from my mom, have a sleepover with my sister where we fall asleep laughing hysterically and watch my brother play a football game followed by a sweaty hug. My grandparents, oh I miss my grandparents so much. I think i'll make them play dominos for two weeks straight when I get home!

2. Tanner - For all who don't know... Tanner is our 12 year old yellow lab.  He is big, smelly, loves to shake hands and will sit by your side till the end of time. man do I miss him. 

3. My friends - Making new friends is fantastic, and i'm lucky to have met some great ones... i'm also lucky to have such special people at home to miss. I can't wait to hug them and stay up until all hours of the night catching up and making up for lost time when I return in December.

4. American Coffee - I wish I could have packed up my keurig and brought it with me to Italy. Don't get me wrong, italian café is amazing however its low it caffeine and never found in a size larger than a tea cup. Sometimes all a girl needs is a Venti Caramel Macchiato to get her through her day. 

5. Appliances - Have I mentioned we don't have a drier or an oven? (Sigh) I miss cooking with an oven and I miss my soft warm tumbled clothes. Dumb, I know. It's really not I big deal... I just miss it. 

well thats all for now.

M.

Cinque Terre - Part 1

This weekend we took a trip to Cinque Terre, which is a national park including 5 beautiful cities on the coast of the bright blue sea. So we packed our lives into backpacks and off we went. We started in the first city Monterosso and hiked our ways down.

I have never experienced something so challenging, yet so rewarding. There were people from their 20's to their 70's hiking these paths.  Seeing groups of women in their 70's tackling these paths I couldn't help but make up a story in my head of how they were all college friends checking hiking together in Cinque Terre off of their bucket list they made way back when. I can only hope my life will bring such good health and long lasting friends.

Between the city of Corniglia and Monarola the coastal path was closed so we took the 7a which lead us far up on the hillside. I think we had about an hour of straight incline. Along the way while gasping for air people passed on their way down and with sweet smiles would shout motivation in a hundred different languages.

 Does everyone know how scared of heights I am? My legs felt like jello the entire hike but i've never felt more accomplished then I did yesterday.

10 miles. 10 miles were put on my neon pink nikes yesterday. 10 miles of jagged rocks, lose gravel, and steep steps. 10 miles of beautiful Italian coast and countryside views. 10 miles of straight inspiration.

M.

(However I must say my thighs and backside are paying for it today)

h&h

since arriving in europe I have been a happier and healthier me and with no doubt feeling better than I have in a very long time. it reminds me why i decided to study here in the first place and what i personally want to get out of this journey.

here are a few small goals I have set while i'm here.

1. Eating fresh (which isn't hard to do with these amazing markets)

2. Exercise daily. A healthy body is a happy body. 

3. Go to class everyday. It's not about the textbooks or homework, it's about the experience.

4. Take time out of everyday to journal my thoughts. It's important to have these memories documented, as i'm trusting my professor Sean that someday I will be old and wrinkly, find them in a drawer and weep while reading them.

5. Begin practicing yoga, to prove to myself I can do things I never thought imaginable.

M.

Weekend Travels: Tomorrow we are off to Cinque Terre (google it, it's beautiful) for a weekend of hiking and beautiful views.

todays to do

on todays agenda:

1. clean

2. exercise 

3. homework

4. laundry

5. book a flight to paris

happy hump day folks.

M.

Tuesday's Tours

this tuesday we spent our time in the garbatella neighborhood of rome. it was spectacular. tons of green space and amazing architecture, making for a lovely afternoon.

M.

1/15

Marissa

(Mah-ris-Ah)

Of latin origin 

Meaning : Of the sea. 

So what's in a name? Our names are a symbolism of who we are, we become our names. 

This trip for me is all about finding myself, who I am and what my purpose in life is.  My life has changed more in the past two weeks than it has in my twenty years of living. So i'm going to document it, weekly.

Marissa: Loving Italy and never wanting to leave. 

"A portrait of me,  once a week, every week in Europe."

Pompeii & Napoli

 here is a short video i made of our weekend trip to pompeii and napoli.

don't laugh too hard at my first try at iMovie.

pictures from the trip can soon be found on facebook

M.

Weekend Travels - Napoli

Tomorrow we hop on a train at 6:50 a.m. and off we go.  We are staying the weekend in Naples, Italy. I can't wait to eat their world renown pizza for every meal. This video describes my life for the next 3 days.

avere un buon fine settimana.

M. 

in honor of

women crush wednesday. 

sorry I simply had to. 

M.

Tuesday's Tours

every tuesday we go on a walking tour somewhere in rome. this week was the Piazza della Repubblica and the Via Nazionale. we made a few stops at museums and monuments along the way. here are a few shots of the tour. 

Now it's off to Tuesday karaoke! 

Ciao, M.

p.s. that white coat on the wall is a statue, the coffee here is so sophisticated and that cat is a natural born model. 

school in italy

While in Italy I am taking four courses, all taught by very interesting professors. I can't wait to spend this semester learning about the Italian culture and being taught by these renown instructors.

1. My professor for Made in Italy is the founder of this amazing magazine.

2. Today we had a guest speaker from this luxury company, you may have heard of it. 

(If you haven't, check these out or maybe some of these)

3. My Italian communications professor Sean Patrick Lovett is the head of the Vatican Radio.

4. He will bring us on behind the scenes tours of places like this.

5. Lastly, I get the pleasure of having class everyday in this beautiful location.

Happy Monday!

M.

bits + pieces

 

1. Traveling by backpack 2. Lake Bracciano 3. A sleepy train traveler 4. When in doubt hug 5. Black sand beach 6. Scholars Lounge 7. I spy with my little eye, a beautiful little bambino.

This is life now

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

- Mark Twain

As i'm diving head first into this amazing city. I've learned that saying no is not an option. Taking every opportunity and making every memory I can is crucial. Last night we were in a car listening to soothing music, with our  beautiful new German friends and casually cruising the streets of Rome. I needed to pinch myself right then and there. This is my life now. It's one big adventure and I never want it to end. 

M.

Ciao

after taking a summer off of blogging to spend every second "in the moment" with my friends and family before I took off on the adventure of a lifetime, i think it's finally time to get back at it.

my last few days have been completely life changing. let me catch you up on my past week. 

saturday: i spent my time in the sun with the best friends a girl could ever need.

sunday: was spent saying the hardest goodbyes to those same amazing friends. 

monday: the last errands, hair cuts, bank visits etc. (monday was also spent packing my life for 5 months up into two suitcases, TWO!)

tuesday: saying my tear jerking goodbyes to my family at the airport / traveling

wednesday: arriving in Roma, only to stand crying at the baggage claim empty handed. 

thursday - now: getting lost in this amazing jaw dropping city.

school starts tomorrow! time for me to officially shake this jet lag.

have a great week. 

Ciao for now.

M.