Andiamo

It’s hard to believe that we are already over halfway finished with our semester in Florence, yet looking back on the day we first arrived feels distant. Now, I go about my everyday life here with much more ease, falling into the routine of navigating without a map and predominately hearing a language that isn’t English.

The highlight of this semester so far has been fall break. A combination of the most rewarding experiences I will always look back at fondly, beginning my trip with flying out to London and meeting up with my dad for a few days. Not only did I finally get to see family, but I was also able to experience an incredible city with him. Not to mention, it was refreshing to visit a city that spoke English. I felt extremely fortunate to have been able to see my dad during my time away, so naturally the hardest part of my time abroad was saying goodbye to him again. London itself was extraordinary. It was large, lively, and full of history. It was hard to visit everything in just a few days time, but we managed to see a lot and of course made time to visit Platform 9 3/4.

After admiring London for a few days, I took a high speed train out to Paris to meet up with friends for the rest of our time off. I chose to go to Paris because it had been a city I’d pictured myself visiting since I was very young. It was crazy to be traveling to Versailles one day and then the Eiffel Tower the next. So many historical locations and monuments, its still crazy to think that I was there experiencing such a widely recognized and appreciated culture.

This trip was not only significant because of all I was able to see in a week, but I learned a lot from traveling and how to get around. When I returned I chose to make my “Something New” project on different modes of public transportation that I learned a lot more about during my time away.

-Paige Kibby