Gearing Up!

So, serious stuff has gone down over here. I should have known six girls living in a small apartment and getting along so well was too good to be true. Sooner or later one was bound to leave... but not three!!?

Yes. Three of our roommates have left us... and I hope they have a wonderful time in London, Barcelona, and Paris during break ;) They're doing a different route then us but we'll see them in London and Paris! It's a shame they won't get to experience this girls shenanigans every day though...

Cold apartment? Ear muffs should do the trick...Or sweats like a normal person

...a real shame.
The rest of us have one more mid-term on Thursday and will be headed to London in no time! Speaking of mid-terms, it was a little stressful trying to juggle studying and getting organized for break but I pulled through and made it out alive...almost! All six of us girls spent several nights studying until the wee hours of the morning complete with a constant flow of Lipton tea, espressos, vanilla wafers (duh), and complaining (duh #2).

Study sesh with wine and cheese

Before our 7 p.m. train to Pisa Airport tomorrow, there's a lot that needs to get checked off one of my many, infamous to-do lists. This includes a very important task: packing.
I somehow forgot to bring one of my several pairs of leather boots with me to Florence, and only brought my Hunters (because it rains so much in Florence...?). Therefore, I will be on a mission to find a pair that will be suitable for lots of walking and chilly weather. Oh, and when packing jackets? Yeah, I brought my rain coat and extremely long, down North Face winter coat which leaves me with nothing in between. Perfect, Kels. So, with that being a priority... Zara, you're mine tomorrow.

I'll have my computer with me over break and will be sure to update and blog along the way. In the meantime, I need sleeeeep! xx

Food for Thought

Now that I am approaching the half way mark of my Italian living, I find it necessary to touch on a few things I have learned or gained while here:

Top 10:
1. I thoroughly enjoy traveling. At first, I was apprehensive, like anyone, about leaving America, let alone Connecticut, where I am most comfortable. As soon as I pushed myself onto that plane, I could not have felt more ready for my semester. I have taken every opportunity that has been presented to me with open arms, and have enjoyed every minute of my excursions. 


2. I have met so many incredible people here and am so thankful for the friendships that have flourished. Without this opportunity, we would have never crossed paths. I said in one of my first posts that I wanted to form relationships that would last me a lifetime...I am certain I have already found some. 


3. I love immersing myself within the different cultures and learning about their history. There is so much more life to see outside of the small (or big) towns we live in. I think it is necessary to branch out and explore in order to better understand yourself and your place in this very big world.


4. Furthermore, I found that removing myself from what was every-day/comfortable and being open to change was essential, for it has lent a hand in changing my outlook on life back home; both the good and bad parts. It has made me realize the things I am proud of and the things I need to change in order to live more positively & become more fulfilled- which will in turn benefit the people I am surrounded by.


5. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, whether it be from voluntary action or through God. All of the discussions I have had with people, or situations I have witnessed could not have happened at more perfect times. They have helped me solve puzzles in my life and come to necessary conclusions.


6. With that said, I could not be more thankful for such amazing family and friends who support me every day during my time here. They are filled with an abundance of wisdom, the best advice, and so much unselfish love. I hope I return the same to them. 


7. I am such a blessed girl.


8. I really miss my pup, Jackson. I've probably dreamt about seeing him a good ten times since being here. I am sure he has done the same.


9. Life is too short to surround yourself with people who are negative, who constantly bring you down, who make you upset, and lead you to you be someone you are not. Do not waste your precious time trying to live up to other people's expectations, or getting their confirmation. Most likely, they will never be satisfied and in the end, their opinion does not matter. Am I right, or am I right?

10. Life is good.

There is a great blog post I ran across the other day (at the most perfect time) that I hope you find as inspirational as I have:
http://mydailydoseofinspiration.blogspot.com/2011/10/survival-skills-for-young-women-lesson.html


Ciao! xx

Americanized Italy

Why, thank you!

^ This was nice to see the morning after a night out. With a rudely growling stomach, three of my roommates and I went out on a mission looking for some food to fill it.
"The Diner" is where we enjoyed a delicious brunch Friday afternoon. It sits on a little side street near the Duomo, and has a very American and modernized feel compared to the authentic/rustic Italian cafes that neighbor it. 

 At first glance of the menu, you’re immediately brought back to America and it’s delicious diner food!

You can't really read that, can you? Damn it, Kelsey.

They serve build-your-own omelets, waffles, pancakes, smoothies, milkshakes, hamburgers, bagels, bacon egg and cheese sandwiches, and a whole lot more. I’m pretty sure I salivated on my menu while reading through it. Of course, the first thing I ordered was an iced coffee because it’s pretty much impossible to find them throughout Florence. The go-to caffeinated drinks here are usually tea, cappuccinos, or espressos, not watered down coffee. The look I get every time I ask for one is quite hilarious. Whatever, I feel sorry that they don't get to experience Dunkin' Donuts and their artificially flavored coffees. These Italians don't know what they're missin'! (Insert: Sarcasm) 

I then ordered a bagel, toasted with cream cheese because that is another thing that is hard to find around here. It was indeed presentable when delivered to me. It was sprinkled with parsley for a nice, Italian touch, served with a concentrated berry jam, and potato fries with HEINZ ketchup- the American way!


Speaking of American food, Thanksgiving is approaching in a month or so and my brother just reminded me of a pumpkin cheesecake I made last year. The cheesecake wasn’t ready by the time we ate dessert, but luckily my brother had his bachelor party that night. Saying that those boys were in desperate need of food upon their return back to his apartment is an understatement. Needless to say, Thanksgiving leftovers were the perfect way to finalize their night, so I brought the cheesecake along with the leftovers to his place (what a sista). I have never seen food devoured so quickly. I am certain they liked it even though half of it ended up on the floor. I actually found stuffing a few weeks later tucked under the cabinet. Success. I won't go into what happened during his bachelor party, but let's just say I needed to apply concealer on more faces then my own. ;) Then B got married.

Johnston kiddos at rehearsal dinner!

The end. :)

Busy Livin'

Sorry I haven't posted in a while- I've been pretty busy livin' and....
gearing up for midterms. 
My study break looks a little something like this: sipping on my second cappuccino (they're small) while sitting in an intimate little study café, complete with a café bar, Anthropologie-esque decor, classic American music playing in the background (n.p: Roxanne), a mix of classic Italian and English books covering the walls, and a nice breeze coming through the french doors that open onto the quiet little street it sits on. I came here by myself, seeing as I cannot focus when I’m surrounded by other people, specifically my roommates because it’s impossible to be productive together. We just too silly! I'm also thinking about how time certainly needs to slow down a bit. I cannot believe I am already half way done with my semester abroad. I have been keeping really busy over the past month and a half, and still have a lot to look forward to in the coming months. 


For starters... FALL BREAK starts next Thursday after my last mid-term. My friends Jess, Katie, Kathy and I will be leaving Italy to embark on a twelve day adventure through England (London), Ireland (Dublin), The Netherlands (Amsterdam), and France (PARIS)! <--Every girls dream, right?
This will be my first time visiting all of those countries accept for France. I was fortunate enough to have a wonderful few weeks touring France with my family ten years ago. We spent some time in Paris and eventually made our way down to the South of France (Bordeaux) where we had a very emotional meeting with distant relatives. I am so excited to return, revisit some of the necessary landmarks, and see where my mom lived during her year abroad while she was in college, what was it... fifteen years ago? or something. 
Paris is most definitely one of those cities that can be revisited over and over and offer you something different every time. 
Here is some eye-candy baked goods for ya- a video made by the one and only Louis Vuitton that shows Paris' delicious bakeries:

^So yeah, that's on my to-do list.

As far as Amsterdam goes, I didn't know much about it besides the marijuana vending machines (I've never touched the stuff, but if that's your cup of tea then this is clearly is the place for ya!). I was recently informed of the Red Light District, and everything that has to offer (get it?).

I will definitely be taking a tour of that to get all nice and cultured for you, my dear parentals! Isn't it great to know where your money is going? ;)


Ireland will be incredible because not only am I as Irish as they come, but a mother I babysit for is originally from Dublin, still has a sister living there, and gave me a long list of amazing restaurants and pubs to go to. She even put me in touch with her sister in case we want a personal tour guide! Considering we have very limited time in each of these cities, this will be such a help to us, and will take a lot of the pressure off from finding the good spots once we get there ;). Thanks, Cathy!


London, England: I cannot wait to see all of your green parks, hear some English-speaking people as well as some English accents, maybe get rained on, or take a picture in one of your red phone booths. Jess has already been there so she has a good idea of the go-to places which will be a big help. 
All in all, I am so excited to start our trip and conquer four countries in twelve days. Sounds like a 007 mission but I have no doubt we'll do it, and do it right.


Another thing I have to look forward to? The week after we return from break, my very beautiful and good friend Sarah is coming to visit for two weeks!!! Seriously- I could go on and on about how excited I am that she's decided to come. My roommates and I could not be happier to have her. She is a true Italian and has wanted to visit the country for a while. I can recall talking about it with her in the past quite a bit. Although she is just about as independent as they come and will take in every opportunity to explore the city on her own, I have already started composing a list of places/eateries that I want to bring her to. This will be a great way to break up Fall Break and my return back to America. So, cheers to what is undoubtedly going to be an incredible two weeks with you, Sare!

Sare & I- NYC circa 2009

On a side note, I bet you're wondering what this will turn into, huh? 

http://honestlywtf.com/diy/diy-wrap-bracelet/

Well, I have recently become ob-sessed with do-it-yourself (DIY) fashion blogs, and have composed a long list of jewelry/accessories I want to make or spice up. One of those DIY projects includes the above supplies. And if all goes well, it'll look a little something like this:

http://honestlywtf.com/diy/diy-wrap-bracelet/

Although some of the supplies for these projects will be hard to track down over here, I figured this bracelet would be easy to find the supplies for and right, I was. After my last class of the week on Thursday I decided to thoroughly search the city for its craft stores. I landed upon a few, including a hardware store, to get the necessary supplies. Ever since I was younger I have been very hands-on, always getting involved in different projects/crafts, and helping my dad on the tool bench. How many girls do you know that are good with a drill? Not many, I bet. The stores didn't have gold chains or gold bolts so I had to get metallic gold spray paint to fix that little problem. I will let you know how it turns out once I'm caked in gold paint and most likely missing a finger. Anything's possible...


In the meantime, the Queen of Procrastination over here needs to get off her throne and get to studying. Ciao! xx

Foliage Shmoliage

One thing I will undoubtedly miss about being home this semester is apple and pumpkin picking at our local farms. Connecticut couldn’t host a more beautiful fall season.

The trees are dressed in colors of red, orange, green, and yellow, the air could not be more crisp, and carved pumpkins line the front porches of all the cute suburban homes. Carving pumpkins, making homemade applesauce, apple cider, and pumpkin/apple pies all while sipping on pumpkin beer (with the fam) will be missed over here in Italy. Florence, where the foliage at?!

Johnston kiddies sans the newest additions, Ali & Jackson!

My sister-in-law, Ali, is obsessed with candles and their apartment always smells of cinnamon, and all things fall this time of year. I decided that might be the cure to my fall homesickness. We bought a cinnamon-spice candle the first week we got here but have yet to light it because we are without a lighter and a memory to buy one. That problem will be no more tomorrow. Life=so hard up in this apartment.

Today, I set an alarm for the first time all weekend to get my booty out of bed at a reasonable hour- 10 a.m. to be exact- and get my day going. At home, I never sleep in past 8 a.m. (9 at the latest) regardless of how late I stayed up. Since I’ve been here, I find that I can sleep in for…ev…er.

Squints, my boy.

On a mission to make my day productive, I set out on a 4-mile run dressed in a baseball hat, long sleeve shirt and spandex because it was so chilly out. Besides my feet being numb for most of the run, I loved every minute of it. Upon returning, I made myself a nice hot cup of espresso and the most delicious veggie omelet topped with freshly shaved Parmeggiano Reggiano. That’ll certainly get your day going.

I then rallied Jess out of bed, and we headed to the Galileo Museo to get some education in our systems.

There it is, kids!

Sidewalk sundial outside of the museum

 We bought the audio tour, and spent THREE hours walking around and digesting all of the European inventions from the 14th-19th centuries. It ended up being really informative-surprise, surprise. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed in the museum SO using your imagination; envision rooms filled with Galileo's original telescopes, sundials, barometers, Galileo’s middle finger and tooth (nice and personal), and wax uterus’ with babies ... fitting, I know.

Random & rude addition of you ask me ;)
http://atlasobscura.com/place/galileos-middle-finger

My next stop is to go visit our next-door neighbor, the Basilica di Santa Croce.

http://www.gothereguide.com/basilica+santa+croce+florence-place/

It is filled with the frescoes of Giotto, Cimabue, and many other infamous Florentine artists, and contains the tombs of Galileo, Dante, Lorenzo Ghiberti, and several others.

Jess and I left the museum completely discouraged with our lives, not knowing what we want to do when finished with school. She is in the process of applying for jobs in finance and I’m in the process of... eventually applying for jobs. We wish we had one focus and passion, like Galileo had with science, and the determination to invent something that can benefit the WORLD. So with that said, we are currently on a mission to:

1. Invent a real winner and

2. Be buried in Florence, and more specifically the Santa Croce.

We’ll get back to you when we think of something good… or you’ll just read about us in the latest NY Times...casually.

Tomorrow night plans include: lacing up my non-existent cleats, Velcro on my non- existent shin pads, and play a game of soccer for the first time since Junior year of high school. I am so excited!

Another Day in Tuscany

I am the type of person that really appreciates the little things in life. Yesterday was filled with them.

I woke up to the sun shining, and a little chill in the air...greetings Fall! I was forced to throw a sweatshirt on and made myself a cup of french pressed coffee. What part of that sentence isn't excellent sounding? Nada!

I went to my one class of the day-Literature of the Grand Tour of Italy- which was cool & ironic because we talked about Pompeii, where I just came back from visiting. That's one thing I like about all of the classes I signed up for, they all relate to my experiences here and everything I am learning can be applied.
Furthermore, last week in my Food, Culture, and Society class we made a delicious zuppa di farro (farro & vegetable soup). Today, I decided to head to the San Lorenzo market to get all of the ingredients to make some for myself since it is finally getting chilly. I stocked up on vegetables, fruit, bread, and wine- all under 10 euros. Yeah buddy!
I returned back to the apartment where my domestic self and I whipped up some fresh vegetable stock, and assembled everything together. The finished product?

Not too shabby

It kind of tasted like chicken noodle soup sans the chicken and noodles...interesting.
I then set out for a run around the river, where I saw some pretty picture-worthy things

Green pants, linen shirt, and a very large helmet

And then mid-run, I decided to break from my usual 4-5 mile loop around the river/bridges. Instead, I ran up a huge hill to the Santa Maria Novella cathedral to catch the gorgeous sunset over Florence. I was just in time.

View of Florence!

Santa Maria Novella

Some sweaty girl, GROSS

This is by far one of my favorite spots to escape to. I had previously been here with my History of Christianity class to tour the Church. As soon as the lecture was over, the rest of the class bolted out of the door. I decided to stay and got a one-on-one lesson from my professor, who is also a nun. We walked side by side through the Church while she explained each and every fresco with such enthusiasm. I would ask her questions and she would eagerly respond with her British accent and soft tone- her hearing is severely damaged from the bombs during WW II. 

When we were done, we walked outside to the most breathtaking view of the city of Florence and the rolling hills of Tuscany. As we made our way back to the other side of the river, we talked about everything from her background/how she became a nun, to her time spent teaching at Princeton, to her eight children (and grandchildren) who live throughout the United States. She returns to the U.S. once a year to visit them, and travels by Grey Hound bus because she doesn’t like the idea of being searched at the airport.

I told her about my great interest in Art History which is why I greatly appreciated her guidance through the Church. She agreed with a smile, and told me that Art History was her favorite class when she was my age.

Deciding to stay was the best decision. That extra 45 minutes learning and talking with her, with the most gorgeous backdrop imaginable, was truly incredible. 

 I returned to the same spot yesterday to simply get away from the chaos of the city, take a step back, and observe everything from afar- accompanied by the sunset, as well as Coldplay's Strawberry Swing & Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall playing on my iPod. I sat down for a good thirty minutes and just...thought.
I think I'll be coming here a lot throughout this Fall/Winter to unwind because God only knows how much we have going on in our busy lives and minds. We all need time to ourself, and hey- if it's in a spot where the Tuscany vineyards are in the background, you can't beat it. ;)

Sunset over Tuscany

On a lighter note-this will be the first weekend we'll be staying in Florence, and not traveling. Jess & I signed up for a wine tasting & tour for Friday at a family owned vineyard in Tuscany which I am really looking forward to!

Random thought of the day? I could really go for a Dunkin' Donuts iced coffee right about now. Wah!

Amalfi Coast? You've Outdone Yourself This Time

Disclaimer: There is no possible way I can emphasize just how incredibly perfect and beautiful the Amalfi Coast was. But I will do my best.

Seriously, how do you even begin to talk about a place as picturesque as this?

A little panoramic action of Capri, Italy

I guess I'll begin with how we got there. It was an "easy" 8-hour bus ride (normal after Germany & this weekend) down the coast to Sorrento. We passed through Orvieto where my brother Brad spent a semester in college. Hi, Brad. We kept entertained with Ocean's 11 & 12, which are two of my favorites. I discovered that the other Brad [Pitt] has an effortless way of making a bus full of girls get rowdy, including myself.
At around 2 a.m. we finally arrived at our "hostel" which wasn't really a hostel at all. It ended up being a little village of bungalows. I'm sure you're struggling to picture this type of arrangement in your head so I took it upon myself to provide you with one:

Our little guy.

Grapevines hung above the paths while lime & lemon trees lined the sides. Quite the setup, no?
Our little cabin was extremely cute inside, and even came with a little kitchen. I'm sad to say the bungalow pictured above was not our original. Unfortunately, the staff mindlessly overbooked our first room. Yes, we were sharing a bunk with hundreds of ants that were taking naps on my roommates pillows, beds, etc. I embraced them, but everyone else isn't too good with bugs so we were switched to a new place.
Day 1:
We woke up early Friday morning ready to embrace our first day. The sky could not have been more clear, the sun so bright, the water so blue, and the buildings so colorful. We indeed were vacationing inside of a postcard.

We boarded a ferry and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the coastline during our 20 minute ferry to CAPRI!
As soon as we stepped off the boat...

...we obviously took a picture and THEN saw this:

We then made our way to a little deli "with the yellow awning" that was recommended by just about everyone to get an infamous Caprese sandwich. Ingredients include: Baguette, fresh mozzarella, tomato, and pesto- all of which are assembled by very special Italian hands that made it so mouth-watering good.

Subway you could not have said it better, fresh is absolutely the best. 

...and we ate them in about 1 minute, flat. And then wanted more. (Hiii boys!!)
We burned those suckers off with a nice hike up to the top of a mountain for one of the most gorgeous views evaaa.

Oh, and then we snapped our fingers and just like that, spent the remainder of the day sun-bathing, poppin' champagne (cause we were thirsty), cliff jumping, swimming in grottos & cruising on a boat around the island of Capri.  I obviously didn't cliff jump because I'm a baby & unless you want to count to three and scream "JUST JUMP!" for a good 4 hours, there was no way in hell I'd find myself jumping from a 50 foot cliff. What? I was catchin rays! Captains words about our decision to not jump: "Girls, live your life and do whatever you feel is right. You are young, so do whatever makes you feel comfortable. But you girls are smart..." Thanks, buddy ;)
But I won't bore you with pictures because that's an every day occurrence...
...alright just a few:

Took a nice little dip in the Green Grotto

All in all, this day goes down in the books as one of "the best."
That night we all went out to the English Pub, a great bar in downtown Sorrento, where we had our fair share of drinks and had a great time meeting Sorrenton (?) men. Not.
Day 2:
The next day was just as lovely as the first. We filled our stomachs with copious amounts of cappuccinos and croissants in the morning and made our way to the bus station where we caught a bus to POSITANO!

 This town was unreal. We walked the narrow, windy paths filled with cute boutiques that eventually brought us down to our destination: the beach. My entire day consisted of eating a delicious panini, tanning on the beach, sleeping on the beach, reading on the beach... and swimming in the water. The water was so salty that it was pretty much impossible not to effortlessly float. So we did just that.

After a wonderful day in Positano, we reluctantly headed back to Sorrento on the ferry.
That night we were on a mission to find the perfect restaurant to eat our last dinner in the Amalfi Coast. We were all craving some sort of seafood dish, considering the town is right on the water. After many failed attempts at finding a place, we landed upon a little restaurant called La Lanterna that was tucked away on a little side street. As we were looking at the menu, a man and his wife walked by and eagerly said, "Definitely go here, this place is awesome- you won't be disappointed!" Well, that just about did it for us. We were in there and seated in less then one minute. The restaurant was filled with the cutest couples cuddled up to one another, small families with their children asleep in their chairs, and groups of girls having a fun night out. We all ordered some wine, and the most delicious fresh bread & bruschetta was brought out to us. Then came the entrees. I ordered the seafood risotto. Honestly, I'm not even going to go into how good it was. I'll leave you with this picture and a strong recommendation to get your butt on a plane to Sorrento, and into that restaurant to try it yourself. I'll provide the airfare.

To emphasize how fresh this seafood was, I could taste little bits of sand while chewing at times. DELISH.
Our wonderful, & adorable waiter treated us to a yummy raspberry mousse for dessert afterwards. The plate was cleaned up in seconds (because Jess licked it). Are you surprised?

What's a dinner without a little cappuccino?

I could've died a very happy girl after this dinner. But I didn't- so we proceeded to go out. We spent the night at the English Pub before crashing in our log cabin beds.
Day 3:
We continued the apparent theme of the mornings here:

and continued on to the train station, to spend the rest of the morning in Pompeii!
Eleven euros and an oversized map later... Jess and I were on our way to explore Pompeii. We didn't have enough time to take a guided tour around the city, so we decided to do it ourselves. The amount of history this city holds is overwhelming and was enough to keep you engaged throughout the streets of ruins.

 Mark Twain couldn't have described Pompeii better when he said, "“Pompeii is no longer a buried city. It is a city of hundreds and hundreds of roofless houses, and a tangled maze of streets where one could easily get lost, without a guide, and have to sleep in some ghostly palace that had known no living tenant since that awful November night of the eighteen centuries ago.”

Crystalized person 

We spent a good portion of the day here touring & taking our fair share of pictures. I came home only to find out that our other roommate, who spent the weekend at Oktoberfest, is currently taking a class on the History of Pompeii and generously provided me with books about the city so I can apply my pictures to actual historical context. Yay!

We arrived back in Sorrento around 3, got some lunch (i.e. pizza) and departed from Amalfi soon after. :(
I will forever be in love with this place, and am positive I will return back one of these days. I wanted to visit Naples and Sicily (right around the corner) but there is only so much you can do in a three day weekend. Maybe next time? With a boy? eh, eh?