FLORENCE.

im sitting here in my florence hotel room listening to a thunder and rain storm outside. the wind is blowing through the window, making the orange curtains dance, and the rainfall is so heavy i can hear it over jack johnson's melodious voice :) 

florence has been so full of exploring, l o n g walks and too many scoops of gelato to keep track of. weve been here now since tuesday and everyday has held new art, new streets, and new discoveries.  weve seen some amazing and famous art..including the birth of venus, the sixteen foot statue of david, and some of the most gorgeous and powerful architecture i have ever seen. one afternoon we walked up to a hill with a cathedral and a view of all of florence. no words can explain how beautiful it was. you could see all the cathedrals, the dome, the canal and bridges, and all the streets and alleys in between.  we sat and read some poetry for our literature class.. including Up at the Villa- Down in the City by Browning, it talked all about the city and the villas to our left. we listened as we looked out and saw first hand what the poet so beautifully put into words. weve been talking about the power of a word verse the power of an image and it was a really cool experience reading something and at the same time seeing what inspired the words. 

this past saturday was a free day so we decided to use one of our free travel passes and go to cingue terre! but instead of sticking to the plan of leaving early in the morning..me kristin sean and scott spontaneously decided to leave friday night and get the most use out of our euro pass..we ran to the train station, picked a random town called pistoia, hopped on the train and hoped for the best.  it was pretty sketch at first but we found a huge local hangout hidden in the back streets of the town..we hung-out for a while then found this perfect empty square with a bell tower and cathedral. we sat on the steps for hours, talking, listening to scott play guitar, watching locals pass by, and dozing off a little.  eventually by the early morning we took the train and made it to cinque -terre, which proved to be the most beautiful city in italy. its a group of five little cities along the west coast of italy.  theres a hiking trail along the cost that takes you from city to city.  it was so beautiful. the best view ive seen in europe yet.  the ocean was SO blue and the cities looked like they were out of a story book.  everything was just so serene and natural.  we stopped at the second city after about an hour and a half of hiking and we got into the chilled blue water and found some huge rocks to jump off of! it was perfect. me and kristin were hiking buddies and we ended up going about five miles and then took the train the rest of the way..and finally made it back to florence and crashed..i slept a good twelve hours..definitely the longest night of sleep so far in europe.

florence has been a perfect place to wander..the next morning, on sunday, i left the hotel and wandered on my own for hours..it was the perfect time to reflect on the past couple of days, get some coffee and a croissant,  have some devotion time, sit and sketch, and just be independent and spontaneous. i got kinda lost a couple of times but i found my way back eventually.

tonight is the last night here and then were off to rome tomorrow. im excited to see and explore rome although im starting to realize i may not be cut out for this type of traveling. its hard to just start feeling settled somewhere and then be up-rooted again and onto a new place.  but i am so thankful and blessed to be able to do this and im trying to take in everyday and be flexible and open to constant change! and paris will be all the better when we get to settle for two months! 

well were going to have to see what the wifi situation is in rome but ill be updating soon im sure. miss you all very much! ciao. 

Just Got to Florence!

venice was amazing. 

so beautiful and laid back yet time seemed to go really fast..we went to a bunch of museums including the biennale which was amazing..the museum was in these old rustic buildings with old brick and rusting walls and each room was filled in contemporary art and i was inspired room after room. we also had a free beach day where we went to the lido, an island off of venezia and finally got to swim! it was incredible and so nice to just relax for the day..i walked on the beach for a while by myself and just reflected on everything thats been going on around me. 

the roads and alleys were so fun to explore throughout venice. we found tons of cute shops, LOTS of gelati (my record was three in one day), and some interesting night life..including a communist rally that played a ton of reggae by the docks haha and an awesome dance hangout place on the beach at lido..it was so much fun they set up a stage and huge lounge chairs on the beach and played such random music but we did what we do best and started up a dance party on the beach it was great. 

the week in venice went by so fast..yesterday i went for a walk through the streets by our apartment and listened to hillsong and just took in everything one last time and i had one of those rushes of emotions, i was so at peace, yet so overwhelmed with satisfaction and thankfulness to be living and just blessed so much by God...i found a nice spot by a small bridge crossing one of the canals and sat and sketched. i miss venice already, just the combination of natural and historic surroundings around every corner. 

but were in florence now! and haven't seen much yet.. im going to go and explore in a bit..but i have wifi here and so maybe i can finally skype some of you guys later :)  love you all and will update on florence life soon :) 

VENICE

okay so ive been slacking..but theres so much happening all the time and not nearly enough time to reflect on it all..especially with limited wifi..but here i am in VENICE updating in a mcdonalds :) 

the last few days of london were so fun, they included some amazing markets, camden town!, long naps, and then we traveled to paris for the night. we were only there for one night just passing through to venice but we definitely got a taste of what it will be like once were back for two months! and i cannot wait..we went out to dinner and i had escargot :) and liked it. and we walked to the eiffel tower from our hostel at night and it was AMAZING better than i imagined ..it was one of those moments..like im actually here and this is happening. the next day we took an overnight train which was definitely an experience..six girls crammed into a small sleeping cart with beds pilled up above each other.. it was really fun we had some intense rounds of rummikub and  "never have i ever" :) and with some tylenol pm i made it through the night..

and now were in venice and i still cant believe it..everything is beautiful literally every corner you turn is another hidden cobblestone path with brick walls and chipped paint..little shops and bridges that cross over the canal..its surreal. i still feel like im in a movie set. weve already seen some amazing art and we cooked dinner last night..oh i forgot to mention we have apartments! so sickkk..im with six girls in our own apartment in venice!..we made dinner last night and the other girls are cooking for us tonight as i type this!..im loving getting to know the streets and just feeling like i live here instead of a being a typical tourist :) theres still so much that were going to experience here so i will most certainly update soon. i miss you all! :)

ps. theresa i think about you all the time here :) 

pss. pictures from london will be up soon on facebook i promise!

arrivederci!