When I looked at the date on the calendar the other day I couldn’t believe that I had already been in Florence for 3 weeks! I thought back to September 1st, when I began my journey.

My parents waved goodbye to me as I tried my hardest not to cry going through security at the airport. I am a homebody at heart, so I felt nervous leaving home alone. However, 21 hours later when I was landing in Florence (thanks to some delays and travel complications), I could not feel more excited. Luckily, I decided to go abroad with my best friend from DU, Kira. We had not seen each other since June and were about to reunite at the airport in Florence! The rest of the first day flew by with housing orientation, getting settled into our apartment, and dinner out with our roommates.

The rest of the first week here flew by. I met so many new friends – from DU, the United States and other countries. I started to learn my way from my apartment to the local grocery store (shoutout, Conad!). At a local spritz bar down the street, Kira and I met the bartender, Marcello, who quickly became our first Florentine friend! The first weekend here we stayed in Florence and took advantage of free museum day on the first Sunday of every month. Exploring the Boboli Gardens and Uffizi Museum, I began to appreciate all of the Renaissance history that Florence has.

The second week, I had all of my classes for the first time. All of my professors here are amazing and I am so excited to learn about Florentine history, cooking, and global affairs this semester! This weekend, I also went on my first trip to Cinque Terre with some new friends. We left Friday morning and took the train to Monterosso, where we had an Airbnb for the night. Friday was spent getting breakfast at a cafe in town, spending hours at the beach soaking up the sun, partaking in aperol spritz buckets on the beach, then getting pizza and playing cards the rest of the night. Saturday morning, we took the train south to Manarola, the village famous for all of the colorful houses dotting the cliffside. We wandered in the morning, becoming mesmerised by the waves crashing into the rocks and amused by people going cliff jumping. That evening, we took the train back to Florence and walked back to our apartment in the drizzling rain, already dreaming about our next outing.

By the third week, I started to find my routine. Going to class, cooking dinner, and exploring further out from the city center in my free time. We went to Rome on Friday as a quick day trip and l absolutely loved it! We started our morning off with a train ride that flew by (thanks to the entertainment of some of our fellow passengers who were en route to crash a circus). When we arrived in Rome, we first grabbed a quick bite at a cafe. Then, we walked to the Pantheon en route to the Vatican City. We entered St. Peter’s Basilica following the realization that we did not wear proper clothing to enter, but thankfully, a friendly staff member gave us disposable capes to wear inside. After that, we got pasta en route to the Colosseum and Roman Forum. Having seen photos of the Colosseum my whole life, it felt surreal to see it in person. Picturing all of the people who were bustling around the Roman Forum in ancient times brought out my inner history nerd – I absolutely loved it. We took the train to Florence that night and arrived back having walked 30,000 more steps and a longing for our beds.

So far, I have been moving from one place to the next every minute, and I cannot wait to explore new places but also to find my routine, slow down, and enjoy all Florence has to offer!

Arrivederci! ❤️

Caroline