Well, here it is. Compiled into one video! Sorry that it’s thirteen minutes–it was hard cramming. Watch in 720p!! Listening with headphones is recommended.

The feeling of having to say goodbye. This experience has taught us so much within the last nine days. It was like a ride you kept wanting to wait in line for to ride again.

We checked out of our recent hotel to go to the Grand Hotel Mediterraneo. When we got there, our rooms were not ready. Josh, Katherine, Julieta, Chante, Kayla, and myself all went to eat pancakes. After pancakes, we checked into our rooms, got dressed, and headed out to meet Jack at the Duomo. We did some shopping and got to see some the Michelangelo Plaza and the Rose Garden!

After the garden and the plaza, we all went back to the hotel to freshen up and then went our for our last aperitivo. We ate at a place called Rifrullo. After we ate, we all hiked back to the top of the Michelangelo Plaza and overlooked Florence amongst the night lights. Tonight was truly special and helped me realize what networking and communication can accomplish.

Today, we woke up, had breakfast, and headed out towards Prato. When we got to Prato, we had a presentation about the educational opportunities throughout various campuses around Italy…more study abroad programs and what the universities offer. The gentleman that did the presentation was named Daniela Toccafondi.

After the presentation, we went on a little tour of Prato with a professor. We saw a small castle inside the city limits of Prato. We then went to get pizza at a small restaurant near the campus. The town was also very quiet. It was far more quiet than Florence and REMOTELY quiet compared to Milan. I think everywhere is quieter than Milan.

After lunch, we left Prato and headed back towards Florence to visit a shopping center called Coop.fi. The center is notorious for having the lowest prices possible and still offering amazing food. It’s basically a totally affordable Whole Foods. During the presentation, the speaker explained how the grocery store doesn’t make too much profit, but keeps them on top because of their service, prices, and what they offer.

After Prato and Coop.fi, the entire study abroad group had a farewell dinner. We laughed, cried, told stories, and remembered all that we had been through. This opportunity has opened so many windows for me and had changed the way I think about history and the people, things, and emotions that coincide within it.

After the farewell dinner, the entire study abroad group got together with the Italian students for a fun night out. We went to a place called Space. Super fun place!

Today started out with the entire group walking to the Salvastore Farragamo museum with our guide Andrea. The museum featured famous shoes and clothes that are icons in the past, present, and future of fashion.
After Salvatore Ferragamo, Julieta and I went over by the bridge to to chat for a bit, then we went to a roadside restaurant where we ate knocchi(again), and drank some vino. We talked for about 2 hours–we had never been in a conversation together alone. Also, a gypsy walked by and put her finger in Julieta’s chicken breast right after she asked her if she could have it. It was weird.
After we ate, we went to look at some of the statues that were in the square.
We walked over to the Gucci museum to take our tour. Handbags, handbags, handbags. Great examples of luxury items. They are incredibly expensive. One trunk cost over $100,000 to manufacture.

After Gucci, the group split apart and Josh and I decided to go tour the museum, cathedral, catacombs, and bell tower. The climb to the top of the bell tower was pretty strenuous but it was all but worth it. There was an old myth that said if you climb that tower, the climber wouldn’t graduate college. Well, we changed it. We said if the climber had on flat dress shoes that it wouldn’t cause any trouble–Josh and I both climbed that tower with horrible, barking dress shoes.

After the bell tower, we went to the catacombs in the cathedral.
Then, we went to the museum where they held ancient sculptures, artifacts, and paintings.

After the museum, we went and ate some dinner/snacks at the market with the students that were showing us around. We also got some kebabs! Another great ending to a great night.

We woke up today in gorgeous Florence to head out to speak with some important people in the journalism and business world. The first speaker that spoke was a young student who was involved in a newsletter called the Florentine. It is a piece of literature comprised for English speaking people living in Florence. It is a monthly issue and users can even subscribe outside of Europe! The next two speakers spoke about luxury items and fashion. After they spoke, we met with students that were studying in Europe and they were going to lead us around for the day to show us some cool spots in Florence. I went with Jack, a student studying business. He took us to a panini place that’s popular for the meat and the speed they make the food. After the paninis, Josh and I did laundry at the place behind our hotel. After some laundry, we headed back to the majority of the group to climb the dome of the cathedral! So many steps, so many narrow hallways! The cool thing about the dome is that it was made without scaffolding! In inner side of it had paintings of the story of Jesus and the afterlife; it got pretty graphic at times.

After the dome climb, we all went back down to and discussed dinner options. Jack and Eduardo took a few of us to a restaurant where you paid 10 euros for a drink and a buffet. They called this an aperitivo. It was awesome. Foreign students helping foreign students.

It was a great end to a great night.

I woke up back in Milan with 3 hours of sleep. It was better than the night before. We were leaving Milan officially to go to Pisa and then from there–Florence!!

We got on the bus around 7:45 and took off. Three hours later, we were in Pisa!!

We took a tour around Pisa with an amazing tour guide that explained family matters of the past within Pisa, the towers, and ate at a small restaurant that served meat, lasagna, and tiramisu.
After lunch, we headed out towards the town and explored a bit more, took some pictures around the Leaning Tower of Pisa, then headed towards the cathedral. We explored the inside of it and found Dr. Powers near some giant artwork. He looked at me and said, “These are the original screens. There were no phones or televisions. People came to look at these for entertainment and to learn about past stories.” I thought that was pretty cool. It’ll also be something that sticks to me.

We then headed out to climb the Leaning Tower of Pisa! Narrow, side-tilted staircase. Here’s how that went…
After climbing up and back down, we headed back to the bus to Florence. After a HOT 45 minute drive, we arrived safely in Florence at our hotel; Palazzo Ricasoli Residence. BEAUTIFUL HOTEL. We checked in and immediately started on a guided tour of Florence! We saw some of the first churches ever built, a cathedral as impressive as the Duomo in Milan. We also learned about the sculptures, famous doors on the churches, and learned how to spot out REAL gelato. After the tour (our tour guide was phenomenal), we ran to eat some pizza and calzones.
After dinner, a few friends and I explored the city. We went back to the hotel and went to bed.

Goodbye Milan, here we come Venice.

On the train, Evan 2 had been throwing up. He couldn’t keep anything down. For the past few days, he had been sick with something but didn’t know what. Dr. Powers insisted he get to a hospital just in case it was anything foreign that was contagious. Evan 2 and Melene stopped at a city an hour into the train ride and took Evan 2 to the hospital. She spent the entire day with Evan 2 to make sure he was feeling better. They returned later that day to Milan and Evan 2 and Melene had missed Venice. Melene sacrificed her entire day for him.

It took us three hours to get to Venice. When we got there, we took a water taxi to a stop in the city that had the best gelato from its reputation. Dr. Powers turned around and said, “Go explore! Be back here at 5. LITERALLY 5.” So we left into the maze of Venice!!!

We literally walked miles through the streets and across the canals in Venice. We also found a dock that was so excluded from the rest of them; accessable only by a foot and a half wide street. We also had watermelon and cherries by the water! We found a bookstore that a gentleman had hand-made everything inside and he even showed us how he did it. We spent so many euros in that bookstore after that experience. At 5:00, we met back at the gelato location to go eat dinner. We had seafood spaghetti, and some incredible vino. After dinner, we took the water taxi back to station and slept on that long, three hour ride back to Milan. Goodnight! Tomorrow is Pisa!

I woke up and got breakfast from the hotel. After breakfast, Evan 2 and I walked around outside the hotel and found a small bakery. We got some chocolate cannoli and cappuccinos. By the way, coffee in Italy is a huge thing. Everywhere, in every bar, every restaurant, every store is a coffee machine. Not just any coffee machine, the world famous La Cimali coffee machines. Which brings me to my next subject of this day. After breakfast, my group took a bus to Cimbali headquarters and factory, where the world renowned coffee machines are created. They are only available for business use and cannot be used in a home. We toured the facility that showed how these machines were created. 200 machine a day, 73,000 a year. These are handmade by the way–maticulously put together with magic hands. Not exactly magic hands, but happy workers that are passionate about what they do. After the facility tour, we went to a museum where we were introduced to some of the oldest coffee machines in the world. We saw the first espresso machine as well as the first coffee boiler. The museum is the most important and valuable in the world–over 200 pieces.
After the Cimbali headquarters, we rode the bus back into the inner city of Milano and visited an advertising agency; Leo Burnett. We discussed advertising techniques as well as how to revitalize a brand during challenging times. Acts, not ads.
After the advertising speaker we had the chance to explore the city for our own again, except this time we had a lot more time. My friends, Isamar, Evan 2, Katherine, Ayla, Eduardo, and Aldair went to shop and explore inside and on top of the Duomo. I cried when I waked inside–it was amazing. The pictures do NOT do any justice to this amazing place an the views..unfathomable.
After the Duomo, we went to eat at a small place called Taccas.
When we got there, we were so unsure of it. Super small place. We started ordering and it turned out the place had food equivalent to Tappas. It was amazing. After dinner, we started heading back to the hotel and we all had decided to go out and see a few bars. By the way, our group was leaving at 6:45 in the morning for Venice… Goodnight, Milan!

My roommate(Korey), and I woke up to go eat some breakfast. Breakfast in this hotel is a big deal! They were serving different kinds of croissants, breads, thin-sliced meats, cheese(of course), fresh fruit, cereal, and handmade yogurt.
Every morning, breakfast is what got me going. On the 19th, my group and I met up with some speakers from all over Italy. The first speaker was a U.S. Consultate. He spoke to us about the US/Italy economy and political matters within each as well. After he spoke, we had three more speakers come and speak to us. One was a freelance photographer, one a columnist freelancer, and the last was a postdocotrate research associate. The three of them spoke to us about functions within the journalism field, what it takes to be a journalist, and how freelance journalism can be more challenging than expected. After the speakers, we had a lunch held in the hotel. We had pizza, small bruschetta bites, cheeses, fresh pasta salad. After lunch, my group took a bus to a high end textile industry. The company was called Limonta. They gave a presentation about what their company was all about. The company creates textiles for artificial turf, specific high end handbags, shoes, and clothes. After the presentation, they gave us a tour of their facility. They showed us how they can create specific fabrics solely by using a specific type of glue, paper, and compound liquid. They showed us how they test the fabrics for durability(a machine that pushes a pulls the fabric 150,000 times over a course of 6 hours), they showed us how the fabrics are reamed, washed, stored, and shipped. We were not allowed to take pictures in this facility, but when I tell you there were miles of name brand fabrics reamed up for shipping you should just believe me. Just imagine the most expensive bag a woman or man could buy and see that fabric rolled up into reams taller than the average human, and heavier than 600-700 pounds. It was overwhelming. After the tour, we headed back to the hotel, changed, and began to explore the city of Milan ourselves. I went exploring with my friends Josh, Katherine, and Evan 2. We went shopping around the strip of Corso Como and then ate at this gorgeous restaurant.
I had knocchi for the first time. Probably one of the most appetizing meals I’ve ever had. We then ate gelato (again), and headed back to the hotel. I passed out super early this day.

We landed in Milan around 8:30 AM. We then took a bus to our hotel, Ibis, escorted by a gentleman named Andrea. After we got to the hotel, we left our bags and went to a restaurant called Mamma Rosa.

THE BEST, Italian food I have ever eaten..and it was only day one! I don’t even like bruschetta and I ate it. I was never a fan of Zuchinni and I ate it as well. We ended that meal with lemon cello and espresso. Literally, heaven.

After Mamma Rosa, we went back to the hotel to change and check in. We then went to the Coca-Cola Italian headquarters to speak with an executive.
After Coca-Cola, we had the cultural tour of Milan. We visited the castle, world famous cathedral, and the center of the shopping craze in Milan. It was beyond gorgeous. There are absolutely no words to describe this caliber of architecture.
After the tour, we had the day to ourselves. A small group and myself went exploring and ate at a place called Venice Ristorante Pizzeria. I had Brie pizza. Ate every slice. After pizza, we went next door and ate gelato. (Of course). After that, I met up with another group and we all decided to head back to the hotel. Right before we got back, my colleague Evan N, (Evan 2),  and I decided that we wanted to explore more during the nighttime. We are really glad we made that decision.

We got back and passed out faster than I can ever recall. We had been up for a consecutive 30 hours without any sleep. See you tomorrow Milan!!