Entry 6: June 25, 2008

Hey everyone! Jules and I are using the internet in our hostel in Munich, Germany!

Munich is an amazing city and full of young kids. The history is really interesting, and we are taking some tours, too. Monday we went on a Mike's Bike tour and then yesterday we went on a tour of Dachau, a concentration camp during the Holocaust. Today we were feeling a little homesick, so we met up with Lauryn and Amanda and went to the Hard Rock Cafe!

We travel to Zurich for one night on Friday, and then we come home on Saturday, and I'm pretty excited. We have a list of things we want to eat and do when we come home - haha. See everyone soon!

Entry 5: June 22, 2008

This past week, we have been staying in Lugano, Switzerland. It is a beautiful resort on the border of Italy and Switzerland and is therefore the Italian speaking part of Switzerland. We have been attending class and using the facilities at Franklin College, which is a beautiful place to be. We took at ferry ride as a group to Morcote, which was full of breathtaking views. We visited a beautiful church called Santa Maria del Sasso and had a great time taking pictures in its garden. We are about to depart and all go our separate ways on our last and final travel breaks and some of the students are continuing on to London. A lot of the girls are sad to leave Europe, but we are getting a little homesick and can't wait to see our family and friends soon! Ciao!

Entry 4: June 18, 2008

Stechelberg, Gimmelwald and Murren were three of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. They say that "If Heaven isn't what it's cracked up to be, sent me back to Gimmelwald" and I can see why. We stayed at the cutest bed and breakfast called the Alpenhof, which is owned by a cute couple named Mark and Diane. They have the cutest ten-month-old baby named Ellen and a sweet dog named Misty. I woke up to see a waterfall as my view outside my window along with the amazing view of the Swiss Alps. The hike up to Gimmelwald was long, but it was well worth the breathtaking views. We had a very nice relaxing time in the mountains of Switzerland. It was by far one of the most beautiful and interesting places that we have visited so far.

Entry 3: June 6, 2007

We just got back from our second travel break in Venice. It is such an interesting city to visit. St. Mark's Square is just as beautiful as I thought it would be. Venice is glorious by day, but I think it is even more amazing at night. I can see why they call it the most romantic and beautiful city in the world.

On the first day we got there and got settled. It took awhile to figure out the vaporetti. We got a chance to sleep in a little and then headed to Murano. We went to watch the glass blowing and spent a lot of time shopping. After that, we went to some of the smaller markets and they were really interesting. We had a chance on our last day to visit the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, which was really interesting. I enjoyed having a chance to see some modern art. I was sad to leave such a beautiful place. Ciao!

Entry 2: May 29, 2008

We just got back from our travel breaks today. I can't speak for everyone, but our travel group had the most amazing time. We traveled to Rome for the first night and walked around the city. Rome is so amazing at night. It was also nice during the day, but the night had an extra glamour to it. The weather was perfect and the lights added an extra sparkle to the experience.

We went to see the Colosseum and it was breathtaking. It baffles my mind to think about all the history there is within those walls. We also went to see the Spanish Steps. We had a field day with the picture taking.

It was just as glorious as I thought it would be. We wanted to see the Trevi Fountain, but had some trouble reading the map. By the time we passed by the Spanish Steps for the third time, we decided it was late and we were tired from a long day of travel and called it a night.

The next morning, we woke up bright and early and hopped on a train to Naples. We were nervous about the city because we have been told that it is pretty rough, but we managed just fine.

We took the Hydrofoil to the beautiful island of Capri and proceeded to spend the next two days in paradise. It was honestly one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. The people were so friendly, the food was amazing and the view was beyond words. We swam in the Mediterranean, took a chair lift to the top of the island for a view of Capri in all of its glory and swam into the depths of the Blue Grotto. It's a cave off the side of the island that gives off a bright blue glow from the combination of sunlight and the limestone lining the walls. It was cold and scary to swim in, but the experience was worth every second. I was sad to leave such a beautiful place. I could not have dreamed of a better travel break, or a better group of girls to experience it with!

Ciao for now!

Entry 1: May 21, 2008

Greetings from Italy! So far the experience has been everything I have expected and more. Italy is such a beautiful place and the culture is so interesting and fun to study. All of these girls are amazing and fun, so that makes the experience even better. The professors are great too! It has been raining more than I would like, but we have tried to make the most of our time.

On Monday, we went to the Casa Buitoni, which was a really a chance of a lifetime. The view of Sansepolcro was amazing and we had a blast taking pictures in the gardens. It was great to see the kitchen where all of the Buitoni creations are made, being the pasta lover that I am.

On Tuesday, we went to the Museo Civico and had a chance to see some of Piero Della Francesca's work, which was a really neat thing to see. I enjoyed looking at the "Resurrection" by Francesca. It is a representation of the rebirth of Christ and it is really an amazing thing as an original piece. I also enjoyed looking at some of the frescos by Francesca, such as the "St. Julian" and the "St. Louis". Once I learned about the mathematics behind the work of Piero Della Francesca's art, I found his pieces a lot more interesting to observe and I noted this at the Museo Civico. I think we are all enjoying the sights in Italy so far! Let’s just hope that it will stop raining as much as it has. Ciao!