turning paiges.

Genoa Adventures

Saturday night at 9p.m. and I’m writing a post….Impressive.

Probably will be a good thing considering Carly will be here TOMORROW. With Nicole getting in last Thursday it has already been an amazing start to the month of March. Wednesday night was a little different story….

To take a little “day” trip, the roommates and our guy friends decided to venture off to Genoa, Italy for the USA vs. Italy soccer game! We knew it’d be a blowout since USA had never won, but regardless, we decked ourselves out in Italy zip ups and I was excited about having my first train ride! Getting to the station, we realized that all of the return tickets home were sold out. We had 10 minutes to board the outbound train, so we bought a one-way ticket to Genoa and decided to deal with it later! The train ride was a quick one to Pisa, and from there we boarded our train to Genoa. The 6 of us all fit perfectly in a “room” and we cracked our Heinekens. (Father would be proud.)  

We hopped off the train at 8:00p.m. and were greeted with a few locals that drew Italian flags on our faces…How cute. Only then did our friend realize he had left his ticket to the game on the train…Which had already left. With a 30 minute walk to the stadium, I knew we’d make the best of it and find another ticket, which we did! Of course, if this happened to me I’d probably have a mini panic attack. We got him another ticket after shoving my way to the front of the crowd and ended up meeting some locals that worked on a yacht. Pretty awesome. 

Walking into the stadium we went straight to the concession stand where we knew we’d need a few brews to get our spirits back up. We ended up getting 5 beers for 10 euro which completely excited us already being broke for the first half of the day. We found our other friends in the stands and they were hysterically laughing for some reason looking at us with our beers in hand….Yet again another horrible realization, was that our beer was non-alcoholic. Just what we needed. At this point we had to laugh and enjoyed cheering on team USA which ended up in a WIN! First time EVER….I think we were all their good luck charm for the night ;)

We were all in great spirits when we left the game and were excited to get back home; after all, it was a school night. Long story short, getting back to the train station, all tickets were still sold out and the next one wasn’t leaving until 4:15 in the morning. Let’s just say this was everyone’s breaking point. Weighing our options on what to do (they included even renting a car at one point.) we decided to just jump on the midnight “sold out” train and see what happened. We basically all crammed into a tiny aisle on the floor of the train and made the best of the 2.5 hour trip to Pisa. I hadn’t eaten since noon this day and by this time I was ready to pass out from being so famished and exhaustion. After hopping on at Pisa with an hour layover, we finally arrived at Santa Maria station at 5:30a.m. Oofta.

It was a great experience to go and I’ll remember that day for quite some time…Always a positive to a negitive ;)

I’m overjoyed that Nicole is here and come tomorrow morning I’ll be so complete with my girls here…Seriously a dream come true :)

Ahhhh….

Had a MUCH-needed relaxing weekend here in Firenze. 

Thursday night got a little wild and stayed up wayyy too late….Friday morning I paid for it, but went to Astor for yet ANOTHER burger (I cannot get enough) and couldn’t have been happier stepping outside in a light sweater, leggings and flats. 65 degrees never felt so good. The night ensued with a great girls night with lots of wine! We were all pretty tired and called it a night early. I think we’re all getting to the point where we don’t feel the need to go out every night now…. Who would’ve thought we’d get to that point? ;)

Saturday I began the day with a looong walk, literally walking the entire outskirts of the city. I love finding new cafes and shops while listening to my music… Perfect “me” time. Me, the roommates and some other girls went to mass at the Duomo afterwards which was so unreal. I could’ve looked up the entire duration of the service, as the paintings are so elaborate, colorful and intricate on the ceiling. I’d do anything to have my real church here, but just going to a peaceful place to have some prayer time and meditation was just what I needed after having an off day. I think I had a little dose of homesickness and was bumming out on some other things, which made me upset as to why I’d ever be in a bad mood here! But I realized it’s more than normal to have those feelings, and it’s all in how you handle the rest of your day! Ending the night curling up with a good book was perfect.

This morning was beautiful as usual, and after filling up the shelves with groceries, I headed out for a long run. The sun was shining and I even had to do the tie-your-sweater-around-your-waist-look (cringe) after realizing the sun’s strength! I’m in the process of starting a three-page paper which seems out of this world that we’d have a thing called HOMEWORK here…. :) 

I couldn’t be MORE excited for this week… Blob tomorrow night to watch our friend sing (a weekly tradition now), going dancing Tuesday night, Wednesday taking Jana out because I missed her way too much, Thursday will be SEVENTY DEGREES (had to be in caps.) so more than likely having a fun night, Friday will be a beach day with another SEVENTY DEGREE day and the weekend will be pretty eventful let’s just say :) Trust me, you’ll want to check in Sunday night.

BEST FRIEND CARLY GETS HERE IN A WEEK! I’m going to bawl like a baby. 

Ciao for now <3

sLOVEnia/Venezia

Where do I begin?! Here’s a long blog post, but worth it I promise ;)

Thursday night I packed up my things and headed for the train station for our departure to Slovenia! The bus ride was about 7 hours and after a long day, I was looking forward to getting some shut eye. Not so much the case after our group decided to throw a mini party at the back of the bus as well as lots of small talk; a good start to the trip :) We rolled up to Lake Bled around 2 a.m. and after a much-needed shower, I passed out.

Friday morning we woke up early for a good breakfast before our ski day!….Little did we know we had already missed the bus. After a quick change to do some sightseeing, we all still had high spirits and were excited to explore the city with our tour guides! They brought us down to the lake (our hotel was right up the street!) and we all got our first dose of tourist pics. The sight was so picturesque with a hot air balloon in the distance and a castle perched atop a mountain. Tourists and locals were skating on the lake on a perfect 50 degree day and everyone was ecstatic to be there :) We walked towards the castle and began our hike up the mountain! It was a good little workout climbing to the top and it was more than worth it once we got to the top! It was so surreal being at a CASTLE in SLOVENIA. It’s still crazy thinking we were there… I took pictures from every angle and not one could do it justice. We found some chairs and got some sun for awhile which felt amazing. Shortly after we went down to a little wine cellar where a monk served us wine. Awesome. Two of our friends popped the bottles with a sword even; again, awesome. We cheers-ed to a great weekend and brought our wine glasses back up top to sun bathe some more :) Some of the girls chose to bottle and cork their own wine too! After having to be ripped from my chair to have to leave the top, we were starving and split up to grab lunch! Afterwards our great tour guides threw a little get together with food and wine and we told ATM stories (Awkward Tourist Moments). After several bottles of champagne and wine we continued the party in our hotel room until dinner time. We headed to a traditional Slovenian restaurant where I’ve never consumed so much food in my life….Bread basket, wine, fried cheese with tartar sauce, mashed potatoes with onions, french fries and goulash stew. (Mom: we need to teach Slovenians how to cook REAL goulash.) I’m full thinking about it. Everyone was exhausted at this point yet there was no way I could lay down being that full, so a few of us headed to our pub of choice, Pub Bled, and laughed and chatted some more… Great end to our first day :)

Saturday morning we woke up even earlier to ensure a spot on the shuttle to Vogel- by this time we were SO excited to hit the slopes! Seeing the buses pull into the parking lot was a relief. 15 of us packed into the shuttles and we were 40 minutes away from the best day of our lives. Our bus driver was an adorable grandpa-like Slovenian man who was….wait for it…..born in a CONCENTRATION CAMP. Can you get more interesting than that? We all were fascinated yet he told us he doesn’t talk about that time in his life..He only looks towards the future. (I love Europeans just for this reason.) He did, however, elaborate on his hate for Germans (understandable.) The drive there was incredible despite the curvy, winding roads (hello car sickness)- Slovenia is so detached from the technical world and I absolutely love it. Cottages’ chimneys steam from wood fires and firewood is sold throughout the towns. We even passed by our driver’s cute little factory. 

Arriving at Vogel, we purchased our lift tickets and expected to rent our snow gear here! Let’s just say we were completely misinformed and no snow gear was available for rent…Some of group purchased wind pants to repel the snow haha, at least it was cheap and WARM out! I had no way of preparing myself for what was next… Walking to the gondola outside, I looked up and couldn’t even see the top of the mountain. We all packed like sardines in this massive gondola and after some mini freak-outs from the girls in our group, we started ascending…Swinging back and forth…On wire…With a lake below us….Freaky. We ran out of the gondola thankful we were on the “ground” again. (Mind you this whole time we’re getting stares from the locals at our attire…We’re all literally in cute sunglasses, hats, some in jeans, and pea coats. Hilarious.) Me, Jana, Kelcie and Marcus got our ski gear being the only skiiers, and having the inner John Berg in me, I helped the girls snap their ski boots on and make sure everyone was set to go :) Our first run down I was a little shaky and fell instantly, but I made myself go down again to get some confidence in me. Worked like a charm and it came right back to me! We took the first chairlift up right after that and were in complete awe at what we were witnessing…It’s truly incredible the scenery God created and I was so humbled on our first ride up. We were completely surrounded by the snow-covered Alps and it was a perfect, warm, sunny day. Hitting run after run, we all concluded we had never been happier. We took a quick lunch break and headed back out! We decided to hit the back slopes which required riding up a T-lift. These things may be the scariest things I’ve ever encountered. These slopes were my favorite though, and we eventually made our way to the very top peak of the resort. Again, I was overcome with such amazing emotions, and the 10 minute solo ride to the very top was something I’ll never forget. We ended our day smiling and feeling so blessed to be able to experience something like this! My highlight was going down a red hill…Terrifying yet BEAUTIFUL. (Gave myself a little pat on the back for that.) The ride back down in the gondola was much more appreciated-none of us wanted to leave. All in all, it has been my favorite day since I’ve been here, such an incredible experience with some great people :)

We finished out our last night by going to an all-you-can-eat Mexican restaurant and indulged in margs and the best food I’ve ever eaten. Pub Bled followed our feast and everyone was out because of the Carnivale that had been going on during the day! Everyone was dressed up in Halloween-like attire;it was great. 

Sunday we made it another early morning to make our way to Venice! It was a rainy morning and everyone was exhausted, but I was excited to see the interesting city. Their Carnivale is going on as well, and the city was doused with tourists in masks and face paint. It was a magical little city with all of its bridges, canals and gorgeous St. Mark’s square. The cathedral was beautiful on the inside, with the entire ceiling being composed of gold mosaics. We learned that Venice had never had so many people in one day in their city-300,000 people! We could’ve sunk the city…… ;) 

It feels great to be back “home” now and I’m ready for a great week! I had one of the best weekends of my life and I can’t reiterate enough how blessed I am to be here… I wish I could share this experience with my family and friends :) 

Carly will be here in TWO WEEKS! Excited is an understatement……

Timbo’s

Another fun-filled weekend here in Firenze :) We have some visitors here from London and we’re loving their company! Yesterday we explored the city with Sarah and Cassy and I did a little window shopping! (I WILL be getting my pair of Timberland boots soon, I just can’t deny them any longer.) There’s a chocolate festival going on this weekend and I got chocolate covered strawberries…To die for! Sarah was here this summer so she brought us to what is now my favorite restaurant here; Moyo. It was an appetivo meal, meaning you buy a drink and then go up to a high top table with all different types of yummies and fill your plate! May have went up there a few times…..We all loved our drinks and our tummies were happy when we left :) Can’t wait to take Carly and my parents there! 

I’m feelin a little under the weather with a little cold today but I just returned from a great walk around the city! Just plugged in my headphones and strolled around in my workout attire…Hi my name’s Paige and I’m a tourist. 

I’m absolutely in love with the attire of women and men here. Right now I’m seeing lots of puffy, colorful coats (it’s still FREEZING here) that are belted and 80% of men and women are wearing boot-cut jeans with Timberland boots (aka Timbo’s- they’re literally sold out at every store). Everyone is so simplistic with their wardrobe choices and look so chic and classy, I can even feel my style changing a little while I’m here! Although I am loving the 90s grunge revival right now…. 

Today will be a great week! Valentines Day dinner with the girls (how romantic!), Andie comes from Barcelona on Wednesday and then Venice on Saturday! Off to do some Italian homework :)

Corn Flakes

As I’m sitting down for breakfast, I feel seriously compelled to write this post solely based on my love for Corn Flakes while I’ve been here…. But I’ll save myself the embarrassment. Just know they’re THAT good.

Bonjourno! Woke up this morning feeling a lot like P. Diddy. 

Sunday the roommates and I dug deep into our American roots and headed to the Hard Rock for the Superbowl. 15 euro was pushing our bank accounts, but we were desperate for some American food and English T.V.! Fries, wings, a hot dog and Coronas were delish but not eating it at 2 a.m…. I’ll remember that next time. Regardless, we had some great roomie bonding and I got to relish in the fact that I was watching football in Italy :)

Monday I started off my morning early with a refreshing run. The weekend was a great time, but a little crazy here. I needed to clear my head and start the week off right, and the run did just the trick :) The sun was amazingly warm and I ran longer than usual to get some warmth in my blood (This apartment is an ice box). A few hours later I was off to Italian class; I think I’m falling in love with this language, as I love learning what I am surrounded by. I even can pick up some things while in a cafe or walking around!

Our teacher is so sweet and reminds me of Audrey Hepburn. In her mid-50s she’s got a great style: Brown oxford loafers, trousers, an over-sized grey cashmere sweater in which she wears a different collard button-up underneath (floral, navy, stripes-all wonderful), and a chunky coral ring to add a little something to her simplistic style. 

After my first class of the day, Abbey met me and we wandered around the city in attempt to find the bookstores that are scattered around our campus. It was a beautiful day and I took any excuse to stroll longer in the sunlight. 

Media ethics commenced at 3:00 and well, is pretty lame for lack of a better word. We’ll just skip over this part of the day so you all don’t change your web page to Facebook.

The roomies and I made another fantastic pasta dinner (even though I overcooked the noodles….) and had a relaxing night at home. I’m ready for a good run after I finish up this post and then I’m off to class at 6!

Hope everyone has a bellissimo day <3

Snow globe day

Beautiful, chilly day here in Firenze…..

Started off the morning with one of the most incredible runs. Woke up before my alarm (a usual thing for me here.. so UNusual for me at home) and bundled up; I knew it’d be a cold one since everyone is talking how this will be the coldest weekend in years here…. Breathing in the first gasp of morning air, I instantly woke up. Flurries were falling in slow motion and the river was alive with birds and creatures I’ve never seen before. The pathway was barren  with its usual bikers and runners and I felt as if I had the city all to myself for awhile. I even had to turn off my Ipod to hear the silence of the early morning. 

Every day walking or running around the city I have to stop and count my blessings for being able to be here… It’s like living in a dream here and I don’t know enough adjectives to describe the city’s aura. People walk slowly in order to fully capture the city’s smells and sights, talk quietly not to disturb their peers, and couples stop to embrace each other with passionate kisses and heartfelt phrases and compliments. It seems as if everyone is doing everything here out of pure love. Even my wine teacher told us that he wants us to get to know wine not only with our mouths but our mind and hearts as well…. Bella.

The weekend starts tonight and it couldn’t be a better start with this snow globe of a city :)

Ciao loved ones <3

Back to school

Bonjourno!

Yesterday was the first day of school for us Florence kiddies. Not having class until noon, I decided to get up early and go for one of my morning runs along the Arno which felt to great to breathe in the fresh air and get some higher intensity cardio in! (Except for the persistent Swedish man that tried to shove his business card down my throat WHILE running so he could take me out to coffee- Hellloooo you’re 40, weird and I’m creeped out.) Regardless, the run was enjoyable as usual :)

After a hot shower and good stretch, Abbey and I got our first-day-of-school outfits on and strolled to class! My first class is Italian located in “Piazza Strozzi” (the huge arch in the middle of the city with a carousal right below it.) not to mention Aramani and Fendi are my next door neighbors (sigh).  We walk about 5 floors to get to our classes which are all in a big sqaure on the floor of the building. I have SEVEN people in my Italian class- such a change from big lectures at ISU! The teacher started off the class speaking just in Italian and you could definitely hear crickets in the room from the lack of knowledge us American kids have in Italian. Regardless, I loved hearing the beautiful language and responded correctly to a few questions she asked :) I can’t wait to start learning more! 

After class was over, I went home to figure out this nightmare of a bank problem I’m having… Basically I cannot withdraw any Euro here because Wells Fargo messed up. My mom and I tried preparing as much as we could so I would have no troubles here and this is exactly what we ran into :/ It could definitely be worse though and I told myself I wouldn’t allow myself to be overwhelmed with ANYTHING here! (Only the good kind of overwhelming :) ) Hopefully today I will able to find a bank that my parents can wire cash to me… Most places here do not take cards! 

Having class again at 3, I left an hour early to grab a panini and stroll around the city by myself, just roaming and listening to my Ipod. It was freezing out yesterday but I don’t think I seemed to notice I was so content :)

My next class was media ethics- a little bigger class of about 25 people! Our teacher is male (can’t remember any of these long confusing last names….) and says his English is terrible (which it isn’t) and has the greatest dry humor. Although, this dude can RANT.It’ll be a nice, relaxed class though which will be good for a longer class!

After class was over, the girls and I got ready for LdM’s welcome dinner. When we arrived, we were speechless at the incredible detail of the walls, gold frames and massive crystal chandeliers. The food was just as lavish and the place was packed not a half hour into the event. It was good to sit, have a FREE dinner and socialize with everyone!

I slept through the night for the first time last night and feel refreshed this morning! I’m off to go get some groceries, figure out this money deal and then class at 6 tonight! History of costume design… :)

Love and miss my family and friends! 

<3

No sleep

This weekend was basically unexplainable. 

Exploring the city by day, eating the most delicious food and watching the sunrise the past 3 mornings… All blissful.

Yesterday the roommates and I woke up at 2p.m….Oops. San Lorenzo Leather Market was our first outing of the “day” and we hit jackpot several times. We even picked up some spices and olive oil to see what we could do with some spaghetti noodles! Very yummy… and spicy. Still yummy. 

The night started off sipping limoncello and playing cards and then we ventured off to Astor and Space nightclubs. Pictures to come will leave your jaw on the table. The music here is mindblowing and makes me even dance crazier than I already do.. Again, oops. 

I couldn’t be luckier to have the greatest roommates and friends here already! At the same time, I’m missing everyone back home!

It’s Carly’s birthday tomorrow at home and I’m so sad I can’t share it with her on such an exciting day…. I’ll take many sips of wine for you tomorrow at my wine tasting class, babe :) Love you so much!

Can’t wait to get our janky internet fixed up (hopefully) tomorrow. I need to Skype some faces back home!

Off to take a nap and then Gusta pizza for the second time this week :) Mouth is already watering….

Ciao <3

First Florence Weekend

Firenze Love

Ciao!

Here’s a little (BIG) summary of what I’ve been up to the last 3 days…..

After arriving in Florence on Tuesday afternoon, the girls and I went for our first stroll down the Arno. It was about 50 degrees; just the perfect welcome to Florence anyone could ask for. We walked for about 3 hours just shopping, experiencing the Duomo for the first time and eating our first bite (for me, EVER), of gelato. (So far, I have had cookie flavor, caramel and Nutella flavors- cookie is my favorite yet :) ) We just could not believe we were actually walking around our ancient, exquisite town. We snapped photos like it was our job and I purchased a pair of bubblegum skinny jeans (I’ve been craving a pair and it seemed fitting to wear them here!) We went back to the hostel to freshen up for the night and proceeded to go back out to get our first glass of wine. We stopped at a small bar to cheers our Pinot’s and afterwards ended up at a local restaurant. The girls all got Bruscetta, but I wanted to hold out for my first slice of pizza… Let me tell you… Un.real. Thinking of ever eating a Jack’s pizza again gives me a migraine. Anyways, we finished off the night at 10p.m. and gave the definition of passing out a new meaning, we were so jet lagged.

Wednesday morning I woke up at 7:30. Probably one of the best decisions of my life. I put on my running gear, turned up my Ipod and ran for an hour up and down the Arno. The sunrise was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen, rising directly above the river and giving the city its first dose of magic for the day. I don’t think I stopped smiling once while running. Just enjoying the sheer fact I was in Italy, my new home, running and gazing at the people that were surrounding me. After my run, we had our first Italian breakfast (yummy-weird.) and headed out to move into our apartment! We were so apprehensive and walking into our place was as if we had just seen Ryan Gosling we were so excited. Our place is STRAIGHT out of the 70’s, decorated in mint green paint, mustard yellow sheets, and teal tiling. Nonetheless, we’re obsessed at how cute it is. (Side note: Already LOVE my roommates, we haven’t stopped laughing yet!). A quick nap after unpacking did wonders for fully catching up on my jet lag, especially with a hot shower afterwards. 12 of us girls all met up and went to a 15 euro all you can eat and drink restaurant- there were probably about 100 Americans there and we proceeded to bar hop afterwards! Gotta say the invitation to the VIP lounge was pretty exciting. 

This morning we slept in and grabbed lunch first thing as we woke up- a salami sandwich AKA MY FAVORITE THING EVER HERE. Then we went to orientation and I may or may not have taken a little nap through it……. 2 hours after the roommates and I walked around the city some more attempting to get lost, eat more gelato and find some cute vintage stores. (Such a crappy life here.) Another nap ensued and we were awoken to our adorable, very Italian landlords introducing themselves to us and explaining how the apartment works here. The older lady complimented me on my “excellent” Italian already (Yes I loved this :) ) After the Internet was semi-set up, we went to Gusta pizza and I inhaled a Caprese, heart-shaped pizza. Words can’t describe this thing. Pictures will explain the goodness. 3 bottles of wine and an hour and a half later, we ended up at Lion’s Fountain-it basically every big US college t-shirt hanging on the ceiling-pretty cool! Pictures will show that too :) After a delicious Long Island and sips of the girl’s beer we bar hopped again! After a great Skype session with some cute-accented Iowan boy I’m now off to bed…. I need to be up at 8 for another orientation tomorrow!

Sorry this was so long, maybe you didn’t even make it this far…….

I will definitely be up-to-date now with my posts now that I have Internet!

Miss and love ALL of my family and friends, wish you could all be here :) 

Paige :)

Sunrise in Paris

Bonjour!

The “morning” for me is off to a great start! Safe and sound in Paris and I’ve already seen 6 women I want to take pictures of to replicate some outfits.

I wasn’t able to sleep on the plane much since I am SO anxious to arrive in Florence, but I was able to catch up on some good movies and stretch out my legs (Thanks to the bro who moved seats halfway through the flight). On our departure I felt like a 5 year-old on how adamant I was about seeing the Eiffel Tower, but no luck- I think it was a sign that it’ll be better once I’m standing in front of it. ;)

I really can’t believe that I’m here! It’s slowly setting in being in Paris’ airport, and I’m excited to use the little French I know every chance that I get :) I’m already thinking about my mom, I know she’d be just as excited as me right now being a little obsessed with French culture :)

Better save a little battery life for once I get to my hostel in a few short hours, already counting down the minutes!

Bisou family and friends <3