Hey USWIB!
So, we have just reached the end of the semester here at NYU Florence. It feels like I haven’t even been here for that long and I am already about to pack up and leave soon. But, in the last half of the semester, I did a lot of traveling and I want to share my experiences with you all!
The first trip I took was the weekend after Spring Break to Prague where I met up with two of my really good friends Virginia and Tiffany. The journey from Florence to the airport was so stressful though, since I was flying out of the Milan Bergamo airport (there were no cheap flights from or near Florence). I had to take two trains and a bus going to the airport and coming back to Florence, which added 8 hours to my overall travel time. That was not a fun experience at all, but I was so excited when I landed in Prague and met up with my friends! We saw all the major sites there, including the Old Town Square, Prague Castle, and the Charles Bridge. I was absolutely in love with Prague because it seemed as if it could have come straight out of a fairytale.
The next day, we decided to take a day trip to Vienna. We had to get up so early because our train left at 6 AM, but it was nice because I got to relax on the train for a few hours. When we got there, we did a ton of exploring. I got to see Belvedere Palace, Hofburg Palace, the museum park, a lot of beautiful churches, and the Vienna Opera House. However, the best part of my time there was getting to meet up with fellow USWIB Liaison Pooja N. for dinner! It was such a strange coincidence that she was also going to be in Vienna at the same time that we were there, so I’m really glad that we had the chance to meet up (although I’m really sad we didn’t get a picture together there L). After that, we headed back to Prague by train and arrived there around 4 AM which was really awkward for me because I had my flight back to Milan at 10 AM. I was definitely sleep deprived for 90% of my time on this trip!
After getting back to Florence, I decided to take a break from traveling because I was so tired from that weekend. I scheduled my last trip for the semester on our last long weekend to Paris to visit my aunt who lives there. My traveling experience was so much more stress-free than the one I had on my last trip. I flew out of the Pisa airport, and going to there by train is so convenient. When you get off at the Pisa Centrale train station, you can take a shuttle to the airport that comes every five minutes. After reaching the airport, I flew into the Orly airport in Paris, which was great because it was close to my aunt’s house. Since I had three days in Paris, I spent Saturday visiting Notre Dame, Jardin du Luxembourg, the Conciergerie, the Invalides, the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, Place de la Concorde, and Jardin des Tuileries. I had to cut my sightseeing short that day because I was running out of battery and I needed data to get home!
The next day, I met up with my cousin at Musée d’Orsay. I love that place so much, because the architecture of the building is so unique and many famous French artists (including Claude Monet and Renoir) had artworks that were displayed there. After that, we sat down in a café to take a coffee break to wait for my aunt to meet us. Sadly, after she came, it started pouring outside so we had to take a trip around Paris from inside a car. We got to see the Opera House, the Madeleine church, and the Louvre Museum in such a short period of time. I was so sad to leave Paris the next day because I loved the city so much and could see myself living there.
Now, I am about to take finals and am stressed about all of them! I’m also really bittersweet about finishing the semester because I don’t want to leave Florence, but at the same time I desperately want to come home and see my family. I was feeling kind of upset on Friday because it was our last day of classes, but I also got really excited because that meant that I was coming back to America soon. I spend that day taking some pictures with my friends to remember the amazing time I spent here with some great people!
I guess it’s true that time really does fly when you’re having fun! I’m definitely going to miss Florence so much, but I am always going to cherish the memories I had there. If you have any questions about my experience here, don’t hesitate to reach out to me through email or through Facebook! Arrivederci!