Michael comes to visit!!!! =]]]

Hey bloggers!!
  Sorry if my last one was a little rushed:) I might have been a little excited to get to this one:) And yes, this one is going to be a little sappy, but this is my blog, and I call the shots:)
    So when I got back from Greece, I had the night to do some laundry and get everything cleaned up for when Michael got here the next day:) I woke up really early and went to the airport, really really early so I was positive I wouldnt miss him:)
  Finally he came through the sliding doors and I got to give him a hug for the first time in 9 weeks. Let me tell you people, I will never go that long again. I missed him, and already miss him so much. Anybody who has done distance, especially distance between two different continents, you know what Im talking about. Communication is such a challenge, trust, and patience, and everything is such a challenge. But its so worth it. Being away from one another has been one of the greatest things for mine and Michaels relationship. I honestly think that. We have done so much maturing and growing together through all this time apart. Bah Im making myself tear up just writing about it:)
   So anyways he got here safe and sound, starving and exhausted, but he was here and I have never been happier:) What an incredible blessing he is, and that he had the chance to come visit me=] I feel so lucky that he could come be here, not many couples get to travel, let alone get to spend a week together in beautiful Firenze:)
   I wont put you all through every step that we took and every sip of cappuccino that we had, but we had such a good time. I dont want to speak for him, but honestly this week was the greatest of my life=] I showed him all of my favorite spots, and we walked all up and down the Arno, which is my favorite part of all of Italy. We ate all my favorite foods, and got to cook together, and go grocery shopping together, it was perfect. We sat in multiple parks and just talked and it was perfect:) The weather was perfect. Everything was perfect:)
   So the point of this blog is the story:) So I guess Ill get to it:) Monday we woke up and were going to go out and walk around, the weather, like I already said, was unbelievable. Michael insisted that he bring his backpack, which was a little silly I thought, but he brought a lock and he hadnt let me see it yet so I thought he was just being sneaky and trying to keep the lock hidden till later. A little background on the lock thing: On the Ponte Vecchio, which is the most famous bridge over the Arno, which is right where I live, is well known for having locks all over it. All different kinds, but mostly padlocks. The old tradition is that you put a lock on the bridge representing you and your loves relationship. And then you toss the key into the river so that the lock will be on the bridge forever, aka your love will last forever. I had told MIchael a while ago that I wanted to do that while he was here. Its touristy and cheesy but I love it:) So he (without me knowing) bought a lock and brought it with him. When he told me he had brought a lock I got a little teary:) I didnt think he would have even remembered me talking about doing the lock thing. But alas, my precious boy remembered and brought one with him:) So he was keeping it a secret what it looked like, he had told me where he went to get it, and that it was really old, and the brand doesnt even exist any more and all of that. So anyways, thats what I thought the backpack was about. It was a little silly that he bring the whole thing, but it was precious that he wanted to keep it a secret:) So we walked a while, and found some sandwiches that we got and ate on the river:) Then we kept walking because I wanted to show him this really pretty park that I found while running. So we walked and walked and got to the park, and all the benches were full, so we walked to the very end of the park, and there was our bench:) There is a picture of the bench on my facebook if you want to see it:) And we sat down and just talked for a while, just sitting with that boy is the greatest=] Finally he reaches over to his bag and asks me if I want to see the lock. And he pulls out this really old beaten up box with the lock in it and hands it to me, and I open it up and guess whats locked on this beautiful padlock? The most gorgeous engagement ring I have ever seen. And I ask him whats on the lock and hes talking about how its a big deal and how I really need to think about it becuase were about to toss the key in the river and something something (its a little bit of a blur, because at this point im crying and so excited I can barely hold myself together) and he asks me to marry him=] He asks me to marry him!!!!! =]]]] Of course I say yes, I have never wanted anything more than to spend the rest of my life with Michael Weller=] So I unlock the padlock and get the ring off and since then, it has been sitting on my finger=] There are pictures of the ring on facebook too=] Im telling you people, I have never seen a more gorgeous ring, or heard of a more precious proposal, I might be a little biased but I think my story wins. I am the luckiest girl in the world=] My boyfriend came to visit me in Italy and left, my Fiancé:) I got to spend the week with my best friend without any kind of schedule or time constraint. We climbed to the top of the Camponille which is the tower next to the Duomo. We ate the most delicous sandwiches and sat in the park and talked about everything. I get to marry Michael Weller!!! I feel like I could do cartwheels for the rest of my life=] So right now, hes flying home:( I miss him so much already:( I really really hate being away from him, but I am so confident that we can do this. I know that we are already so much stronger for having gone so long and now we only have a couple of weeks till we have a whole summer together:) I get to plan a wedding!! I get to marry my best friend=] I am so happy=]
   Thank you everybody who had any part in this, whether you kept it a secret or helped in any way:) This week could not have been better=] I cannot wait to come home and spend the summer with him=]
  I love you Michael Joseph, I can't wait to grow old with you, and learn and serve this world with you as my partner and best friend=] Thank you for being patient with me, and being so willing to make this work even when we are so far away. I have never loved anyone like I love you=]]]
 
 Ill blog soon, but I don't know that ill have anything that can top this one:)

Ps I miss my sweet Fiancé Michael=]]

 

Greece!!!

Ciao Bloggers!!
 I know I know its been a long time again, but I have good reasoning:)
   First off, I was gone, in Greece for Spring Break:)
   Second...well we can get to that later:)
 So Spring Break, oh heavens, I dont even know where to start. We started off really early Saturday morning, and left on a bus to get to a boat to get to another boat and then another boat in order to get to a bus to get to our hotel. Long story short, this trip was a whole lot of traveling, which is totally fine, it also meant a lot of opportunities to look out the window and see everything. So anyways, Ill try to hit the highlights without rambling for too long. The overnight boat, the cruise if you will, was alright, the boat was really hot, like temperature. I dont know if that was a ploy to get us all to fall asleep so as not to feel the very boat-moving-in-the-waves feel, but it was warm and it did make me want to sleep. The cruise wasnt anything special, we were in chairs like on a plane, so sleeping was an adventure. I ended up on the floor, cuddled with somebodies suitcase, but that was fine:) It was absolutely beautiful to watch the sun set over the ocean and see the stars from the deck of the boat. After we got to land, we had to switch to another ferry to get to the actual port where we would catch our bus to the hotel. Finally we made it to the Pink Palace, I dont know if I can do this place justice in words or pictures. Think pepto color, in building form. If you really wanna see it, look it up:) It was fine, very much a "spring-break" hotel for college age people. It was nice, and pretty clean, and each morning we had breakfast, and each night we had dinner, which was already paid for. That was such a plus, paying for food on these trips can get so so expensive so the already done dinners and breakfasts were perfect. The view was unbelievable. Once again, I dont think any of the pictures that I took do it justice. We were on the Island, Corfu. It was beautiful. It was almost kind of creepy though because the whole little town were the hotel was, was abandonded, I think we caught it before the warm and springy season, so non of the other hotels were open, all the restaurants were closed, nobody was around. Creepy. But beautiful. And there were so many lemon and orange trees, and luckily, because nobody was around, I picked a lemon:) Didnt get to eat it, but it was pretty and it smelled delightful:) So after a few days at the pink palace, one of those being filled with the most incredible four-wheeling adventure Ive ever been on (granted, ive only been four-wheeling once before, but this one was insane) We were on four-wheelers for nearly 6 hours, seeing the whole island, going up to the highest point on the island, going down on the beach, it was absolutely beautiful, Ive never seen anything so beautiful. The four-wheeling might be my most favorite part of the entire trip:)
  So from the Pink Palace, we left I think it was Wednesday night after dinner, and rode an over-night bus to Athens, traveling overnight is not my favorite. It does make sense so were not wasting any time during the day, traveling, but sleeping sitting up is not my thing. A few benadryl cured that though:) We arrived in Athens and had some rest time before we took a walking tour which was really really cool. Saw a few ruins, as well as a changing of the guards ceremony. We got to see the Parthenon which was really cool. From up on the Acropolis you can see for miles and miles, and Athens is absolutely massive. It makes Florence look like a little baby neighborhood. The city is like an ocean that just goes on and on. Its so cool that Ive gotten to see so many different cities, Ive learned what I like and what I dont. Athens is cool, but it wasnt what I pictured. It has a lot of square, not very exciting buildings, and the streets are dirtier and filled with people that are in a hurry. The grafitti was sick, but other than that, it gave me an appreciation for Florence:) But dont get me wrong, Greece is beautiful, and I would love to go back:) I dont want to sound like Im complaining:) That night, we all went out for a huge family-style greek dinner. Oh. Greecian food is SO GOOD. I dont know that I could eat it all the time, but it is soo good. We ate so much, it was all unbelievable, except for the weird dessert. I dont even know what it was, we asked our tour guide if he knew what it was, and he said something to the effect "I dont know whats in it, and I really dont like it" So I didnt feel so terrible, not enjoying a traditional Greecian dessert if a local didnt like it either. But other than that, the meat, the salad, the pita, the Feta, Ive never been a fan of Feta, but let me tell you American friends, the Feta youve eaten, is NOT feta. Come to greece, youll want to eat a whole chunk of it. Oh and the olives, and the sausage, writing about it is making me drool.
   ANyways:) The next day we had some free time, we went to the Acropolis museum, as well as the archeological museum, both of which were really cool. I think we were all really worn out at this point. All the marble statues and stuff started to run together:/ But it was really cool to have the opportunity to go and see all of that. On the way out we ate the most amazing Greek yogurt. Im telling you. Greek yogurt is going to be the next big thing in America. I know everybody already loves the little cups of it from the grocery store, but im talking this is the new self-serve fro-yo. I got to pick the toppings I wanted and they had a light option for the yogurt. I had plain greek yogurt with little chunks of apple, and corn flakes, and honey (there were like 4 options of different honeys). IT WAS SO GOOD. So good. Oh i want to go back just to eat the yogurt. That night we got kebabs for dinner, a little greasy but so tasty. Go to Greece people. Oh funny joke, on the boat on the way to Greece after not showering for a really long time, one of my friends said "I feel Greece-y" Haha, it makes me laugh because that food was so greasy, get it? Punny right? :) Oh what so little sleep will do to you:)
   I think it was the next mornign that I left early, I flew back to Florence so that I could get Michael Weller from the airport:) That morning I went from metro, to plane, to bus, to train, all in one day! All by myself. I was so proud, scared to death that I was going to mess it up along the way, but I made it! I am officially a fairly capable traveler:)
   So I guess that brings me to my next big blog:)
  Ill make a new one:)
    Keep reading peeps!

ps. I miss my Michael so much (but just wait for this next post) =]]

Paris!!

Hello Blog people!!

   I know I know its been a long time:) Life is busy in Italy:) I even had a test today! My first test thus far in my Italian adventure. I know, lifes hard. 

   So last weekend, which is what I want to talk about, we went to Paris. Just hopped a flight to Paris, you know:)

   This adventure, oh my. I dont even know where to start. So we left on Thursday night, we took a bus from the Florence bus station, to the Pisa airport. Before we left, we went to school to check in and print our plane tickets. We printed our tickets and had time to run to McDonalds for a cheap pre-trip cappuccino. We got on the bus, we drove an hour to the airport. Everything was fine and dandy. We were told to check in at the desk before we tried to go through security. So we did. And guess what? We were supposed to check in before 4 hours before the trip. I dont remember when our flight was but lets say it was at 6, this means that anytime after 2, theres no possible way to check in a print your tickets. Guess when we checked in and printed our tickets? About 3 hours and 45 minutes before our flight. Awesome. 65 Euros a piece. 65 EUROS A PIECE!!!! down the drain. I have never been so mad, or so sad. Thats how much the flight cost!! Absolutely ridiculous, especially because thats just a cheap excuse my French, BS way for the airline to make money. They charged us each, 65 euros to print our boarding tickets at the airport because we hadnt done it within their anal time limits. The lady at the desk was extraordinarily rude. It was just a terrible moment. But you printed out your tickets before you left, you say? Yes, i did print a ticket, the ticket to come home. I didnt even look at the date. I hate my life. 

   But after that small meltdown, we realized we had no choice. We paid the money and ended up getting on the flight and everything was fine. Let me tell you, I will never, not read the small print in an email confirmation, ever again.

    So we fly to France, and then have to take another bus, an hour, into Paris. I saw the Eiffel Tower, freaked out and woke up all the sleeping people on the bus. Sorry guys. Im really not good at not being an obnoxious American. So after some metro rides, some gypsy dodging, and asking some French people for help. We finally got to the Hostel. Then long story short, I ended up getting jipped 10 dollars there too. I promise Mom and Dad, I am not frivalous with the money you have given me. I hate money. I hate it with a passion. Its so stressful. But we made it there alive. Then ran out in the city around midnight looking for food. The only thing open was this little cafe bar thing, the lady came outside and told us that the kitchen was closed but that she could make us some cheese on bread. I have never loved a stranger so much as I did in that moment. She reminded me of the mom from Parent Trap. Sweetest lady ever. 

   I have to say that I went into this Paris adventure with a bad taste in my mouth about French people. I have no idea why,  I feel like a horrible person for even saying that. I clearly got it from some steryotype. But honestly, they were so nice. The restaurant lade, offering us some food when she clearly had no reason to do so. We asked a girl on the street for directions. She got out her Iphone and plugged in the Hostels address and gave us detailed directions. The cars stop for you to crosst the road. Generally just a gracious people and i really was so so thankful for that. Especially after a stressful start to the trip. 

   So fast forward to the morning, we got up early and ate our free breakfast at the hostel. The hostel by the way was really cool. Really artsy and hip, reminded me of NoDa for anyone who lives in Charlotte or knows that art-district. The bathrooms left a little something to be desired. I only took one shower the 4 days that we were there. That says something about the showers. I love to shower and to be clean, so for me to do that, well...yeah they were pretty bad. But were college students so we have to stay in little hostels in Europe right? 

  So anyways, I keep getting off on these tangents:) In the morning we did the whole metro thing and went to the Louvre and figured out that we could go in that night after 6 for free! How awesome is that, so then we just kind of wandered around the city, walked along the river, saw Notre Dame, it was so amazing. I honestly think Paris is my favorite place so far. I love Florence, its become a home away from home but Paris was beautiful. It didnt feel very touristy. It was clean and open and the architecture is amazing. I love it there. I took a bunch of pictures so check facebook for those:) Then for lunch I had some ratatouille:) Delicious. Then we went to the Eiffel Tower and just kept wandering. I feel like thats the way to see the city is to just walk around:) Then that night we went to the Louvre. We didnt end up having a whole lot of time. But thats ok. That museum is absolutely massive. I felt so overwhelmed knowing that I wouldnt be able to see anything, but I think putting a time limit on it helped a little bit. It was incredible to say the least. The next morning we went to the Musee d'Orsay. This museum. Oh I cant even describe my love for this place. It was everything I love in one place. This building was exploding with Impressionst pieces. I was dying. So so so many Monet, Manet, Caillebot, Seurat, Da Vinci, Degas, Renois. Oh I cant even put it into words. We spent so many hours there, my feet were dying but it was so worth it. I wish I could live in that place. I took a lot of pictures there as well, got yelled at a few times. But it was totally worth it:) I still am just so excited that I got to see everything that I did. After that we came back to the hostel and just rested for a long time. Travel wears you out. So we all just rested and ate 300 free crepes that the crepe lady made at the hostel every afternoon. Then that night we went to the grocery store and got some baguettes and cheese and apples and made dinner in the hostel which was great:) It was relaxing and cheap! 

   The next morning, Sunday morning we overslept:/ But then finally got packed up and checked out and headed for the Eiffel Tower. We then proceeded to climb up the Eiffel Tower with all of our belongings. It was cheaper that way, plus we had to burn off all those free crepes:) The view was insane. If you ever get the chance, I say climb the tower:) Then we wandered some more, I ate an eclair and we headed towards the bus station to catch the bus to the airport. It was a fantastic trip, and after a double espresso in the airport i wasnt even tired anymore:) 

   So that was Paris, we leave for Greece on Saturday for Spring Break. I am really excited to see Greece, but I cant lie, I get to see Michael Weller a week from Saturday and that thought is making me happier than anything has in a long time. I cant believe its already Spring Break, but at the same time it feels like ages since Ive seen him and Im so so excited that I going to be able to share this incredible place with my best friend:) I also forgot to add my little corny "ps I miss my Michael" bit to my last blog:/ Shoot I hate that I did that:( So to make up for that:

 Ps. I miss Michael:)

Ps. I miss my Michael:)

I love you, I love you, I love you, thank you for being my best bud=]

  

I know its sappy. You try going 9 weeks without seeing your best friend and then we can talk. 

:)

  

Ciao! I will blog soon!! ...at least I will try:)