Italy, I just can't quit you.

GET OVER IT.

Sometimes, that's what I imagine people mentally think when I start a sentence with "When I lived in Rome..." or "One time in Italy...". So, I try to be aware. I try to listen more than I talk and think with a smile on my face without ever moving my mouth.

I'm struggling a little bit. My job is great, but I'm a get-up-and-go girl. I love my sense of adventure, but I look around and I don't see much. I'm sitting at a desk for 8-hours a day with the same nighttime routine prettyyy much every night.

So, when I come across an article like "39 Reasons Studying Abroad in Italy Ruins Your Life", I'm intrigued. The title is way too dramatic because Studying Abroad in Italy makes your life. It doesn't ruin it. What is ruined are the preconceived notions you may have had about your future, the path to take. Maybe money stops being so important. Maybe you learn to love the simple pleasures of life, like a good cappuccino instead of obsessing over television. Or maybe, like me, you become more conscious about where your food comes from, choosing a farmer's market over a traditional big box store.

At any rate, each one of those photos associated with the 39 Reasons made my heart flutter, especially "#36: The Way Roma Glows At Night". As beautiful as Rome is during the day, it came alive at night. The music, the loud conversations and the Orange Glow started off as the unknown and became a treasure during my 110-day visit.

Leave it to BuzzFeed for yet another incredibly relatable list. It's as if they hopped in my head with the thought, "Hm, what would Clare write?" and to be honest, I'm offended they didn't.

Though I will say, Italy pretty much ruined American pizza for me. Is that too dramatic? 

British Tour: York

Walking through The Shambles

I'll just start by saying: Lauren made an excellent choice by choosing The University of York for graduate school. I had an amazing time exploring York and learning its history. Lauren, being the incredible storyteller she is, was the perfect host. I arrived on Tuesday morning, still feeling jetlagged and met Lauren at the train station. It was so great to see her! 

The Yorkshire people are incredibly proud to be from York, and for good reason. There's a lot to be proud about. The place known today as York has been a home to different groups for several thousand years. During the Roman times, York was the seat of the Roman Empire in Britain. When the railway station opened, it was the largest in Europe at the time. Then, they have the Minster. The Yorkminster took 250 years to build, finished in the late 1400's. It's a massively beautiful building with immaculately detailed stained glass.

Even though Lauren had been in York about a month, she still knew so much and took me to some really cool places. Plus, having a guest gives you reason to go do the more touristy you may not normally do. So for that, you're welcome. The night I got in, the lead archaeologist on the King Richard III excavation gave a lecture at the University. Read the story here. It was just little moments like that, that made me shake my head and laugh. Life is pretty damn cool. One night, we went on a ghost tour through the city and heard tales of ghost soldiers walking though basements built on Roman roads, torturing in insane asylums, orphaned children in the Plague... you know, light stuff. While Lauren was in class, I went to the York Museum and explored.

King's College, the building where Lauren has classes

There was some great food in York. I had just started my 'gluten sensitive' diet the week before so I tried to stick to that as much as possible. Then Betty's Tea Room happened and whewwww those scones. Betty's Tea Room is an institution for baking, tea and all things British. While they serve food, the price tag (dollars to pounds makes me want to cry) suggested we opt for Afternoon Tea. We received a large kettle of tea, two scones each and plenty of jam and clotted cream.

Look at that presentation!

We also went to a cool gluten-free vegan restaurant called El Piano. Certainly not traditional British cuisine but awesome none the less. There was a warmth and quaintness to York that felt timeless. Even though I'd never been, it seemed familiar and that's pretty cool. I'm so glad that Lauren has plenty of time to explore Yorkshire and places in the UK. I wish I could have stayed longer! Especially now that the Christmas Markets are running. But alas, I got on another train bound for Kings Cross Station in London.

There was a chill in the air, but the blue skies made for beautiful days in York. 

British Tour: Manchester

Hello world, I'm back! In October, I had a once in a lifetime opportunity. When those things happen, you can't just watch them past. Clare the Nanny is no more, but no matter. On to the next. I'll let you know what the next is when I figure it out. Enough with the bad grammar. So, I had some time, flight benefits coming to an end and two best friends in England. What's a gal to do? I planned a 10 day trip in about 2 days and all the while, my sense of adventure and excitement came rushing back. I was ecstatic to see my friends and explore some new parts of the beautiful world. I couldn't have done it without knowing Lauren and Mallory were waiting for me on the other side of the pond. It helped that my mom was scheduled to work a flight to Manchester from Atlanta. 

Getting on the flight flying standby is always a relief. It's even more fun when Mom's a flight attendant, working in her element at 35,000 feet. We arrived to Manchester early Monday morning and took a nap at The Midland Hotel. It was a beautiful hotel, famous for hosting a meeting between a Mr. Rolls and a Mr. Royce that started a car company. I probably could have stayed up, but Mom was tired after working all night. When we got up at about 2PM, we walked around the cold and windy city. I visited my first Caffe Nero, grabbed a coffee and some tomato basil soup. I love Caffe Nero now. Please come to America. Then came the usual stops: Boots, Primark, Marks and Spencer. After a great Thai dinner along with her friend Cathy, we headed to the Palace Theater for a night I'll never forget.

Wicked is one of those cultural phenomenons you hear about. If you've seen it, you get it. If you haven't seen it, you may think you get it... but you don't. I've seen Rent, Mamma Mia, The Lion King on Broadway but there was something about the beauty of the Palace Theater and the sheer brilliance of Wicked. I don't mean to sound dramatic when I say it may have changed my life.

The next morning, I hoped on a train to York...
...more on that tomorrow!

Greek Grub

Did yall think I could write about Greece without mentioning the FOOD?

This kebab plate was a staple in almost every restaurant and eatery in Greece. This dish was one of our first meals in Santorini. Complete with tzatziki, potatoes, fresh pita and meat (either chicken, pork or lamb). 

 We had this snack at the beach bar in Perivolos. Feta, tomato and oregano. What could be better?

This was our welcome drink to Santorini: a fresh peach daiquiri! Perfect for the Georgia girls.   

The Greeks do a lot of things well. Running an economy? Not so much. Coffee? Not so much. Greek coffee is... unique. It's a cup of incredibly dark but sweet coffee with the entire bottom of the cup covered in thick coffee grounds, like a syrup. I was not a fan but it made me more than ready for an Italian cappuccino. 

For breakfast, Athens, Georgia has Mama's Boy. Fira, Santorini has Mama's House and Mama is awesome. She ran around that restaurant as a force to be reckoned with; calling guests "sweetheart" or "my kids". I felt like I'd known her forever and wish we would've gone before our last day in Santorini! Most of our breakfasts in Europe consisted of coffee and a light baked good. Not at Mama's House. My spinach, feta and tomato omelet with a side of hashbrowns was spectacular. 

We had more delicious meals, of course: Feta stuffed calamari, fish, seafood pastas and gyros. Looking back, I should've taken pictures of every bite. 

Paros

Santorini & Paros, the two islands we visited, are part of the Cyclades group of islands. In the map above, Santorini is at the very bottom and Paros is smack in the middle. Ok, now that we're all on the same page... Paros.

A three-hour ferry ride from Santorini brought us to Paros. It's less touristy than Santorini which means it's cheaper. That was a welcomed change! It was beautiful, but in a different way than the cliff-towns of Santorini. Paros had mountains but a lot more beaches. The beaches were fantastic! Everyone advised that the best way to see the island was by scooter. Obviously, we were too scared and didn't want to ride two to a scooter so we rented a dune buggy that looked like a go-kart / golf-cart hybrid.

It didn't go more than 35 miles an hour, but we rode around the entire island in about 6 hours. We got lost a few times and made a few stops along the way in the ports and beach clubs. The best stop was Santa Maria on the northern part of the island. I could have spent another five days or forever sitting on that beach.

This port, Pisso Livadi, was on the southeastern part of the island. It was a beautiful spot but I think Natalie and I were arguing about something while we were there, so I didn't enjoy it as much. Word to the wise: the shorter an argument can be, the better. Luckily ours didn't last longer than a few minutes and she was the best travel buddy I could ask for!

On our last day, Natalie and I went to the "Butterfly Valley". I wasn't expecting thousands of monarchs or anything but the butterflies were more like moths. It was still really cool, but a little underwhelming. 

We had dinner on the beach on our last night in Paros. It was such a special dinner! The next day was the roughest of our trip. We took a ferry back to Athens, waited in the airport for several hours and flew to Milan. We arrived a few minutes after midnight and wanted to catch an early train, so we slept in the Milan airport and took a 5:30 train to Milan Centrale.

Santorini

Hello beauts. The trip is over. Natalie and I finished an amazing twelve-day trip with practically zero mistakes. Other than that train incident in Cinque Terre. I wish I would've written more while we were traveling, but wi-fi was spotty and I wanted to enjoy every moment instead of staring at my iPad.

Arriving in Santorini after almost 20 bours of traveling was amazing. We booked our hotel, Dina's Place, through Hostelworld and were thrilled with it. The staff was so helpful and the location couldn't have been better for the price of about 30Euros each per night! The ferry docked in the port of Athinios and we stayed in Fira Town, the biggest town in Santorini where cruise ships docks. It was just as beautiful as one could imagine; an entire city built on a cliff. My jaw dropped every time we saw the view.

The public transportation on Santorini consists of charter buses for 1.60 a trip. Our hotel was about a minute walk from the bus station, so we took advantage of that on our trips to Perivolos and Oia.

Perivolos: Here's the thing about black sand beaches: The sand gets really hot. Like, wear your Chaco's while you're tanning because they'll get too hot hot. It was a pretty cool place though. We got off the bus with black beaches filled with lounge chairs and umbrellas to our left. The right side of the street featured restaurant after bar after restaurant with overly-zealous hosts requesting our attendance. We settled on a place called Rivas. It offered a pool behind the bar along with great beach chairs. It was a great afternoon! On the way back to Fira, the bus stopped in Perissa. It looked like a really awesome beachside town as well, but we wanted to get back to catch the sunset in Oia.

Oia: it's known for one of the most famous sunsets in the world. While Fira is the more touristy of the two large towns, Oia wins on sophistication with the fancy hotels and restaurants because who wants to be in crowded streets with cruisers? Anyway, Oia was amazing. It looks just like the pictures, except its hard for the brain to comprehend that it really is that beautiful. Natalie and I bought some amazing souvenirs including a handwoven rug for myself and crystal necklaces from a clairvoyant woman. It was awesome. Over an hour before the sun was suppose to set, we went to a restaurant to get a good view called Sunsets. The food was mediocre but the scenery made up for it. About 20 minutes before the sun hit the water, dozens of people gathered in the small streets to watch. You would've thought it was a concert or something. At least 30 people came up to the restaurant and asked for a table to no avail. Glad we got there early. With necklaces and rugs in tow, we headed back to Rita's Place to continue reading Scar Tissue. The next day, we were off to Paros!

Departure Eve: July Eurotrip

Oh yall. 

I could hardly sleep last night. There's so much to do!! I'm leaving tomorrow for the trip of a lifetime with my sister. We're going to the Greek Isles and Cinque Terre!!

July 1: Athens

July 2-5: Santorini 

July 5-8: Paros

July 9-12: Cinque Terre

We'll be taking planes, ferries, trains, cabs and (fingers crossed) mopeds to explore these incredible Mediterranean vistas. As always, I'll tell you all about it on LT&C.

Happy Saturday!!

Great Gift Idea for Study Abroad Students!

If you're studying abroad, taking a big trip or want to give your parents and family a nice thank you gift upon your return, I would definitely recommend doing something similar to my project!

My roommate, Sam, came home from an awesome ski trip in Switzerland and explained the idea to our apartment. I knew my parents and grandparents would absolutely love it. 

Here's the gist:
Take a photo of yourself in front of an important location in the cities you visit. Ask to borrow a piece of paper from the hostel front desk or bring your own. As you can tell, I wasn't consistent with the type of paper I used, but I think it made the whole thing look authentic. Use "Thanks for Giving Me the World" or come up with your own special phrase!

I started in early March with my trip to Brussels (holding the beer at Delirium Tremens). It was so fun to plan it and think about how the final result would look. I printed the pictures, framed it for my parents and grandparents and gave it to them about a month after I got home. 

Thanks- Under the Eiffel Tower

For- Outside the Prague Castle

Giving- In the Courtyard at AUR

Me- Inside an Ancient Coliseum in Pompeii

The- Delirium in Brussels

World- Fontana di Trevi

Seriously, do this. It doesn't take that much work and you'll smile every time you look at it. 

Barcelona

Looking back on my four months, it's really hard to not have some regrets about the way I've spent my time. I've talked about my Brussels fiasco but mostly, I hate that I don't have enough TIME. I thought four months would be long enough, but there will always be a cafe left undiscovered and a beautiful museum I didn't see.

Then, I kick myself and realize I'm only 21.

I took that mindset to Barcelona last weekend and decided (I think our whole group decided) that we wouldn't leave a rock unturned. By that, I mean we slept very little... about 13 hours over three nights. I don't think I've ever spent a weekend with such a carefree attitude and I kinda loved it.

Spain is the best. Barcelona is insane. I had been before with my family when I was in high school but it was during Thanksgiving and everything was cold and wet. Definitely not the way Barcelona should be experienced.

We arrived on Thursday afternoon and even the airport blew me away. Prapti and I had to make ourselves leave, which was a little bit easier to do after the free wi-fi expired. We got to the hostel, about a ten minute walk from Plaza Catalunya and waited for our other group members to arrive. Prapti and I passed the time with a lovely pitcher of sparkling sangria and some traditional Spanish cuisine, which I'm still unsure about.

Later that night was Opium. Incredible music, awesome environment and on the beach. I would go back in a heartbeat.

Friday: We rolled out of bed and headed to Sagrada Familia. I had seen the outside on a bus tour when I came to Barcelona before but never went inside. Gaudi took a little warming up to, for me. I've grown accustomed to the classical Roman styles but after stepping inside the church, it clicked for me. What a genius.

The church won't be completed for a new more decades. There's still some towers to be built and facades to construct, but still. It takes your breath away with the intricacies and color. I'm not an art person. I don't know how to correctly describe or critique art so I won't try. All I'm saying is that it's awesome.

We ate an amazing dinner at 4 Gats that night and my friend Madeline came with us! It was so awesome to get to spend time with her and her friends. Almost everyone in her program had left for the States, but we had a great time with the people still in Barcelona.

Razmatazz that night.

Saturday: We headed to the Boqueria market off of Las Ramblas for lunch. I had a calzone, some candy and two fruit juices. I could write a whole blog about this incredible culinary locale. Maybe I will, this summer when I'm home and going through Euro withdrawals.

Gummies at the Market

We spent the afternoon walking around Park Guell, another testament to Gaudi's brilliance. We walked around for a long time in awe. It felt more like a theme park without the rides... so whimsical.

That night for dinner, my friends Sarah came & met us at 7 Portes. It was the most delicious paella I've ever had and I loved catching up her. The rain put a little damper (ha) on things, but we still went back to the hostel and rallied for our last night in Barcelona. We went to this bar where you pay three euros and they give you the bottle to pour as much in as much liquor as you want. Dangerous. We ended the evening at Catwalk, another club near the beach. The rooftop patio was really awesome to see the city. I loved Barcelona, can you tell?

Rodney, Katie & I slept through our alarms a littleeeeee bit and had to hustle to get to the airport. By the time we landed in Rome, the exhaustion hit all three of us and I spent most of the day napping.

Maybe my whole 'young, wild, free' mantra isn't the best, but I'm enjoying every minute of it.

Instagrams of April

Ciao regazzi! I got back from Barcelona yesterday, and I'm still in shock over how much fun I had. You'll have to give me a few days to process it before I write about it.

Allora, I've been taking some pretty great pictures on my ole iPhone, especially when I'm too paranoid to take my nice camera out on ordinary days. Observation: days when you don't think you'll take great pictures, you'll find great things to shoot. The next few weeks, I think I'll be taking a lot my pictures, trying to remember as many small moments as possible. Man, am I going to miss Rome.

April 7th- The Pantheon. Paris.

April 8th- Paris.

April 8th- David Guetta Concert. Paris.

April 13th- My 21st Birthday. Sorrento, Italy

April 18th- Studying at AUR. Rome.

April 18th- My Street. Rome.

April 21st. View of St. Peters from St. Angelo. Rome.

April 22nd- Chocolate Shots. Rome.

April 24th- A little montage to Rome.

April 25th- Dream Villa in the Neighborhood. Rome.

April 25th- Prapti at the Dining Room Table. Rome

April 25th- My favorite study spot, across from the Trastevere Train Station. They even have Wi-Fi! Rome.

Weekend With My Sorella... & a Mild Breakdown

It's getting down to the wire, people. And I'm freaking out. A little. The rest of my time in Italy goes something like this...

April 26-April 29th: Barcelona
April 30th: Final Oral Presentation in Feature Writing
May 2nd: Italian Cultural Presentation
May 3rd: 2000 word essay on Gibraltar due & Sarah arrives in Rome!
May 9th: Final Feature Writing Story due
May 11th: Italian Final & UGA Graduation
May 14th: Film Final
May 15th: Mediterranean World Final
May 16th: I'm out. Or am I?

Can't believe it. The last few days have been wonderful. My sister came in town on Friday and stayed for the weekend. We walked, and walked, and walked.

Day One

School!

Park by AUR

Happy Hour in Santa Maria in Trastevere

Day Two

Largo Argentina: End of the Tram Line. Cat Sanctuary. Where Caesar was stabbed on the Ides of March.

St Peters

Castel St. Angelo. Some of the most beautiful views of Rome!

Am I right or am I right?

Fontana di Trevi

The next day, our Mom was flying in on a trip from Atlanta. They surprised me and my dad came along, too. I haven't seen him since I left for Roma and I was exstatic. It was one of the sweetest things I've ever experienced. I missed him so much! So, the four of us walked around the city for the day and finished at Tony's. Dad was so excited. I don't think the lasagna disappointed.

Thanks for the lovely day! I'll be home before you know it. Promise.