“Mom! They don’t have sweet tea!”

I cannot believe how quickly the past six weeks have gone by and that just a few days from now I will be back home. I am so sad to be leaving soon, but so thankful that I have been given this amazing opportunity and I am looking forward to returning home to spend time with my fiancé, friends, and family! Fingers crossed, I’ll put up one more post before I go to wrap up my experience and journal about all of the things I will miss. Now for a recap of the past few days…

On Friday, Elizabeth and I took a bus to Fiesole, a town on the outskirts of Florence that has views overlooking the entire city. It is a really cute little town and the views are breathtaking, so we thought it would be nice to go one evening and get pictures of the city at sunset. Unfortunately, the bus we were on had some issues and got delayed. We missed the sunset and most of our pictures turned out pretty bad because of the poor lighting... Luckily, we had an awesome dinner to make up for it! The bus ride was inexpensive and pretty quick, so we are hoping to go back later in the week to get better pictures.

One of the few pictures we got that wasn’t blurry…

Saturday, we took a day trip to Siena. The weather was absolutely gorgeous that day which made for a fantastic trip. You know the crayon “Sienna”? It was named after this city!

This picture was taken on our way in to Piazza del Campo, famous for being shell-shaped rather than square.

 The Duomo! Second only to the one in my beloved Florence. :)

Nearly all of the buildings in Siena are a shade of brown, which is where the crayon color came from.

We saw two weddings and a bachelorette party while we were there! This was one of the couples during their photography session. :) So sweet!

For our last trip, we went to Lucca on Sunday. After we bought our tickets, we went to McDonald’s in the train station to get a snack (the McFlurries here are made with gelato!). There was this guy at the front of the line (probably a few years younger than me) who was clearly having trouble ordering. After just a minute, he turned around and yelled to his mom at the back of the restaurant, “Mom! They don’t have sweet tea!”. It was seriously one of the funniest things I have ever heard… Really? You think they have sweet tea in ITALY?!?! We had a blast making fun of those people all day. :)

Lucca is a really cute walled city that is now a popular spot for bike riding. Elizabeth hurt her ankle last week so we decided against the bikes, but we really enjoyed walking around and taking everything in on foot. Like Saturday, the weather was incredible (oh how I am NOT looking forward to that Alabama heat!). We shopped and moseyed and ate and shopped some more… So relaxing!

Yes, the weather was just as nice as it looks!

One of the stores we went in had some pink rhinestone glasses that said “bride to be” across the top. Elizabeth freaked out when we saw them and insisted that she buy them for me (how sweet of her!). After, we went outside the store to take a picture of me wearing them and something really strange ensued…

  

So, here I am wearing the glasses.

And here’s the crazy Einstein-esque man who ran up to the camera in the middle of our photo session! He wouldn’t go away until Elizabeth took the picture! I thought about adding “only in Italy” to the end of this caption, but then I remembered that a year from now I’ll be living in New Orleans and I can totally see this kind of thing happening there. :)

Post-creeper close-up of the glasses.

That’s about it for Fiesole, Siena, and Lucca! Now I’m off to knock a few more things off of my bucket list for the week!

Love y’all!

I'm THAT girl...

Since Jacob proposed about a week and a half ago, our story has become quite popular here in Florence. :) Here are a few of the encounters I’ve had with people…

Last Monday, my roommate Elizabeth and I went to the welcome dinner for the new students who came to Italy through SAI (the same program we came with). We had the same dinner our first night in Florence and it was incredible, so we decided to join in on this one as well. There were about 50 students there, so we were sitting at several long tables. After about an hour at the restaurant, one of the girls sitting near Elizabeth leaned over and asked if my ring was real and I was really engaged. Elizabeth chuckled and said yes, and the girl got really excited and asked me to tell the story. I barely got into the story before she yelled out, “Oh my gosh! You’re that girl! The one whose boyfriend flew to Italy for a surprise proposal!”. Apparently, this girl and half of the other girls at my table had already gotten wind of my story and wanted me to tell it over again so they could all gush and oooh and aaah. :) I was sitting by a couple of guys and needless to say, there were less than enthused. One of them even said he would be sure and NOT tell his girlfriend that story! Haha. The whole thing was pretty hilarious.

Earlier that same day, one of the girls in my cooking class asked about my ring. I told them the story and they all went nuts. After I told them the story, the first thing they asked me was if Jacob has any other brothers or cousins I could hook them up with! The next day, one of the girls told me that she started to tell the story to her roommates, but someone had already told them! Crazy stuff!

One last story... I went in to my favorite gelato shop last Friday and my favorite guy was working that afternoon. He met my parents and J&G on our way up to Piazza Michelangelo the day Jacob proposed but I hadn’t seen him since I got engaged. After he fixed my gelato, I told him the story that after we got gelato last week, my boyfriend was waiting at the Piazza to propose to me. I showed him the ring and he said, “Wow! So beautiful! When I propose to my wife, I give her very small ring… Only five percent of your ring. She must never see your ring or she will be very sad about her ring!”. He was so hilarious! I have been back twice since then and he always gives me a big smile and asks to see my ring again. Gotta love it!

This picture was taken at the airport right before I left for Rome... It's so crazy to think about how much has changed since then!

I’m going to try and get one more post up on Friday and one or two more next week before I head home. Only ten more days!!!!!

xoxo

La Dolce Vita

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the congratulations and warm wishes. It made my day (over and over and over...) to read the comments on facebook and my blog! Jacob and I are so blessed to have the love and support of so many people!

The Sunday after he proposed, Janet, Gloria, Jacob, and I went to Venice for the day. We planned to take the 9:30 fast train to get there, but when we got to the station we discovered that all of the direct trains to and from Venice for the day had been sold out. That was the only day we would all be able to go, so we had to settle for a long, slow, round-about way of getting there. Unfortunately, that only gave us about four hours in Venice, but we were still able to see some beautiful buildings and ride the infamous gondola. :)

Posing in Piazza San Marco, the most famous plaza in Venice and home to Basilica San Marco. We took a "water bus" to get here and slowly worked our way back to the train station, stopping to ride the gondola and take pictures along the way.

Gorgeous roofline in San Marco.

Jacob and I with our gondola driver (not sure that's what they're called, but you get the idea). I swear, he could pass for the Italian Dennis Quaid!

See the guy standing on the left side of the bridge? He totally took out his camera and starting filming us as we rode under the bridge. Creepy much?

Beautiful view of one of the back canals. There are no streets at all in Venice... Not a single one! Everyone gets around by walking or by boat. Amazing!

We're so cute! :)

On Monday, I started my new class, Classical Italian Cakes and Tarts. Our class meets every day of the week, and already we have made almost twenty desserts! I am learning so much about classical Italian pastry doughs and cooking techniques and I can't wait to get home and make some of these recipes with my Momma!

Yay for baking! Is our chef's goatee the junk or what? :)

Torta di Semolino. The crust was made of a typical pastry dough filled with ground hazelnuts; the filling was a creamy mixture made of boiled semolina, milk, butter, sugar, and eggs (doesn't sound appetizing, but think of a cross between cheescake and custard). We topped it with dark chocolate ganache and let it chill in the fridge overnight before eating). Garnished with candied hazelnuts, dried orange, and cinnamon sticks. It was INCREDIBLE. Definitely my favorite thing we've made so far!

Crostada di Frutta Fresca. Pastry shell filled with a sweet custard, topped with fresh fruit and a lemon glaze. Yum! Refreshing and beautiful!

Umm... Yeah... We made all of this in ONE DAY! Did I mention that we get to eat all of what we make? I have a feeling I'm going to miss this class in a few weeks...

Yesterday, I took a trip with a few friends to Cinque Terre (translation: five villages), a region on the northwest coast of Italy that is made up of five little towns nestled between the mountains and coast. A train connects the cities or you can hike the trails that wind up the mountain. There is also a paved path above the cliffs of the coast that you can walk to get from town to town, but unfortunately the one we were going to take was closed because of a landslide. We hiked between two of the villages and then took a train to the fifth one to relax on the beach before taking the train back to Florence. The area is breathtakingly gorgeous and reminded me of Sicily in many ways. Italy continues to amaze me with all of the beauty contained in this little country!

The walking trail between Riomaggiore and Manarolo (towns one and two) is named Via Dell'Amore (the path of love). Couples from all over the world come here to hang a lock along the trail (it is supposedly good luck) and there are literally thousands of locks hanging on the railings and metal hearts that are posted everywhere. This was one of about a hundred hearts tied onto the grate of a fence. So sweet!

Looking back on Riomaggiore from the path. Gorgeous!

Too bad my crazy hair had to go and ruin such beautiful scenery! ;)

See the top of the mountain were those rain clouds are? Yup, we hiked up there... It was intense to say the least, but so worth it.

It took us about two and a half hours to hike the whole trail, and more than half of it was walking up stone stairs built into the side of the mountain. Talk about a workout!

By the time we got to the top, I was beginning to wonder why in the world I had signed up for such a ridiculous hike. In Keds. But then we got to views like this and it was all worth it! This is about halfway through the trail, looking ahead to the town we were walking to.

The paths we were walking on are the same paths the locals use to harvest the grapes grown on the side of the mountain. Can you imagine?...

This picture was taken at the end of our hike. The tiny village at the tip near the ocean is where we walked from!

Me post-hike with some much-needed fluids!

That's a brief update on what's been happening in my life over the past week. I have two day trips planned for this weekend - my last weekend in Florence! -  and will try to work in a few short trips during the week as well. It blows my mind that I have less than two weeks left!

Stay tuned in the next few days for some really amusing stories about my 15 minutes of fame...

Hugs and kisses y'all!

Three years, six months, and eighteen days later...

I'M ENGAGED!

Jacob and I have been dating for quite some time now, and on Friday, June 3, 2011, the love of my life asked me to marry him!!! Luckily, my parents were there to capture the incredible moments of the proposal on film. Let me just say, I have the most indescribably amazing fiancé and an indescribably amazing engagement story to go along with it. Now for the part you've all been anxiously waiting to hear...

On Friday morning, I took my Fashion Marketing final and then met up with my parents and Janet and Gloria to grab lunch and go to Piazza Michelangelo. When we got to lunch, my mom told me that she had made us an appointment to get our nails done and we could go to the piazza after that. After the nails, we all got gelato at one of my favorite shops and then walked up the monstrous hill to get to the top of the piazza. The walk to the top is pretty brutal, but the piazza is one of my favorite spots in all of Florence. It overlooks all of the city and is so high up, you can even see past the center to the rolling Tuscan hills all around. Once we got to the top, we took pictures and admired the view for a few minutes before walking over to a more secluded area.

When we had gotten away from some of the crowds, Janet gave me a letter from Jacob and told me that he wanted me to be looking out over the city when I read it. At the end of the sweet letter were the words "turn around". I turned around, and there he was. In Italy. Where he flew from THAILAND to surprise me. On the top of a mountain overlooking the entire city. Wearing a plaid shirt and a five o'clock shadow (two of the most attractive things to me!!!). Needless to say, it was all too perfect and romantic for me to keep from crying!

Not only did I not know Jacob was in Italy, I thought he was still in Thailand! It was literally the perfect moment to surprise me... The thought that he might be there had never even crossed my mind!

We hugged and kissed and then Jacob mentioned that we should go to a more private area and get some pictures of just the two of us. I may have looked like a mess that day, but it WAS the perfect moment to capture some great pictures!

We spent a minute or two taking pictures, and after taking some of us from behind, overlooking the city, I turned around to find him getting down on one knee!

I was so excited, he didn't even get a chance to ask me before I said yes! :)

We kissed.

We hugged.

I cried.

I squealed.

And my mom, Janet, and Gloria caught the whole thing on camera!

The engagement was perfect and the ring is GORGEOUS!

So gorgeous, in fact, that the girl sitting next to me in the lab as I type this just asked me if it was real! I told her yes and that I just got engaged and she said it was the prettiest ring she had ever seen! :)

The couple who took this picture was actually a couple from Birmingham on a trip to Italy for their 5th anniversary!

In my wildest dreams, I never imagined such a romantic, amazing, magical proposal. It was truly a fairy tale moment and I still get chill bumps just thinking about it. I have dreamt about this day and my future husband since I was a little girl and I can say with full confidence that every moment we have spent together has far surpassed the things I imagined. God has blessed me so, so richly in more ways than I could ever try to explain. Jacob's passion for life and people, his drive and conviction, his charming ways and good looks... Seriously, I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with him!

Thank you to my family, Janet, and Gloria for helping him make the day so special for me. I am so thankful that you were there to share the moment! Also, thank you to everyone for all of the warm wishes and congratulations on facebook. Your comments are so sweet!

Looking forward to seeing y'all and celebrating in person in a few weeks!

Love you!

Halfway over already?!

Hey y’all!

Sorry it has taken me so long to post pictures and details about Florence… I can’t believe I have already been living here for more than two weeks! The time has been FLYING by and I am so sad that today marks the halfway point of my trip. There are a million and one stories to tell about the last two weeks, but for now I’ll just hit the high points.

My Fashion Marketing class has been so great. The professor is fantastic; she is really passionate about eco-sustainable fashion and cause-related marketing, which are the areas of fashion I love as well. It has been such a blessing to have conversations with her after class and God is continuing to show me how I can make a difference for Him and live my passions (even in the crazy fashion industry!). When I’m not in class, my friends and I explore, shop, and eat our way through Florence. It is a beautiful city with so much to see, and I have loved learning my way around the city and discovering all of my favorite spots.

Skype has been awesome! Seeing my sweet parents’ face always makes my day.

Picture of the Ponte Vecchio taken from the bridge right by my apartment. Gorgeous!

This is the church in Piazza Santa Croce right by my school. One of the many beautiful buildings I pass everyday when I walk to class.

Wax seals at my favorite paperie! Yeah, I pretty much died the first time I saw it. :)

Pizza so delicious not even an awful hair day can ruin it!

Elizabeth, Kenedie and I went to see Pirates 4 in a beautiful theater built in the 1800’s. Loved the movie and the venue.

Oh, Jersey Shore… For those of you that haven’t heard, they are filming the 4^th season of their show right now in Florence and have been causing quite the stir. I have seen them four times so far but only got pictures once (which just so happened to be the time I was farthest from them). One day, we saw two ridiculous looking guys with TV crews on the bridge near our apartment. No one I was with had ever seen the show, so we weren’t sure if it was Jersey Shore or not and didn’t bother taking any pictures. Lo and behold, the photo above was one main pictures on people.com the next day! The two other times I saw them were in the same night when the girls and guys had apparently split up to go do whatever it is they do. Snookie passed me on the sidewalk and was so close I had to turn to the side to avoid bumping into her, and later in the night the Situation walked right past me in a bar. Both times, I didn’t get a picture but was close enough to kiss ‘em!

I met my parents in Rome on Saturday and spent the weekend exploring the city with them and seeing some of the sights I missed the first time I was there. It was so nice to see them and live the ballin’ life for a few days! Let me just say, hotel with a hot tub + functioning air conditioning + gourmet meals = living the high life!

Here’s me and my Daddy on the rooftop of their hotel. The view was fantastic! You could see the Forum, Colosseum, Vatican, and tons of other famous sites.

Is it just me or does he look just like Nick Saban in this picture?... RTR!

My cute parents on the Spanish Steps.

Last Sunday, we attempted to go to Pisa but weren’t able to make it because of a train worker strike. Fortunately, we got the chance to go on Monday after class and I loved it! There is nothing to see there besides the tower and the Duomo, but it was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon with two of my best friends in Florence. One of the best parts of the whole experience was watching everyone around us take the obligatory “holding up the tower” picture. So funny!

The Tower! And yes, I did get a picture of myself holding it up.

 Here’s a pic of the Duomo, conveniently located just a few hundred feet from the Leaning Tower. It was so beautiful, both inside and out.

You know me and my big rings!

Kenedie and many of my other friends will be leaving this Saturday. It will be extremely sad to see them go, but I am so grateful that God has blessed me with such wonderful friends during my time here. Luckily for me, my parents, Janet, and Gloria will be getting here at the end of the week. I can’t wait to show them around the city and take them to all of my favorite gelato places!

Thank you again for supporting me and reading my silly little blog. I promise it won’t be as long before I post again.

xoxo