Naturally Kimmy by Kimberly Gomez: study abroad

Showing posts with label study abroad. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Revisiting My Bucket List

Posted by Kimberly | Labels:advice,bucket list,college,france,italy,london,morocco,spain,study abroad,study abroad blog,study abroad bucket list,tips,travel,travel blog,wanderlust

Ciao my loves!

So I am finally getting back to this list (check it out if you haven't!) I made prior to spending 4 months in Italy as a study abroad student. I can't believe the best semester of my life is over and I am graduating this upcoming year. Epic sad-excited-scared-all emotions in one-face. I am absolutely excited to return to school after experiencing more than I will ever again in college within those months.

I was able to visit: Venice, Verona, Positano, Rome, Capri, Pompeii, Nice, Eze, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Arrecife de Lanzarote, Morocco, Monaco, and London (I'm probably missing a few but many countries and cities!)

I cannot tell you how much I cried when I left Florence and had to head back home. I definitely left a piece of my heart in Italy and it will remain there forever <3

Here are some fun ideas for any of you embarking on the semester of your life in Europe for study abroad or if you need ideas for your next European escapade.

It is the moment of truth and I can finally share all that I accomplished on my study abroad bucket list!!

Without further ado...

Eat gelato for the very first time ✔️

Vivaldi Gelato Shop in Florence, Italy

Hike and view Florence from above ✔️

Piazzale Michaelangelo

Cappuccino it up at a local cafe ✔️

Go to an aperitivo...(or like a bunch) ✔️

Attempt to wear heels on cobblestone & catch it on camera ✔️

Have a fabulous night out including partying at a European night club ✔️

Venice & a gondola ride ✔️

Eat an entire pizza without any shame ✔️

*P.S. I did this way too often...evidence below*

Take a totally cliché pic with the Tower of Pisa ✔️

Go to a beach ✔️

Positano, Italy

Gran Canaria, Spain

Eze, France

Go to a soccer game ✔️

Side note: Don't ever go on a rainy day...NOT COOL.

Leave a note on Juliet's Wall (sort of...I touched her boob? Does that count?) ✔️

*adding this again to my Summer Bucket List!*

Visit Platform 9 3/4 ✔️

Go inside a red telephone booth in London ✔️

Go to Vatican city ✔️

Visit the Coliseum ✔️

Go to the French Riviera ✔️

Monaco

Nice, France

Have an adventurous Spring Break ✔️

Go to Morocco ✔️

Hassan II Mosque

Rick's Cafe in Casablanca, Morocco

Go on a cruise ✔️

Ride a camel ✔️

Visit the Amalfi Coast ✔️

Make some fabulous new friends ✔️

And last but certainly not least...

Go on a date ✔️

*.... and maybe you'll meet someone completely out of the blue :)

If you are about to embark on your study abroad adventure, I definitely advise you to make a bucket list and also leave your adventures to spontaneity because you never know what will happen...

xoxo,

3 comments

Monday, April 6, 2015

Adventures in Verona

Posted by Kimberly | Labels:funny,italy,romance,study abroad,travel,verona,wanderlust

I had the wonderful opportunity to go to Verona and explore the home of Juliet's House and wall of love letters.

Since the hopeless romantic in me as we all know is extreme, I had to visit this beautiful city.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day and pretty hot for a person who decided to go for all black that day.

The sun was shining and the streets were pretty packed with tourists. I managed to visit everything I wanted. My favorite? Juliet's House of course.

According to various sources, "Juliet's House" was owned by a family with the last name Cappello. The last name does not differ greatly from Capulet, as we all know is Juliet's last name. The family saw an opportunity to use this property as a tourist site and thus Juliet's House was created. In addition, any romantic can send a letter to Juliet and receive a response from a committee of "Juliets" as seen in the movie Letters to Juliet. I had every intention of placing mine on the wall like in the movie. Amanda Seyfried and Lizzie McGuire have seriously encouraged too much with their characters and obviously a girly romantic like me.

Kim the Klutz came out unscathed from the steep steps of the Coliseum and cobblestone. I didn't need any other embarrassing moments to occur since that's a daily occurrence for me as it is.

The excerpt from Shakespeare's romantic tragedy was on the wall below the balcony. Thankfully I didn't see anyone reciting this because I probably would have taken a piece of gum from the wall and threw it at them. Girls were already taking up space on the balcony to act as Juliet. Like no.

The wall next to Juliet's statue and balcony is completely covered in gum and various notes from lovers and romantics from all over the world. It is now illegal to stick notes and the sort to this wall because it has damaged the construction of it. If you do have the urge to do so, a nice hefty 500 euro fine will be handed to you. So no go on the sticking a note on the wall. I was absolutely fascinated by the amount of people in that one area. This is one of the most romantic cities in the world for good reason.

The market and clock tower

This Gorgonzola pizza was just..yas. And of course, I had no shame of eating an entire pizza irregardless of who my cute date was. Thankfully, he understands that I have a love affair with pizza and wine ;) Men must understand to never get in the way of my love affair with pizza and wine and they are good in my book or any girl's for that matter.

After this trip to the beautiful city of Verona, I realized two things: people really like touching Juliet's boob (all for good luck) and well, romance really isn't dead after all :)

xoxo,

0 comments

Saturday, April 4, 2015

It's Wanderlust: A Reunion, Doing as the Romans Do, & Posing in Pisa

Posted by Kimberly | Labels:best friends,funny,italy,spring,study abroad,travel,travel blog,wanderlust

Ciao my loves!

I have been quite MIA and have been busy making memories in Europe.
I have quite a few posts to dedicate to my adventures these past few weeks so definitely stay tuned for those!

To begin, I want to share all about the fun I was able to have when my best friend (who takes a lot of my outfit pictures at home and is the best at the them of course) came to visit me in Florence!

We were able to explore Rome, enjoy Florence, and catch up for sure. Funny how after not seeing each other for so long it felt like we had never left each other. Plus, a few fights definitely happened but that's the norm for true best friends. I love her to death and was so happy she came all the way to come visit me for her Spring Break.

As always our adventures were full of shopping, shenanigans, and eating a whole lotta gelato.

We were able to visit Rome for a day and we tried our best to go to every spot imaginable. Unfortunately, The Trevi Fountain was under construction so we were not able to have the atypical Lizzie McGuire-throw-a-wish moment but we did anyway and thankfully did not hit any construction workers in the process.

My grandma will be very proud to hear that I went to Vatican City as well and saw Papa Francesco from a tiny minuscule window that is his office.

The Trevi Fountain

The Pantheon

We were able to take a billion selfies in front of the Coliseum after getting lost in Rome and having a minor heart attack because our tour guide and group left us. Disaster avoided, we made it to the Coliseum.

In addition to our escapade in Rome, we made a day trip to Pisa that is thankfully not that far from Florence. The area literally only has the tower and a Duomo to look at apart from men trying to sell you selfie sticks and watching people try to get a good picture. The area looked like a karate convention or people who look like they enjoy looking like weird statues if you didn't know it was all for a picture with this very funny looking tower.

I could not have imagined anything better than having a little piece of home and of my heart come visit me in Italy!

Next: Spring Break 2015, Exploring Africa, Getting Horrible Tan Lines, and Beaching It Up in Spain?

xoxo,

0 comments

Revisiting My Bucket List

Adventures in Verona

It's Wanderlust: A Reunion, Doing as the Romans Do, & Posing in Pisa

Meet Kimmy

Social

JOIN THE FAMILY

INSTAGRAM

Popular Posts

Search

Followers