Reflecting on the Past & Focusing on the Future

I'm back from my hiatus, which occurred because of the massive amounts of school work. Italy was amazing but the makeup work- not so much. After Italy, I felt like something had been missing from me. Suddenly I was drained from my creativity, writer's block hit me, and I just couldn't seem to do anything with me life except hunker down and wasting hours on Buzz Feed {which is great, but not my sort of thing}. I've been spending time with friends and they all seem to have their lives all planned- they know what they want to do, where there going to go, how they're going to get there, but me? I honestly don't know anymore. I was thinking science and medical, but my heart just isn't there. 

This week our geography teacher began another lengthy discussion {the one's I usually ignore}, but he caught my attention with the idea of studying abroad. Where would I go? Italy or maybe France? How would I get there? Who knows. Would I learn a new language? Probably. I have been taking the thought into consideration, maybe skipping junior year and flying off to another country- exploring, learning, doing something new. Or would I wait until college? The thought of going away for a year to live with strangers is scary, but it might be just the thing for me. 

I've also been thinking about how I'd like to change my photography style. I see all these amazing ideas but often wonder why I can't come up with creative things- maybe I'm trying to hard. I know if I get the right person to help me we can accomplish a lot together, I just need to let loose of the stress {finals/school/more school} and let the creativity fly!

But enough of that, I have plenty of memories in the past and a good amount of time for the future. Thinking about Italy made me remember all the good memories in each city, so here are five memories from each place we visited:

Milana/Verona/Padua

{First Day}

1. First glimpse of Italy from the plane as the sun rose over the snow topped Italian Alps.

2. Driving to Verona and seeing the spring flowers and villages nestled in the Alps.

3. Seeing all the locks in Juliet's courtyard

4. Trying our first delicious pizza and creamy gelato

5. Shopping with best friends in Padua {we almost got lost!}

Venice

{Second Day}

1. Taking the boat into Venice and seeing all the bridges connecting the islands

2. Jumping pictures with Jamie, Emily, and Shayd

3. Walking through the residential area and seeing the residents' everyday life

4. Gondola ride {the best}

5. Performing in a church right along the Grand Canal

{p,s,I loved everything about Venice}

Tuscany/Ravena

{Third Day}

1. Watching the hundreds of beautiful Tuscan farms go by from the bus

2. The artwork and mosaics in the Ravena cathedral

3. The bicycling group of Italian boys that stopped to take pictures with us *swoon*

4. Exploring our so-called "haunted" hotel

5. Finding the party street near our hotel + crashing a teen club

Florence

{Fourth Day}

1. Singing in the Florence cathedral

2. Singing on the Ponte Vecchio {we did a lot of singing on this day!}

3. Climbing to the top of the cathedral dome

4. Shopping in the famous leather marker

5. Crashing the hotel's dance floor and creating an on-the-spot dance routine

Rome

{Fifth and Sixth Day}

1. Everything about the collesium...of course

2. Talking with Shayd about our future adventures and where we'll go next

3. Entering St. Mark's Basilica

4. Bittersweet speeches by our favorite seniors on the last night

5. Singing "Let It Go" obnoxiously loud out the window + going out exploring on our last night

Ah, nothing would be better to be back in Italy with that amazing group of 28 people.

But for now I'll be just fine here :)

Love,

Natalie

Travelogging: Venice

 Venice was my favorite place of all, the little alleys, bright colors, and of course the gondolas that weaved through the winding canals. We were lucky enough to spend an entire day here as well as sing in a church that was located right on the main canal! We started the day off by touring the 

 Murano Glass Factory and Saint Mark's Basilica; then we had some free time to take a gondola ride and enjoy lunch from one of the restaurants hidden in the tight alleyways. 

Here are some of my favorite pictures from this beautiful city:

The boat ride into Venice was just the first taste of the colors, architecture, and canals of the city!

There were gondolas everywhere, some even had opera singers that could be heard from far away as their voices echoed through the streets. We took our gondola ride and we went through a moderately quite part of town (which was nice) and then into the Grand Canal where we saw many other boats.

Boats galore!

An attempt at a jump shot... we got the funniest looks!

Our choir!

My favorite part of Venice were the little things, like the clothes hanging from windows or the flower baskets lining the canals. It was surreal to be in a place that is talked about like it's a dream land- after a day in Venice I knew it was my favorite.

Ciao!

Natalie