Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.

Nice and Cannes, France & Monaco and Montecarlo.

Another last minute trip, we left for the French Riviera Thursday, April 18th. Traveling about 6 hours, we arrive in Nice, France at our hotel in the center of the city.
Not a clue what to expect that weekend, we slept a few hours and woke up the next morning for a day trip to the second smallest country in the world; Monaco.  It took us about 2 hours to see the entire place.

Every place I have gone has been equally, if not more beautiful than the next. Monaco had some of the most amazing views and scenery I have seen.
We took the train into Monaco and walked to the Ferrari factory and saw some of the workers working on some of the cars.
We continued and walked through the little town and park areas, seeing unreal yachts, buildings, and view points of south of France.

We walked up to a high point where there was a church, park and some view point areas with cafes.  After taking some pictures, we stopped at a cafe and then made our way down the mountain.

That weekend, the tennis Rolex Masters was going on in Montecarlo, Monaco.  Montecarlo was awesome.  Literally, the shittiest car we saw was probably a Smart car. The Taxis were 2012 black Mercedes.
We went into the Montecarlo Casino to check it out, and some of the boys thought about gambling.
Austin and a few others go up to the roulette table, thinking about playing and soon find out a buy in is 100 or more.  They were fast backing away from the table.

We were in our glory just standing outside, watching all the cars drive passed; Bentleys, Alfa Romeos, Maseratis and more...  Trying to scope out the people driving them :)

After hanging out around the casino, we took the train back to the hotel. Lauren, Gianna and I walked to get sushi about 15 minutes away.  Not even realizing we weren't at all familiar with the French language, attempting to order our food was entertaining and took about 20 minutes.
In the end, the sushi was awesome, and we walked back to the hotel to get ready for the night.  They were hosting a champagne party in the party room before we went out.  We all met downstairs and then went to a bar in the center where a live 80s rock band was playing.
The live music was incredible.  They played a huge variety of 80s songs and it was packed, everyone loving the band.

Saturday, we took the train to Cannes.  The town, located along the water and beach, was gorgeous.  Nothing much to do expect for shop, eat or hang by the beach, we all got a group lunch and then us girls got crepes and coffee and hung out at a cafe.  I think I ate the best dessert ever; a crepe with Nutella and toasted almond slices. Unreal.

We were bummed that the weather was chilly, because it would have been awesome to lay out by the beaches, but taking the day trip there was still so fun.

Not hungry at all for dinner, I did some shopping while Lauren and Gianna napped.  We shared a big room with Austin, Leo and our other friend Scott, but they were out getting food and walking around.
Another champagne party was being hosted that night, we just hung around and decided not to go out.
We all fell asleep right away and woke up Sunday to spend the day in Nice.


We had pretty much the whole day to walk around and do whatever. It being Sunday, a lot of stores were closed.  We went into the places that were open, got some coffee and took the tram more into the downtown area for lunch.
We ate at Wayne's Bar.  A more Americanized place, go figure, and it
was soooo good.  Grilled chicken sandwich with bacon and homemade coleslaw.  Haven't had that kind of food this entire time I've been in Europe.  We enjoyed it.

An awesome way to end the weekend, on our way back to Florence, we stopped in a small town in France called, Eze.  Known for the big Fragonard Perfume Factory, we got a guided tour of how the perfume, soaps, lotions, etc., are made and got to sample a bunch of the products.  It was so cool to see and smell everything after knowing how and what it was made with.

The French Rivera is somewhere I definitely did not think of even going too.  And in this weekend, I visited three cities in south France, and the second smallest country in the world. Another incredible experience.

Non perdere mai la fede.

Ever feel like there are some people you meet and you know you will never forget them? Or want to just talk with them and know all about their life? I get that sometimes, but not often.

Bruno. A 70-something year old priest from Italy, sometimes lives in Idaho or somewhere in the states, is longtime friends with Shaun who owns Euroadventures.
When Bruno comes to Florence, he stays at Shaun's house, where Cathy and Tony currently live.
He refuses to take either bed, but sleeps on the couch. Whenever there is a trip to Almafi Coast, Bruno tags along and contributes to guiding some amazing tours and hikes.
He sometimes leads private tours throughout Florence, and will randomly not come home for a few days without telling anyone. Then, we soon to find out he was visiting a friend or two somewhere in Italy.

I had constantly been hearing of Bruno, but never met him. I finally got the privilege one night to meet him when I went over to Cathy and Tony's place.
Literally the coolest guy ever. He reminded me right away of Nonno.
So sharp, funny, interesting, and full of advice.

He acted like we knew each other for years and I was so intrigued hearing a ton of his stories.
We decided that the following Tuesday he was going to cook dinner for a bunch of us.
I couldn't wait for Tara and others to meet him. We go over to their house that Tuesday and had an awesome home-cooked meal; bruschetta, sausage with rapini and some type of nuts, pasta with a spicy olive oil, and some wine and dessert. It was the best sitting around with a group of us and Bruno talking about Italy and life.

I was lucky enough to go to the Almafi Coast the same weekend Bruno was going on it. Spending a lot of the weekend walking around with him and developing a relationship was the best. He bought us multiple jugs of wine, while the whole group watched the sunset and loved to see everyone enjoying themselves.

Stuff we needed advice on, he was not hesitant to give his input. He is so passionate about faith and building good relationships, that's what I loved about him.
He's just cool, that at times, we wanted to hang with Bruno and walk around Capri rather do anything else.


I really, really enjoy meeting people who leave impacts on me and others. Being a constant reminder of good and healthy faith, this is another relationship I have acquired from study abroad
that I know I will never forget. I even told him that he better be around and ready to preside at my wedding. Seriously. He'd be the funnest priest, ever.

Sunshine, laughs, and great people.

Sorrento, Positano, Capri- Almafi Coast

To start off, I just want to say that literally each day here is better than the next. Whether I do nothing but workout and go to class, every second of every day is enjoyable.

My weekend in the Almafi Coast was possibly one of the best weekends, yet.   

Me and Tara were hesitant at first to book this trip because we know we will be visiting south of Italy with Nonni and Nonno and Uncle Johnny in May.
But when can we say that we spent a weekend in Sorrento, in our own bungalows with orange and lemon trees right outside our door, with our good friends?
We arrived in Sorrento around 2am and woke back up around 9 for our Friday spent at the beach in Positano.
Taking a bus up into the mountains, we arrived in Positano. Walking through the tiny streets, filled with small shops cafes, we were making our way down to the beach.
All of a sudden, we run into a crowd of people, silent, walking in a straight line down the small side street we were taking.
I notice a priest and 6 men carrying a casket. It was a funeral procession.
Pretty cool to see that happening.

We spent the day in Positano on the beach playing games and hanging out. Around 5 a group of us were getting ready to head out for the next bus, back to Sorrento. It's about a 30 minute ride and I wanted to get back to the hotel to shower, so I went with those leaving.
We get on the bus and all of a sudden I had to pee so bad.
Never had to pee this bad in my life, I literally could not wait until we were at the hotel. They kept saying, 'Karina we have like 10 more minutes, just wait you'll be fine.' But I couldn't. There was no way.

I decide to get off at the next stop and just hop on the next bus that comes. I knew where we were headed and it was a straight shot back to the hotel.
I go to the bathroom and decide to walk a little instead of waiting for the bus.
Well, I ended up walking at least 3 miles down the street, alone. I stopped inside a few places to see if I was for sure headed in the right direction. I knew the road I was on was the same road we took, but I just wanted to make sure. Every where I went in didn't understand what I was saying. I stopped by a cafe I passed and three guys were standing outside.
They tell me to hop on this next bus I see coming down the street. So I do.
Sitting next to a woman, I strike up a little conversation with my minimal Italian and she ends up knowing of the hotel I'm staying in. She tells me to get off at one of the next stops and I will be close. Nope.


Still ended up walking about 30 minutes until I spotted an upscale hotel. On the verge of hitch-hiking, I run inside to ask for a taxi. They tell me it might be expensive, but at that point I didn't care.
I hop in a cab and arrive at our hotel an hour and a half later than everyone else and 30euro poorer.
I see a few of the guys hanging outside and lounging on the hammocks. They see me and start laughing, then ask if I'm okay. All I could do was laugh because this all happened with me not being able to hold my bladder.

Anyway, besides that adventure, we ate at one of the best seafood places right on the water. I got marinated salmon and a side of eggplant parmigiano. My favorite. The girls all got different seafood dishes and we sat around there for the night.

Sidenote; Mom- Tara said your eggplant parm was better than the one I got that night. Good job.

The following day we set off for Capri around 8am. Walking into the town of Sorrento, we got onto a ferry that drove us to the island. I could not wait to get to Capri. After being there 4 years ago, I was so excited to get back.
We had the option of joining Bruno on a hike up to a high view of all the island and doing some cliff jumping. Or, taking a boat cruise around the island, in and out of the little caves and possibly swimming. I did the boat cruise.

It was awesome, we had our own boat with a captain and a little deck area to lay out. We arrive back about 3 hours later and get the best sandwich I've ever gotten. I think I've said that about 3 paninis I've had, but literally this Caprese sandwich from the island of Capri was unreal. We walked up to Anacapri and walked around, seeing some of the best views of the island.

We headed back on the ferry to Sorrento, hung out at our bungalows, and met in the lobby for dinner and to go out at night. 

On the way back to Sorrento on the ferry, there was a Napolitano guy named Antonio, who went up to Bruno and had him introduce me to him. He worked on the boat and lived in Naples, 21 years old, and spoke a little English.

Another sidenote- Bruno is a 70 year old priest who is good friends with the man who owns Euroadventures (Shaun). Whenever Bruno is in Italy, he stays at Shaun's place and travels to all the Almafi trips and helps out with some tours. He is such a great man. He reminds me of Nonno.

I thought this was funny that Bruno was trying to get me to talk to this guy. A few of us were talking to Antonio and we said we would be going out that night in Sorrento.

We get to the outdoor bar after dinner and we see Antonio and his friends. It was fun talking to them and meeting all these Italian guys and girls and to practice our Italian, and not just being with other American's.

We ended up watching the sunset before dinner on and out Saturday. We come to the piazza where Bruno told us to meet him and he had plastic cups with jugs of wine waiting for our whole group. He's the best.

On Sunday, Bruno was taking whoever wanted to go to Pompei and Mt. Vesuvius to see it all. I already saw Pompei so I didn't really want to.
Me, Tara, Cathy, Pat and Cam decided to hang by the beach and walk around Sorrento. The beach was blocked off, so we went to get awesome pizza and walked around the downtown area.

I had so much fun the entire weekend. The weather was the best it could have been. Food was awesome. And the people we were with were so much fun.

Cam made this cool video of some of the trip, I attached the link below...Me and Tara are all over it.
We had a blast, couldn't have asked for it to be a better weekend.
Almafi Coast with Euroadventures, April 4-8th VIDEO

Buona Pasqua

Remembering last trip we took to Viareggio, I woke up at 9:40 before our 10:10am train... So of course, nothing can go smoothly when Tara and I travel together.
Scheduled to take the 12:00 train from Florence to Viareggio on Saturday afternoon before Easter, we thought it would be okay to go out Friday night.

Waking up around 9:30, I can't get ahold of Tara... Neither of us have packed, we still need to buy train tickets, the station is a good 15 minute walk away, I don't want to be rushing and I am having dejavu of last trip we took.
I shower, start packing, and Tara finally calls me back. She locked herself out of her apartment. Classic.
I tell her to come over to shower and that some of her clothes are at my place, she can just borrow mine and my roommates for the rest of the weekend.
Long story short... This time Tara was the one who looks like a crazy lady. Hasn't brushed her teeth, has no jacket and we both look like we haven't slept in days. Our family probably thinks we both have major issues.

To top off the craziness of the morning, as were on the train about an hour away, I get a text from Silvia; "Hi girls, have you both gotten the chicken pox vaccine? Gabriele has them I want to make sure you will be okay."
I read it out loud and me and Tara look at each other and start dying laughing for about 10 minutes straight. This isn't happening.

We arrive and Silvia is at the station to get us. Meeting up with Maria Pia, she gets us lunch, and brings us to her apartment in Viareggio.
Aside from being afraid to we will catch the chicken pox, me and and Tara have the place to ourselves for the weekend, and they bring us to the store they own and let us pick out some clothes to keep for ourselves. Amazing.


After getting situated, Silvia took me and Tara to Pietrosanta. A small town about a half hour away. We hung out and got coffee and just walked around.

On Easter, we went over to Ricardo and Franca's place for the day. It was awesome spending the holiday with them. It reminded me of being home and might have been one of the best meals I've had here in Italy.

We hung out with everyone all day, then me and Tara
walked around on La Passigiatta before going back to the apartment and going to bed.

Celebrating Easter Monday for the first time, we spent most of it in Pisa and Lucca with Ricardo and Silvia. So much fun just walking around getting coffee and seeing the main sites in both towns.
We were surrounded by thousands of people in Pisa, so we took a few pictures and left to head to Lucca.
Lucca was so cute. Small town, surrounded by a wall, filled with little markets and veryyyy tiny streets. We got coffee, some gelato and walked around until our train at 5pm.

We didn't acquire the chicken pox, lucked out with beautiful weather, saw three small, famous towns, and spent Easter weekend with our family in Italy. Does not get much better than that.