Ride like the wind!
And just like that, this amazing experience is over. With the internship being complete, a weight has been lifted, but now the realization of heading back home is settling in. To make the most of this next week, we all have been going on little adventures and field trips together. Sunday Sanya, Liz, Steph and I all did brunch across the river. Brunch is becoming more and more popular in Italy considering when I had first traveled to Italy, I never saw restaurants that served brunch. We wanted to celebrate since it was going to be mine and Steph's last day of work. During our last hours of work, we completed tasks as we always did and served more guests than usual. All weekend I felt that I used a good amount of Italian, which I was impressed and pleased with myself. I find it funny that the last weekend of work, I finally felt confident in my speaking skills. When the final minutes started ticking down, I do have to say that I am going to miss Reale so much. The people and the atmosphere were so interesting and enjoyable that I am sad to go. It is always sad to leave people behind, but luckily as we were saying goodbyes, we all got each others contact information so we could stay in touch.
The next day, Nicoletta scheduled a time for us to go to the gelateria, in which Sanja worked at, to learn how gelato is made. The gelateria is ten minutes outside the city center and is ran by a family. After falling in love with gelato and having a bit of an addiction, I enjoyed actually learning how it is made. The flavor that we watched get made was melon. I was impressed when I found out that the whole fruit makes up the bulk of the delicious dessert. Since the gelateria is a small establishment, half of us interns were able to go at a time. It was nice to get a little out of the city and to go behind the scenes. After gelato making a few of us wanted to catch some rays, so we took a train to Pisa and headed toward the marina. The beach was rocky, but extremely beautiful with contrasting colors of clear blue water and white rocks. The marina is not a touristy area and was full of locals. For an early dinner we ate at a restaurant along the coast. I had a seafood carbinara pasta that was extremely delicious.
On Tuesday, Nicoletta took us to the countryside of Tuscany for an oil tasting a tour of the winery. The location was stunning and so picturesque. Being on the countryside makes you feel as if you are on a set of a movie. Everything around you is so beautiful it seems fake. The interesting part about this specific winery is that the family was considered to be royal with the church. Since one of their family members a long time ago were Pope, each first born male of the family becomes a prince of the church. Stories and backgrounds like these boggle my mind since life is no longer like that. That night, we had our farewell dinner with Nicoletta and her two kids. Nicoletta has been a mom to all of us in Italy and has been a mom to me since the first time I traveled to Florence. Saying goodbye to her was extremely hard, but I know that we will see her again whether it be in Kent or as an excuse to come back to Florence.
After our farewell dinner, we had to pack for our last trip before leaving Florence. Six of us packed our bags and headed to Ibiza, Spain for one last European adventure. Ibiza was incredible with its tropical, coastal atmosphere and lively people. The sun was hot and skies were blue making a relaxing vacation for us all. In Ibiza we went on a boat to ride around the island and were able to see a popular DJ. The trip was a good beginning to our final farewells.
After arriving back from Ibiza, reality hit hard with how short of time we really have left. To treasure the last moments we had, I suggested us go to a restaurant with an amazing view of the city. When my friend was visiting, we discovered the restaurant and fell in love with the staff and food. We all had the traditional Florentine steaks and complimentary prosecco. The emotions are hard for me since I do not want to leave this beautiful country again, but I know that Europe is not that far away from America and there is no doubt in my mind that I will be back. Ciao Bella.
