Welcome to my first blog post from Florence! I’m Becca and I’m a Junior Journalism student at UW-Madison studying Strategic Communication with a minor in Art History and Graphic Design. My interest in Art History and Graphic Design was an important part of what made me want to study this semester in Florence because of the city’s artistic heritage. I’m from Chicago, Illinois and love exploring new neighborhoods and restaurants in the city with my family and friends, and am excited to do the same here in Florence!

My first time in Florence was my senior year of high school when my family went on a trip to a few different cities in Europe over winter break. I instantly loved Italy’s architecture and art history, and my visit to Florence was what prompted me to take my first Art History course at UW-Madison. I remember my first impressions of Florence just by its appearance were that the city felt like it had such a deep history. I wanted to learn more in depth about this history so I could fully appreciate all that I was seeing next time I returned.

A big expectation for this trip to Florence was the incredible cuisine- and I was not let down. Every meal I’ve eaten has been delicious. After the first day of orientation, we went to Osteria Santo Spirito and ordered truffle gnocchi that was sizzling when they brought it to our table. For lunch the following day, we got the famous sandwiches from Osteria All’antico Vino and sat on some steps nearby to eat them. The aggressive pigeons were a surprise to me, and were on the hunt for crumbs. In terms of dessert, the best gelato I have tried so far was last night when I ordered the pistachio and hazelnut from Gelateria dei Neri.

I expected to be a little intimidated by the language barrier. I’ve actually found it not too difficult because of my background in Spanish, so I can make out some Italian. Also, I didn’t expect that so many Florentines would speak such fluent English, and although I will want to practice my Italian once I feel more comfortable with the language, it has been helpful that I can communicate pretty easily in my native language here.

My expectations in terms of the physical location of our apartment were different from what I imagined. My cousin studied abroad in Florence a few years ago, and when she stepped out of her apartment she could see the Duomo. Since she was my point of contact for a lot of my questions about abroad, I imagined my apartment being in a similar location. My apartment is on the other side of the river from the Duomo, and even though it’s far from a lot of the shopping and tourist spots, I really enjoy my new location. We’ve been walking around and finding great spots around our apartment to eat. My new favorite restaurant I’ve eaten at, Trattoria Boboli, is 500 feet from our apartment!

I was also slightly worried about finding my way around Florence. I’m notoriously terrible at directions, and my friends know never to trust me to lead a group around. Since I’ve been walking around in Florence so much during the day, I’ve felt surprisingly comfortable for my first week of navigating. It also helps that so many of my classes here will have walking tours and field trips where we explore the city. On Thursday, my Renaissance Art and Architecture class went on an architecture tour of Florence so that we could be situated in knowing where important historical landmarks are in the city. I’m really looking forward to the authentic experiences I’ll get to have learning outside of a classroom setting.

I’m so excited for this incredible opportunity to study abroad here in Florence, and I hope you enjoy reading my blog!