24 hours left in Florence.
Personal weather forecast? I’m expecting puffy eyes and facial showers.
Ci vediamo Firenze.
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If you have super-powered vision, you can see my apartment just behind the domed church and tower – Chiesa Santo Spirito.
This post has come much too early, in terms of my travel chronology that is, but I couldn’t wait any longer to share it with all of you.
Yesterday, December 9th, 2012 at approximately 12:30pm,
I jumped off a platform mounted to a 95 meter-high cliff
and soared down into a canyon in the Swiss Alps.
HOLY SHIT IT WAS FUN.
Interlaken, Switzerland is a place where people go to take risks. For most, this includes skiing, snowboarding, snow-shoe trekking and night sledding, but I decided to screw all of the stuff that could potentially injure my body and just go for the mother load of quick and painless death: Canyon Jumping.
Canyon Jumping can only be done 3 places in the world: Cape Town, New Zealand and Interlaken. Well, I can check one of them off my list!
The description on the website reads: “Attached to an 85 meter-long rope with a harness at the chest and waist you will experience fabulous cliff visuals as you jump, free fall, and then swing at high speed through the narrow glacial canyon. Scary but awesome.”
I couldn’t have said it better my friends. I knew I was all in, but nothing can prepare you for the moment you walk out on that platform. It takes your breath away. As the last jumper, I watched each and every new best-friend of mine take the plunge, (it’s extremely easy to make instant friends when you’re all scared shitless), but despite ample time for mental preparation, god I thought I was never going to be conscious again, unless I was somehow able to defy the law of gravity.
About 30 hours later I still have the post-jump high. I am still smiling ear to ear.
Despite how stupid it might have been, I loved every second of it –
the seconds of it I can remember that is.
Make sure to check-out the photos so you can get an idea of the climate, the scenery (so beautiful!), the anticipation and the post-jump celebrations.
Above all, have fun watching the videos, and don’t worry, I’m still alive 😀
Video 1:
This was a test video for the girl that was to film me below, but I posted it so all of you can see the setting up above and get a tiny little idea of what I was looking down into.
Video 2:
The jump!! From below, you can hear my fellow jumpers cheer me on, and if you listen carefully you can here me count “1, 2, 3!” at 0:09 seconds and then say “rock on!” as I pass the camera after a few swings.
After our adventures in London, Edda and I headed back to Birmingham, England, and then Bunn’s hometown of Walsall, England.
We spent Friday evening wandering Birmingham with a bunch of Bunn’s old friends, a city that actually has more canals than Venice – very fun fact! We then took the metro back into Walsall, met up with her boyfriend Sean, and headed to a local English pub. All of Lyndsey’s and Sean’s friends were there and the pub was filled with locals age 20-65. So much fun! Finale for the night: we headed home and ate a bomb curry that Sean cooked up for us!
Saturday we headed into Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s birth city! I had a fantastic time despite the fact that it was freezing! We strolled the town, Shakespeare’s birth-house, the river and had a cute picnic 🙂 Sean and Bunn really know how to show Edda and I a fantastic time!
Finally: Bonfire Night! In commemoration of November 5th, 1605, the day Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the Parliament building in London. Walsall’s display? The biggest bonfire I’ve ever seen, two fireworks shows and a full carnival!
Now… I must run because I’m off to INTERLAKEN, SWITZERLAND. Ciao Ciao 🙂
The rest of Edda and I’s 2-day spree in London was nothing but WAY above par.
Edda is such a great travel partner, and talker, and with her by my side we met so many wonderful and interesting people throughout our stay.
I don’t have too many pictures of all of our new friends, but meeting new people is always my absolute favorite part about traveling. Travelers in general are just more open and communicative people, and I really enjoy.
Anywoo…
before I go on a rant I’ll let you all take a look at the rest of my London-city pictures!
Up next: Adventures in England – branching out from London!
Baci, Alisa
I returned to London once again, and let me tell you, 3rd time’s a charm!!
Haha, as if I didn’t already fall in love the first two! 🙂
I accompanied the lovely Edda Margeson to “Gran Britania” as the Italians call it, and we got a full hook-up with her old nanny and best host in the world Lyndsey Bunn!
We arrived into the West Midlands airport very late Tuesday night, and Bunn and her boyfriend Sean were waiting at the terminal for us – cupcakes and all!
After making it back to Lyndsey’s apartment in Walshall, England, we shared a few laughs, took a look at all of our gifts (so sweet! scarfs, gloves, candy, maps, history pamphlets, etc), and hit the sheets.
The next morning after a proper English breakfast, Lyndsey took us into Birmingham city, and we made our way to the “Coach Station,” as the Brits call it. Not only did she buy us round-trip charter bus tickets to London where we spent the next 2 days while she finished out her work week, but she also set us up at a very fun hostel! “Thanks Bunn!”
And now… plase enjoy the first part of Edda and I’s touristy adventures in a city that
I love very, very much.
Just got back from a wonderful day trip to Assisi, Italy with my friend Ruben.
We had such a fantastic time exploring the city, Giotto’s masterpieces at the St. Francesco Cathedral, and the Rocca Maggiore Castle that we almost decided to look for a hotel last minute and stay the weekend! Can’t wait to post the photos from today!
As for Bellagio, Lake Como, I am very thankful that my family was able to take me. The views, the people and the food were fantastic, and it saddens me that a majority of students studying abroad don’t often make it to the ‘Lake District’ of Italy because it pretty much requires that you rent and car and stay in hostels rather than hostels.
Oh life on a budget… (:
On a more positive note, please enjoy the rest of my gallery from my family’s time in Italy!
Up next: Adventures in London, England!
Warning: In recent weeks I have noticed that my ability to use the English language has declined greatly. Please excuse any errors, or ask for clarification if needed. #italianlife
Yesterday was awesome!
-Took my last Italian “test” (still 1 quiz and 1 final to go);
-Failed at my first attempt of an Italian dance costume (my Italian professor told me I would look like a tree and then sent me pics of clothes from her closet I could borrow);
-Spent the day with Liz Alexander, a fantastic friend from UCLA that’s studying in Madrid, showing her around the city that I love in full tourist-style (despite the rain);
-Frantically re-shopped for a dance costume (and success! my inner-Italian fashion sense somehow arrived);
-Had my final dance practice before my performance on Tuesday. Dance class has been so tough on my lately because I try so hard, but there is only so much you can communicate when you have the linguistic knowledge of a small child. However, last class was a breakthrough. It felt right. My teacher told me that I had practiced well, was ready for the performance, and danced strong like an animal (haha). Plus, I got the Facebook and telephone info for the other girls in the class which was fun!
Allora,
Here are some photos from when my family and I were in Bellagio, Lake Como.
(Nope, not Las Vegas!)
The scenery here was unreal. I had a fantastic time learning photography tips by watching my dad, practicing lots of Italian with the owners of our hotel and waiters at restaurants, and spending quality time with my family.
This part of the weekend was beautiful, and here I’ve included mostly photos of “La Punta”, a lookout point on the lake, and the botanical gardens just down the road from Bellagio.
Adesso, devo scrivere un componimento per mio lezione di storia di arte.
(Now, I must write an essay for my art history class).
Big evening of homework ahead of me!
Ciao ciao!
This gallery is a showcase of exactly that ^ Wahooo!
Almost a month ago I met my family in Venezia, Italia – Venice, Italy for those of you who are still confused. (: I was SO excited to have them in Italy, and they did an awesome job of pampering me for the weekend.
They first picked me up in a stylin’ boat and we got a tour of the different isles of Venice from afar. They then spent the next day showing me the highlights of the city – Piazza San Marco, the grand canal, shopping, etc. I had a blast despite the very foggy weather. (Sad news for picture-taking).
And he great news – we escaped just before the flooding!
A domani! (Until tomorrow),
Alisa
Okay – I am determined to finish all blog posts before I leave Florence!
Oh no… lots of posts. Only 3 weeks. So sad.
So a few weeks ago my school, ACCENT Florence, organized a day trip for the entire UC EAP program to 2 more Tuscan towns – Lucca and Pisa.
Rundown on Lucca:
Beautiful city – would love to spend a “holiday” there one day for some nice R&R! I’m considering making a super quick trip back there before the program ends, but we’ll see! I don’t have too many photos, but that’s because a group of us hunted down the 3euro/hour bikes and had a blast riding around the city. But really, around the city. There is a circular wall that closes in the charming place. You can run, walk, bike and goof off all 50 or so feet in the air for a minimum 1hour of fun. It rocks!
Rundown on Pisa:
It is a must see because of the leaning tower, but otherwise, enjoy other parts of Italy!! The only things to see there are the baptistry, the cathedral and the tower. [1.5 hours max and then go enjoy yourself elsewhere!] It didn’t help that all of us were exhausted and were forced to follow the guided tour, but in the long run I’m still glad I went. And the leaning tower was pretty damn awesome, especially if you can laugh at how much of an engineering fail it is!
CIAO CIAO!
A few Thursday’s ago, Amy and I joined a tour for an afternoon of medieval town exploration and wine tasting in the Chianti region.
First stop: Castellina.
We only had about 30 minutes here, but we managed to explore a few little shops and find a beautiful “gioielleria” or jewelry shop. The owner Marco was so kind and so patient – we must have tried on at least 40 rings. Good thing we bought one each! He made besties with Amy pretty quickly, and I had a blast practicing my Italian.
Next stop: Monteriggioni
This city was a bit larger and surrounded by a stone wall, like many other Tuscan towns. Amy picked up some bomb gelato, and I a souvenir for a friend, and the rest of the time we spent soaking in the beauty of Tuscany.
Last stop: Wine Tasting!
Obviously, my first ever. Haha. I don’t have many photos from the tasting, (it felt a little too touristy to pull out the camera at that moment), but we met two really nice couples – one from Boston and one from Atlanta – and then hung out with a young boy and his cat who lived at the property. I have to admit that his level of Italian was far above mine at that point!!
alisa abroad 