Ciao,

Oh, my it is chilly here in Florence! Woke up this morning and it was 50 degrees (whoever told me not to bring sweaters I am not your friend right now!) But still, this cold weather has me falling more in love with this city. The fall fashion is in full bloom and oh do these Italian women know how to dress! They somehow can effortlessly pull off messy hair, sneakers, and leather jackets…. while riding a moped in a dress or skirt. It's unbelievable!

We are in Florence this week for a full week (Monday through Friday) which has given us a bit more time to explore and find some little coffee shops and study nooks. Yes, we have homework as some people may not believe! One of my favorite spots that we have stumbled upon is called Le Menagerie. It is sooo cute!!One part is a little knick-knack shop another is a florist then the other part is this little eclectic café. And just to report have found salad my all carb diet has come to an end!!!!

My classes in Florence are definitely different than they are back at Furman. That being said I am absolutely loving them! All of my teachers are Italian so that makes it a bit harder to understand them sometimes. Yet it also makes it a bit comical when they mix up words. I am taking 5 classes here, interpersonal communications, history of the Holocaust, everything chocolate, communicating in Italian, and fashion media and culture. Each class is in a different building across the city of Florence, each has its own unique character: some are historic, some are modern, some have frescos on the ceilings, some look like a scene out of Harry Potter! It makes each day in the classroom so fun!

My favorite class so far would have to be my fashion, media and culture class! My teacher is the former social media director for Ferragamo (which is actually based out of Florence) and she is sooo cool! In that class, we learn about the history of fashion as well as fashion icons. My other favorite would be the chocolate class because I mean who doesn’t love chocolate! Half of the class is a lecture and half is a lab where we literally sit and eat chocolate! It's incredible!

Two weekends Elizabeth, Anna and I went to the Amalfi Coast. It has always been a dream of mine to go especially since I have an obsession with Grey Malin and he constantly photographs the beach umbrellas there!! So, we got on a bus on Thursday night and drove 5 hours to the coast! On Friday, we hopped on a ferry to Capri! Where we did a boat tour around the island (did you know a lot of their landscapes and cliffs were actually the inspiration for Jurassic park?) On our boat tour, we were given the opportunity to see the Blue Grotto, one of the natural wonders of Europe! It was incredible! If you're ever in Capri I suggest you do it as long as you don’t get claustrophobic! Once on land we climbed up to the different tiers and tasted authentic limoncello (not my drink of choice) and enjoyed a pasta lunch! But my highlight of the day by far was getting my own pair of custom sandals made!! There is this cute, TINY, shop on the top of Capri, which makes sandals by hand. They size your feet and you pick out the leather straps and design them yourself. The thing that awe stuck me the most besides the little grandpa making my shoes (There is a photo of me with him below) , was that this was the exact place Jackie Kennedy went to get all of her sandals made when she was in Capri!! I, Phebe Huth have the same sandals as Jackie Kennedy!!

Friday night was my favorite night of all time I think! We ate dinner in an old Roman aqueduct! This gentleman, Marco, has turned it into a small garden and restaurant that he runs along with various other restaurants that he has across the world. Our meal was outstanding! We started off with free Prosecco, then had stuffed zucchini flowers, house wine and homemade ricotta ravioli in a lemon sauce (that was made with the lemons from the garden we were in)! The experience of the meal was by far one of the most outstanding I have had in all my life.

On Saturday, we hopped on a bus to head to Positano! This city is full of colorful umbrellas and beautiful beach shops. It was a tad crowded for my liking but I got to see the famous umbrellas so I was a happy girl. But of course, when I am near water you can’t get me away from the boats! So, we went on another boat tour! While on the boat tour we went, cliff jumping, swam in grottos and explored various other beaches it was a great way to explore! We ended our day enjoying another fabulous meal in Sorrento with lots of pasta and wine.

Sunday was our last day in Amalfi but it ended in a monumental way – no pun intended! We visited the ruins of Pompeii! While it was a long and hot walking tour around the city it was incredible to see the ancient city that has been around for so many centuries!

I promise not all my time here is vacations! Although it seems that way! But cool things that are happening this week, our school (Florence University of the Arts) has a culinary school, so they have a restaurant that we are able to go to at a discounted rate and experience cool dinners. So tonight, some of my friends and I are going to a themed dinner with an 8-course meal!! The theme is revealed at the door so fingers crossed it isn’t something crazy!! But I’ll let you know how it is next week!

Off to Cinque Terre this weekend!

Ciao for now,

- Phebe