LAUREN
This is a glimpse of my six week summer adventure in Florence, Italy. It sounds like a great time and let me tell ya, it sure is! To start this off, my name is Lauren Bagdasar and I am now a senior at San Diego State University, majoring in Public Health. I signed up for this program not knowing what I was getting myself into. All I thought was that I am going to Italy because an international experience is required for my major in order to graduate. I am the type to typically stay in my comfort zone and this was definitely not in my zone. I did not know one person entering this program and that was what I was most nervous about. I didn’t let that reason stop me from attending this voyage and I hope it's not stopping you! If it is, I encourage you to open your mind while looking at my journey.
MY
MY
DAYS
DAYS
TYPICAL DAYS
TYPICAL DAYS
The main thing I would say that could possibly prepare you for this journey is to just realize that you are traveling to a beautiful place to study and live. It is not a vacation, you are living here. Some days I would be so tired, but I didn’t want to take a nap because I thought I would miss out on going on an adventure. I finally just realized that this is my home for the summer, so yes I should take a nap.
My typical every day in Florence, for me, is waking up and getting a croissant on the walk to school. The hardest choice I had during my time here was do I want a nutella or a plain croissant. A croissant a day is absolutely necessary. I had thought I wasn’t going to have much free time to venture off during the weekdays around school, but there is plenty of time. My favorite spot was Piazzale Michaelangelo, which is the photo above. I loved taking a bottle of wine up to the top to watch the sunset. Everyday was a good day in Florence.
TRAVEL DAYS
TRAVEL DAYS
With no school on Fridays, there is plenty of time to travel on the weekends. I went to Munich, Cinque Terre, Rome, Pisa, Venice, and Elba. It is really easy to travel in Europe because there are lots of transportation options. I took advantage of all the free weekends I had here to visit somewhere. These are the experiences that I will never forget.
ALL DAY
ALL DAY
My appetite was very big here in Italy. I was always hungry for some reason, but I didn't mind! I ate pizza every single day!
ETRUSCAN DAYS
ETRUSCAN DAYS
The Etruscans remain one of Italy’s greatest mysteries. From what I learned here in Italy, the Etruscan civilization was a wealthy population that flourished in Tuscany. The Etruscans were a vibrant civilization that had their own way of living, which created them to be a different, intriguing culture. Being able to learn about the Etruscans and then going on day trips to see the objects from their time was amazing.
Some objects I put up to show are a few of my favorites. The top left is an Etruscan Theatre and the top right is an Etruscan bath located in Fiesole. Below the theatre is an Etruscan Sarcophagus of the Amazons. These were carved specifically to represent the remembrance of a person or of their story beyond death.
Florence was the Birth of the Renaissance. The Renaissance was a time of great social and cultural change in Europe. I got to see some amazing artwork from the Pitti Palace to the Uffizi museum. I never would have thought I would see The Birth of Venus in real life. Overall, I think my favorite part was seeing all the different frescoes on the ceilings and seeing where the Medici's live. Pictures don't do justice of how beautiful everything is.
RENAISSANCE DAYS
RENAISSANCE DAYS
BLUB DAYS
BLUB DAYS
Blub is a famous, unknown street artist in Florence. His paintings are random throughout the city and my mission on my trip was to find them all. Every painting he paints includes a scuba mask/goggles. I love all of Blubs art work. Go visit his store and buy some of his work. I got some Blub stickers!
Overall, my journey here has been amazing and I am so sad to go home. I got to learn some of the greatest things about the Renaissance and the Etruscans in the most amazing place! I will most definitely be visiting Florence again in the future.
Overall, my journey here has been amazing and I am so sad to go home. I got to learn some of the greatest things about the Renaissance and the Etruscans in the most amazing place! I will most definitely be visiting Florence again in the future.