If I had thought traveling from Charleston, South Carolina, to Spoleto, Italy, had been a culture shock, nothing could have prepared me for traveling from Spoleto to Florence. Upon first arriving in the birthplace of the Renaissance, I wandered the streets of Firenze starry-eyed with wonder. Street vendors on every corner, selling handmade leather bags, […]
For foreign travelers and tourists, smaller European cities and towns—like many of those in Italy’s Umbria region—can seem mystifying and mundane all at once. As I explored the Umbrian town of Spoleto, I found myself walking from ancient stone walls to local cellphone stores, from cobblestone piazzas to moving sidewalks and escalators. There is a […]
The fast-paced city of Florence is located 3 hours away from the small, quiet town of Spoleto. The two extraordinarily different areas represent the diverse lifestyles within Italy. Flooded with American tourists crowding every street, snapping quick photos, and filling up the tables at every restaurant; my experience in Florence took me out of the […]
I can genuinely say that the two writing courses that I was enrolled in during my three week trip to Spoleto Italy significantly improved my skills as a writer and allowed me to explore areas of craft that I would not have otherwise pushed myself towards. Sometimes, when I am taking creative writing classes back […]
You would never believe the speed at which I flew through that tunnel filled with fog, cold adrenaline, an absence of light. Water drizzled from the darkness, slithered through the holes on the helmet I still had yet to take off. I don’t care enough on my own but for you I’ll fasten my strap. […]
The white porcelain mug that sits before me removes my thoughts from anything that may have been a worry days ago. Cars roll by, almost in slow motion, past my quaint table as it remains unscathed. I sit so close to the road that I could reach out and touch the warm metal if I […]
Every day, I watch silently as people paint yet another lively scene of movement and drama before me. Swarms of tourists, dotted with the occasional Florentine local, draw snake-like strokes around the Piazza della Signoria. Their paths vary in direction and speed, however, certain details have a way of recurring daily: The younger children, asleep […]
I was standing in line at a quaint beach shack on the coast of South Carolina. Locals scattered around various tables in their swimsuits and flip flops, sipping icy beverages and chewing cold sandwiches. They smiled at passersby and perhaps pondered what the rest of their day was going to entail. It’s not exactly foreign […]
I am reminded of my grannee when I see the oranges in the Florence hostel breakfast buffet. I am not sure if it would qualify as a buffet but that is what it was referred to so I will do the same. It’s funny how something as simple as a fruit in a buffet breakfast […]
Once my skin was scrubbed clean of the excruciating twenty hour travel day, it finally clicked in my jet-lag muddled brain that instead of being in the familiar territory of the states, I was, in fact, in the beautiful Umbrian town of Spoleto, Italy. Spoleto, rich in its mountainous landscape and history, serves as the […]
