Marinka Swift

Ciao a tutti!!! So I've already begun my trip, I'm here in Florence now. Enjoyed a day trip to Lucca and Pisa today... boy does that tower lean. I'll give details in a minute, no worries. I have no real plan for this little journey. I originally intended to be here in Florence for the year as a part of a Masters program in Italian with Middlebury College in Vermont, but in the end I decided to take a break and do my own thing. My heart has been pulling me to hit up southern Italy for months, and so here I am (well, almost). I know Grandpa Mike would be stoked. I'll be passing through Rome as I make my way to San Severo where all my relatives met. I'll be meeting them for the first time!! My aunt has met them, and grandpa of course, but I am the only one of the family state side who speaks italian, so I think it's safe to say my experience will be a bit different...

I'm also vegan, so I'll be including my dietary experience here in Italy, restaurants I go to, dishes I enjoy, terminology etc... hopefully the internet access will allow me to be as up to date as possible! In any case, super stoked to share this with all of you! Expect pictures too of course! So far the theme of my pics has been 'doors'... I LOVE the old OLD OLD doors I see on all the palazzi here in Italy. Explore with me, you can leave me comments on my blog and pictures, and keep track of all the awesomeness!!!

As of now, I plan to hang out in Italy until I run out of money... perhaps I'll be blessed with some job or something, and if not, either way life just keeps getting better and better as long as I sit back and smile as it comes.

here we go...

p.s. I LOVE YOU