Travel Diary: Siena, Italy
For those of you who may not be aware…I’m currently in Europe! I’m here studying abroad for the summer. I’ll be taking 5 classes—1 in Siena, Italy and 4 in Paris, France. In between classes I’ll be doing as much galavanting throughout Europe as I possibly can! I brought my camera along with me for the ride so that I can share all sites with you guys.
Here are just a few pics from my first week in Siena…
Check out the street where I’m staying and my scenery as I walk to class each day. I love how the buildings are so colorful in Siena!
Also, I thought this little water fountain was really neat. Usually you see things like that and they’re just for looking at. But residents here actually stop and fill their water bottles up in this fountain. For some reason that really struck me as neat.
This is me on the upper/outdoor level of the Palazzo Pubblico, which is one of the main buildings in Siena (it’s actually a palace!) and where their government conducts some of it’s official business. It’s also where everyone in Siena gets married! (Click here to see a picture of the wedding hall.)
The view from the Pubblico is AMAZING! I promise you these pictures do NOT do it justice! You have to see it for yourself!
You’ll notice that there are no food pictures…yet. To be honest, I’ve found the food here to be largely disappointing. I had in my mind amazing pasta and mindblowing pizza and have yet to really find either of those things. (Although I did find one place that serves amazing spaghetti alla carbonara and ravioli de pecorino!) Siena is a really small, traditional town whose staple foods are Crostini (toast topped with olive paste, chicken-liver pâté, wild-boar pâté), pici (thick, hand-rolled spaghetti) and the classic Tuscan bread-and-tomato salad, panzanella. None of those things are high up on my list of things I’m dying to eat. So I’m still on the hunt for amazing eats. In the meantime, there’s always gelato! You can’t go wrong with gelato!
Make sure you’re following me on Instagram to get my daily updates from my European travels!
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Natasha B June 18, 2014 at 10:17 pm
OMG……this is sooooo amazing Blake. As a travelista, I will be checking up on you. LOL. I am so excited for you and can’t wait to see what’s next. I’m sure it will be amazing. Keep doing your thing.
Lucia White June 17, 2014 at 8:17 pm
Umm… Is it strange that I teared up when I saw this post? I’ve been following your blog for a long time (long-time lurker and first time posting LOL), and to see how far you’ve come… It is inspiring and I feel privileged to have been able to see it myself as it developed. I know it might feel like “Well, this is my life,” but girl… You have no idea how your presence and your story and you just being affects people. Well, I guess I can’t speak for all people *LOL*, but it has definitely affected me. When I saw this, I kind of thought to myself, “Maybe I CAN dream bigger. Maybe… Just maybe I could ascend much, much higher too.”
I’ve always heard the phrase about a person’s future being so bright that it burns their eyes, but I don’t think I ever really “got it.” Any time I heard it, I would just roll my eyes and mentally file it as one of those trite things people say. But girl… I literally did not get that saying until just now. And I mean this with not one ounce of hyperbole: Blake, your future is so vast and so bright it just burns my eyes. I can’t wait to see all the amazing things you’re going to do and the amazing woman that you will be.
Blake Von D June 18, 2014 at 3:34 am
Wow! You have no idea how much I genuinely appreciate your comment. Throughout this journey as a blogger, it has been difficult to both live in the moment and appreciate the bigger picture. You’re right…on most days I feel like, “This is just my regular ole uninspiring life. Just a girl on her couch in her sweatpants.” (Lol) But there are definitely moments–like this one–where I do have to take a moment to appreciate how much of an impact my story can have on others. Especially when I take the time to think about how my life began versus where it is now…even *I* tear up a bit. I never in a MILLION years would have thought this little foster kid who grew up in the housing projects of Georgia would ever even own a Passport much less use it to travel the world. And I’m even more fortunate to have a global audience of readers like yourself who are happy to support and grow along with me on this journey. It TRULY means the world to me. It’s those moments that keep me going and push me to keep blogging. Not the clothes, the cute pictures, etc. …but being able to inspire someone to say “I can dream bigger.” Because I PROMISE I would have NEVER dreamed this big for life. So if I can inspire (that world always makes me feel like I haven’t earned it) someone else to live their life boldly and unapologetically, it makes all the unsure moments, the moments where I think I may have bitten off more than I can chew, those moments where I’m exhausted and ready to settle for something less grand COMPLETELY worth it! So thank YOU!
StushiGal Style June 17, 2014 at 2:34 pm
This is just…incredible! I love Italy! It’s so beautiful! Looks like you’re having a great time!
Gabrielle LocStar Warren June 16, 2014 at 10:42 am
I am very inspired by ur blog. I am going thru a major transformation in my life and I am co nsidering starting a blog to chronicle my journey. I am very new to ur site as well as following blogs. Thank you for the time u have dedicated to ur site! Hope to meet u one day. Good luck to u. GABRIELLE THE LOC STAR
Blake Von D June 18, 2014 at 3:36 am
Hi Gabrielle! Welcome! I’m so glad that you found me and decided to become a part of my online family! I wish you all the best through your transition (they are much needed) and know that if you ever just want to chat or need advice, I’m just an email away! And yes…perhaps we WILL meet one day! 🙂