5 Things I Heart About Italy This Week

1. Street Art: Everyday artists make these on the sidewalk only using chalk. They spend hours doing them and at the end of the day they are washed away. The next day the artists start over again. I wonder how much money they make because as you can see they have a plate so people can leave €€€s.

2. Roomie Dinner Nights: Every Saturday the girls in the apartment and I have dinner together. We each are in charge of a course - main course, side dish or salad. We get to enjoy each other's cooking and company. It's all in good fun. :)

3. I Saldi: In January all the stores in Italy are desperate to get rid of their winter clothes to make room for their Spring collections. As a result, there is a huuuuuge sale here. You can save anywhere from 20-70% off of some pretty awesome stuff. Unfortunately I didn't do as much shopping as I would have if I had a job but I did manage to do a little bit of shopping. I'll start saving my little pennies so I can save next year. :)

 

4. Yamamay: It's like a Victoria's Secret here in Florence. Besides Kiko I have spent the most €€ here. What is more essential than makeup and lingerie??  lol.

5. Giorgia: She is an Italian singer that I just cannot stop listening to!!! I've downloaded so many songs from different Italian artists but she's been my favorite so far. :) If you want to listen to her, her new single is this but the song I keep on repeat is this one.

 Mia♡

Going Out / Pre-partying in Florence

I do like to go out and have fun here in Italy. My usual spot is the Old Stove in Piazza della Signoria and then to dance I go to a few clubs here in Florence. I don't take my camera out EVER - have you seen my camera? lol So most of these pics are pre-partying pics. The last two are at a bar tho. :)

 This is me and my lovely roomie, Lucy.

 Lucy did my make up again. She should go pro. I bought the earrings in Rome.

 This is my bestie, Vicky.

 We were listening to music and dancing. A few glasses of wine and we really let loose!

 A pic of me :)

 We always have fun together.

Me and Lucy again. Doesn't she look good? Damn mama!! 

Not sure why I made that face but it works.  

 Me and my friend Silja out in Red Garter.

She's from Germany. I have a few German friends here. They all speak German with each other and it makes me want to learn German! Maybe one day...

Mia♡

Palazzo Pitti

In the first days of January my friend Lilly and I decided to go visit the grand Palazzo Pitti that belonged to the infamous Di Medici family. This palace is here in Florence. Here are some of our pics from that day. :)

 This pizza is from one of my favorite pizza places here in Italy, Gusta Pizza. The guys in Italy like to flirt with pretty much all women. Sooo when we walked in and ordered pizza they decided to make ours heart shaped. Real suttle guys, lol.

 Heart of a Lion.

 Showing the lion some love ;)

 It is so ferocious!!

 My friend Lilly posing with the lion.

 In Italy I am much more open. I do things like dougie in public. Haha.

 In front of the grand Pitti Palace.

 We went to the Pitti Palace to go see their beautiful garden but when we got there it was closed. :(

 We wanted to see the garden badly so we figured we would sneak in.

 Making sure no one is around.

haha jk.

 Since we couldn't go in I figured I would take some pics through the gate. From what I saw it is very beautiful. I can only imagine how even more gorgeous everything is from the inside.

 I plan to go back eventually. The Palace is so big that if you buy the combo ticket to see everything it is good for 3 days. :)

 Posing by the famous Ponte Vecchio.

I am so lucky to be living here. There is so much art and history in Florence.

Mia♡

My Language Wishlist

Hello everyone!! As you all know I have always been fascinated with languages. I only know English and Spanish fluently but I have spent many years learning Italian and one year learning Japanese. I decided to make up a list - you know how much i love lists - of all the languages I would like to know eventually. It would be nice if I could at least start learning these in the next 5 years. :) Eventually I would like to be fluent in:

1. English
2. Spanish
3. Italian
4. Japanese
5. Portuguese
6. French
7. Chinese

And if for some reason I want to learn more Russian, Hebrew and German also interest me. Do you think this list is possible?? I hope so!!!

Mia♡

Do you remember my 5 Things Posts??

If you ever followed my UCD blog then you will know that back in the day I used to do this thing called 5 Things That I Heart Right Now. In those posts I would pick 5 little things that made me happy during the week. Well, I feel like I may be taking some things for granted/ I am forgetting to mention things about Italy that are not in the U.S. or are just awesome...Sooo, I decided I am going to start doing 5 Things I Heart About Italy This Week.

1. Kiko: I LOVE KIKO!! Kiko is a cosmetic brand made in Milan that is not too expensive. To me it is like Sephora. I go there to admire the displays. I always have to resist buying something and I've actually gotten pretty good at leaving the store empty handed. It may be because it is always crowded and it is such a small store. Here is my Kiko collection. :)

Not pictured: The Kiko bag I just bought, two nail polishes and an eyeshadow.

2. Universitá di Firenze Sweatshirt: It's pink, cute and keeps me warm. What more could I ask for?

3. Fedez: I am obsessed with this Italian rapper called Fedez.  He is such a cutie and has a voice I could listen to for days. Click here to listen to one of his songs.

4. Paula: Paula is a book written by Isabel Allende. I am reading it in Italian so I am very dependent on my Italian dictionary. I figured it would be a nice way to expand my vocabulary. This book is also written in Spanish and in English so if you are looking for something new to read I recommend it!

5. Pandoro Melegatti: Basically a cake. It's delicious bread that comes in an odd shape made in Verona. If you want more info click here if you want to know more about it.

Mia♡

I Speak British Part II

Hey!!! Like I mentioned before I am getting to know some Brits in Italy!! My roomie Lucy was raised in London and my dear friend Vicky is English. Well I've been around them so much I am able to translate these for you now! :)

Councial Dress - The Projects

Fancy Dress - Costume

Jumper - sweater

Take Your Kit Off - Take Off Your Clothes

Chips - Fries

Crisps - Chips

Cuddly Toys - Stuffed Animals

Rub Off the Board - Erase the Board

Uni - College/University

Telli - T.V

Tea - Dinner

Loo - Bathroom

Lift - Elevator

Slag Tag - Tramp Stamp

Cotton Bugs - Q Tips

Mia♡

Here's a video just for you...

It's me singing Amy Winehouse. If you are reading this, chances are you have already heard me singing one of Amy's songs. Afterall, they don't call me Mia Winehouse for nothing. But it's still something I've been wanting to do for awhile. I'm not a pro, it's just all in good fun. Anyway, hope you like it. Just in case you miss my voice. lol. ♥ Mia

New Years Eve Italian Style

I was so excited to celebrate New Year's Eve here in Florence. I was sure there were going to be tons of people, that I was going to dance the night away and have fun. Well, that's exactly what I did! I glamed up for the big night and had my two girls, Lucy and Lilly with me. It will definitely be a night for the books. :)

This is me dressed up and ready to go!

Lucy and I at Fish Pub.

I met the owner at the gym and he invited us so we got free drinks. :)

After we headed to Piazza Della Signoria for some Fireworks with some new friends.

 At the stroke of midnight we all had some champagne.

 This is one of the guys we met. Someone had taken a group picture but I'm not sure where it went. Anyway, these guys were from Pennsylvania.

The piazza was filled with hundreds of people. It was insane. All of Florence was like this!! Still, it was a pretty memorable night. I wish I could do it all over again.

Mia♡

Christmas Eve in Firenze

I know I'm late but so much has been happening!!! This Christmas I was lucky enough to celebrate it here in Italy. What is there to complain about right?? WRONG. Christmas is all about friends and family. I have made some very lovely friends here however, no one can replace family. More importantly, it was impossible to have a single tamal during the holiday seasons. Everyone knows Christmas is the best excuse to eat tamales!! So I was deprived of yummy Mexican food and family whom I love very much.

I was surrounded by beautiful lights, a lively city and friends who enjoy doing the same things I do. Here are some pics of my Christmas Eve. I say Christmas Eve because on actual Christmas I was stuck in bed all day with a high fever, cough and everything else. :/

I'm happy in this pic because my roommate, Lucy did my makeup. Isn't it lovely?

This is me at the restaurant. We went to a small place close to my apartment. My Christmas dinner consisted of yummy bread, pasta, chicken, potatoes and wine.

Since there was no one to give me Christmas presents I bought myself something from Yamamay, which is like Victoria's Secret, and The United Colors of Benetton.

This was me visiting Baby Jesus. It wasn't midnight yet so he wasn't displayed yet (Although he was obviously underneath that blanket! Who are they trying to fool?)

After dinner we had some drinks and it was karaoke time!!! There are videos!! I will post those soon! :)

Mia♡

Rome in Videos

So you might have seen some of these pics of Facebook. But I didn't posted these videos on here. That's something special just for you. I love you all. Here is Rome throught videos. (I am not a pro so these short videos are just a glimpse of what I got to see while in Rome). Enjoy.

These two videos are at the Colosseum.

This is a video of a beautiful building. I have no idea what it is but it was so grand and amazing that I had to take pictures of it and record it. I will return and find out what it is.

This is a video of the Trevi Fountain. :)

This is Michelangelo's Pietá. Such beauty.

Mia♡

My Roman Holiday

In December I was lucky enough to go to Italy's capital, Rome. I completely fell in love with the city. I visited the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps and the Vatican. It was not too expensive to go actually and only a 4 hour bus ride. I went with my friend Lilly and we stayed in a hostel called The Yellow, it was cheap and had some pretty interesting people. Here are some pictures from Rome:

Inside our room in the hostel. In front of the Colosseum.

Inside the Colosseum

 I was amazed by its beauty.

 Imagining all the Romans being here back in the day....daaaaang. Wish I could have seen that!

 This is why people don't mess with me.  I may seem sweet...but I puts it down when I have to!

 Me and Lil

Beautiful

 Foro Romano

 The Trevi Fountain.

Christmas lights decorating the streets of Rome - Appropriately green, white, and red.

 The Vatican!!!

 Looking out to St. Peter's Square

 The enterance

 Pietá - My favorite sculpture done by Michelangelo. I was beyond happy to visit this piece again.

 Lilly and I in front of the Spanish Steps

 Look at all the tourists. Rome is a beloved city to all.

 Me at the top of the Spanish Steps

 Harry Potter is world wide and Italians love HP as much as everyone else. So much they decided to have a HP flash mob in one of Rome's busiest piazzas.

This trip definitely left me wanting to visit Rome again. It would be nice to spend more than just a couple of days exploring the city. I couldn't have asked for a better holiday. :)

Mia♡