Sometimes it's hard to believe all of the places I have visited in the past four months. Venice seems like it was just a dream. There was delicious gelato and amazing pizza slices, gorgeous sunsets and amazing views. 

While Venice was a little warmer than England, we still needed to wear light jackets. Our second day in the city, we decided to go to Saint Mark's Basillica. Finding our way through the tight walkways of Venice and over many bridges we finally made it. 

I've been home for just shy of a month now, and it's very different. Before studying abroad, I had never been away from my home for more than a week when I was away at my university. For four months I didn't have the luxury of a big bed or even a microwave.


It's a little bit surreal to be back home after being on another continent for four months. But if anyone asked me if I wanted to go back to Europe like next week, I'd probably say yes!

I hope you enjoyed this post! Have you ever been away for a really long time? What did you like about being back home and what did you think was the hardest?

  

 "Everything will be alright." That's the meaning of one of the songs from Ed Sheeran's new album,  Bibia Be Ye Yeand one of my favorites. 

Last month, I took a quick trip to Venice Italy. Getting there was not an easy task. Before leaving to study abroad I had a list of places that I really wanted to go. Venice was in the top 3. My program does a big end of the year trip for Italy so finding people to just go to Venice with me wasn't working out, and my plan B was to find a spot at the hostel my friends were staying at, which at first was full. But a few weeks later, a room was available and I took it. Without hesitation. I had given myself two extra days with my best friends. 

We really lucked out with our airbnb host who helped us rent a car for the day to drive from Perissa to the cities of Fira and Oia. It was a pretty easy drive, stopping at the Red Sand Beach and some lookout points that made me even more excited to just get to Oia. 

Fira was the same as I had remembered it, a ton of shopping and restaurants and hills. If you've never been, there are a lot of steps in the little town, but souvenirs here are a bit cheaper! It's so weird visiting a place you were at 5 years prior.
I remember Oia. I remembered that I loved it so much. I loved it even more the second time. Some of the souvenir shops even looked familiar to me while we went through them. Oia is such a picturesque town, every step is seriously breathtaking!
When I first visited, my favorite thing that I got to do was the Kissing Fish! Luckily, my friend Catie agreed to do it with me, so we washed our feet and stuck them in a tank full of fish. They're teethless, and make your skin so smooth!



If you're also in Oia stay for the sunset. It's gorgeous and probably the best one you might see your entire life. I still can't believe that I have been lucky enough to go to this city twice in my lifetime, and I hope that it's not my last time. It's crazy, writing about and seeing these photos more than a month later, because it really doesn't feel real! 

So I've officially been back in the states now for  11 days. I miss the rolling green hills of England, all of my friends that are now home too, and I definitely miss being able to get on a train and head to cities like London, Edinburgh and Liverpool. Study Abroad was one of the best things to ever happen to me. So I made a list of 10 things that it has taught me. 

1. Attitude is everything. If you don't make an effort to have fun, meet new people and explore new things then maybe it's not for you. There were definitely days where I knew I was being a brat because I couldn't make going to a certain place fit in my calendar. I had to give myself a little you're in Europe and you're letting this one thing/person get to you. Talk.

2. It's not where you go, it's who you travel with. One of the friends I made on this trip told me this near the beginning of the semester. And he was 110% right. I found this out the hard way when I went to Ireland and my friends didn't go, yes I had fun, but I knew the sadness in my heart was because I wanted them to be there with me experiencing the whole thing. 

3. Public Transportation isn't scary. Getting on the bus, and the train then the tube and going through an airport by myself was a daunting thought before I left. But I did it. I probably won't ride public buses at home because I have a car, but it's not as scary to think about anymore. 

4. You'll be more independent. Because now you can ride the tube from Kings Cross to Picadilly Circus by yourself. You can take a flight to Barcelona and back to London, and also from Venice to Prague by yourself. It's nerve wracking but also thrilling when it's over. 

5. You'll miss weird things. I didn't miss my house when I was abroad, but I definitely missed things like cheesecurds and Culvers icecream when I was in England. 

6. You'll miss things about the country you lived in. I've been gone for a little more than a week and I literally miss everything about England so much. 

7.  You learn about yourself. and about what kind of people you want to hang out with

8. Time management is different when you're never at school on the weekends. I never stayed up working on homework past 1am on purpose before studying abroad

9.  Getting lost isn't a bad thing. Yea knowing where you're going is really helpful, but taking a wrong turn down a street can lead to some pretty cool stuff.

10. You meet amazing people. I haven't seen them in a few weeks and it actually hurts my heart, because we spent everyday together.

If you're thinking about studying abroad, GO FOR IT. do it. It's the best thing that will ever happen to you. And you will honestly have the best time.