Welcome To My New Home!

Colorno is a tiny little town outside of Parma. We'd been told that it is very small and that there's not much to do here so we had an idea of what things would be like before arriving. When we got to town, I was so excited because, not only is it beautiful here, it IS really small and quaint. There are only a few restaurants, one pub, a couple of gelaterias and a supermarket. It has the feeling to me of a secluded beach town, if that makes sense. There isn't much to do and everyone ends up at the same places all the time which is honestly so fun.

I thought I'd take you on a little tour of my new home and show you our apartment and the area! It's so hard to capture things just in photos and words but I'm going to do my very best with that during my time in Italy. I truly cannot believe we're here and that I'm calling Italy home for now. It is spectacular. That said, let's start the tour! I share an apartment with Ali and Dalila and it's minimal but great. I did, however, giggle when I walked in because orange is my most hated color. Guess I had to come all the way to Italy in order to have my tune changed on that:

This is my bedroom that Dalila and I share:

The town itself is so awesome. The buildings are super old and there are cobblestone streets that I completely love. There's a main square (where school is located) and that's where you can find a concentration of cafes, a pharmacy, ATMs, newspaper stands…all the basics that you need are there. It's a ten minute walk from our apartment and I don't think I'll ever get tired of it. This is the main street that we walk down toward the square:

This is Mo and I standing right in the center of the square:

I can't get enough of the buildings and architecture here. It's so beautiful and I get to look at this every single day:

As for school, we literally attend class in a castle. It is absolutely stunning and I'm in awe of it. I tried to capture the perspective of how awesome the place is but I'm just bad at it (Colleen, you need to help me!):

To say I feel blessed to be here is such an understatement. I have a feeling I'm going to run out of adjectives to describe things and experiences verrrry quickly. Italy is a magical place and it's full of life and spirit everywhere you go. There is more love in the little old lady running the pizzeria down the street than in anyone I've ever experienced in New York. It's simply a different life here - drastically different from New York - and, in less than a week, I can already feel myself changing in wonderful ways. I am just so happy...