And here goes my first blog post into the Universe! I want to dedicate this first post to Florence, Italy.
December 2012, my best friends Linda and Carly decided they were moving to Florence, Italy the following Fall. I was excited for my friend’s adventure BUT deep down I was crushed! At the present moment, my boyfriend and I had been dating 4 years, my full-time job wasn’t on a path of growth, and I had $25,000 sitting in my savings account.
My friends and family challenged me on why I wasn’t joining the girls on this amazing adventure!
Simple, I HAD A BOYFRIEND!
This conversation of why I wasn’t going was on repeat over the following months, leading up to the Fall or what I referred to as DDAY. After many crying break downs and anxiety attacks, my amazing boyfriend/best friend, told me TO GO!!!!!!! Myers, my boyfriend, is my best friend, my lover, the man who challenges me, educates me, and puts a smile on my face every day. I can’t thank him enough for being confident in our relationship and letting me go on this JOURNEY with my best friends!
September 2012 – I packed up 3 suitcases of Florida girl clothing (which I barely wore), my teddy bear, and my nerves and moved to Florence, Italy. My girlfriends moved there a month earlier than me and already had our apartment set up and moved into, kudos to them.
We rented an amazing, furnished apartment right in the City Centre with every window overlooking the historic, beautiful Duomo. It was a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment and MASSIVE! Huge ceilings, beautiful rustic window shutters, a teeny tiny kitchen (typical Europe), and of course a bidet. The 2 bedrooms had twin beds in them so it was 2 girls to each room.
Linda and I moved in together as if we were starting freshman year at UCF all over again.
Linda and I moved in together as if we were starting freshman year at UCF all over again.
Lin and I met freshman year of college in 2006 and moved in together our junior year of 2008. We lived together for the next 4 years and I consider her my sorella (sister in Italian). It was her passion for Italy (her family is off the boat Italian) that motivated all of us to choose Italy as our destination. Joining Lin and I were 2 other girls and a BOY!
Carly Talbott is a great friend of ours that we met in college and our friendship grew into another sisterhood. Carly is from Fort Myers, FL and before moving to Italy she randomly met our 4th and 5th roommates. Mutual friends introduced Lindsey and Jeffrey to Carly and they were both looking for an adventure similar to ours. They both came on board and we figured the more the merrier and the cheaper the rent 🙂
Our journey of being the Italia Famiglia thus began! Oh and Jeffrey slept on the pull-out couch!
We planned on living in Italy for a year and finding jobs teaching English. We did not find jobs and instead came home after 6 months due to depleting funds, a bitter taste for the freezing cold, and simply missing our friends and family.
Correction, Linda, Carly, and I came home after 6 months.
Lindsey and Jeffrey continued on their journeys to Spain and Australia which I will touch on in the future. From September 2012 to January 2013 our Italia Famiglia traveled all over Western Europe, practiced yoga at 19R, ate too much Italian food, drank too much Limoncello, shopped shopped and shopped some more, had friends and family visit us, and made everlasting memories that bring a smile to my face every day.
My blog posts over the following weeks and months will mainly focus on our journey through Western Europe and living in Italy. The countries we visited, the places we stayed, the restaurants we enjoyed, the activities we did both in Italy and other countries, and anything else along the way.
On a side note, I just moved to St. Petersburg, FL and am starting a new journey here with Myers.
Be ready for some posts on my new adventure in the present moment! Thank you for joining me on this journey 🙂
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Hey! I’m Allie.
I’m a self-growth student, freedom-seeker, yoga teacher and the founder of a tight-knit online yoga community: the Body Mind Soul Studio. I’m here to teach you how to transform your life on-and-off-the-mat with a holistic yoga practice.
I wanna learn it all!
The Yoga Reset Guide is my FREE 7-step journey to deepen your practice and recenter your body, mind and soul. Self-paced, no equipment necessary, perfect for beginners AND veteran yogis.
