It's Called A Visa

So I dropped into the office this morning, thinking I would start today. All we did was an informal interview, and then they sent me off with some people to work out the details. That's where the problem began.

I may or may not have a problem with my visa. I came in Korea on the multiple entry visa I used two years ago to come here, but the people there are not sure if I can work because my visa may not work for employment. I've been trying to figure out my chances of things not panning out by going through the Korean visa/immigration website. From what I can tell, as long as I don't get paid everything should be fine. Of course, there may be some other factors in play that I don't know about.

I forgot to say I don't need to get paid for this internship (although I would prefer it), which could affect how this turns out, but I'll tell them when they contact me on Thursday. If this doesn't work out, for the next three months I'm going to feel like such a bum.

-Emoinacloset

Summer In Seoul

Many of you may already know by now, but I will be in Korea for the summer until 8/24. Although I would have loved to land a summer internship in New York, I think this is a pretty good second. I'm going to be interning there, hopefully doing some kind of finance-related stuff. As long as they don't have me making copies and getting coffee for them all the time, I'll be happy. After all, it's something I can put on my resume.

However, I'm kind of worried about the language difficulties I might have in the workplace. Already I barely manage conversing in Korean with my relatives in everyday conversation; I can't imagine how bad it'll be when I need to discuss something work-related. I got a Korean-English dictionary to prepare myself and learn words I encounter that I don't know so I suppose that's a step in the right direction.

I also want to put out there that I will not be going to Shanghai next semester. I was initially excited to go when I first got into the World Studies Track (A program I was in that allowed me to study abroad in both London and Shanghai) but after a semester abroad in London, I missed New York too much to bear the thought of being away for another semester. In addition, a lot of my close friends dropped out of the program and I did not want to go on to Shanghai after that.

This was something I had been contemplating late last fall and all last semester, but I finally pulled the plug. I am sorry Muffinman, but hanging out with you in Shanghai and the chance to see the World Expo are not enough of a reason for me to spend another semester abroad. Muffinman was devastated when he heard I was not going, and I suspect he still harbours bitter resentment towards me for this. I can tell because every time we talk about Shanghai, Muffinman always bring up the fact that he and Pratik, my roommate who is going to Shanghai as well, are going to meet up and have a blast. He constantly reminds me, "You're going to miss out." I try to be supportive.

That being said, I feel like my summer in Korea will sort of make up for the fact that I'm not going to Shanghai. Yes, I know Korea can never fully replace Shanghai -- I've never been there before -- but Korea is still Asia, and this feels like a good second. Besides, with the internship, the World Cup, and the possibility of war breaking out between North and South Korea the next three months should be exciting!

Goals:
1. Watch the World Cup at one of those crazy mass things wearing a Be The Reds shirt
2. See SNSD in person at least once
3. Drink soju at a 포장마차 (Korean drinking/food tent)

-Emoinacloset

Summer in LA

I just received the call on Tuesday that I have been accepted into the internship program I was applying and interviewing for. That's right everyone, I am going to be spending my summer in LA, living in the vicinity of UCLA.

There were a total of six interviewers, four of them were members of the board of the organization, head HR and my UIS alumn connect, who happened to be head of the internship program (something she had neglected to tell me). The interview started off as all interviews do, with that dreaded and stupid question of tell me about yourself. After replying with the usual locating data, I told them how Anthropology was my passion because I loved talking and meeting with people, then I dropped a joke about how I am an Economics major because I did not want to end up living in a box. The joke was received well and that was the story for the rest of the interview. When I left that room I felt confident that it went well because there was just so much laughter throughout the interview.

That is not to say that there were no hiccups during the interview. Early on, I mistakenly made the assumption that the interviewers were well off, only to be corrected by one of the interviewers, who laughingly told me that his school board job paid him next to nothing. The head of HR asked me a question about conflicts at work, but the problem was I did not really have any conflicts at work. I managed to bullshit an answer which went along the lines of when there is a conflict in the way things are done, I do as I am told while also doing it my own way so as to show that my way is better. Hardly an impressive answer, I know. Lastly, I got asked a question on what civic leadership means to me. Once again, I pulled something out of my ass and said something about community organizing and grassroots movement.

Also, keeping in mind what the alumn had told me about the head of the organization liking humble people. I dropped the word humble and humility as much as possible, weaving it into how my experience on the campaign trail and with Playmais were humbling experiences.

At first, I was super confident about my interview, but as the days dragged on and the congratulatory call did not come, doubt began to form in my mind. I was told by the alumn that I could expect a call that same night, so as the days dragged by, I thought that they had rejected me. There was always a glimmer of hope in the back of my mind though, because I remembered that the head of the organization upon hearing from the alumn that decisions were to be made that night, had expressed doubt that it was going to happen. Of course this did not keep my insecurities at bay for too long.

When I got the call from the alumn, I was thrilled so thrilled that I was unable to make sense on the phone. Surprisingly (or not), she told me that I did very well on my interview, going so far as to tell me that I was on fire! She said that the panel was very impressed with my maturity and that the head of the organization admired my humility (score!). The mess up with assumption was noted, as well as the fibbing of the conflict question but those were only minor things compared to how amazing I was for the rest of the interview. At the end of the phone call she said that I had exceeded her expectations, especially since when she had first met me at the retreat, I had given off a very abrasive first impression (this was said in a much nicer way).

Basically, this looks like it is going to be a very exciting summer, and I just got word that they want to put me in the LA chamber of commerce, which I am very happy and excited about!

-muffinman

An Existential Question

During Spring Break on the Canary Islands, my friends and I were all eating dinner after a long day of surfing (attempts?) on the beach when Mel asks me this potent question: “What do you see yourself as: Korean or American?”

Clearly I said both, but she pressed the issue further telling me to pick just one, and that made me think, what would I call myself? How should I define my identity?

The thing about studying abroad is that it truly makes you appreciate how unique America is. For example, when we went to Spain I was constantly reminded that I was not white; I was Asian, which made me an outsider. Another example is in Italy, when a friend of mine met an ex-pat who said she loved Italy as a place to visit, but hated living there because the government’s inefficiencies made it so frustrating to live there. You live in the United States all your life and take the institutions, values, and culture for granted because you don’t really know how everyone else lives. I believe it’s only when you experience what it’s like living in another country that you can fathom how awesome it is to be American.

I’ve grown up in and lived in America my whole life, and the only tie I have to Korea is my family, the culture my parents have instilled in me, and the color of my skin. Otherwise, I’ve completely accepted America for what it is and embraced it. I love aspects of Korean culture, but at the core of my beliefs are American values which shape my views and how I see the world.

“America is the greatest country on earth,” I say to Mel, reaffirming my decision. She just laughs and shakes her head in dismay – Sam says she is a die-hard Japanese patriot. I understand her, I guess. Although why one would pick Japan over America escapes me. It must be because underneath it all she is a fob. That and she goes to school in Switzerland. Europeans only think they have the moral high ground.

Clearly, my views are compromised by my background, so go ahead and take what I say with a grain of salt. Muffinman, who is an anthropology major, recently told me an axiom of anthropology is that “all cultures are equal”. Theoretically, sure why not? But in my own narrow-minded world of reason, America continues to be number one. Not too long ago, I read a blog post by the Epicurean Dealmaker which I felt was really good at conveying what it is that makes America so great. Excerpt:

“Like most cultures, I think the American culture can best be described by a set of stories, or myths, we tell each other and ourselves. One of the most important and enduring of these is that the United States is the Land of Opportunity. Cynics both inside and outside the US and outsiders from cultures older, wiser, and/or more tired than ours may scoff, but I believe that deep down almost every American truly believes anyone can become President (or a doctor, or CEO of Goldman Sachs)… But the mere fact that so many of us believe social mobility is possible, and indeed valuable, means that as a people we devote more time and energy into bettering our condition in life.”

-The Epicurean Dealmaker, "American Baby"

For those of you like me, how do you see yourselves? More American, or more whatever ethnicity/race you may be?

-Emoinacloset

PS: That being said, come World Cup time, if it ever comes down to a Korea vs. US match, I’d have to root for Korea. Blasphemy? I think not, because in my own head I get to make my own rules.

Last Moments In London

After spring break, there was only about a month left before finals ended and we flew home. We managed to squeeze in a few good things in between – a trip to Amsterdam, a visit to the Wimbledon stadium (no games though; I was really disappointed), and a production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth at the Globe Theatre (excellent!) – but the rest of my time was spent studying for finals and completing end-of-the-semester projects and presentations. After all that, I wanted to go on one last epic adventure, and my friend, Kevin, and I planned to go to Brighton Beach in England and Belgium after finals.



I really enjoyed Brighton. We went last Thursday and Friday, and we were very lucky to have timed our trip so that it coincided with the Brighton annual festival held in May. Local artists display their work in selected galleries, and people coming to the festival will buy them. They had a diverse selection, from digitally created prints and paintings that pop out in 3-D, to abstract post-modern art and erotica inspired pieces. In addition, the festival displayed a good amount of performing arts, which Kevin and I saw.



Of course, there was also the whole city to explore. The beach was a bit rocky, but the pier had a Santa Cruz Boardwalk style amusement park which we walked around. In addition, they had streets filled with interesting shops such as a recycling inspired store and a “Vegetarian shoe” store. I noticed there was a smorgasbord of sub-cultures in Brighton – gay, goth, hippie, and artsy. Brighton is known as one of the gay hubs of England, but it was less flamboyant than I expected. There were, however, several posters advertising a “Ladyboys from Bangkok” cabaret show and plenty of ads promoting gay bars. The pier, the subcultures, and even the architecture of the houses reminded me a lot of San Francisco.



When we came back to London, I was able to see a lot of the things we had not managed to get around to during our four-month study abroad time. Our last days here, we went to the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Camden Market, and finally the Portobello Market and Brick Lane. I wish I had been able to spend more time in the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Camden Market was so expansive and so interesting I would have loved to go back multiple times. For example, they had a rave-themed where the workers wore neon dreadlocks, rave music was pumping, and even go-go dancers were dancing in cages at the other side of the main entrance. They even had a very interesting 18+ section, where they sold ‘sexy’ board games, tins with used Japanese panties, and everything in between (is this what 3008 looks like?). I could not believe I failed to visit a place as interesting as this before these last few days.



And so we come to the theme of these last few days: ‘Why the hell didn’t we do all of this earlier?’ For example, Brighton is only an hour away by train from London and relatively cheap. Even as a day trip, it would have made a good weekend getaway, especially if we had gone with everyone else. Looking back at all the things I saw in London that weekend, it sounds ridiculous that I failed to go to these places during the semester. Sure, there was school, and travelling, and the terrible London weather which discouraged us from going out, but I slightly regret that I didn’t spend more of my time exploring everything that London had to offer.

As a whole, I suppose I could have made better use of my study abroad experience, especially in terms of getting to know England better. After all, I didn’t do HOST (a program where you get to stay with a British family for a weekend), I didn’t participate in any pub quizzes, and I didn’t make any local British friends. I didn’t feel immersed into the culture. I partly blame the NYU study abroad program for this, but I suppose at the heart of it I only have myself to blame for failing to take more initiative. But other than that, I made great friends, and the friendships I already had only grew deeper with the study abroad experience. It was good and fun while it lasted.

-Emoinacloset

Heading home this weekend

For the first time ever, I will be taking off school and heading home for a weekend. One of the reasons for this trek back home is to see the coffee group together one last time before we split up for the next year. Emoinacloset is leaving for Korea on the 26th and I am leaving for China in late August. This weekend is going to be the last chance for all of us to get together before we all separate for a year.

The other reason is because Robocop has once again taken leave from MIT and seems to be more lost than ever. Robocop seems to be getting himself stuck into another rut and as friend I cannot let that happen. Hopefully together we can give Robocop get some direction and peace of mind. Most importantly I want to show him that we as friends are there for him and that he should not feel insecure about telling us anything and to definitely not cut us out of his life

This trip was arranged at the last minute and all the the expenses are coming out of my own pocket. Not to mention that I have to finish some projects early so I have time to meet up with everyone. But hey! Anything to see all of us together one last time.

Though a part of me wonders if my parents feel little resentment over all of this. My mom has asked me a couple of times to come and visit but I have always rejected her invitations. Now all of a sudden I am going out of my way to come back home for my friends. I fear it might give them the idea that I value my friends over my family, which is of course somewhat true, but I do not want them to know that.

Personally, I do feel a little guilty that my first trip back home is for the coffee group.

- muffinman

Developing social skills

After sending in my internship application, it dawned on me how far I have come in terms of being able to communicate. It still surprises me whenever I am able to comfortably talk to someone the first time I meet them. Just last year I was terrible at making conversation with strangers and in high school I was not even able to talk to a stranger without sounding extremely awkward. It was so bad in middle school that apparently my mom thought I was autistic. And look how far I have come now!

At one of the UIS meet and greet events, I was able to approach and carry a conversation with strangers. Not to mention that I thought I did a pretty good job too. When I talk to people the words are just able to flow and tangents are easily drawn. I try to keep the conversation fairly equal but most of the time it ends up that I am listening and adding in comments. This is fine of course, but I think it highlights how people are always trying to find someone who is willing to listen and that there is a definite lack of it today.

It really hit me how social I was becoming when I began talking to my professors. First quarter of this year, I was incredibly awkward with my professor when I was in office hours. Now I am talking to professors left and right. I was even able to help network my medical anthropology professor Dr. H with the television station I am working at. Professors are the ones who are supposed to be connecting students with contacts, but here I was trying to arrange a shoot with Dr. H so that her work on PTSD could be recorded and heard. Things did not work out with Dr. H but in the end she connected the station to some other PTSD doctors and it all started because of me! Networking aside, Dr. H and I met up for coffee at Peet's off campus and just talked for two hours, quite a feat considering how terribly awkward it was for me to talk to my first anthropology professor just two quarters ago.

The best part about this whole transformation is that it is not just me that has noticed. While talking with my professor, Dr. P, about my upcoming presentation, he mentioned that I seemed like a confident person. In the back of my mind, I could not help but smile and think to myself "if only you new how little confidence I have." And that is the truth, in the end, all my confidence towards strangers is completely faked. I still dread talking to strangers and feel nervous before every single encounter with my professors. Before going to office hours, I need to mentally prep by going over what I am going to say over and over again before I can even begin to feel comfortable stepping into their office.

Basically, I fake it till I make it.
Surprisingly it is working!

-muffinman

Easter Sunday... With The Pope

4/4; Day 11; Rome, Italy



We woke up that morning to the bangs and clashes of a marching band. We looked out our window and saw a bunch of sharply dressed officers marching towards the Vatican. It was Easter Sunday, so I assume that was the reason for the hullabaloo.

Afterwards, we went to the Vatican only to see thousands of people filled inside the square where the Pope himself was holding Easter service. I couldn't understand what he was saying -- he was speaking in Latin -- but after the ceremony they started giving out bread and wine so I assume it was for Communion. I've never gone to a Catholic mass before so I have nothing to compare to, but I think the very fact that it was done by the Pope beats out any Easter service in the world. Video included!







-Emoinacloset

Gladiators

4/3; Day 10; Rome, Italy

Today we hung out at all the Roman sites, like the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, which is a huge area that has a bunch of Roman ruins. Not much to talk about this day -- we just walked around mostly -- except for the amazing pizza we ate! Pictures on the bottom, but if you're wondering, that last Calzone is a dessert one filled with Nutella and ricotta cheese. Mmmmm scrumptious. Add about four jugs of house wine to our meal and you get me, passed out on my bed from exhaustion and "happy" as my friend Sam would say.

Additional Pictures

-Emoinacloset

For future reference...

As some of you may know, I have started talking to Ashley again. At some point in time, I just got over myself, and realized that I was just being mean for the sake of it. I knew that pushing her away and ignoring her was wrong, but after being betrayed, I just wanted to hurt someone and Ashley was the easiest person to lash out at. Yes, some of the things I do make no sense and are done purely out of spite.

A couple of days ago, I was arguing with Ashley over how she handled my actions and how I thought her actions exacerbated the situation. Her response to my actions is a really good case of what you should NOT do if I am lashing out at you.

AIM excerpt:
Ashley: why didn't you realize that you pushing me away worked?
Ashley: and that's why i stopped trying to talk to you...
Ashley: or nevermind
Ashley: maybe you did realize it
Muffinman: I just took the sign that since I was able to push you away so easily
Muffinman: that we were not very close
Muffinman: and you did not care as much as you said you di
Ashley: eh.. i just get really really hurt when i get pushed away
Ashley: sooo.. i don't want to try because i don't like getting hurt
Ashley: the less effort i put in, the less i'd be pushed away

So please, the next time you think I am pushing you away for no reason, realize it might just mean I need some sense knocked into me. Usually when I push people away, is when I need people the most.

-muffinman

Blog Origins

Recently I have been telling this story to a lot of people and then I realized that it was not even mentioned in our blog. I am of course talking about one of the major inspirations or starting our blog.

The story is set in the summer before the start of sophomore year. Shari had come to visit me in San Jose and we were out on the town that night with Emoinacloset. Somehow, we decide to go watch the movie Julie and Julia. On the surface, it might seem like a strange choice for two teenage males but the truth was that we had been anticipating this film since seeing the trailer months before it came out.

Julie and Julia is this wonderful movie about two women. One of them is Julia Child, the legendary American chef who became famous for bringing French cooking to the average American home. She also had a long running cooking show on TV. Despite her legendary status, I am always surprised to hear from so many people that they have never heard of her before. The second women is simply a woman named Julie, an average woman living an average life. One day she decides to cook through Julia Child's first cookbook in one year and blog about the experience. The original blog is still accessible, and if you read it and watch the movie you will find that the movie is a lot more family friendly.

After, the movie there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to start blogging immediately. Emoinacloset seemed to have the same thought in his head and a week later we pitched the idea to the rest of the coffee group. Dreams of getting a book and movie deal ran through our heads. Sometimes I think that if Dontscuffmyshoes and Robocop had watched Julie and Julia, they would be more inclined to contribute to the blog. Though it is too late now, it looks like it will be me and Emoinacloset who will be laughing all the way to the bank since as a group we decided that any money resulting from selling our story would be split by the percentage of posts each person writes.

The bottom line is that I am admitting that one of the inspirations for our blog is a chick flick and there is nothing wrong with that!

-muffinman

The Vatican & Wishes At The Fountain

4/2; Day 9; Rome, Italy



We visited Rome during Easter weekend, which meant the city was packed with tourists. We were in line for at least an hour to get into anything as if each of the sites were rides in an amusement park we had to wait for.

For example, even though we got to the Vatican at 8AM to get in, we still waited a good hour in line. Once we got in, we spent the whole morning at the Vatican museum, but warning to everyone who goes, they trick you! All I wanted to see was Raphael's "School of Athens" and the Sistine Chapel, but we ended up having to go through a maze of halls filled with Egyptian mummies, Roman sculptures, and tapestries. The whole time, I was thinking to myself, why isn't the Sistine Chapel coming up? There were signs that said "Sistine Chapel -->" in every room, teasing me into thinking it was going to be right there. Well, it never was. I spent four hours in the Vatican Museum because of it, and by the time I got there I was so tired I couldn't even enjoy it to the fullest any more.

Still, we managed to see a lot of Rome, despite the fact that everything is spread out. By far my favourite monument in all of Rome was the Trevi Fountain. I think I'm drawn to the sound of running water; there's just something about it that's so calming and peaceful. They say if you throw a coin into the fountain over your left shoulder, a wish to come back to Rome will be fulfilled -- hopefully my wish will come true and I will have another chance to visit Rome.





























Additional Pictures

-Emoinacloset

Building a Vision

Here is my essay for the summer internship at Pasadena. I was supposed to explain why I wanted to be an intern, how being my intern would help me achieve my goal and what I wanted to get out of the program.

It came in 250 words under the limit, but it was 6am and I really did not care at that point. Plus it should be quality over quantity right? I hope I get this internship, I am already starting to dream about how my first summer is going to be away from home.

Thanks to Ellie for doing the final edits at the last minute, she really made the whole thing sound a lot smoother. Also thanks to Emoinacloset for correcting most of my grammar.

-muffinman

Building a Vision

During my sophomore and junior year of high school, I interned at former vice mayor, Cindy Chavez’s mayoral campaign. This was my first internship and it my first political experience out in the real world. I loved every moment of it and for the next few months, devoted a large portion of my life to the campaign. It was during the campaign trail that I encountered the political prowess of the Vietnamese American community. The city of San Jose has the largest Vietnamese population in the world outside of Vietnam, which makes the Vietnamese community a very important part of the city’s politics. However, what I realized during the campaign was that the political power of the Vietnamese American community came not from its size but from the level of organization that was present throughout their community. Vietnamese Americans from all walks of life and social classes worked together to advance Vietnamese interests, creating a political force that could not be ignored by any of the city’s politicians.

After the campaign ended, it dawned on me that quite the opposite was happening in my own community. I lived in a very affluent part of San Jose, where Asians were a large part of the community in terms of population but not politics; they were far from being represented. Often times, I saw that the face of my community, the most vocal proponents of change, did not resemble or represent me at all, and after seeing the Vietnamese community on the campaign trail, I came to a realization: outside the Vietnamese community, Asian Americans simply did not have any political leaders or organizations to empower themselves. Seeing the lack of representation of Asian Americans in my own city has led me to strongly believe in the work that organizations like CAUSE are doing. The apatheticism of the Asian American community towards politics and civic activity must change. Becoming a CASIC intern is the first step for me to help work towards that change.

Currently, all I have is a vision. Without better skills and more knowledge, my vision will continue to be nothing more than a dream. The community organizing opportunity offered by the leadership program would be an excellent starting point from which I could begin to build my vision. Also, the chance to work with a legislator or public agency as offered through the CASIC program looks to be an excellent opportunity to raise the level of my political involvement and receive an insider’s point of view on how government works outside of the city. I strongly believe in the value of getting a more complete understanding of state politics, because to me, states are where the progressive ideas happen first. To take part in state politics would provide me with a wealth of practical knowledge that I am certain I would be able to use for the benefit of Asian American communities.

Most importantly, what the CASIC program offers is an opportunity to find like minded individuals and share ideas and experiences. I see the leadership academy as a way for me to get my foot in the door. It is a place where I can build my connections and networks with key players in the Asian American political scene. However, not only will I have the opportunity to learn from seasoned professionals and career politicians, I will also be able to meet peers who share my vision and are working towards a common goal. Through these interactions, I hope to develop a better understanding of the Asian American political scene, as well as an idea of how I fit into the scene. In my first anthropology class, my professor repeatedly told me that the exchange of ideas is what drives social evolution. I can think of no better place than the CASIC Leadership Academy to exchange ideas on the next step in Asian American politics.

Back in San Jose in Cindy Chavez’s mayoral campaign, I certainly learned a lot from my interactions with voters, campaign staff and politicians. However, I believe that all the knowledge I accumulated during the campaign will pale in comparison to how much I will learn through the CASIC Leadership Academy. In the end, I hope to take the experiences, knowledge and skills that I have gained through this leadership program and build a level of political activism that I witnessed in the Vietnamese American community of San Jose, across California, and someday, the nation.

Why Is Florence Way Prettier Than London?

3/31-4/1; Day 7 & 8; Florence, Italy



After the success of Beatles Night, Nick and Mark invited me and Tik to come check out the NYU Florence campus in the morning while they were in class, and damn was it nice.

Some old guy who owned a villa in the Florence hillsides decided to donate his property to NYU, giving students the opportunity to frolic about lush green grass and hillsides. Now, I need to ask a serious question: why is NYU Florence way nicer than NYU London? Personally, I think this is kind of unfair; the only facility we have in London is a single building that houses our entire student center -- the classrooms and dorms are leased. To top it off, the villa even had fountains and statues as if it were casual to have Roman-esque statues lying around your campus.

I feel like I have been gypped in going to London. We definitely don't have a villa as our campus, and our classes are more or less the same amount of work as back in New York. I've heard stories that other people's study abroad experiences are more like a vacation than anything else, so why can't these Londoners let up on us?

On that note, Tik and I did revel in the experience of seeing grass; Nick and Mark shrugged it off as if it were nothing. "Oh yeah, this is our campus. I guess it's pretty nice. We've just been around beautiful so much we must have gotten used to it." Just rub it in some more why don't you.





After we ate lunch together on campus (the food in the cafeteria was amazing as well!) we went back. Nick and Tik decided to take a siesta, so I went out and decided to explore the city on my own. To be honest, I was excited to roam around by myself. The group I was travelling with amounted to twelve people, and with that many people it's always difficult to get a consensus on what we want to do, where we want to eat, and get accommodations for everyone. Plus, it's hard to keep the whole group together since everyone goes at a different pace.

After being in a group that large for so long, naturally I enjoyed the freedom I had. And here is the thing I loved most about Florence; I could walk around and get lost in the city and its streets, only to find myself turn a corner and by chance discover another historic building or a captivating scene. It only takes about an hour to walk from one side of the city to the other, and its tiny streets and quaint Italian buildings only added to its charm. Add that to the fact I had one of the best meals ever here (strips of steak drenched in an unbelievable balsamic vinaigrette sauce!) and you can see how I came out of Florence loving it.

Florence Panorama

Additional Pictures

-Emoinacloset