switzerland-the land of cheese, chocolate, and bungee jumping

 we took a train through the mountain to the top of the highest point in europe called jungfrau. so cool!

 this was called the "ice palace" which was an entire ice tunnel through the inside of the mountain

 we love switzerland!

 inside the mountain

 the view from our hotel where we ate breakfast every morning. perfection

 frolicking through swiss meadows? yes please

 petting a swiss cow? dont mind if i do

 cheese fondue on the top of gimmelwald? (a tiny town on top of a mountain overlooking the valley) sure why not.

 step 1: getting our straps on. check

 step 2: riding up the gondola and freaking out. check

 step 3: leaping. check

step 4: free falling. check

 step 5: still falling (10 second free fall). check. that tiny white dot at the bottom is the boat that picked us up

 i have the coolest parents ever!

 step 6: we did it! coolest thing i've ever done ever ever ever hands down!

the group. we all survived hooray!

 that little red dot over the lake is the gondola we jumped out of. 450 feet tall. we are insane

ciao italia, you will be missed

 top of the duomo in florence. we walked 463 steps to get to the top!

 last night in florence

 hello venice!

 my parents flew out to venice to meet us. i was so happy to see them finally! and of course one of the first things we do is get nutella pie (my favorite) and cannolis

 ciao carley!

 italy study abroad 2011=BEST GROUP EVER

 thank you steve for such an amazing time. we love you!

 thank goodness for mom and her maps. we would have gotten so lost in the maze of venice

 san marco square in venice

 feeding the famous san marco pigeons

don't i have the coolest parents ever? 

the study abroad program is officially over which means that our days in italy are officially over. we are already planning the next time that we will be able to visit again. next summer maybe? but we are excited for our new adventures that we are already having in europe. pictures will be posted soon...

italy, thank you for the easiest and best semester of my life. thank you for taking my breath away daily with your beauty and history and art. thank you for helping me see the real beauty and diversity of this world. thank you for helping me grow up and mature in a matter of weeks. thank you for changing my life forever. you will be missed