Florence, January 2016

It was my second time in Florence and I loved it both times. The first time I went I was 18 years old and it has been my first trip abroad. I learned so much from that experience and, even though I still don't consider myself so so mature, I grew up a little in those two weeks in Italy. This time I had the chance to explore new places, but also revisit some of the ones I've seen. They gave me a different feeling each time. Whenever I see something I enjoy, it captures the entirety of my attention and I absorb that image and my thoughts on it, but I get stuck in my head, thinking about every aspect of it, ignoring everything else. Which is why, no matter how many times I go back to a place, I always discover new elements, and each time I learn something. 

Vatican - December 2016

 

Rome - December 2015

During the time I visited Rome I had only one purpose in mind - to get home and relax. I was returning to my homecountry after one year and a half of living in Korea and, although I hate to admit it, I felt exhausted and tired of the crazy and busy lifestyle of a student. I won't deny the fact that I am spending so much time resting instead of doing more extensive studying - as I should - but I wanted to feel the relief of talking in a familiar language, and eating all the food I was craving for, and just lay around doing nothing, with a peaceful state of mind. Unfortunately, I was so set on relaxing I was not even in the mood to take proper pictures. Thankfully, my aunt was very enthusiastic and she did the shooting for me... which explains why I have so many photos of myself awkwardly posing in front of great monuments, next to other awkward tourists. But it all worked out wonderfully! I have amazing memories from that trip. 

I realize this poor blog of mine has been neglected because, let's be real, unless you want to make a living out of it, (but for this a great amount of effort is required) who blogs in 2016? But looking back at these photos (plus some posts from Tricia Gosingtians's beautiful blog) reminded me of why I am doing this and the desire for photographing - even with bad skills - and editing, and posting here was reignited. I forgot most of my English writing skills also, which explains this bad chunk of text you just read, but I will get back at it in no time!

The places I loved the most in Rome were: Fontana di Trevi (you might know it from the movie "Roman Holiday"), Fontana dei Quatro Fiumi (where Robert Langdon fights the assassin in Dan Brown's "Angels and Demons") and the Pantheon. I love both the movie and the book, which explains also why I insisted all day on my aunt taking me to the Vatican City, where she was not really keen on going, since it was almost Christmas and everywhere was packed with tourists. But in the end, all of the sites we explored were beautiful and, thanks to the lovely weather, the whole experience left me with the best feelings.