This past January I spent abroad in Florence, Italy — or in Italian, Firenze, Italia. It was probably the best month of my life. Not only did I meet a group of fantastic people, but I learned so much about myself.

Our group stayed almost our entire time in Florence, though we did spend a weekend in the quiet town of Assisi (took a pit stop in Perugia for dinner on the way back to Florence) and ended our trip in Rome and the Vatican. In addition to these cities, my friends and I went on day trips to Pisa and Venice.

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Florence was fantastic. There were enough tourists that we didn't completely stick out like sore thumbs, but it was no where near as busy as Rome. I felt comfortable walking around with my friends at night and never felt like I was in danger. It was such a blessing. I came prepared to ward off gypsies, pick pockets and anything else of the like. However, there was only one encounter throughout the entire trip where someone was shady.

The city of Firenze is absolutely gorgeous. Our lodging was about two blocks away from this beautiful church, which happens to be THE Church of Florence, the Duomo.

Living so close to such an iconic place was so convenient. Whenever we got lost, all we had to ask was "Dove Duomo?" (Where Duomo). In addition to this, grocery stores, restaurants, souvenir shops, and anything else we needed was nearby the famous church.

(Also, all of these photos are mine, taken with my iPhone, so you can tell that the country is truly beautiful.)

Throughout my stay, I fell in love with living in this city.

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One of the first day trips that my friends and I went on was to Pisa. One of the best parts of the trip was the fact that it was spontaneous. We decided that morning that after class we would grab lunch and hop on the train to go see one of the most famous buildings in the world.

This day trip was one of the defining moments of the month for me, largely because of the complicated nature of the Italian train stations. Our group successfully navigated the Italian trains, which were in all Italian (except for the ticket kiosk, which had an English option, thankfully). Pisa Centrale, the station that we were looking to get off at was not on the overhead arrival and departure boards in the Florence station. Finally we figured out by asking multiple people, that we had to get on a train heading to the city Livorno, which is on the coast, because Pisa was a stop along the way. It was not marked, but by owning our tourist personas, we figured it out and successfully boarded and made it to the tower.

Here was our selfie after our relief that we had finally made it.

On the way back, we made the mistake of boarding a train that had departed from Firenze, not that was going to Firenze. Thankfully we got off at the infamous Livorno and got on a train that was going in the right direction. But besides these two scares, we had succeeded and triumphed over the tricky train stations of Italia.

This day trip taught me that I am capable and smart to be able to navigate through Italy with no help from more adulty-adults. Having victoriously used the train stations, I had a newfound confidence in myself. I attribute this confidence largely to my mom. Whenever I have to do something confrontational or even just figuring something out and talking to a stranger without being timid, I call it "channeling my inner Laurie." (Laurie is my mom.) Thanks, mom, for teaching me to be a strong, independent woman who can handle uncomfortable situations!

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Our next trip was to the beautiful and quiet town of Assisi. When we made our pilgrimage to the small town, I had lost my voice. While I did not enjoy the little trip as much as my classmates had (most likely due to the freezing temperatures, a cold that I was suffering from, and my inability to speak), it was still a charming town with many views to capture.

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On our way back from the tranquil town of Assisi, our group took a pit stop in Perugia for dinner. Yes, this is the town where Amanda Knox studied. If you don't know her story, watch her documentary on Netflix. We were in awe that we were in the same town that Amanda Knox had been accused of murder, and we also rode on this carousel. It seems like every large city in Italy has a carousel.

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We returned to Florence for the next week. On that following Sunday we had an entire free day built into our schedule of classes and day trips to see the various churches around Florence. My friend Allyson had been planning on visiting Venice on this free day once we first heard about it in one of the preliminary meetings back during the school year. I had agreed to join her, along with our other roommate, Alex. A few of our newfound friends wanted to join us once the day got closer, and early that morning we departed on the fast train to Venice, about a two hour train ride. This time around we knew what to do when hopping on and off the trains and made it too and from with ease. We were basically "pros" at this point.

Once we got to Venice this was the view that we saw:

I'm convinced that Venice is the most beautiful place in the entire world. If not, it's the most beautiful place in the entire world that I've ever been to.

Here are some pictures of the charming Venetian streets:

We also visited St. Mark's square to feed the pigeons and the occasional seagull.

... and went on a gondola ride, of course.

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We returned to Florence, and then at the end of our month we finished up the trip in the Vatican and Rome. We saw many beautiful and iconic buildings, statues and steps, including St. Peter's Church, the Colosseum, the Roman forum, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps.

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The entire trip was a blast. If you ever get the opportunity to study abroad or travel for work, it's worth every penny. I learned how to be confident and competent by myself in a different country — where many things are different that what I'm used to. My character developed, and it was so so so much fun. I have made the best memories, some of the best friends, and I would never trade it for the world.

"Travel is still the most intense mode of learning." — Kevin Kelley