2017 Recap

Wow! 2017 is finally over. This has been an interesting year, to say the least. Personally, this was one of my best years. Globally this was one of the shittiest years. But we got through it together.

Earlier this year I posted a blog about my goals for 2017 which you can read about here → Starting Fresh: 2017

Go and read it or this next bit will make zero sense. Do it, do it, do it.

SO, I did pretty well this year on sticking to my goals if I do say so myself.

I lived a healthy lifestyle and tried to eat and workout as much as I could. Walking all over Rome really helped me with keeping fit. I walked at least 12,000 steps a day and ate what I wanted but always tried to add a healthy option to what I was eating.

I achieved my traveling goal which was to visit at least two countries and I ended up visiting three. I went to Haiti, Italy, and Spain, all amazing and beautiful. I posted blogs on these with plenty of pictures. Check them out if you want. You can also see pictures of my adventures on my Instagram; @kristinedillon

I almost completed my goal of saving 10% of all paychecks and not spending a lot of money but I was studying abroad in Italy for heaven's sake and had no job. I was definitely spending frivolously but I regret nothing. There is always room to improve come the new year.

I will say that I have improved majorly this year when it comes to being more familiar with architecture programs and increasing my knowledge of architecture. I have to say this even though I am pretty sure it is a known fact, but Rome, Italy is an amazing place for an architect to go to get a better understanding of architecture from the beginning of time. The buildings are just spectacular and grand that it was so hard to fathom how they were built during those time periods. I feel like I need to go back because a semester was not enough time to grasps its amazingness.

As you can tell, I have been trying to blog more and more. I feel like when I write (type) out my emotions, feelings and what I'm thinking it helps me understand what is going on in my brain. Sort of like my own public (sometimes personal) online journal. I think this year has been so great for me because I started blogging and didn't keep all the things I'm thinking about inside my head all the time.

Thanks for following my blog this past 2017 year, I really appreciate it and can't wait for what the 2018 year has to offer.

Italy 2017: Orvietto

Orvietto, Italy was a dream. A small town in the Tuscany Region Orvieto is a day trip type of city. I visited the city with a friend for a day during Fall Break. Below are a few pictures of what we saw or explored that day. A funny thing that almost happened to us, as we were going to walk from the train station to the city but we were lucky enough to see a trolly that took us up the mountain to the city. If we would have walked it would have taken us the whole day so we got lucky to see it.

Orvietto Cathedral

Details on the Cathedral

A road

Underground cave used to make olive oil

Countryside

Pozzo di S. Patrizio

Wine tasting

What an amazing city this is. If you are ever in Italy and have a free day I highly recommend visiting this quaint town.

Check out my other blogs or see more pictures on my Instagram; @kristinedillon

Italy 2017: Venice and Vicenza

I took a trip with my fellow architecture students to Venice and Vicenza to explore Venetian architecture and it was one of my favorite trips!

Here are a few pictures that I felt best captured these beautiful places.

Rialto Bridge

Support by Lorenzo Quinn

View of a canal

Santa Maria della Salute

Inside Santa Maria Della Salute

Gondola

SQUAD!!!

Ca d'Oro

Black squid ink pasta

Views

Meatballs and Potatoes

Queen Chip's

Art Installation; Venice Design Week

"There is more to be said, please know the moon can say it on the water."

Villa Rotonda; Vicenza

Villa Rotonda Squad

Church Interior

Loggia del Capitaniato

Margherita Pizza

Hope you enjoyed these pictures of this amazing adventure! I highly recommend visiting Venice and Vicenza if you get the chance!

Ciao for now!

Italy 2017: Florence

This past week I traveled to Florence with my class to learn about the Renaissance period of architecture. We took a quick train, TRENITALIA, from Rome to Florence. We stayed at the Hotel Medici, which I highly DO NOT recommend. The only good thing about the hotel was it was in an amazing location. Other than that, the experience was great and Florence has its own character far more different than Rome. If you ever are fortunate enough to travel Italy add Florence to your list.

Santa Maria del Fiore

Venchi's, the best hot chocolate I've ever had

Sunset over the Arno

Santa Maria Novella

National Museum of Bargello 

San Lorenzo library

U Rome Fall '17

Climbed approx. 500 steps for this view on top the Duomo 

Santa Croce Opera

Boboli Gardens

I hope you enjoyed these pictures from this awesome adventure! Make sure to check out my other travel adventures, like the one I took to Tivoli where I visited the Villa Adriana and Villa d'Este!

Follow me on Instagram to see more pictures from this incredible adventure: kristinedillon
Follow me on Snapchat for some behind the scenes of this incredible adventure: kristinedillon7

Italy 2017: Villa d'Este

The Villa d'Este is located in Tivoli, Italy. It is most known for its hillside Renaissance garden and a number of fountains that are found at each turn of a corner. Below are a few images I took while there.

The Fountain of the Organ

Villa d'Este

The Rometta Fountain

The Fountain of Neptune

Villa d'Este

Entrance into the Villa

To see more pictures of my adventure abroad follow me on Instagram: @kristinedillon

Ciao!

Italy 2017: Villa Adriana

My first week in Italy has been nothing short of busy. I am currently participating in a competition with other University students from Milan. Part of our project is to design Roman Baths within the ruins at Villa Adriana. If you did not know, Villa Adriana is also known as Hadrian's Villa. As I walked around the villa I was in awe of how amazing and grand it looked before. Now it's all ruins.

Here are some photos I took while at the Villa (these are the best ones, I took a lot but more or less for documentation.)

Canopo

Pecile

Pecile

Teatro Marittimo

Venere Cnido Temple

I would highly recommend going to Tivoli and visiting the Villa Adriana especially if you enjoy history!

To follow me and see how my trip in Italy is going, feel free to follow me on Instagram: kristinedillon

Ciao!