Final Projects and Essays, Italian Food, and Norway: Week 16

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I can not believe I finished my last full week in Italy. I am feeling so many emotions about leaving, but, I am, most of all, incredibly grateful for this experience. So, here is what I did my last full week in Europe.


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Last week, I had 3 presentations and 2 essays due, so I spent a lot of my time working on getting those finished. I think they went well.


Sometimes, I get tired of working and studying in my room, so I finished my last presentation in a cafe.


After a while, I ordered some hot chocolate because it is SO good in Europe.


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I also ate out a couple of times because Italian food is delicious here (obviously), and I know I'll miss it in the states.


This is the same calzone my dad got when he came to Italy and I wanted to try it. It was pretty tasty.


I also got pizza with some friends, which was delicious.


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I decided to go to Tromsø, Norway for my last full weekend in Europe because I really wanted to see the Aurora Borealis, otherwise known as the Northern Lights, especially since we are in the peak of the 11 year solar cycle.



Tromsø is super north, which means it is SUPER cold...and that the Northern Lights are very active here.


I was lucky enough to see them from the plane!! However, I could only see them with my phone camera, as the Northern Lights are more vibrant in photos because cameras can capture more light than our eyes can. Nonetheless, it was so cool!


When I landed, there was SO much snow.


After I checked in, I decided to explore Tromsø, and saw the Northern Lights (with my phone camera) again!


I continued exploring Tromsø since I was only there for 2 nights.



The whole city felt like a winter wonderland.


For dinner, I had the best cheeseburger I have had since being in Europe.


I got a milkshake and it was also really good, but not as good as Sonic, LOL.


The next day, I went on a boat tour to see orcas in the wild.


However, there was a category 10 storm brewing, so we had to turn around.



Nonetheless, I still got to see breathtaking views in the Norwegian Sea!


You can't see the sun because Norway is in its polar night season, meaning that the sun remains below the horizon for the entire day. I was walking around 8 AM and it looked like it was 6 AM. Likewise, 3 PM looked like 6 PM. It was crazy.


Since we had to come back early, I tried to make the most of my time and explore the city some more!


This is the Tromsø Cathedral, which was built in 1861. Additionally, it is very probable that this is the northernmost Protestant cathedral in the world.



Again, the whole city felt like a winter wonderland.


I took this picture on my way to the Northern Lights tour I scheduled. It was 4:40 PM, and is so dark because of the polar night.


We drove around an hour and 45 minutes to Skibotn, Norway in order to see them. Unfortunately, there was a lot of clouds, so the weather conditions were not optimal for the Northern Lights, and we all waited for roughly 2 hours in the freezing cold, but it was so worth it because...


...the Northern Lights appeared!




It was so beautiful and I even saw them move/ripple at times!



They stayed with us for around an hour, which was awesome.



Waiting in the cold was SO worth it.





Even though the Northern Lights appear more colorful in photos, I was able to see them with my naked eye! It was breathtaking. I am SO grateful that I got to experience this in person. A trip to Norway was a great way to spend my last weekend in Europe!

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