The City Life

I was recently able to to go to New York City for about three days to play in Yankee Stadium for the New Era Pinstripe Bowl. It was a great time and it was fun to see New York again, even if I didn’t have a lot of free time of my own to see the city and the sights. Two things occurred that stayed with me, the first being a bit of culture shock. Out of all the places I’ve been – rural Mexico, a fair number of countries in Europe – I’m not sure I’ve ever been as shocked as I was on this trip to NYC. It was a specific occurrence though. It wasn’t the guy dressed like a skeleton, or the multitude of people on the street. Instead, it was the homeless scattered inside Grand Central Station. While I was there for no longer than thirty minutes, I’m sure the smell of urine crossed my nose at least twice, and I had to look down to avoid stepping in it. Just the fact that they peed where they pleased, or took shelter wherever they could kind of disturbed me. I mean, I have nothing against the homeless. I don’t know their situations, and for some of them I’m sure it’s even their own choice – but it was still very shocking to see. 

My second observation was in regards to visiting cities more than one time. The first time I visited New York City was the summer of 2010, about 1 1/2 years before I visited it again. After leaving the first time I absolutely loved it and wanted to go back. It was fun, there was lots to see and do, and I absolutely loved Central Park. Upon entering New York City a second time, I didn’t feel as I hoped I would. It was still fun to be there and they dynamic was completely different (it being around new year’s eve and me spending my time with college band friends instead of old high school friends). I still enjoyed what it had to offer, but some of the charm was lost. I can compare this to Rome. After visiting Rome that first time, I was absolutely in love with the city and wanted to go back very badly. I got the chance to go back and took it. I don’t regret going back, and I’m not saying I don’t still want to go back, but it was different. It wasn’t as charming as the first time. Maybe that’s just because it’s something that I’ve already experienced and it’s impossible to live up to the expectations of that first time. I can only hope that some of the cities will hold their charm so when I visit them again, I can feel as I did when first visiting them. If that does not seem to be the case, then I guess I’ll just have to never go back to a place I’ve visited previously. Such an interesting concept. 

Revisiting Thoughts

I don’t have very much to say, and most of it is stuff I’ve already mentioned – missing Italy. I also miss writing in this blog everyday. I miss having adventures and stories to tell; granted I still have adventures and stories to tell, they’re just more of what I’m used to. I must say that I am guilty of having watched a few Jersey Shore episodes. I think I’ve missed two all together. The show itself disgusts me (though it CAN be slightly entertaining), but seeing views of Florence brings back so many memories and stories! Having the pictures all over my walls help as well. The rest of my thoughts are random and out of place, and writing this has now made me want to go look through all of my pictures. Such a good summer.

Mi manca l’Italia

Four weeks have gone by since my Italian adventure ended. Other adventures have started, but I’m still reminiscent of that nine week adventure. I went to the poster fair today at school and was hoping to grab something related to Italy that would remind me of my adventures. Unfortunately, the selection was awful. I found one poster that had ‘Roma’ on it, but it only had a picture of the Vatican on it, and I was looking for something a little bit different. I did manage to find plenty of posters related to Paris though, if only I had an experience of Paris that made me feel as if a part of my heart was there as well. I’ll solve that later in life.

So, I did end up buying a poster. It has the Bridge of Sighs on it as well as a very cute couple kissing in Piazza San Marco. Both of the images have spot colors on them with the rest being in black in white. They are absolutely beautiful and if anything, it will serve as a reminder of the passion that exists in Italy as well as my needing to go back to Venice and give it a second shot.

The more I think about it the more I realize that my time in Venice was not ideal nor good enough to make an opinion of Venice. Therefore, I will keep my mind open and visit again some day and fall in love with that city as well, I’m sure.

Twenty-eight days I’ve thought about Italy, it never escapes my mind. It’s like missing someone you love. I miss the language, the city, the people, the smells: everything. Every time I look at the tan line on my foot I’m reminded of all of my lovely adventures. To help make Italy feel closer to home, I printed off some of my favorite moments (which is more than just 25 or 75 pictures) to hang up on my walls. I have yet to actually put them up for that will take some time, but I plan to do it this weekend. It’s hard to believe that I was in Italy this summer, it all just seems like a dream or a movie I watched a couple months ago. Mi manca l’Italia.

View from the top of the Duomo

Not a Day Goes By

Galileo's tomb in Santa Croce in Firenze

I’ve been in the States for 16 days now and am now settled in my Ames, Iowa apartment. You’d think that being in the midwest, there would be little to remind me of Italy. That statement is false. Example. I just opened my physics textbook to start reading for the new year. I get through one page and flip it only to find a picture of the leaning tower in Pisa, mentioning Galileo and gravity along with pendulum motion. I was then reminded of my blog and how much I miss writing a post every day!

I ordered pictures last night to hang in my room from Sophomore year and of course, Italy. I can’t wait to get them! I already have a mini leaning tower of Pisa statue and a snow globe of the colosseum on my bookshelf.

I’ve had nutella today and yesterday, but it just doesn’t taste the same over here. I also cooked pasta (bow-ties) for dinner my first night and have been eating it ever since. It’s just like Italy :) . I have to get used to there actually being a dishwasher now. I was so used to cleaning my own dishes with soap then putting them in the drying cabinet above our sink with a hole in it. I’m so used to having everything be really close together, being able to buy fruit on the way home from class, stop by the Duomo for a picture. Now everything’s so spread apart. I have to take a bus for 15 minutes to get to walmart. I don’t get to hear the beautiful language, and I don’t get to speak it much. I do sometimes though. I was hoping there would be an Italian Club at Iowa State but there’s not. You never know though, I might find something.

I’ve thought about Italy every single day since I’ve been back and I see it continuing well into the future. It’s a part of me now. It’s a home for me. I think it’s strange that people are able to call more than one place home. I guess the saying holds true, home is where the heart is, and we all know that part of my heart will forever be in Italy. <3

Thoughts of Italy

I see Italy EVERYWHERE! Hamburger Helper commercials, America’s Next Top Model, Italian phrases on ‘The Bachelorette’…there’s no escaping it – not that I’m complaining. I’ve already found that certain things remind me of my time there and even if it’s only for a short time, I’m transported back to the wonderful country.

I think I’m finally getting back on Central time. The first couple of days weren’t rough by any means, I just would wake up around 4 am or so then go back to sleep. My first day back in the states, I was still in Chicago and had to get up early for a flight, so it’s hard to count that. However, I woke up at 9:30 am my second day. That’s unusual for me since I can sleep well into the late morning. Today I made it to 12 pm though, so I’m certain I’m back on track with time.

I’ve definitely enjoyed my American staples since being back! Cherry Limeade from Sonic, Hamburger with potatoes and onions, meatloaf, cake, and PB&J!

I haven’t really experienced the ‘culture shock’ coming back but that might be because I haven’t really been around people. I’ve noticed that it’s been quite natural to come back to the States. Sure, I miss Italy at times (and I’m sure I’ll continue to miss it as time goes by) but I didn’t waste any time getting back in the groove of things. I’m not fast at packing or unpacking by any means, but I’ve already unpacked most from Italy and I’ve begun to gather things to take with me to Ames.

I could definitely go for some gelato right now though….

Your Flight has been Cancelled

Well, I’m on American soil as I type this. It’s been a long day and is currently 3:30 am for me since I’m still on a different time zone. My morning started at 7 am when I woke up to say good-bye to Addy (so sad!!), and I said good-bye to Amy a little before that (though I slept a little longer). I still had a bit of packing and cleaning to do since I didn’t finish it the night before because everyone was already asleep and I was courteous enough to not make noise, but I still had plenty of time. I was actually packed, cleaned, and out the door by 9:15 or so. I didn’t know what else to do so I just went to the bus station and ended up catching the 9:30 shuttle as it pulled up.

The Florence airport is very different from other airports. I had to wait about an hour before I could even check my baggage (and the rest of the flights had individual baggage lines – which I can see how it would make it easier). I was able to get my boarding passes though! After chilling on the floor for a little bit I finally checked my bag. I was definitely nervous that it was going to be too heavy, but I didn’t want to make my carry-on too heavy either in case they checked them for weight (Leanna said that they had before for her- but she’s also from Canada :p ). THEN when I was at the airport I realized that it was in kg, not pounds and therefore was a different weight restriction. I still ended up being just fine weighing in at about 17 kg 37-38 pounds…not bad if I do say so myself! That’s only 7-8 more pounds than I went there with! I’m good at this whole traveling thing :) .

Okay, so I made it through baggage then went through security. Let me tell you – and I can officially say this now that I’ve been through security at Chicago – American airport security is STUPID. They’re definitely a lot more serious and cautious…I like European security better. Let’s compare. In Florence, I didn’t have to take my shoes off AND I forgot to take my bag of liquids out. Did it matter? Nope! I guess I didn’t have to go through security at Frankfurt – BUT on the plane over, they told us of a new US flight law that it was illegal to stand in groups on a plane. WHAT IN THE WORLD?! I don’t understand. Okay. So then I got to Chicago and had to go through security (there’s hot air blowing on me from the people getting off of my plane – yuck). So, the flight crew person didn’t take off her shoes, so I figured I didn’t need to take mine off either…wrong. Ha. Then I figured that they would have wanted me to put them in a separate bucket so I went to get one but the lady was just like, ‘just put it on the belt’ … okay! Then I didn’t take my computer out of my bag – some places tell you to, others don’t. Apparently their spiffy alarms went off and it caused a little commotion. Oh, and I had to go through that stupid x-ray scanner thing – that was weird and strange and I didn’t like it at all. What’s wrong with the metal detectors?! Then I was told to face my belongings and was asked if I had a computer in my bag…oh goodness. So I’m now convinced that security in the U.S. is stressful, sometimes unnecessary, and aggravating.

Back to my trip! The first flight was delayed 45 minutes. Technically it was 15 – but by the time we were in the air it had been 45. I managed to make it to my second gate in plenty of time though! I even used my last 5 euro bill to get some duty-free chocolates – yum!

I had an aisle seat for the second flight – the long one. I normally sleep for most of those, but because of the time of this one, I tried not to sleep for most of it. I did sleep for about 2 hours though. The food was pretty tasty!! Of course it was pasta! It was cold pasta salad and ravioli to be exact. Then for our snack I had a slice of pizza – haha. Oh, and to make it even better, for dinner tonight I had a sandwich!!! The three major food groups of Italy! So after time zone differences, my flight was only about 2 hours long (though it was actually about 8 or 9). Time’s so weird. We FINALLY made it to Chicago! I could tell I was in America – there was just something about it, the scenery or something. I could also sort of get the sense of what it would be like to be a foreigner visiting the States, because I kind of felt that way myself!

This was going to be the toughest layover to make because I had 1 ½ hours until boarding, but had to go through customs and get my luggage, as well as go back through security. Luckily the airport was pretty empty at the hour of 7:30 pm and I once again made it to my gate with plenty of time to spare. Just as we were about to board, the flight was cancelled due to the lack of a crew. How that even happens, I’m not sure – unless due to other delayed flights, they weren’t able to be there. Sad. So here’s where yet another adventure takes place!

I had to go get a new ticket, but the next one out was at 8:25 am the next morning, which means spending the night in Chicago! Actually, I don’t think you can count staying at the hotel right across from the airport as staying ‘in Chicago’…oh well! The lady at the desk told me that I was staying in a different hotel from everyone else because I was underage (19 or under, just barely made it– I guess it pays to travel young!) Haha, the lady told me that, and I was like oh! That’s excellent! Very convenient! She made a ‘shhh’ noise so then I said, I mean – that’s awful! Haha. She told me it was funny – good to know I can keep the atmosphere light when an entire flight’s just been cancelled :) .

You know, the situation’s unfortunate, but nothing can be done and I was glad that I was at least in the States so I know the language, and I’m only one more flight away from home base. So, my first night alone in a hotel – it’s quiet. I’m watching ‘Miss Congeniality’ in English! It’s now 6 am back in Italy and even 11 pm here, so I think I’m going to sleep, get some much needed rest. Ciao!

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Alright, sitting in the Chicago airport! Hopefully my plane boards in 40 minutes or so. I went through security again today and got randomly selected for more testing – yay me!! They wiped my hands with a thingy then put it in a machine. Good thing I was cleared! Haha, the guy was like this will only take a minute then you’ll be on your way to your flight — unless it doesn’t come back clear. What a hassle that would have been! Anywho, I got 20 minutes of free interwebs!

I had a little trouble sleeping last night – I woke up around 4 am which is 11 am in Italy so that makes sense and from then on out it was just little naps. I didn’t mind though. I woke up at 6 am for my flight that leaves at 8:25 and boards at 8 – PLENTY of time, but I also didn’t have to check in, I just went straight to security. Okay! Hope everyone enjoys their Sunday! Happy end of July!

Una Buona Sera

Well, this is my last blog post in Italy! It’s format is a bit different because I’ll be writing a few times throughout the day. This first bit is me procrastinating packing. I’m sitting at the kitchen table pecking away at my keyboard while eating a yummy ice cream cone Jess left behind. The three others are out and about. A couple of them bought extra suitcases. Jess actually brought two to begin with. I’m glad I packed light – or rather lighter than the rest. So, I got up around 6:30 this morning to eat some breakfast with Jess and then help carry her luggage to the bus station. Note to self: factor in time to carry luggage down 3 1/2 flights of stairs. It should have only taken us 10-15 minutes at the most to get there, but I think it took us a little longer – Jess got on the shuttle with only 5 minutes to spare. I can’t believe she’s actually gone! She was the first, and two others leave early early tomorrow morning. Then it’s my turn at a decent morning hour of 10 am to catch a 1:30 pm flight. I’ll be traveling from 6 am central time to about 11 pm…it’s going to be a long day.

Packing progress! I’ve got the majority of my clothes packed and my random things that I like to save (like food wrappers) stored away as well. I have a very surprising amount of books and reading material – I wasn’t expecting that. I’m actually taking my Italian textbook back with me…but if my suitcase is too heavy then I’ll leave it at the airport. My other extra things include a day planner (which I think is awesome) for September 2011-December 2012, and a notebook that says ‘I Love London’ – which is so true! I love that I have souvenirs from both Paris and London, even though I didn’t visit either of them. Yay friends! Our kitchen and living room are pretty much clean, and it’s my ‘duty’ to clean the bathroom (big surprise there – I seem to get stuck with that task no matter where I am).

Okay, enough for now, I need to go ‘pack’ some more. Next installment soon to come!

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It’s now 4 in the afternoon – wow this day went by fast!! I decided to take a little walk around the city and buy a few last things since I have a tad bit of money left over. I took one last trip through the market, admired the Duomo for a little while (DIDN’T take a picture :p), went to Piazza della Signoria, took a trip through the streets by the Uffizi, looked at Ponte Vecchio and the Arno River, then came back home.

The market was a fun time. I had brought a bracelet when I first got to Firenze and I bought another one today from the same guy. He’s from Albania. The street vendors always like to make conversation with you, keep you in their booths longer. Anyways, when not in a hurry or put off by the vendors it’s actually quite enjoyable. They usual inquire where you’re from and ask what you’re doing in Italy, how long you’ve been here, etc. He actually taught me how to say ‘Nice to meet you’ in Italian, though I’ve since forgotten. It was a pleasant experience to have for my last in the market – so sad!

I’m on my second pack of crackers for the day. I bought them for my ‘lunches’ this week. Jess left some cream cheese and nutella – so I’ve had a little more extravagant of a lunch today.

It’s been kind of rainy here today – like it has been the entire week. It’s quite strange. It was actually really hot, but then it started to rain a little. I’m sure the weather is much cooler here than back home – so not looking forward to that!

Oh! So future plans for this blog…This is my last post that will be in continuation (minus the few days I didn’t write one while over here). You can probably look forward to a couple of posts at the beginning when I get home, but from there on out it will just be sporadic. I plan on still writing though! And about Italy! Mostly what I write will be things that probably remind me of Italy, or me missing Italy, thoughts and reflections, stuff like that. So! If you’re interested – you can subscribe and get an email every time I write a post. If not, just check whenever you’re bored and maybe there will be something new! Okay – time to pack some more! Ciao!

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Alright, the last segment of the last post while still being in Italy! I honestly don’t think I could have ended my time in Florence in any better way. After I ate dinner I spent some time just sitting on the steps of the Duomo, taking in the surroundings – something that’s easy to do in Florence. I probably did this for an hour or 1 1/2 hours, time just flies. I then met up with Lizette and after chilling there a little longer we headed to Ponte Vecchio to meet Matt and Haley (whom I just met tonight and goes to school at Baylor!). I guess every other night or so this guy plays a little concert on Ponte Vecchio. He was actually quite good and fun to listen to. My favorite song (which I’ve decided is the perfect title for this post) is Una Buona Sera (A Good Evening). Lizette said that he plays it every time – except he changes the lyrics each night. See, the song goes along with what he sees and he uses the people in the audience as his inspiration. Tonight, he ended by laying down on the steps. It was a great performance.

After this we headed over to my favorite gelateria! Tonight’s (and sadly my last) flavors were Buontalenti (Florentine cream), and susina (plum). Marvelous, once again! I ALMOST got the mojito, but didn’t really feel like mint and lemon. We said good-bye to Matt and Haley after this and then Lizette and I decided we’d chill on a bridge. A couple of the bridges in Firenze have these little pointy things that are a couple feet below the top of the bridge that people often go out on. We decided we’d do this. It was a FANTASTIC idea! We had Ponte Vecchio right in front of us, the stars above us, and you couldn’t see anything but water and beautiful Italian landscapes and buildings. We were here for a while, just chatting and enjoying the night. It got pretty cold since there was nothing to block the wind coming off of the river. I’m so glad I got to do that – that makes three new things on my last day in Florence. Absolutely perfect.

Now, as I realized getting onto the platform, it was a little difficult getting out. It was too high up and the ledge below was very tiny. However, we managed to make it (and I even planked in the process. For those who do not know what this is, that’s fine. Everyone will know what it is a few months from now. I guess that’s fine too.) and had quite a few giggles along the way.

Lizette came back to my apartment and I gave her some of our leftover food stuff that she can hopefully use since she’ll be here another week. Then I said my good-bye :’( . I know we’ll stay in contact but saying good-bye just makes me leaving Firenze that much more final! Sam and Amy were both asleep when I got back so I tried to be quiet as I uncovered my bed. The plan is to wake up for the day at 7 am when Amy’s leaving and finish everything (that gives me 2 – 2 1/2 hours) before I depart for the bus station. I never got to say good-bye to Addy either! This will be remedied tomorrow morning though – we’ve already made plans :) .

Alas, my time here is coming to an end. I hope you’ve enjoyed following me on my journeys in Florence and Tuscany with some visits to Rome and the region of Liguria mixed in. They say studying abroad is a wonderful experience and I completely agree. I don’t think I’ll completely know how much I’ve benefited from it until I’ve been back in the States for a while, but I know I’ve learned a lot. I may be saying good-bye to Firenze and Italia tomorrow, but it’s okay because I know I’ll be back again someday. I can’t leave the little pieces of my heart here by themselves for all eternity – they need my company!

Forever and always I will remember the summer I spent in Florence.

I Like Milk.

As my departure day approaches I find myself looking at Florence with a different set of eyes – noticing new things, realizing my days are now limited. Well, they’ve always been limited, but them seem unlimited when you have 63-70 of them. I left a little earlier than usual for class today, and walked a little slower than usual. I was taking in the sites of my daily walk, fully realizing that today would be the last time I walk to class. I passed people wheeling their suitcases, groups with a tour guide, shop owners opening up for business, and people going to work. Just the day-to-day life of normal Italians. Actually, these aren’t normal Italians. These are Florentines. :)

My final went well! I had a little bit of trouble with the later parts – Mannerism and Baroque, but I think overall I missed less than 6-7 points. Yay! To celebrate, I’m going to the Uffizi with Veronica after she finishes her other final and we’ll get to admire many of the pieces of art we discussed – now that I have that appreciation for art!

Today’s been a ‘clean out the cupboards’ kind of day – getting rid of all of our food. Three of our roommates have decided not to cook anything big anymore so they told Jess and I that we could use their pasta sauce. We found some pasta, cooked a pizza, and went to town! It was quite filling and I don’t think I’ll be ready to eat again for a while. That’s a good thing. I’m more than set for the rest of my time here in Italy. In fact, the 10 euro I had set aside to eat on tonight with my roomies is going to be replaced by a trip to Tijuanas – spending 3,80 euro. This means I can buy more souvenirs! Which I guess is something I can actually do because I’m feeling better about the weight of my suitcase. We’ll see though! I definitely plan on making final decisions on Friday (I guess I kind of have to, huh).

The Uffizi with Veronica was awesome! We stood in line for an hour, maybe an hour and a half, but we had a great time once we actually got in.It was really nice to actually know the painters and sculptures and play the game of ‘who painted that, what style is it, what’s its name?’. It was really nice to visit with someone in my class as well! We would bounce off of each other and totally understood what the other was talking about.

After the Uffizi (and a walk through town in the rain) I met everyone in our apartment minus jess plus a few of Leanna’s friends from class at Tijuanas. That was fun. You know, walking through Florence in the rain is actually quite pleasant (as long as there’s no one trying to sell you an umbrella around). It seems to rain softly, it’s the type of rain that’s perfect. It’s peaceful, refreshing, and soothing. I waited outside for a while and just watched it fall from the sky.

Because it rained I was able to take pictures of the Duomo’s reflection in the water like I’ve been wanting to, but the lighting was all wrong and it was getting dark so it was hard. Here’s what the beautiful picture looks like though. I LOVE it!

Isn't it beautiful!

I packed a few more clothes but I’m relying on tomorrow to become fully packed. I’m just so tired! I’m going to wake up relatively early and help Jess take her luggage to the bus station so she can take the airport shuttle. I’ll probably then go back to sleep for a while. Then I’ll pack (hopefully) and hang out with Lizette and Matt and possibly my other roommates as well. I’ll need to do some shopping tomorrow to spend the majority of my leftovers – and get gelato one last time. Sono triste! I’m going to miss gelato. Guess I’ll just have to make some at home – though I know it won’t be the same.

Anyways, I’m off to bed. Buona sera!

Wonderful Wednesday :)

I’m telling you, this week is just phenomenal! My Tuesdays and Wednesdays always blur together though – but that’s okay!

I had my last lecture today – sono triste! The class actually went by very fast since we had to fill out evaluations as well. Our last field trip for the class was Cappelle Medicee! So, I kind of forgot that it was a ‘churchly’ place – it didn’t resemble any other chapels that we had seen. Then again, all of those other chapels where Renaissance and this one was Baroque. No more frescoes. Instead, the entire main chapel was covered in marble (maybe) and semi-precious stones (7-8 on Mohs Hardness Scale). It was absolutely beautiful!! The tombs holding several of the Medici family were HUGE! The Medici crest was everywhere and the inlay on the floor was absolutely beautiful! It was a great way to end the class. We also visited the new sacristy designed by Michelangelo. It was interesting to see personifications of dawn and dusk as well as day and night but I wasn’t as impressed as I was with the main chapel.

After class I checked my library book out for the last time and finished my reading assignments then I started heading home. I met Leanna and she was like hey! Let’s eat lunch! Leanna kept telling me that she had to buy me a meal for helping her with Pisa soooooo we ate lunch! We ate at a place called Nerone on Via Faenza – it was soooooo delicious! I had spaghetti al scoglio (seafood with spaghetti!). It was soooooooooo good! That was so nice of Leanna, too! Oh, we also shared some sausage and cheese crostoni yum!

It’s been raining a fair amount recently and I’m beginning to think it’s spring here in Italy. The rain continued today, but that didn’t stop us from going out and about! I had heard that Palazzo Medici-Ricardi was free on Wednesdays from 3-7 pm, but it wasn’t even open so instead we just looked at the markets around San Lorenzo for a while. Leanna was looking for gifts to take back home. It was actually really entertaining to interact with the street vendors. They always make conversation with you and what not – it was fun!

I took a little day-dream nap and then I met Veronica to study for our final tomorrow. We may have talked a lot, but we got a fair amount of studying done! I’m not too worried about the final (even though it’s 30% of my grade) because I feel like since I’ve been captivated at every lecture and have been reading the book – I kind of know what I need to know already. It’s the little things I need to look at now. We both really enjoy the class to its fullest extent. Oh, and I know I’ve done A worthy material for the other 70% of the class so – I’m not worried.

I studied a little longer after I got back from those two hours with her and then it was time to skype with Karah, my soon-to-be-roomie and awesome big sister! We skyped for a little over an hour and it was absolutely wonderful to get to talk with her. I haven’t been able to do that since school got out the first week of May. Only two weeks separate me and Iowa State! It’s gong to go by so fast and there’s so much to do! Anyways, today’s been an awesome day as the rest of my week has been and I’m going to go study a little longer then hit the haystack because I’ve been up for nearly 21 hours as it is.

Until tomorrow!

Outside the City Wall

So, I forgot to mention this yesterday, but there’s some construction going on near the Duomo – I think it may have something to do with the way the water’s been because I think a pipe’s involved. I could be completely wrong though. Anyways, Italians are absolutely fascinated with the hole in the street! Every time I go by it I see at least a couple people looking to see what’s going on. Last night there was a crowd around it and it seemed to be providing entertainment! Very interesting.

Okay, today’s been amazing (as I knew it would be). I got up and went to class. Exciting huh! For our trip we went to two different churches (I don’t remember the names right now and I’m too lazy to look at my syllabus…One was Santa Felicita or something like that, the other was home to an original piece of work by…gosh I don’t remember that either! Someone in the high renaissance period! It’s actually the same church that Bob and I ate our pastries on, and the same one by the amazing pastry shop! I had just never gone inside. I’d walked by the other church several times as well! It’s crazy how that happens.

We learned a little about Ponte Vecchio. The major windows on the bridge were put in when Mussolini requested them for when Hitler visited – they said that they couldn’t get a good ‘vista’ – view? with the circular windows that were originally in there.

After class I decided I’d take advantage of my Uffizi pass! It worked out too because we were already on that side of the river! I headed to Palazzo Pitti and got my tickets for The Palatine Gallery, Costume Gallery, Porcelain Museum, Boboli Gardens, Bardini Gardens, two sets of apartments, and Modern Art Museum. Whew! I went to all of them except the porcelain museum (I was kind of tired of looking at things by then). I didn’t really pay that much attention to the modern art museum either – Modern Art’s not my thing, it’s too weird. Even for me, it’s too weird. I supposed if I had a class on it I might appreciate it better…buuuuuut. Meh.

I was looking for Donatello’s paintings (the Palatine Gallery has 11 of them, the largest collection in the world) but I didn’t see any! I figured out over half way through that he was probably listed by his real name and I was looking for Donatello. *sigh* Oh well, I had fun anyways.

I got to see the rest of Boboli Gardens! That was fun. Although, garden walking is more of a group activity for more than one person. I still enjoyed the pretty sounds and sights though. They connected semi-well to the Bardini Gardens. I saw some familiar things from when Sam and I went up to Piazzale Michelangelo, made me smile.

I really liked Bardini Gardens! It was MUCH less crowded than Boboli Gardens and just as beautiful, if not more. The guidebooks were right! :) I ended up taking a different exit so I had to figure out where I was – but I knew exactly where I came out at! I was so proud of myself! Also, I went down at least two streets I haven’t been on before – so that was exciting!

On my way back from the gardens, as I was crossing Ponte Vecchio I heard my name. I turned around and there’s Danielle and Matt! HA! They were waiting for Lizette and then they were going to go buy some stuff to make pasta! I joined them for a little bit. We ended up going to this grocery store outside the ‘centro storico’. I wish I would have done this sooner – things were SO CHEAP! I got 6 peaches for a euro, a thing of 4 small frozen crepes with ham and cheese for a euro, and a 1 1/2 liter bottle of orange soda for 24 cents. OH YEAH! :) At least I went once. I would have bought a lot more had I had the money. It’s probably good I went when I did because I would have just bought more food lol. But seriously – they bought enough stuff to make pasta for 3 or 4 people for about 6 or 7 euro! CRAZY!

By the time we were done and made it back to Matt’s place, it was about 5 and I needed to get back to start getting ready for dinner. Tonight was our free farewell dinner from LDM. We went to this restaurant called ‘the ClubHouse’. This was the first time we actually had a sit down meal! It was quite delicious. First course was two types of pasta – one was triangles with peas, carrots, and cheese – the second was risotto (though it just looked and tasted like rice to me) with asparagus. Then we had  chicken with lettuce and some potatoes and tiramisu for dessert. I’m not a tiramisu fan, but this was pretty good! I was quite happy with our meal – especially since it was free! It’s nice not having to pay for things.

So here I am, 9:34 pm. I’m getting ready to go to sleep. I have my meeting at 4 am and I don’t plan on sleeping after it’s over – I’m going to be too excited! There’s lots to discuss and lots of things to throw around. I’m quite excited for it. I’ve been looking forward to this since Monday! Wow! And time sure does fly by! Tomorrow’s Wednesday! Three days remain for me. Three. Glad I’m making the most of them!

Hope all is going well on the other side of the ocean!

Ciao!