18 Hours of Travel and a 9 Hour Time Difference Will Do That to You

My clock is so off. It's day three back home and I can't sleep like a normal person. I'm wondering if Hannah's home yet. Courtney just got home. I can't wait to call Anna Maria and tell her we're both a-OK. I find myself waking up at the oddest hours (ahem, 2:52 AM at present) and unable to fall back asleep, or falling asleep at my earliest convenience (8 PM) and waking up before the birds (7:15 AM). I haven't slept like this since grade school. Is part of jetlag having the sleeping pattern of a 5 year old?

Will Post About Epic Journey Home

More to come! Stay tuned.

Snow in Florence

On our last day here. Will flights home be canceled tomorrow? I do love the palm trees sprinkled with snow though haha

"Se sei un angelo?"

THURSDAY

Thursday morning began at Palazzo Vecchio where no fish were biting for English tours, so I followed this one tour, and it was great, it made my morning! It's called the Vasari tour, and one of the guy tour guides who work at the Museo dresses up as Giorgio Vasari and gives the tour as if it was the late 16th century as he shows off his work in Palazzo Vecchio (Vasari was the main architect, painter, and engineer for the Palazzo in the 16th century). It was GREAT!!! I'm so jealous, and I wish I was able to work here longer so I could get bumped up to the character tours and give the tours as the grand duchess or Vasari's wife (two options for lady tour guides). AH!!

Thursday felt like the last day of classes...though technically that's not until next Tuesday. We had Italian, where we signed up for our oral exam (at 9:30am Friday the 17th, and our written exam is the same day from 3pm-5pm...yes, the Friday before we leave...I'm throwing a fit our exams are that late!). And then into the library I went to finish up research for my final papers. I have two of the 6 left (I've been chipping them away! So happy!), and they're both half done, which is good and bad. Good because I have the weekend. Bad because I had tours all day Friday, Saturday, Sunday! So I'm still trying to figure out when they're going to get done. As Anna's best friend Antoinetta would say, Piano piano ("take it easy!").

After a couple hours in the library Hannah and I went over to the student art show and saw some of the cool stuff that the studio students did all semester. Hannah took a photo class this semester so two of her pictures were featured, and Anna met us at the show. We took her around the galleries and munched on apperativo and were so proud to introduce our great host mom to some of our friends. She took us home in her new car (an early Xmas gift from her brother, she's so proud of it! It's the tiniest little clown car you've ever seen but it's great!) and was way better than waiting for the bus, and we stopped at the store where we helped her get a thousand cases of bottled water. She made patatas e pollo (potatoes and chicken--in olive oil with salt and pepper, served cold) after a minestrone pasta for dinner.

FRIDAY

Friday morning started with a 9am make up class for Leonardo, and it was just so hard to get out of my warm bed--it's gotten so chilly! For a while it was humid and wet, now its dry and coooold. This morning Anna said it was -2C. Brrrrr. But we have blue skies, so I guess that's a plus? We had our intervalo and our professor treated us to cappucinos and pastries at the bar down the street from school--a great pick me up before we delved into Freud's psychoanalysis of Leonardo da Vinci. After class I headed into the super secret quiet room of requirement Study Lounge in Villa Rossa to continue doing work. 

Hannah met up with me a little after 1, and we went to look at all the Christmas decorations around Firenze. After a late lunch of pizza, I realized my tours that afternoon were sooner than I thought so I hustled over to Palazzo Vecchio, only to realize there was no one to give a tour to, so I grabbed some work and went outside to work in the Loggia di Lanzi. Intent on my work, time flew by, and I had no time to talk to strangers sitting around me (that's a story to be told in person, Hannah was amused by it!). Right before my 4:30 tour, Roberta, my boss, caught me and handed me my certificate of completion and a little "presetino" from Palazzo Vecchio, a book on the Museum and Palazzo to thank me for my time with the Museum, which was so sweet of them, they didn't have to do that!

I headed home to do a little work before dinner, we were meeting two of Hannah's friends from SUF Nora and Rachel, and three of Rachel's friends from another program at a place Sam and I went for lunch one afternoon, Dante's on our side of the Arno--but over 7 bridges from our house--where drinks are free for students and there's no coperto (cover charge). Waiting for a bus, we forgot there was a bus strike for #23 from 5:30-9:30 (technically we didn't know, we just knew there was something going on about a strike on the 10th), so after waiting for a half hour, I had the genius idea of hoping on our #8 bus to take us at least closer to the Arno, and then we walked 4 bridges over from there. We actually didn't get there too late, and sat down to enjoy a lovely dinner of (my Tuscan favorite) ribollita and wine wine wine. At the end of dinner they came and asked us if we wanted limoncello, and we all said no no we've had enough, so they poured us shots of limoncello anyway. It was actually my first time trying limoncello since being in Italy, and it was surprisingly good! It didn't taste like Pinesol. I was pleasantly surprised. We walked our two bridges over admiring Christmas decorations and trees sparkling out of the apartments by the Arno on our way to our bus stop. Hannah and I must've had good bus karma after our panic getting the restaurant, and we got to the bus stop just as the night bus
was approaching (good thing too, it only comes once an hour!).

SATURDAY

Both Saturday and Sunday were spent at Palazzo Vecchio getting my last few hours in. Saturday though, was a little strange. As usual, no takers for the 10:30 or 12 tours, but I had three friends come by to see the David Hirst exhibit (the diamond skull that everyone's making a big fuss about--previously mentioned in a different abroad writing), but they asked me to give them a tour of the Palazzo if I could. Well I didn't have anything better to do, so I took them on my 10:30 tour! Liz and Sarah are in my Medici class, so they followed along really well. After no one showed up for my 12 tour, I didn't see myself on the schedule for the rest of the afternoon, and anyway, my other supposed tour wasn't til 3:30, so I took off to meet Hannah at Villa Rossa for lunch--and by lunch I mean crunch time for finals.

I spent three hours locked in the warm library (thankfully! It's been so cold, and Palazzo Vecchio is rather drafty!) actually being extremely productive. Something told me that I needed to go back to the Palazzo for 3:30 though, even though I didn't see myself on the schedule. Thank goodness I did because I ended up having a tour after--and people to give a tour to! And so I took a couple from Scotland around the Palazzo. They reminded me of Sam and me. They were really funny and asked all the right questions. After wishing them a Merry Christmas, I felt like I got the tour thing down pat. Too bad I only had one day left of the internship. Oh well! 

I headed home shortly after with Hannah, and we cleaned ourselves up and headed out to our last dinner with the gang in Florence at our favorite osteria Gato e Valope. We enjoyed a huge meal and called it a night so we could get some work done. I had two more papers to finalize for Monday, and by the end of Saturday night, I had one down, one more to go!

SUNDAY
Sunday repeated Saturday: up and out the door for the Museo. No tour at 10:30 and the intern room was being used for a fresco workshop (one of the many activities offered by the Palazzo for kids), so I locked myself in the coatroom to get down to some Black Death paper writing business. By noon, I'd finished the bulk of the paper, and knew I had some takers for my tour. It turned out to be a group of about 12 people--by far the biggest tour I'd given!! And hands down the BEST tour I've given, I was so comfortable with the information, and so comfortable with the Palazzo and in front of a big group (not that I'd ever had problems with presentations or big groups before...), but they were also a great group of people who asked great questions in a curious way without sounding ignorant or confused--it was just awesome! I had two little old ladies in my group, so I took special care of them (as if they were Anna!) making sure they didn't have to walk up and down the stairs (which leave me winded) and taking them to the elevator. Within the big group was a 6-person family from right outside of London, a couple from the States, a mom and daughter from Australia, and a little Italian nonna who insisted on going on an English speaking tour, even though there was one in Italian at exactly the same time. Oh I can't say enough good things about this tour, I think they had fun, and as a result I had so much fun too!

After that tour I locked myself back in the coatroom to continue working on my Black Death essay. No takers for my 3 tour meant another hour and a half of homework, which ended up being just enough time to tie up loose ends on my papers. My 4:30 tour, however, did have another large-ish group: a Spanish couple with wife's mother in tow, an American girl students who'd been studying in Switzerland and is now traveling in Florence and Rome for the week, and another student. I took them around and thanked them at the end of the tour, explaining it was my last (sob!). I packed up my things, said good bye to the few tour guides who also stuck around late, and realized I'd be back to the Palazzo later that week--I hadn't taken any pictures of it!! Thank goodness I have Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday relatively free!

Snapping a few pictures of the Palazzo all lit up at night, I decided to go to the Duomo to get a few pictures of the huge Christmas tree in the piazza with the Cathedral and Baptistery in the background--only in Florence, right? Well on my way, I ended up getting caught in two HUGE protests. One was for PETA with Italians screaming in other Italians' faces wearing fur coats (which is actually very come here--hello, booming leather industry, no surprise). The other was for immigration reform. Come on people, I just wanted a few pictures of the Duomo and the pretty Christmas lights! But it was fine, especially since I was on my own and able to bob and weave throughout the crowds. Headed to the bus stop back by Palazzo Vecchio (it tends to be a reliable stop), I stopped at Gelateria di Neri, a well-known gelateria I had yet to visit, and oh I was so glad I did! I walk past it every day from my bus stop to work, and the chocolate gelato paired with the cream and fig gelato--to die for. Perfect too since I'd missed lunch today, and it was only 5:30-6 and we had some serious time until dinner.

So I was content waiting at the bus stop with my gelato, listening to the record store across the way play Beatles music, but apparently the bus was running very very late. I was surrounded by very disgruntled old Italian men making it known how impatient and disgruntled they were. There was this little boy, Valentino, zipping around, weaving in and out of their legs being a little stinker. He'd impishly point up the to the old men and say "Polizia?" before he was off identifying the next "polizia." I was watching him laughing, while his mother yelled at him, "Valentine, che cosa fai?" ("What in the world are you doing?") when he came up to me and asked me "Se sei un angelo?"--"Are you an angel?"--as if this kid didn't have my approval already! Aaah so precious. Finally a bus arrived, and we were squished like sardines on it. As the bus chugged along and people got off, I realized Hannah was also on it on her way home from the library! We got home just as Anna and Antoinetta got home, and we all ate a great dinner together of minestrone noodles in chicken broth, chicken, salad, and tomates in olive oil.

Barcelona

Other than my flight mishaps, Barcelona was amazing and wonderful and absolutely great!

We got in Thursday evening and adjusted to the Spanish way of living--places weren't open for dinner until 9! Our hostel was really interesting, it very much reminded me of a dorm: bright, colorful, and filled with kids. We walked into our room to find four beds--bunk beds. We didn't get any other roommates while we were there, and we found out that the top bunks folded up into the wall. We went to a nearby restaurant and tried Spanish sangria with our meal, it was delicious!

Up and at em early Friday morning, we left the hostel after breakfast and took the metro to Las Ramblas. We strolled up and down the big boulevard (I thought it was bigger back in the day, go figure) and watched the street performers, peeked into stores, and didn't get pick pocketed this time. We found a market on Las Ramblas called Mercat de Sant Josep and we strolled through it. It was a big open aired market filled with fresh food and full of people! The Spanish candy stands were the most fun to look at with the marscapone fruits and figures, they were too pretty to eat! But there was everything you could ever want in that market from fish right out of the sea, meats, vegetables and fruits, nuts, etc. I have to live in a place that has that kind of market, it's so full of the culture! I seriously could've spent all day there people watching and strolling up and down those aisles. But Sam was itching to get to the beach, so we kept going down Las Ramblas and walked straight into Port Vell. We watched the giant fish below the boats weaving around, there was a retractable bridge that we were waiting to cross to make it to the other side of the port and we picked out boats we liked and didn't liked (I was a big fan of the pirate looking ones or ones with dogs on them...Sam was picking them out for more sailor-ish reasons like the sails or their potential speed). We wound up on the other edge of the bridge and in a shopping mall where Sam was looking at soccer jerseys (really expensive) and where we could warm up. In the center of the mall was a giant defecating Santa, and I was shocked and confused. How sick were the Catalyonians? Sam explained to me that they have a fascination with that stuff for Christmas, and we walked around this 20-foot Christmas decoration looking for an English or Spanish explanation. Turns out, it's supposed to be a symbol of new life and that it works as a fertilizer and is supposed to bring the Spanish a bountiful new year. Well that's nice and all, but it's still pretty unusual.

We continued strolling along the port and we going to embark on a walk suggested by the guidebook Sam brought. We were by the aquarium, walked past a church called Maria di Pi, Mary of the Pine, and admired the Gothic architecture. We stopped in a place for lunch were I got my paella fixing and Sam sampled some calamari. It was a beautiful weekend in Barcelona, but not beautiful enough to leave our coats at home, so we ran back to the hostel to grab jackets, and then walked to the beach from our hostel along another tree-lined Ramblas (which I think just means Avenue or Boulevard) to the beach for sunset. We made it to La Sagrada Familia, the crazy church that's been under construction for over 150 years, just before the sun finally went down, and I explained to Sam that there were four different architects for the church, each who designed a different side of the facade, including Gaudi. The pope recently consecrated Sagrada Familia, about a month ago Anna called Hannah and I in to watch it on TV with her. But the church still looks like it's under some major construction! From 4-7, the city takes a major siesta, so we went back to the hostel to siesta too since everything was closed down.


Saturday morning started off with a bang like Friday, and we began our morning at Park Guell, Gaudi's park. We spent a significant amount of time hiking around, and saw every nook and cranny in the park. Before when I'd been to Barcelona, we'd spent maybe a total of an hour there both times and saw the same things, but I saw and discovered parts of the park I never knew existed! We toured the one house that was built by Gaudi (it's pink! I never knew that was a possibility!) and it was like something out of Toon Town at Disneyland, very funky. We climbed to the top of a tall hill, the tallest part of the park, and admired the view of the city and port from where we were. After walking and talking and enjoy each others' company, we made our way through the park, heading to the Museum of Catalyan History, which was on the opposite end of the very big city. But we wanted to walk and see what we would see along the way. We stopped in a small local cafe for lunch where we sampled different tapas and chorizo bocadillas--delicious. We walked down a beautiful promenade (another Rambla!) for a while, until we spotted the Spanish version of the Arc di Triomf (how they spell it in Catalyan). Straight down past the pretty palm-tree lined Rambla was the Barri Gotic where the "Castle Park" was, which is home to many things, including the Barcelonaean zoo! Walking through the park, we watched the local university students perform magic tricks, teach yoga, play hoola hoop all on the grassy areas of the park. I really liked the park, and Sam and I enjoyed the sunshine in the late afternoon for a while there. We kept trekking on, and wound up at the beach for sunset again! This time we were near a more commercial area, where someone at our hostel said all the clubs are lit up at night, rather than the residential area we were in yesterday. We watched the sunset and the people walking dogs on the beach.

We did find that the language spoken was Catalonyan, not Spanish, but Sam and I's high school Spanish got us by (ok, so really his high school Spanish got us by and my slow recollection of high school Spanish helped just a little). We returned to the hostel and cleaned up for dinner, and sampled empenadas and meat tart cookie of some sort (Sam thought it was a strawberry jam when he ordered it, not a meat...but it was yummy in a really unique way) and dulce de leche cookies packed with delicious carmel.

Sunday's check out time was 10:30, so after a quick breakfast and clean up, we checked out but locked our luggage in storage units provided by the hostel, and spent the morning walking around the area of the city by our hostel. We headed towards this large office building that lights up at night, walked around the shopping center there (nothing was open even though it was after 11), meandered by a peewee league soccer game and watched the really intense 6 year old soccer players (they were really good!), discovered some Roman-looking ruins (I could totally be making that up, but it definitely looked like a Roman aqueduct), and sampled some pastries from a local cafe. After spending a leisurely morning out and about, we grabbed our things, hopped on the metro towards the airport, and waited patiently for our flights. We said our last goodbyes for the semester, and wished each other good luck on finals. 

I'm so lucky I had Sam to travel with all semester, he was such a great travel companion and our adventures and time together just keeps getting better and better! Talk about continued adventures!

Tuesday morning began with me at Palazzo Vecchio not giving tours. I realized that since tourist season is over here, it's going to be increasingly difficult to find English-speakers to give tours to. Bummer. So even though I checked in at 10 and 11:30 at the main desk to see if I had any takers, unfortunately, I did not. So at 10 I locked myself in the cloakroom (yes, the cloakroom) since there was an activity/workshop being hosted in the normal study/intern room. Finally someone said something to me and ushered me into the office and found a spot for me at the coffee table. I'm a goof. But in that hour and a half I was supposed to be giving a tour, I began a 10 page final paper which I will now be emailing to my Medici class professor for corrections. Another pat on the back for Stevie. When it was Italian-speakers = 2, Stevie giving tours = 0, I made my way back to campus where I did more research for said paper until Italian.

In Italian we learned a new tense but otherwise it was a short class, getting out at 2:15. At that point I began a final essay for my internship (yep, that one gets a paper and a final grade too). But it was too warm in the study lounge, and Hannah got a package, and we were antsy, so we headed home after dark (like 4:30 because it gets dark so early here...but really it was 5:30) to pick up our final December bus passes. After our neighborhood walk, I would like to say I continued doing work, except I didn't. I discovered this wonderful game, Plants vs. Zombies, and I HIGHLY recommend it. You get a free 60 minute trial, and let me just tell you, best 60 minutes of my day. I'm actually lucky it expired after 60 minutes, because I'd probably still be playing it to this minute if it hadn't. So on second thought, don't download it, it might just definitely cause major delays in your day!

In other news: Auntie Dee's package is here, and by here I mean Italy, not my little hands. Unfortunately it's stuck in customs, as they don't understand what is in the package (maybe it wasn't declared?). So after chatting to the Student Life Office about it, we faxed them what we thought was in it (candy, papers) and crossed our fingers. Keep ya posted, but it should be released soon!

Sam and I celebrated our 5 month anniversary via Skype and confirming Barcelona plans tonight. We're looking forward to a weekend by the beach, relaxing and exploring! Though I believe the forecast calls for sun (I'm bringing my umbrella just in case, every time we're together we get lousy weather...except Paris), it's still going to be chilly (lows of 30s, highs of 50s!). It's snowing in London (as of yesterday) and still raining in Florence! There's snow in the surrounding area of Florence, but because it's in a valley, we don't seem to get snow. Anna said that when they do get snow, they don't know what to do with themselves, the city sort of shuts down---including the buses. So here's hoping the only snow I see will be back at Syracuse in January! (Though reports from that side of the pond says is blizzarding there or something. I just think everyone's being a little dramatic, really now.)

Today was a normal day, Wednesdays tend to be long. But since I've been a project fiend, I got home this evening and didn't have any homework/papers to do (immediately, due Monday, etc), so I had some time to relax for 5 seconds. My Italian class was canceled (seems to be happening a lot recently...) so I finished up most of my work during that 2 hr time period. In my Leonardo class, my professor (who is apparently a world-renown scholar on Michelangelo, that Rab Hatfield) grows olive trees and presses his own oil so he brought in a giant jug for us to sample with fresh tomatoes also from his garden. We went to town! Delightful. He apparently doesn't sell it in stores, but it was definitely some good quality stuff. And today must've been treat day (or I was just really hungry) because one of the girls presenting brought in yummy fresh meringues and shortbread cookies that she compared to the water studies by Leonardo. I think Dad would love the shortbread cookies, and she just bought them at a grocery store, so they're not hard to come by. Think I just found Dad's souvenir from Italy...

We had a delightful dinner with Anna, risotto with asparagus and caprese salads, followed by panaforte for dessert (trying to bring that one back too, the logistics is a little more complicated here though). But Anna was tired, and Hannah had work to do, so we retired early. I'm packing and finalizing plans for Barcelona tomorrow. I'm out of the house by 9:30 or 10am or so, my flight's at 12:55 from Florence. Hoping everything is going to go smoothly!

Currently the Italian version of Kids American Idol is playing in the other room...Hannah and I are enjoying an Italian rendition of Beauty and the Beast's Tale as Old as Time. May or may not be singing along. In Italian.

Roma (AKA My Life As The Lizzie McGuire Movie)

Ok, I'm typing this on an Italian key board (yes they're different than American ones) at my internship at Palazzo Vecchio, so please forgive the typos that probably will occur.

First of all: I LOVE ROME! It was a busy and tiring trip, but I loved every second of it and it was definitely up there in my top fav trips and is definitely in my top 5 fav cities in the world!!!! IT WAS SPECTACULAR!

Ancient Roman marble copy of Greek Bronze, Loacoon

SUF met at the train station at 8:15 for our Eurostar fast train to Rome. I met up with Sarah, Cynthia, Liz, and Tara. Tim and Andrew were also key players on the trip. Slept most of the way there, but did enjoy the pretty views of  the Italian countryside from the train. The weather was nice! Crisp, but clear. I'd expected rain the entire weekend, but instead we had brilliant blue skies and cotton candy clouds! Rome was so green too, I didn't expect so many parks and plants. I felt like I was in a movie. Like the Lizzie McGuire Movie. So basically it was my goal to replace my Italian twin pop sensation and expose her lip-synching partner at a live performance at the Colosseum. But I'll get to that part of the story in a bit. 

First on our agenda was Vatican City. We hopped off the bus that took us from the train station to the other side of the city, split for a coffee break. Sarah, Cynthia, and Tara got crepes at a nearby cafe, when a lady approached us asking if we'd dropped our tour book. None of us had a tour book, and there weren't any other English speakers around, so Liz took the book and it turned out to be very hand later on! We then went to meet up the big group at the entrance to the Vatican Museum. We toured through the museum, walking through the Raphael Rooms (where the School of Athens fresco is located! Eeeeeee!!!!). The ultimate destination through the Vatican Museum is the Sistine Chapel, followed by St. Peter's. It was strange, it was like Disneyland for Catholics. And art historians. Lots of lines, lots of weaving through barricades, lots of things to entertain you as you wait, but you knew there was something bigger in better ahead! Maybe I should look into getting an internship there instead of at Disney...JK! Anyway, we finally made it to the Sistine Chapel which we oohed and ahhed over for a good amount of time. They say you're not allowed to take pictures in the Sistine Chapel, but other people were snapping away, so I did too! With one of the field study chaperon's official tour guide badge, we then went through a secret door that took us right into St. Peter's, where we continued to ooh and aah and Michaelangelo's Pieta, the tombs of many of the popes buried there, the altar by Bernini, and the sheer size of the basilica! We were set free for a lunch break at that point, but I took us down to the crypt to see where more popes were buried (including JP1 & 2!) and to see a little window into the sanctuary of St. Peter, you know, where his bones are and everything. Very cool stuff.
 

Hello, Swiss Guard!

So my other goal for the trip (aside from finding my Italian twin pop sensation) was to see how little money I could spend. I'd packed my lunch, so after Liz consulted the new guidebook, I walked with Liz, Sarah, Tara, Andrew, Tim, and Cynthia to the restaurant they had picked out of the guidebook. After a guidebook hand off (which was now in my possession), I saw them off and went back to St. Peter's. There's an obelisk right in the center of the Piazza of St. Peter's, and right in front of it they were building the papal Nativity set for the first Sunday of Advent. Curious me, I start snooping around the blocked off area, hoping to catch a glimpse. When the wind blew up a side of the covering (it was mostly covered up to the public), I made eye contact with one of the workers inside and he started walked towards me. I thought I was in trouble, but he came over and we started talking in

Vatican Gardens

Italian as I asked him what was going on and what were they building? He asked me if I wanted to see for myself. I figured, hey, it's Vatican City. I can't get hurt here or else the Pope will be mad. So I climbed over the little fence and under the covering, and got to climb to the top of the papal Nativity set! Life sized manger and everything! It wasn't anything too spectacular, they were just in the middle of constructing the set itself, like the barn where all the figures would be, but it was a tour no one else got! The construction worker ushered me out, and I still had an hour or so to explore, so I walked down near the Tiber River and popped into a large basilica church called Santo Spirito nearby, and then went and explored the gardens of the Castel'Angelo, more or less a castle where Medici popes used to lock themselves up in. I headed back from my explorations just in time for the head count at the meeting point.

We got back on the bus, went tour our hotel, and checked in. I roomed with Sarah and Tara. I figured Sarah and I would end up together. After dropping off my bag, I turned around and went back downstairs to wait for Fr. Michael. A little before 5, a man walked in and asked the front desk several questions before he said

Piazza of St. Peter's

my room number out loud and started to call up on the house phone. I stopped him and introduced myself. 

He was so nice! He told me to bundle up, it was cold outside (it was), and we started walking towards his school. Ok, so this is what I understand. He's one of several American priests who teaches at a religious institution. He teaches the Byzantine cannon (written in Latin, class discussions in Italian). There are students and priests from around the whole world who study and teach there. After signing me in as a guest, the sun was almost down so he quickly showed me the garden (lovely!) and the library where students were studying. After that, we left the school and went across the street to our first stop, Santa Maria Majore, where the first gold from the New World was used to guild the coffered ceiling! That's where we saw our first (of many) relics, a piece of the wood from the manger of Jesus. So the whole

The Map Hall in the Vatican

church is dedicated to the Nativity and Mary as the Mother of God. I'm going to be the first to say, that it was AWESOME being toured around these churches with a priest. Fr. Michael knew SO much about the art, the patronage, etc. I felt really privileged. We went to 6 churches in 60 minutes. First of all, wow, Fr. Michael can make moves across the city. We covered a good amount of ground. We saw the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (painted by St. Luke), we saw the top of the cross where it was written "Jesus, King of the Jews" along with part of the spear that pierced Jesus' side, the finger of St. Thomas that went into Jesus' side, the head of John the Baptist, the table from the Last Supper, and I'm sure I'm forgetting some but I'll be sure to include them once I  remember. Along the way Fr. Michael pointed out the world's first ice cream parlor, a gelateria called. G.Fossi. Tempted to take me in, he concluded that "There's just something about ice cream before dinner though" and we carried on. But I made a mental note of the location. We finished back at the institute, where Fr. Michael took me up to the Rectory for dinner, and I was more than pleased. We dined on vegetable soup, a spinach and cheese pastry as the main course, broccoli, grilled tomatoes, and potatoes. We joined another American priest for dinner with wine at the table and talked about their Thanksgivings (at the Vatican with turkey) and about flying and travel (especially to and from the States). Mostly everyone else was at was a big priest meeting (their version of a chapter meeting I think?) but both Fr.

Making my wish at the Trevi Fountain

Michael and this American priest from Chicago had gone to one back in May and didn't have to go this time around. After a dessert of fruit, we grabbed our jackets and Fr. Michael walked me back to the hotel. I really appreciated the tour and time with him, and gave him a big hug before he left. 

I let the girls know I was back, and that I'd wait to meet up with them after their dinner out. In the meantime, I flipped on the TV in the hotel and the Lizzie McGuire Movie was on in Italian!!!!! Eeeeee! So I was the happiest little muffin waiting for them before we ventured off to the Trevi Fountain!

After a lot of confusion, I finally met back up with Liz, Tara, and Sarah at a metro stop by the train station. We then began our exploration for the Trevi Fountain (which is supposed to be really beautiful lit up at night, and let me tell you, it is). We ran into some freshman also on the Rome trip on the way, and when we finally got oriented, made it to the Fountain in a cinch. We all made wishes and threw coins into the fountain, and enjoyed some photo opts by the landmark. We returned to the hotel a little before midnight, and we were exhausted, but had a 7:30 wake up call to look forward to.

Saturday morning was focused on Ancient Rome. We rolled out of bed, rotated out of the bathroom, and made our way downstairs for breakfast of croissants, rolls, deli meats, cheese, yogurt, cereal, you name it. I may or may not have made a few mini sandwiches for the day. Great life decision in retrospect. We all left our backpacks with the bellhop at the hotel (they stashed our bags for the day), and the group got headsets and followed whichever TA's voice was at the other end of ours to the Colosseum. 

Since Rome is the Washington DC of Italy, there was a planned protest for Saturday that started right by our hotel (by the train station) and was to wind around to the Colosseum, so we ran in order to beat the crowd. When we did get there, though, it was well worth the rush. Wowed and stunned beyond belief, the ruins and the monuments in this area of Rome are just indescribable! We took our time talking about the structure and how it was an engineering marvel, then went inside and talked about gladiators and felt like spectators ourselves. Taking lots of photos and group photos and just walking around jaw dropped, we had a lot of fun being history buffs and seeing it come alive! After our time in the Colosseum, we were ushered right across the street to the Roman Forum, which was like the city center of the ancient time. There was the basilica, which was the courthouse/town hall more or less, several temples, ruins beyond belief, triumphal arches, and everything so ANCIENT and Roman. It was very romantic in the sense that I felt ready to sit with Lord Byron and Mary Shelley among the ruins to write poetry and philosophize about the meaning of life, and then go have a cup of tea. I was enjoying it. Especially since I had Dean Martin singing to me in Italian in one ear with the TA lecturing in the other. Now that's the way to set the mood! We climbed to the top of the Capitoline Hill (a piazza designed by Michelangelo) and then were took across the city the the Pantheon. Again, a lot of oohing and aahing! I got dizzy looking up. Even today the Pantheon stands as the largest dome in the world (circumference wise, not height wise). And, Raphael's buried there! After a short talk about the Pantheon, we were dismissed for lunch. 

View of the Colosseum

In two hours, a small group of 18 lucky students (first come first serve for sign ups--you can bet your bottom dollar I was the #2 spot signed up) were to meet at Villa Borghese for an afternoon tour. Unfortunately, Villa Borghese is on the outskirts of the city, quite far from the Pantheon. Also unfortunately, we were on our own to get there. But we had two hours, the TAs said it was about a 45 minute leisurely walk, and I said, hey, we got time! I was all set to walk. Liz was trying to figure out if there were buses or a metro that went out that far. Nope, not quite. Besides, I argued, I wanted to see the Spanish Steps, and they were along the way. Let's explore! Taking the map and the lead of the group, Liz started walking due to the right. But it was almost one, everyone was famished (I'd packed a lunch, so I was set!). Liz was making it a priority to get to Villa Borghese. But food needed to be a priority. After twisting and turning down several streets and alley ways, we stopped the group, pointed out a pizzeria, and I said, go eat. I left them and told them I'd met up with them after, I was going to take my time and eat my lunch on the Spanish Steps! 

Listening to the lecture among ancient Roman ruins, NBD

But first, there was this church I wanted to dive into. I was reading the information plaque outside when an Italian man asked me, "You like churches?" and I nodded my head. He gave me his card, and told me there was the most beautiful church after the Vatican (of course) right across the street from his pizzeria, and I had to go check it out, as soon as I could because they close at 1. I thanked him, and after I satiated my curiosity with the first church I was in front of, I trekked up the street to find this beautiful church. Unfortunately, I was much too late (it was after 1 when I met the man, around 1:30 when I found the church) so I didn't get to peek in, even though I tried several entrances. Oh well. But from that church I was a block away from the Spanish Steps, and headed over and rested my knees and feet for a little (we were doing a LOT of walking!). I enjoyed my lunch of croissants, and rolls, and fruit, and yogurt and people watched. I was amused two female police officers trying to get the peddlers around the steps in trouble. Tim and Andrew and a group of girls showed up, and I called down to them, and they came and sat with me for a while. Sarah and the rest of the lunch gang met up a short while later. Together we all took off for Villa Borghese, which wasn't far from the Steps at that point! Through a beautiful park and at the top of another hill, we got to the Villa with 15 minutes to spare.

Cool Roman Forum ruins as seen from the top of the Colosseum

Villa Borghese is significant because the Borghese family specifically set aside this "country" home right outside the original city walls of Rome to house works of art that they patronized. So the fact that the art is in the original context is great. It's home to some great sculptures by Bernini, filled with movement and drama, a David, a Daphene and Apollo scene, and a Rape of Persephone that really stood out. But the reason I was so excited about life is that the Borghese is home to 6 Caravaggio

Pantheon

paintings out of the 56 or so that exist in the world. Great treat! Upstairs there was an exhibition of sorts with two surprise Raphael paintings just hanging out, including my favorite, the Lady with the Unicorn!

We finished at Villa Borghese around 4:30. Our train ticket was for 7:30, we needed to be at the station by 7. On my to do list was to visit one more church Fr. Michael had pointed out but we didn't have time to go in, and to see the Ecstasy of St. Theresa by Bernini. I accumulated a small group (Tim, Andrew, Sarah, Susan, Tara, Emma) and we walked out of the Borghese park and straight down a boulevard to Santa Maria della Vittoria, the church that held the St. Theresa statue. We got there just before closing time. I made the gang read the passage from St. Theresa's writings that describe the vision that Bernini depicts in his sculpture (essentially, a spiritual orgasm, I kid you not). Great fun. Also in the church is the body of St. Victoria. A little waxen looking with some blood on her neck from a piercing wound (stabbed in the throat?), missing her real hair (clearly wearing a wig) and teeth in bad decay (maybe she could use a visit to Doc Rob?), she wasn't looking to shabby for a third century saint! We left that church and went down the road to Santa Maria degli Angeli, where most of Angels and Demons was filmed, and is a "big" church in Rome to go see. Originally the place of Roman Termini baths, it still maintains its basic Roman structure with idealized Renaissance additions in the interior. Pope Clement XI commissioned a sundial/meridian line to be built inside the church, which is where I think the whole Angels & Demons part comes into play (wouldn't know, didn't see the

The Extascy of St. Theresa

movie!). But it was originally built to predict the exact date of Easter! Susan, Tara, and Sarah were all really blown away by the church so I was happy I could entertain them.

We went back to the hotel to pick up our bags, but still had an hour to kill. The boys went to the train station to see if they could change their tickets (they did, after much cajoling), and we picked up Rachel, a SU freshman, and Calvin, who goes to Brown and is friends with Tara. Anyway, we had an hour to kill and I remembered that Fossi gelateria Fr. Michael had walked us past. I was determined to go. And, besides, I'd gone the WHOLE weekend without spending more than a dime (technically, exactly a dime since I threw a 5E cent piece in the Trevi fountain...) but I deserved a gelato from the first gelateria in the whole wide world! After a little confusion, and some serious map reading, we got there, and wow, it was WORTH IT. It was easily the BEST gelato I've had since I've been in Italy. They say three things get better as you go south in Italy, the pizza, the weather, and the gelato. WOW. I got a cone full of chocolate, hazelnut, and tiramisu, and they plopped on a whopping serving of homemade whipped cream on top. Wow. It was so good. So good. And SO much for 2E. Easily, the best 2E I spent in Rome (haha). Thinking about it now makes my mouth water. Nothing will compare after that. Nothing. So good. Wow. A big thank you to Fr. Michael for pointing the place out to me!

After a 10 minute walk to the train station, we got there right at 7:05 when our platform was posted, and we hopped on the train. A short bus ride later and I was home sweet home by 9:30 or so.

Today, I spent the day at Palazzo Vecchio. Today was the Florence Marathon, which was really cool except that meant the buses were running on a funny route. A route that didn't include Quartieri Gavinana (our neighborhood). So lucky me got to walk an hour to work in the rain. But it's ok because I got to listen to Christmas music (it is the first day of Advent after all) and cheer on the runners in Italian (I was literally walking along the marathon route). And today was just my luck, because no one showed up for any of my tours, so I was free to do whatever in the Museo. I took care of some homework, and then ran into my friend Emily with her dad, and gave them a tour of Palazzo Vecchio and took them in the secret passageway with the peephole. They really appreciated it, but I appreciated having something to do! When no one showed up for my 4pm tour (my last one of the day) I spent some time sitting behind the desk with Giale, but snuck out when she got busy with visitors around 4:30, and yep, you guessed it, walked back home in the rain. But again, it was ok, because I belted Christmas songs the whole way home and got to Anna's soaking wet, but in a very merry mood. I've now warmed up, showered, and now Hannah and I are waiting for dinner time. Successful weekend, aside from the part where I got all my homework done. On to that next!

Piazza della Repubblica at night

The Italians Don't Celebrate Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! Hannah and I woke up this morning, looked at each other, and she said to me, "I don't want to talk about it" I replied "I don't want to hear it," and so it was our goal to go about today pretending it wasn't Thanksgiving, and that we weren't homesick, and that it was just another Italian day. Too bad no one else got the memo, and we were forced to be thankful for all our blessings (kidding, kidding...). SUF did mandate today Pie Day, and gave out free little pieces of apple and pumpkin pie around campus at various times throughout the day. Originally, I thought I'd missed it because I got to school from my internship after the original designated pie time, but my Italian teacher pulled a few strings and got some for us for our intervalo (break) during class! Though previously, when I'd thought I'd missed pie day, there were some cartons of apple juice left over...some completely full...and unopened...and I miss apple juice (it's hard to find here, plus goodness knows I drank gallons as a kid), and may or may not have taken a giant juice box's worth and stashed it in my bag for us to enjoy in the library later...shhhh don't tell!

Anyway, this morning began with tours at Palazzo Vecchio. Almost late (but not!) to my first one at 10:30, I took a Brazilian couple around the Palazzo, and they were really fun and interactive and I enjoyed giving that tour. But no one showed up for my 12pm tour so I headed to school on time for Italian (but, sadly, not in time for pie). I only had Italian, and after I headed to the library to do some work. I applied for four internships this afternoon. I was on a roll, amiright? Yeah? Ohhhh yeah. In the middle of applying for a new scholarship at SU. It's not much, about $500 a semester I think? Or just a one-time $500, but hey, I'll take what I can get! I just had one of those GASP moments where I realized I missed a meeting with my professor, my internship coordinator Prof. Duni. I feel AWFUL. Will be emailing him immediately.

There's a Damien Hirst exhibition opening today at Palazzo Vecchio in the studiologio, and at work this morning I was handed a fancy ticket to see the exhibit tonight on the opening night (well I felt important!). It was valid for two people. I text Hannah, "Wanna be my plus one?" so at 5:30pm we headed over. We breezed through all the (intense) security and roped off sections, and hopped in line. Only 12 people are allowed in the little room at a time, and only for 5 minutes. You walk in from the Sala di 500 (the main room) into the studiologio, and then escorted into a pitch black room where the only light seems to be radiating from this crystal skull! It's an 18th century human skull, dipped in platinum, and encrusted with diamonds. It's a freak. Damien Hirst is known for his extravagant displays (he's designed pianos for Lady Gaga) and is a big name in contemporary art (especially because of his work with Sotheby's). The story is that when Damien called his mom and told her about the skull project, she responded, "Oh for the love of God, Damien," and so that's what this piece is called, "For the Love of God." Fun fact!

The viewing was pretty cool, I'm not one to necessarily get weird over diamonds, but this was just something else. We headed home almost dizzy and came home to our Italian version of Thanksgiving dinner: carne with pomodoro e formaggio (like a red meat version chicken parm) and pasta pomodoro and salad and bread with of course, dessert. At that point Hannah and I gave up: we're very thankful this Thanksgiving!

Pisa and the British Invasion of Florence

 Sam came back to Florence! Granted, it was with an ETS class, but I treasure every moment, and it's like seeing the city in a new light every time I'm with him! Here's what happened:

Thursday Sam got into Pisa at 8, and the original plan was for me to meet him at the hotel his class was staying at at 9:30 (by the time they got to Florence, and got situated, this seemed like a reasonable time). Haha well after a few delays and traffic and the class's stop at the Leaning Tower in Pisa, I got to their hotel on a 10:45 bus (the buses come once an hour after 9:30, so that had to be planned meticulously), arriving at the hotel around 11:15, right when they were walking in the door to check in. Va bene. I took Sam and his best friend from abroad Erick near the Duomo to get some food, and we ended up hanging around one of the bars/cafes/clubs (it's like a mix of all three, the going out places here serve multi-functional purposes) for a little just for something to do. We ended up running into a group of SUF students who knew Erick (small world!) so the group of us enjoyed the evening until late (dare I tell you?--3am) and instead of taking a cab home I crashed on the floor of the boys hotel room--seriously. Think Palm Springs back in the day when our family would go and Jackie/Tori would make a bed out of the cushions haha. I told Sam I'd leave early so I could get home (I didn't tell Anna I'd be sleeping out, otherwise it wouldn't have been a big deal) and slipped away at 7am--woof, brutal. But it was sunny with a few clouds, and I was glad the SUL class would have a sunny day to explore the city.

Wrong.

I went back to bed as soon as I got home and got a restful 2 hours of sleep (made all the difference in the world) and after preparing myself to conquer the day, headed out to meet the class at the Medici Chapels at San Lorenzo. And it was pouring rain. And continued to rain all weekend. Relentlessly. I didn't mind, obviously, but when I met up the with the class Erick said to Sam that I'd never fit in as an Italian, I was a) too happy b) too colorful (I was wearing my trench coat and a red scarf, that's not that colorful!) and c) too blonde-curly-haired.

I followed the class along the rest of the day, and Forbes, the professor of the class who Sam had introduced me to Thursday night at the hotel, overheard me "teaching" Sam about the Medici's and ended up having me speak my piece at every monument we went to thereafter. I was kicking myself for being such a know-it-all. But Sam said he's never been more proud! After the Medici Chapels the class broke for lunch and we went to a favorite sandwich place of mine where we saw three Italian women with wine that was steaming. I had no idea that they served mulled wine here, so Sam, Erick,

Buonanno's Cathedral doors in Pisa

and I tried this "hot wine" and while it certainly wasnt the same as mulled wine with the spices and such, it was a warm pick me up after splashing around Florence. Kinda warms you up from the inside out. Interesting!

The class proceeded with a look inside San Lorenzo, a trip to the Duomo, and ended in the Baptistery where I accompanied them and got in free thanks to the generosity of Forbes and SUL (my museum pass only covers certain entrance fees, the Baptistery and most churches are not included) so I earned my keep by talking about the great mosaics of the Baptistery for the class, and I think I'm really lucky. The SUL kids who are art history majors/in art history classes (I talked to a few who were) sure, they'd have class at the National Gallery, but they don't get to study their stuff in the original context like I get to. Mom, you said in a previous email that maybe I was actually going to remember something from this semester of schooling. I absolutely agree, it not only helps to have that interactive learning where I'm on site for most of my classes, but even in the classroom, I can easily go into the city and apply what I learned to the things around me. They're like constant reminders, so how could I forget? I guess my point is that I was really easy to talk about the things Forbes was nudging my way, and I really enjoyed talking about them!

View of the Pisa Duomo from the Baptistery

After a stop at their hotel to change into try shoes (did I mention it rained all day? You'd think these London kids would be used to it/own a pair of boots. Every single one of them had sneakers! Big thanks to Gram, the boots she got me at the end of the semester last year have been my life saver! They're adorable and waterproof without being rainboots!) Anyway, we headed to Villa Rossa where Forbes kind of MCed a discussion among SUF professors and/or local Florentines and his class. This was an event where he'd told his students to tell us, the SUF students, to come and participate. Except none of the questions he asked applied to us, or were directed at us. I'd invited as many friends as were in town (there was a Paris trip this weekend hosted by the school much like this Florence trip for the SUL kids where it was optional and you had to pay for it--Hannah went) and Sarah and Cynthia came. But regardless they served an AMAZING apperativo after with crostini and bread and FRESH olive oil (the harvest was last week!) and cheese and olives and Chianti wine and it was just delicious! We tried to formulate a plan for dinner for the group after, but realized a group of 22+ people was a big extreme to descend upon a restaurant without a reservation, so we broke off and Liz and I took a group of 8 SUL students to our favorite local student cheap great variety place, Il Gato e Il Volpe. Everyone was more than content, but really full from our apperativo (I'd told them--my vote was to skip a sitdown dinner and grab a slice of pizza or something...) so Sam and I were the smart ones who split gnocci! Especially since Italians don't believe in doggy bags...sorry Abby.

Pisa Baptistery Pulpit

That night we were all filled to the brim with food and tired, so I headed home around 11:15 because I had a field study trip the next morning and had to get up early early early. Sam said he crashed as soon as I left. Anyway, so Pisa/Lucca was on my agenda for Saturday, and after a brutal 6:40 wake up call and my tendency to run late, I made it out the door with my breakfast in one hand and key in the other (I knew when I returned Anna was going to be mad I didn't wake her up to make me breakfast, but first of all I refuse to disturb the woman's sleep for something so selfish, and second of all I was late myself). But everything was fine and within two minutes of being on the coach bus for the trip I was asleep.

In Pisa we checked out the main complex, the Cathedral, the Baptistery, and of course, their bell tower, or the Leaning Tower. I took one of those adorable touristy photos of me holding up the Leaning Tower--yeah just wait til it goes up, it's precious! Anyway, we learned about why its leaning, and then went to the Baptistery, which is much plainer than ours, but has an important pulpit we learned about in Black Death, and then at 11, a monk came in and called out notes--he didn't sing, but he called out different notes. And based on the acoustics in the Baptistery and the timing of his note-calling, it sounded like there was a whole choir in there!!! That was really really cool, something the Pisans have on the Florentines. All Florence's baptistery's good

Pisa Baptistery from the second story

for is shiny gold stuff. We spent some time in the Cathedral which also has an important pulpit and some important bronze doors, and then were told we might not do the second part of the day trip because of the crummy weather. Well my heart skipped a beat because that meant I'd get to go back to Florence and join in on the SUL tours! After that idea was put in our heads, an idea which 90% of the group was in favor of, the leaders said, just kidding, we're going to Lucca at least for lunch. Well ok. I mean, we were out and about anyway, when else was I going to get a chance to see Lucca?

We were dropped off within the city walls of Lucca, every fourth person was handed a map, and told, ok, you have two hours for lunch. When you're done, we'll let you know if we're going back to Florence or walking around the city on a walking tour. Sarah, Cynthia, and this new guy John (who reminds me of Bob Saget from his Full House days) and I meandered around this Medieval city with its twists and turns around markets and

Pisa Cathedral Pulpit and Interior

such--it's a very pretty and very quaint little town, I really enjoyed it--until we popped into a cafe to grab some lunch. We reconvened at the meeting point, tired, full, and ready to get on the bus to take a nap, when the field study leader of the day said, well the weathers holding out, we're going to stay for another hour and a half and go on a walking tour of the city, but it was optional. Most of the kids didn't go, but Sarah, Cynthia, Bob Saget aka John and I figured why not, and I ended up being really glad we went! We went to three different churches, one of which has the un-decayed body of Santa Zita (Saint Elizabeth, we think), which was really cool and really weird at the same time! People were taking pictures, I felt like that was kind of sacreligious...but wasn't sure. She looked a little worse for wear...kind of mummified...but it was pretty cool nonetheless. We finished at the Lucca City walls, which are now preserved as a park/running path/biking path and enhances the city's beauty. The walls were kind of a joke back in the day, since Lucca was a peacefully little city with the big fat squat walls. But now they're really very lovely.

Anyway, we headed back to Florence, I crashed like the narcoleptic I am in moving vehicles, and arrived in Florence early still around 5:45. I headed home, cleaned myself up, and headed out to meet Sam around 6:45. After a major major lack of communication between the two of us (I blame myself, I'm the local, I shouldn't have expected him to give me directions to where he was, I should have designated a meeting point!), I found him with a group of other SUL kids at 8. They were trying to go to this restaurant called Dante on Oltrarno (YAY!!!! MY side of the Arno!!!! SUF kids avoid Oltrarno like the plague for no good reason) that serves free wine for students. They were glad to see me to

Walking along Lucca's wall

have someone who knew where they were going, and to have someone who spoke Italian. Unfortunately, Dante's was packed. And I panicked, I didn't have a back up plan for this area of the city. So we walked along the road and found an osteria a block down with a promising menu and very reasonable prices. It was a GREAT meal!!!!!! I love Oltrarno, it's so much less touristy and has so much to offer, and I loved that the SUL kids didn't know any better that it wasn't the "center" of the city, they were just as content to eat there as anywhere else. In fact, Sam said if he was every to come back to Florence in the future (i.e. with his parents, in future travels), he'd want to stay Oltrarno and see the more Tuscan side of the city, rather than the main attractions. God love him. Everyone at dinner was mad I wasn't with them all day, Sam said every single person in the group, including Forbes, asked him where I was that day and if I'd be joining them later, because it was more enjoyable to listen to me (showoff, in my opinion/talk, in theirs) than to listen to Forbes and his Florentine counterpart. I thought that was very sweet of them, and Sam said he was beaming with pride all afternoon. Awwww. Following dinner, I'd planned to crash at the hotel that night and go with the class to see the David and go to the Uffizi early the next morning, I was ready for bed, but Sam wanted to go out to a club we'd been to when he first came to Florence. It was the first time he and I had some alone time, and we only went out for an hour or two, but we had fun! When we returned, we'd found Erick had ended up going out with a group of SUL boys, and returned even later than we had. But we got a solid night's rest.

Medieval Lucca city wall

After a nice breakfast at the hotel and me pretending I'd just arrived at the hotel that morning when Forbes came to collect the group, we headed to the Academia to check out David, who I actually hadn't seen before. My museum pass got me in for free, and not only that, but I was able to cut the line, so I was ready to go a little before the class was! We spent about a half hour in the Academia with this GIGANTIC statue (I underestimated him---wow, big piece of marble), and then made our way across town to see my favorite gallery of art. A little unimpressed at how Forbes was presenting the information (ok, now I'm being an art snob, I know), and Sam still a little tired, and with the permission for the class to wander the galleries alone, we broke off from the group after moving from

Pisa's Campo Santo--literally "Holy Ground" brought from Jeruselum and planted here

pre-Black Death to early Renaissance art, and took our time to look at images as I pointed out my favorites to Sam. I mean, I go to the Uffizi on rainy Sunday afternoons for hours and hours just to have something to do occasionally, so after Palazzo Vecchio this was home.

When Sam complained of image overload (there's apparently a syndrome for that...) we tried to wait out the rain (nope, just kept raining) and walked along the Arno and locked a padlock on the Padlocks of Love by the Arno (awwwwww). After that he wanted to get some earrings for his mom, but the earrings place that I got the girls' earrings at was closed, so we made out a deal for me to pick them up, after he asked his mom if she still wore earrings (they're going to be in London for Thanksgiving)...anyway, that's just a side story. We strolled along Oltrarno and Sam wanted to try Dante's again, we were seated immediately and he treated me to a lovely fedaccini alfredo lunch (for me) and lasagna (for him) for lunch, which was very much the Italian version of comfort foods after walking around in the rain. The SUL kids had free time until they had to meet at 4:15 to leave for Pisa, but Sam didn't want to go to another museum, and instead we started heading back to the hotel to watch a movie in the lobby or something, but en route stopped at the olive oil festival in Piazza della Repubblica, where we tasted some really interesting oils and cheeses!!! Apparently we weren't the only ones who were looking to warm up at the hotel, and several other SUL kids had camped out out of the rain there.

I walked with Sam to the train station where they we catching a train to Pisa before their flight, and said goodbye and waved and cried (I'm such a baby) until their train pulled out of the station. I headed back home, arranged my schedule and rested for the remainder of the evening, and then joined Anna and Antoinetta for a delicious dinner of minestrone, our favorite chicken and vegetables, fruit, and panna cotta. Hannah walked a little after 10 and Anna warmed up a plate for her. I'm exhausted, and was looking forward to a good night's sleep in what feels like the world's now comfiest bed.

Inside Campo Santo