Going with the Flow-rence

Wow I have a lot to catch you up on!

Wednesday: I had my theology class on this day and we visited a couple of different churches in Rome. I HATE my professor, but the churches were really amazing. I feel overwhelmingly privileged to tell you that I saw some things involved with Jesus' crucifixion. I saw one of the nails, a few chunks of wood from the cross, and the sign that hung above him. Moments like that make me SO glad that I am here. I also saw St. Thomas' finger that he stuck into the side of Jesus. You can't say that everyday!

Thursday: A group of our friends had us over for a girl's night dinner. There were 11 of us there that shared salad, pizza, wine and conversation. It was great! An added bonus was that we realized that a lot of us are huge musical fans, so we all broke out in song. After that a few of us met up with other people from the group to do a night sight-seeing tour. We went to the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain. Both are spectacular at night. We are planning to do an all night sight-seeing tour some time this week. That way we can avoid the tourist crowd and the hot weather. Speaking of weather, I heard that you MN folk had snow in the forecast. ;)

Friday: Today was the start of our Florence field trip. Negatives of a field trip, taking notes for class on a weekend. Positives of a field trip: school pays for nice train, hotel room, and museum entrance fees! We stayed at Hotel California. Yes, like the song. It was a nice place. I roomed with Emily and Lisa and we each got our own twin sized bed. The room was somewhat similar to a hotel room in the states, but there were a few differences. Our hotel had single beds, a shower without a shower curtain, no washcloths, and electricity that only worked if your room key was in a slot in the wall. We did have a framed tv and a delicious breakfast! After viewing a museum and a church during the day, we went out to eat with our directors and our art history professor. Oh, I forgot to mention it was an art history field trip and how much I LOVE my professor (Paolo) for that class. He is a very unique, funny guy. He throws a few one-liners into his presentations and is always the most fashionable one of the group. I wish we could take him with us to Greece! Anyway, we had a delicious dinner at a sit-down Italian restaurant. Paolo is just so crazy...he started doing palm readings during dinner. I didn't know he was doing them until he was too tired. He got to the point where he admitted that he was telling people the same thing. Hopefully he will read mine before we leave here. Speaking of which, I only have 1 more week of classes in Rome. CRAZY! Then finals. Yuck. Moving on.

Haha quick side story. So on one of our adventures I was talking to one of my friends in English when a guy came up to me and asked me something in English. My impulse response was to speak in Italian, because I am so used to speaking in Italian so I don't seem like a tourist. He laughed at me and then switched to Italian. Great. I know how to say "hello," "goodbye," "may I sit down," and "I like the green coat in the window." We eventually figured it out, it's just interesting how the language barrier works.

Saturday: We went to more museums during the day. That evening I did the research for what restaurant we should go to. I had everything arranged and told everyone that was going, a time and how to get there. It was a highly recommended place so I was excited for it. Too bad everyone else knew about it too and reserved all of the open tables. We ended up stopping at a place called Star Kebab that was awesome! I don't really want to know what is in the wrapped sandwich, but it's delicious. That was the most meat I have had in a long time. Yum. That evening we room hopped. Most of our rooms were on the same floor, which was really convenient.

Sunday: Paolo gave us an assignment about Michelangelo's David sculpture, so of course we had to go see it. The whole group went to tour that and then broke apart. Emily and I went to the market where I bought 2 scarves for myself. I have spent 23 euro total on myself since I've been here, which bought me 2 soccer jerseys and 2 scarves. Some people spent hundreds of euro dollars on leather goods this weekend. I'm just wondering how they are planning to get it all home! I guess this shows how much I hate shopping, and how simple I am. I don't need Italian leather things. I'm good with my Target stuff. Plug. I should get money for this.

Thoughts about Florence: It's a great place to shop, and stroll around. Not somewhere to go if you are on any type of budget (food wise) or if you are looking for adventure. There really weren't many things to sight-see, so I just considered my museum touring good enough. Each place we have visited has had a different tone. This one is hard to explain, because vendors were really pushy and tried to swoon women over with pick-up lines, but the city in general seemed pleasant. I had fun there, and would consider going back again. I've realized that I really enjoy doing a few tourist things, but mostly I like to spend my time being adventurous and searching out great views. Alright the next view I need is the inside of my eyelids. Time for bed! Good night!