little miss magic, what you gonna be?

the end. home again home again…

elisabethap9 — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 14:58:00 +0000

My last week in Italia was INCREDIBLE! Monday-classes and Wednesday-finals, but the rest of the week rocked. Tuesday we went to Orveito. Orveito is really cool, this town has a network of over 1000 ancient Etruscan caves under it. We got to tour a couple of them. We also saw the duomo in Orveito (every town in Italy seems to call their main church “the duomo” but the actual Duomo is the one in Florence). It was gorgeous, it has a Gothic facade that is very beautifully painted. A few of us left Orveito early to catch the 2 o’clock train back to Chuisi so we could make it back to Montepulciano by 4:30. We had gotten to join the art class that was taking a cooking class that night. This cooking class was one of the coolest things I did the whole time I was in Italy. This retired couple lives right outside of town. They have the most beautiful farm…. fresh fruits, olive trees, bunnie (that had escaped lol) chickens, and all their own fresh vegetables. We learned how to make pasta from scratch and how to roll the pasta out. We also learned how to make 3 different kinds of bruschetta and TARIMISU! It was so much fun and we didn’t get home till after 10. The next day when finals were over we were all ready to celebrate. The majority of us went down to the tents, which we have been informed is actually called “The Gardens” by the locals. lol. It was a fun night and from there we went to the Black Sheep Bar even further down the hill. Thursday I went on my last field trip, but we didn’t even leave town… we stay in Montepulciano. My upper lever lit class has all of 4 students in it and we went with our professor to the Civic Museum in town and then to a wine tasting all up around Piazza Grande. The wine tasting we went to is the one Rick Steves talks about in his section on Montepulciano in his Italy travel guide. The man that owns it was soooo sweet and really energetic! lol. It was a nice way to end our last field trip on our adventure to Italy. It was short and sweet and since we were already at the top of the hill on of the other girls in my class and myself decided to pay the three euro to go to the top of town hall. It was a beautiful view. I spent the rest of the day just enjoying Montepulciano until dinner. After dinner I got gelato! and spent the evening hanging out with three other students on the trip…. this is s good time to mention my coming into my own dorkiness…. my friends Hunter and Joe and I totally started our own super hero league. Joe is our Jedi, Hunter is my sidekick Bible Man, and I am Annie Amazing. lol. Jedi Joe heads up the whole operation (or so he thinks, we all know being the only female who is really in charge here. haha) and we have a lair in a cave in a secret location in the States. hahaha Anyways, Friday I woke up and started to clean up the apartment… which was very bittersweet. Steph and I went to lunch, I did some shopping, then I met up with Hunter and Joe to do some homesharing to share some music. I had a really fun day. We had dinner for the last time at our restaurant and we all got dressed up before to take our group pictures. This night dinner was a FIVE course meal instead of our normal three. It was wonderful, we got to try a lot of new things. After dinner everyone planed to go out for on last time together. Saturday I spent the majority of the day at il Sasso on the internet, homesharing music, and watching Monty Python. Went with a group to have Chinese for dinner, yes my last meal in Italy was Chinese….it was a great life choice. Our luggage was picked up at midnight and we headed down the hill one last time to catch our buss to Rome… In Rome we arrived at the airport around 3 am to find our flight canceled…. we had a group of like 50 and our flight was cancelled…. it made for a very interesting next day or soo…. we were split into 3 groups…. one group took a direct flight to Atlanta, another went to Canada, and my group went to Detroit…. so after more than 10 hours at the Rome airport I finally was on a plane back to the states.When that plane landed in America I was so happy. Customs was a breeze and once again our group was split this time in two… some of us took a 6:30 flight to Atlanta and others were on the 7:30, but finally I found myself having a tearful homecoming in baggage claim. I was so glad to see my mama and Ron. So there is my last week in ITALY! As I said in an earlier post I do want to post about how this trip effected me but one thing at a time…. I am working on adjusting back to the time and weather here in Georgia… my poor body is taking it a little rough. lol.

But so far this week I have gotten to experience White Water for the first time with Mama and Ron, I have gotten to spend some time with my Gran, Granddad, and two of my sweet cousins, bought alcohol legally, and I have laid by the pool and I think I hear it calling my name again so CAIO YA’LL.

And so we find ourselves at the beginning of the end…

elisabethap9 — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 19:53:31 +0000

Today marks the first day of my last week in Italia! I can’t believe it, the last week or so has just been flying by. This past Thursday we made our last trip to Rome and I loved it. I have been really frustrated with how loud and dirty the city of Rome actually is but Thursday we did a walking tour and it was incredible. We started at the Spanish Steps, then to the Trevi Fountain, and the Pantheon, then ending at the Four Rivers Fountain. It was a spectacular last note for me with Rome! One of my friends did some research on the Trevi Fountain before we went and informed us that if we threw 1 coin in it guaranteed our return to Rome, 2 coins meant we would find a romance, and 3 a marriage…. so of course I threw 3 coins in. Partially because I am OCD and have to do everything in 3′s and also because what girl doesn’t want to find romance and eventually get married, not to mention returning to Roma and ITALIA!! I have had a very relaxing last full weekend in Italy and am preparing myself for this week…. last day of classes tomorrow, field trip to Orveito on Tuesday, FINALS on Wednesday (then our finals-are-over/end-of-the-trip celebration night on wednesday), last fieldtrip Thursday (not really sure where we are going yet) and the lake on Friday and a nice last night dinner on Friday too! AND SATURDAY PACKING AND HEADING HOME! I won’t leave here till late Saturday night here but will be getting back Georgia around 4 in the afternoon on Sunday… sooooo my cellphone, Mario, will be coming back on then! I am really excited for my last week and also excited to be coming home…. honestly its kind of bittersweet…

I will probably post at least one more time while I am here… maybe more than once but it will just depend. I am working on a post on how my experiences in Italy and being away from home for the first time for so long has affected me as a person and my heart sooooo keep an eye out for me pouring my heart out via blog… hahaha. :) CAIO!!

Vivere & Risata & Amore

elisabethap9 — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 19:53:47 +0000

Ciao blog readers!Mkay so I haven’t posted in like a week or more… sorry ‘bout it. I mentioned briefly on Monday that I have been sick. I am doing a lot better, still struggling with the sniffles and a terrible headache that comes and goes but it could be a whole lot worse. Anyhow so last Thursday we traveled to Pisa for our fieldtrip. & I am gonna be honest…. It was cool to see The Leaning Tower of Pisa but the fieldtrip was a bore and honestly so was the town. There is A LOT of history in the city of Pisa and I found it really interesting but it was a hot and tiresome day. This past weekend I stayed in Montepulciano and I am very glad I did. It literally rained ALL weekend plus this is when I was feeling the worst with the cold I have been fighting. So I got to catch up on some rest and get some homework done. I also got to make a good dent into the book I am reading, Breaking Free by Beth Moore. This week it has continued to rain off and on, but yesterday we returned to Florence. I just love Florence… except for the fact that it is loud and honestly kinda stinks, but still I love Florence and it’s charm. For our fieldtrip everyone spilt up in to groups with their morning classes, there for there were only 6 of us including my teacher in our group. It was nice and made it easier to get around town. We visited the Archeological Museum, San Marco (which was a Dominican Monastery but is now a museum), and the Bargello. They were all really neat! I am a little burnt out on fresco but the Fra Angelico frescos at San Marco are incredible! At the Archeological museum we got to see more pottery and like 4 mummies and mummies are always exciting! The Bargello was my favorite part of the day though. In my art history classes Donatello’s David has always probably been my favorite piece of sculpture. I just love it and well it calls the Bargello home! So I got to see it in person, no worries I got pictures even thought you weren’t supposed to be taking them! Lol. Now don’t get me wrong I LOVE Michelangelo’s David… I mean come on who wouldn’t its breathtaking but I was super excited to see this work by Donatello, as I said it’s one of my favorite sculptures. The Bargello started out as Florence’s town hall then was turned in to a prison…. Bargello is Italian for prison, but now it houses an incredible collection of sculptures by sooo many of the masters. And this may sound silly but I actually touched Michelangelo’s Baccus and Donatello’s David…also not something you are really supposed to do but for me I got some kinda thrill out of touching work that the Renaissance masters crafted! Lol. Tomorrow I will be returning to Rome for my fieldtrip and will be getting to finally see the Trevi Fountain, among some really awesome other things. It’s hard to believe I only have one full week left abroad. Part of me is really anxious to get home. I truly didn’t know I would get so homesick, but at the same time I can’t believe this experience is coming to an end. I really love Italy, especially Tuscany and Pompeii. I have been truly affected by this incredible experience and am so thankful that I even got this opportunity. Now if I can only survive finals next Wednesday!

P.S. I got an email Monday from my friend, Ashley who is in South Africa right now. It was so amazing to hear from her because I miss her very much! I bring this up because I want to ask for a prayer request ya’ll… My friend Ashley is an alumna from the UGA chapter of AOPi and a very dear friend and spiritual leader in my life. Currently herself, her husband, my friend/sister Kim (an AOPi from my chapter), and a group of students with Campus Crusade for Christ are all in South Africa doing the Lord’s work right now. Please Pray for them and the work they are doing. While I am on the topic of prayer request and the awesome things my friends are doing abroad: a very important boy in my life is in Chongqing, China right now… I have mentioned Kyle in earlier post….while he is gone I will not get to talk to him which has been rough so far but I am super excited for him, this incredible experience he his having and his mission… the last update on his mama’s facebook said he is doing really great and that just warms my heart to hear so just please pray for him and all of my friends while they are abroad and for their safe returns back to the States, I’d really appreciate ya’lls prayers for them and I know they appreciate them too! I will beat them all home and I just know that I will be counting down the days till they are back too!

I will be in the Mont-e-P again this weekend so I will hopefully be posting again by Monday! I am really looking forward to getting to explore this town some more on my own. One week left to gooooooo soooo for tonight, arrivederci!!

Only 2 Weeks left in ITALIA.

elisabethap9 — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 10:04:37 +0000

I have been sick since the last time I posted and have been literally working on homework all weekend! I will post on Wednesday (hopefully) about everything that has been going on and how I am doing so look out for it!

Hope all is well in the States! Missing everyone and sending lots of love ya’lls way! Just 2 more weeks till I am back and ya’ll will probably all be ready to ship me off again before no time! haha

Love Padlocks –> flow up tid-bit to Florence post!

elisabethap9 — Mon, 30 May 2011 10:39:32 +0000

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_padlocks

lol

“Today is a gift that’s why they call it the present…” :)

elisabethap9 — Mon, 30 May 2011 10:30:55 +0000

Ok so my birthday, I posted on it but I haven’t gone much into it…. Well it was just another day. An amazing day but just another day…. Well at least at first. Honestly I woke up not really excited. I mean I have never not been with my mama on my birthday and seriously I have spent all my birthdays in college with the same group of people! And this year every single one of those people were on another continent. But still my birthday was completely amazing! It started out perfect cuz my roomie, Steph and I stayed up late talking so she got to be the first person to wish me a happy birthday & right before we went to bed I opened my birthday card from my Grandma (it was almost 2am in Italy so totally fair. Lol.) Grandma’s birthday card totally made me tear up, I am so glad I didn’t open it till my birthday! It was just the homesick-pick-me-up that I needed. Then we went to bed, but when I woke up all I could think is, “So this is what it feels like to be 21…umm okay.” Then I tired to get showered and get ready for my day…. No hot water, it was messed up temporarily. Still I was not a happy camper, thankfully my mama called a few minutes later. I am glad we got to talk for a few at that point in my day because otherwise I would have been very moody (even though she made fun of me for naming all my favorite things with “m”s…which is just a weird thing…my car has been Maria since I got her…she is a sexy latin woman, my phone is her bf and his name is Mario…he is Italian, and my macbook pro is Marty….I dk why he just is my Marty. Lol. Its just their names and my mama informed me this is weird. Haha.) Anyways so my birthday fell on a Wednesday, which means I sat in class all day! I had an amazing breakfast with Steph at the café by our school, she studied for her world lit test while I read a chapter or so in my book, Breaking Free. After class I was going to the Chinese place for lunch (yes Chinese in Italy, its my birthday so I do as I please hahaha) and I FELL DOWN THE STAIRS leaving class. Which I mentioned in my last post on my birthday but owwwwe. I wasn’t seriously hurt but I got bruised up on my arms and it was just annoying, hilarious but annoying. A group of about 10 went to have lunch with me. It was great. And thanks girls who payed for the majority of my lunch, that was super sweet!!!! Then more class…. Wooo hooo. I did get to get online for a little while after class. It was nice to get on and update my blog, email my daddy, and to get to have some facebook time. I had so many sweet post on my wall so thanks everyone…. The highlights being Pattycakes (Patrick I am not in North Korea…oddly enough I am in Italy. Haha), and really all my family and friends (I was online till about 11am in the States so if I didn’t get your post till weekend or Monday know that I appreciated it and love ya!) And Kyle’s sweet sweet mama’s post! (Thanks again Mrs. Angie!! & great quote! Btw it’s one of my favorite ever since my uncle gave me a magnet with the whole thing on it when I was in high school! Lol.) It made me not feel so far from him…. And that meant sooo much! And I appreciate all the love I got for my 21^st because I truly was starting to get homesick! But I went back to my apartment with hopes to get a hot shower before dinner, thankfully our hot water was working again! And I got some quiet time before dinner and got to talk to my Gran! Who by the way has spoiled my Maria (my baby…i.e. my Toyota Corolla. Lol.) with a car wash, gas, new floor mats, all kinds of good stuff! Thankyou bunches Gran, I appreciate more than words can say and I know Maria appreciates it too. Haha. At this point in my day I was super happy but still always thought my 21^st would be more exciting (that sounds soooo dumb cause I am sooooooo lucky to spend my birthday in another country, but my family is my life…not being with them is just weird. Lol) but at dinner I was lucky to get to send some time with Katie, my sorority sister that is here with me. Having a sister here makes me feel a little less distant so I was really glad to sit with her at dinner. Katie, Steph, and I split a bottle of white wine to celebrate my 21^st…. needless to say I drank the majority of it. Lol. (& Katie bought…thanks love! Lol)

Then when it was time for dessert all the lights in our dinning room went off…. I turn around to see the cute Italian waiter walking down the stairs with a birthday cake for me with a single candle lit. It was GREAT! The whole room was singing happy birthday to me and I made my wish and blew out my candle.

It was an amazing birthday dinner and after we all ate some dessert (it was some kind of café and custard cake with whipped cream….we think. Lol) Steph, Megan, Katie, and I went for some chocolate gelato. Katie somehow got gelato in her hair and spiderwebs haha but we sat at a table outside and told ghost stories till we were all sufficiently freaked out and it was starting to get dark. Then split ways for the night. Steph and I walked home where she told me about her day and I journaled, started writing my blog post for the weekend and listened to some Mika, followed by some Emarosa (very different I know) and waited to for my mama to call again when she got off work and before I went to bed. Had to get rested for a big day in Rome on Thursday! Thanks to everyone who….

A)wished me a happy birthday

B)worked super hard to make my birthday perfect: My family (Gran & Granddaddy for sending me to Italy for my birthday, Mama for bringing me in to existence on this day and trying so hard to get me a birthday card on my birthday and for the tears at 7am my time/1am your time. Lol. Grandma & Pa for the sweetest card ever, and my cousin Caroline and my Aunt Anne for both taking the time to figure out how to wish me a happy birthday in Italian! That was awesome! Lol.), my friends back home, and all my new friends here in Italy (seriously ya’ll made it amazing! Paying for lunch, wine at dinner, and the birthday cake! Thankyou so much) So I always thought 21 would feel different, it doesn’t. Maybe it will when I am back in the States, but either way I have had the best birthday ever and am so appreciative of everyone that helped me get here, those here with me, and those who were thinking about me on my big day back home (or in other countries that I miss bunches lol)

Now on to the weekends adventures. An adventure is totally the best way to explain my weekend. Hah… Thursday we got up bright and early to head back to Rome! We got to see the Coliseum, The Forum, and Capitolone Musei (Museum).

It was a very long hot day but really cool! It got a little frustrating traveling with such a big group because we were with our classes, but really incredible. I can’t believe I can say that I have walked through the Coliseum! After our field trip ended the group I was traveling with for the weekend and another group of students on our trip staying at the same hostel in Rome set out to find the hostel. Of course it was on the complete opposite side of town! Ha. Finally we made it and it was really neat. It was a camping hostel. We had tents with bunk beds in them, a swimming pool, grocery story, bar/”disco”, and restaurant all on the grounds! We really had a blast there on Thursday night. We goofed off at the pool like kids playing marco polo, had amazing ravioli for dinner, then finished the night off hanging out at the bar. We met some really interesting people…. The man from Africa that worked at the grocery store, then a really cool guy from Australia and another from New Zealand… the people at hostels are so interesting. And so far everywhere we have stayed there have been a large majority of English and/or Australian people, it has been really fun! Friday we woke up and literally spent the whole day traveling on buses, subways, or trains…. We made it fun but woooowww it was a long day of traveling and train stations. We were only going to Naples then Sorrento, it just tool forever. We stayed at another camping hostel in Sorrento, this hostel had cabins instead of tents. Steph and I called them our playhouse. Hahaha. We just relaxed at our hostel Friday night and actually ran into another group of students from our trip and they just raved about their day in Capri so this got some wheels turning in Steph and myself’s heads. So Steph and I made the decision to not return to Monteoulciano on Saturday but instead to spend the WHOLE day on Capri and exploring Sorrento and to then go to Pompeii on Sunday and travel back home after that (original plan was to go with our group of 7 to Pompeii Saturday then back home Saturday night). I am so glad we did this! Capri was amazing! The two of us got to relax on the beach and get some sun! We wandered around the shops and had the most amazing lunch!! Everyone we met on Capri were soooooo friendly, unlike the people we met when we were wandering Sorrento.

Sunday we got up and traveled to Pompeii! I was so excited for this! I was feeing really sick from all the traveling over the past few days but Pompeii was such a neat experience! I took a ton of pictures! We spent the remainder of the day traveling back home and when Steph and I walked back into our apartment after such a looonnnggg and interesting weekend we were very satisfied with ourselves and the fact that we did this all on our own. Just the two of us traveling all over Italy, speaking barely a stich of Italian, and making it home as easy as we did! I know I am feeling very capable and independent going in to my third week studying abroad!

Italy might make a hopeless romantic out of me after all….

elisabethap9 — Wed, 25 May 2011 14:48:20 +0000

Ok sooooo…..

A)Its my 21st birthday–>I have celebrated by reading a card from my Grandma (I have had this since Easter weekend its been driving me crazy but I finally got to open it), talking to my mama breifly, sitting in class, falling down stairs, and eating Chinese… big day I know. lol.

B)I posted Monday about Florence but I was really rushed to get to a wine tasting so I didn’t get to cover everything about my weekend…

My favorite part of Florence (I mean other than the incredible sunset on the Ponte Vechio and the David sculpture anddddd well maybe the cute new character in the new Pirates movie… lol) was these locks….

As the girls and I started to get close to the Ponte Vechio, we started noticing them everywhere….

We quickly gathered the idea. They all had names or initials; sometimes dates, sometimes hearts. They were in Italian and English and I am sure other language too. I was just so in love with these little romantic gestures. Seriously I don’t know what has taken over my heart here but I am a sappy homeless romantic in Italy (maybe it’s the wine or the language, perhaps I am reading too much or spending too much time in my own little world… I just don’t know! Lol.) They must be symbols of good fortune, everlasting love and happiness for the couples whose names are written on them or sometimes even etched in. I seriously love it! I have found the romance I expected in my little fairytale princess mind to find in Italia…. J and it just got better as we got on the bridge to wait for sunset we just found more of these locks (and a sign that said you can be fined if you leave a lock here haha), there were couples all around us holding on to each other waiting on the sun to start descending, and to top it all of a guy singing the most romantic music in Italian and playing his guitar…. Makes you miss that special someone. Lol.

So that was my favorite part of Florence… but the night didn’t end there with my picturesque sunset…. Once the sun really started to fade from the sky a group of protestors filled the area. They were from Spain, they were having a friendly demonstration in Italy because they aren’t free to protest in Spain, it was really interesting. Then Saturday we returned to Montepulciano and after Stephanie and I tried a new café for dinner we met up with the rest of the group on the trip at some of the guys’ apartment to catch up on everyone’s’ weekend, a lot of the group went to Venice but all agreed that they enjoyed Florence more so I think we made the right choice in spending the weekend there. We went from there to a local bar that we are referring to as “The Tents”…. Mostly because it is at the bottom of the hill under a big tent. It is a neat place. There are arcade games, ping-pong, pool, and foosball…. It was a blast. We all laughed till we cried and got to meet some new people, Italian and American (there is another group here from Tennessee). Sunday we spent the day relaxing; Steph slept while I read….. literally all day. Lol. I finished Eat, Pray, Love (perfect time in my life to be reading this by the way! In Italy and actually studying India in my world history class lol) and started Breaking Free by Beth Moore. It was some rest and relaxation I needed after such an eventful weekend.

OHHH the Wine Tasting Monday evening…. Well funny enough my friend Andrew gave me a business card for a wine shop here in town before I left…. This is my neighbor. No seriously next door is this wine shop; oddly enough this is the same wine shop that our program director set us up a wine tasting at. It was fun, very informative.

SOOOOOO this is just gonna be a super long post because I have been up to a lot. Lol. Tuesday we went to Siena! It was gorgeous! To be honest when we got on the bus to leave I didn’t really know what to expect because we hadn’t really been told what we were going to be seeing. We went to the Siena townhall (which hass the tallest town hall tower in all of Italy! And is also the location of the Allegory of Good and Evil Governments by the Lorenzetti Brothers) Then we toured their duomo and then we were free just to explore the city! I loved Siena! We shopped some and went to another church where we got to see the finger and head of St.Catherine…. that was really weird. lol. Tomorrow we go back to Rome! And I am staying overnight in Rome with a group of 7 other friends for a night then going to Sorento! I will be seeing Naples, Sorento, and Pompeii this weekend! So it will be a birthday weekend full of adventures!

Florence Sunset :)

elisabethap9 — Mon, 23 May 2011 14:38:37 +0000

Florence :)

elisabethap9 — Mon, 23 May 2011 14:31:44 +0000

Hey ya’ll! What a weekend! Didn’t make it to Venice but I fell in love with Florence!! Now the last time I posted I was feeling a little homesick (or a lot homesick. lol.) due to all my internet troubles & lack of communication but since I was last able to post a lot has happened! Facebook messages from my little, MB (had to check it on my ipod & a friend’s iphone b/c we didn’t have an computers with us in Florence) but this really made my spirits feel lifted. Also message from my other roommate and bestie! Alllsssooo not only a message on facebook but also a phone call from Kyle! I haven’t been online at a computer since Wednesday around dinner time here, that’s like lunch time for everyone back home….so Kyle facebooked me sometime after dinner here on Wednesday. He hadn’t heard back from me by Friday so he called me! It was a nice surprise! (Even if it was at 7:30 in the morning & woke me and the girls up at the hostel. lol.) I’ve spoken with my mama (frequently thanks Ronnie Ringo for lovin mama so much that your letting us run the phone bill up! lol) and got a sweet phone call from my Gran! Its great to hear from home! Before I get into my weekend a little side note…. my friends Kyle, Jay, & Maria have left for a trip to East Asia and Ashley, Nick, and Kim have left for South Africa so if ya’ll wouldn’t mind sending some happy thoughts and prayers their way, I would greatly appreciate it!

Now on to my weekend! My first thought when we arrived in Florence was, “Wowwwww this place is loud (compared to my quite Monteplciano!) After I started to adjust to the noise I was kinda surprised by the people who ran to our bus as we got out to sell us cheap sunglasses, tacky knock off purses & jewelry, and paintings that subjects ranged from beautiful Florence and the Tuscan countryside to Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, the King of Pop, and Tupac….. ummm sure I totally came all the way to this Tuscan town to buy a bad painting of Tupac, how did you possibly guess?! lol. And ohhhh the fake purses were horrible! I mean come on what is the Gucci “G” doing on a Louis Vutton?! haha. Anyhow while we were in Florence, Thursday we went with the group to the Uffizi Museum and then to the Academia. It was incredible to see masterpieces by Botticelli, Da Vinci,Titan, Raphel, and Michelagelo! Botticelli’s Birth of Venux and Titan’s Venus….both breathtaking. AND Michelangelo’s David! He always leaves me awestruck!

After the field trip part was over Stephanie (a jr at GCSU & my roommate here), Leah, Kat (both srs like me from GSU) and I set out to exlpore Florence ourselves! We found our hostel, its was nice. A good first hostel experience! We didn’t so too much other than an amazing dinner or Italian Mac&Chz and Sangria! Of course followed with gelato and Italian MTV, Jag, and CSI. lol. We spent Friday exploring the city and its open air markets! We also were able to see the new Pirates movies (in English). The very eventful day of shopping and sightseeing ended with the most amazing sunset I have ever seen! We sat on the Ponte Vechio and watched it. (my favorite part of Florence coming in a later post when I am not in such a time crunch!!) More to come! We have had a wine tasting set up for us by our program director so I gotta run! Chaio!

Update!

elisabethap9 — Mon, 23 May 2011 10:44:55 +0000

Post about my weekend in Florence is coming very soon! I have to get back to class so I will try to do it tonight! Keep an eye out! <3