I have felt too exhausted to update my LJ lately which isn’t a good thing because I’m sure I am going to forget about the million different things going on in my life at the moment. I have been incredibly busy and tired and a bit run down as well with all these activities and working in the school. I have a slight cold which has been lingering due to my constant exhaustion. I suppose I should start with the most recent event which was our trip to Florence over the weekend. Mark spent a lot of time and money on trains to come down to Modena where I am living at the moment and he was able to meet the other girls on the trip and of course my host family of Milena, Augusto, and Alice. They let the both of us stay in their hotel for Thursday night. I insisted on staying at the house with Mark in the hotel, but they told me that they wouldn’t hear of it. Unfortunately Mark’s first exposure to Italy was Alice’s end of the school year pizza party at a local sports center. Being surrounded by 20+ elementary school children only reaffirmed my desire to teach only in middle or high schools! Italian children are especially loud because parents and teachers seem more tolerant of yelling and screaming. At one point Mark and I swore the children were on speed or something. Alice must have told them that we were coming because all the children knew my name and asked me all sorts of questions like my name, hobbies, favorite color, favorite subject, etc. They ran around in a wild fervor and would stop panting for breath, sweating, wild-eyed in the dim streetlights. It was a bit exhausting but fun at the same time.

On Friday I had to work at the school but afterwards Mark and I met up and left for Florence a day earlier than the rest of the girls. I’m glad Mark was with me and we booked our own hotel me because it turns out that when the girls finally did arrive on Saturday there was some drama about the hotel rooms and some harsh words were exchanged. By the time I heard about it everything had been smoothed out but I still feel like there are some wrinkles forming in the group. There was also was a 1am curfew that none of us were informed about before leaving. They kept touting this trip as our “free weekend” but I don’t really see how it is free if they book us in hostels with a convenient 1am curfew. Needless to say none of the girls were able to go to a club with Mark and me on Saturday night. Anyway, on Friday Mark and I checked into the hotel and then walked up to a famous viewpoint where you can see all of Florence. We went at sunset of course and even though it wasn’t a great sunset the view was still lovely. Afterwards we walked into the main part of the city and had dinner and absorbed the casual nightlife of an Italian city. Italians eat dinner very late and stay out late as well. I visited Florence once before many years ago when Sara Kate was studying abroad in Cortona. Then we arrived at the very end of winter in March and I must say that Florence in spring was transformed. Unfortunately it was very hot all weekend!

Saturday morning we had another walk around the city and entered the famous cathedral. We also checked out some shops like H&M and ZARA but I didn’t buy anything. We browsed the stalls of leather goods (the area is known for its leather products) and reserved Sunday tickets for the Uffizi museum. Saturday night Mark and I had dinner at a place recommended by one of his co-workers in Switzerland. He works with a lot of Italians and people who travel a lot. The restaurant was interesting; you paid about 8 euro for one drink and then had access to a buffet of delicious appetizer type foods, fruit, and desserts. We each ordered amazing strawberry daiquiris and then helped ourselves to the Italian and Mediterranean appetizers at the buffet. The place was packed but only with locals, so it was nice to eat something other than pizza and pasta and also to break off from the tourist trail to experience a nice little place loved by the locals. At first we couldn’t find a seat as the place was packed, but luckily some nice girls let us sit at their table as their friends were running late. After dinner Mark and I met up with the girls and tried to organize a trip out to a popular club that was recommended to me, but everyone was too tired and not willing to go out for only an hour before being back by the hostel’s curfew. Mark and I ended up calling a cab and getting a ride to the club, a place called Central Park. When we arrived there was a swarm of people surrounding the entrance. Mark and I could not figure out what was going on or how we would get inside. At this point it was already 12am and I was tired and my feet hurt from walking all day and so I was a little annoyed that there didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to getting inside. We pushed our way up to the front and eventually some American guy let us both in. I’m pretty sure it was my blonde hair that got us in; don’t let anyone tell you that blondes don’t have more fun! ;) The club was insane. It had four different DJs each with their own rooms, two were inside and two were outside. It’s called Central Park because of the outdoor part of the club which was under the trees and big tents. Drinks were really expensive at around 10 euro each but I guess that is to be expected at a huge club in a city like Florence. Inside was a circular dance floor surrounded by pillars where half-naked male and female models covered in red paint were dancing. It was so cool. Also, please note that European DJs (and we’ve heard this from other friends of ours) love to talk while DJing. It’s incredibly annoying. Anyway, we stayed for a while and then took a cab back to the hotel around 2am.

Sunday we saw the Uffizi and then visited the separate museum which houses Michelangelo’s David. The David is incredible. I have no idea how someone can take a massive hunk of marble like that and carve something so spectacular. Adrianne said she fell in love and bought a huge David poster to hang in her room. After this it was time for me to say goodbye to Mark. It seems like we’ve done so much of that. He left on a 5:20pm train back home and our group didn’t leave until 8:00pm so I had to wait a while but was able to meet up with Adrianne and a girl named Amber so that helped pass the time. It’s always hard saying goodbye but at least I will be seeing him in a little over a week.

The previous weekend I wasn’t feeling well and I ended up going to Bologna with Adrianne and not really wanting to be there. Bologna had some nice shops and of course the world’s oldest university but otherwise I wasn’t really that impressed with the city. On Sunday my host family and a girl named Kelly’s host mother and sister took me to Verona, which was a really beautiful little place and not packed with tourists as it is somewhat hard to get to by train. We were able to see “Juliet’s house” and the famous balcony but William Shakespeare never actually visited Verona so these are just fanciful tourist traps but nice thoughts all the same. There is also an old Roman amphitheater there as well which is still used for opera performances in the summer. Around dusk we took a 30 minute drive from Verona to a tiny little town right on Italy’s largest lake where we had dinner and watched the sun set. It was a great day even though I could barely breathe through my nose and I sounded like a muppet for most of the day. Monday I was at the school and in the afternoon we had a trip to a local archeological site set up as a fieldtrip for children. A lot of the trips organized for this study abroad revolve around the early childhood education aspect which doesn’t apply to either Adrianne or me as we are in the secondary education program. Monday night Adrianne’s host brother Massimo threw a Fromaggio di Maggio (the cheese of May) party at their house. Adrianne’s host-family’s house is absolutely gorgeous and has a huge yard with trees, outdoor furniture, a hammock, a swimming pool, and is just all around relaxing. Adrianne invited all the American girls to the party and so there was a bit of girl madness as they swarmed around Italian boys. Mojitos were passed out and suddenly it started to feel like an 11-year-old slumber party.

Anywho, this trip is quickly drawing to a close and I am quickly running out of money! My last day here is next Wednesday, June 3rd when I will go to school, meet for lunch one last time with my professors and classmates, and then catch a train to endure the 6+ hours of train travel up to Lucern, Switzerland to see Mark for a while. And then home again at last! I’m already looking forward to sleeping in my bed and a nice, cold Dr Pepper. And as for you, when is good for tubing in Helen and a sleepover at Joe’s and my place? Let me know!

Okay and finally here are some pictures. I am still missing pictures I took in Modena, Bologna, and Verona but they are on my facebook until I get around to posting them here.


Overlooking Florence at night. Such a lovely view!

( Florence here! )

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