Well, yesterday turned out to be another amazing day. We went up to the Piazza Michelangelo which is on the SW side of the Florence. The piazza overlooks the entire city. We took a ton of great pictures and will post them tomorrow for all to see! After we left the piazza, we hiked up hill to a little church where monks we gathering for a monk chant at 5:30pm. We ended up heading out before it began, but some students stayed and said it was pretty cool. We arrived back at the hotel in time for a short nap and then we were off to Jen's instructors apartment for an evening social.....well, it ended up being more of an evening dance off! We had plenty of Italian antipastas, pastas, wine and water. They even served up "Jesus Wine" which tastes more like whiskey. You dunk a piece of bread/cookie into the wine and eat it...when it's done you drink the wine. To strong for me so I dunked mine in some water! I was the designated directions girl last night and it was my job to get the group back to the hotel. After dinner the living room turned in to a dance hall....it was a fun time! We got back to the hotel about 1:30am....a different lifestyle here. I am trying to adjust but my inner clock fights it pretty hard.
Today, our bus arrived at 8am and we went to Siena. If I had to rate the cities I have been to, I would rank in this order (first being my favorite): Venice, Siena, Rome and Florence. Siena was absolutely beautiful. The ride through the Tuscan countryside on the way up was something I only imagined before. The rolling hills, grape and olive orchards, etc. On the way, we stopped at an American cemetery that was established by the US government for fallen soldiers of WWII. There are about 400 soldiers buried there....
After that, we arrived in Siena. I loved this city (except for all the hills). That is what makes it so great though! We first went to the church where St. Catherine's relics are. By relics I mean her actual head and finger. Her head is in a shrine of sorts so you can't get real close, but yes, you can see it and yes, it was a bit....well, odd. It's something our culture doesn't do so it's hard to understand the thought process behind why they did it originally, but that is part of being here and taking it all in and learning. Next to her head was a spot for her finger - that you could get close to. It's an odd feeling knowing you are looking at actual body parts of someone who died over 600 years ago.
After that, we went to the house of St. Catherine and then another museum. Then, it was off to a fabulous lunch at Trattoria Mediovo. We had a full course dinner including pasta, pork, potatoes, cappuchino, etc. Very filling. Once we finished lunch, we had about an hour and half to roam the city. So many beautiful buildings and tiny alley's......simply amazing!
Tonight we are just hanging low and more awaits us tomorrow!
Today's lesson learned: Never pay $.60 EURO if you think you "should try and go to the bathroom since its right there". If you can't make yourself go, it's a waste of money.
Until tomorrow.....ciao!
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Nice lesson learned today. Would you rather pay $.78 to not have to poo, or $.00 to have poo in your pants...... think about it. Sounds like you guys are having a blast. I look forward to hearing more and seeing more pics when you get home.
ReplyDeleteEric R.