Epilogue

Maybe it's that this is the time of the year that so many people are beginning their own study abroad adventures, or maybe it's that my parents keep bugging me about posting a closing to my Italian exploration, but I figured I'd update everyone on how I've adjusted to being back home.

I've been home for about four months now. I spent my summer in my brand new house in Fort Worth with the lovely Heather Shoop, working with her at the TCU Art Adventures summer camp as a councilor, and, well, catching up on a semesters worth of life stories and events. I got to remember what it's like to take care of other people's children (sometimes boring, sometimes fun, and sometimes a little taste of hell) and eat a chipotle burrito once a week (oh, how I'd missed it!). I've attended a wedding, used my ID to buy drinks (a surprisingly satisfying experience), and spent countless lazy days with Clayton and little Whiskey (the dog, but sometimes the drink too). I had a few good weekends with the family at the lake (which has turned into more of a sand valley as of late) and watched Renner become a very satisfied and happy dog. I also started school last week (which I had been very much looking forward to); my last first week of school! It should be a fun and relaxing year for sure.

I have adjusted very well to being back home, better than some of my peers. I wouldn't say that I miss Italy, or that I would live there for another four months. But I can say this: living overseas, so far away from home and out of my comfort zone taught me to appreciate things more than I ever have. I've learned to appreciate the dumb things, like free tap water, decent drivers, wider sidewalks, heating and air conditioning, Texas weather, and Mexican food (obviously). But I have also learned to appreciate things I thought I appreciated before; my people (family, friends, boyfriend), being in a familiar environment, my education (the fact that all of my professors speak distinguishable English), having a job (so I can have my OWN money), and just being close to the things and people that I love the most.

So, if you were to ask me for advice as to whether or not you should live in a foreign country for a semester, I would have to say yes, if only so that you might learn to love the little (and big) things in life.

P.S. - I would just like to thank everyone who actually read my blog and kept up with me while I was gone! Your praise and commentary has been forwarded to me through my mom and I appreciate it so much! Now that I have two cousins and several friends updating blogs while they're overseas this year, I understand where you all are coming from; it will be interesting to see how many times I find myself reading blogs instead of my required readings for school.

If anything else exciting happens in my life, I'll be sure to post (since I'll be graduating in May, I suppose such events would include getting a job or at least finding out what I'm doing when I graduate). Thanks for reading!!

I really like rhymes, so the title of this blog is: A Croatian Vacation

Fun fact of the weekend: college kids are “hella” (most obnoxious word in the English language - can you technically claim that it’s part of the English language?) annoying. I’m currently sitting on an overnight ferry which takes passengers between Split, Croatia and Ancona, Italy, surrounded by about 80 other college students. If I am as irritating as all the people around me, someone should slap me against my newly sun burnt face. Constantly bragging about being drunk, yelling obscenities, and whining about everything in the world, these kids really need to hear themselves. No wonder Italians hate us.

Besides the people I’ve had to travel with, my Easter weekend in Croatia with Beth was quite enjoyable. While everyone else was out drinking and clubbing, Beth and I headed to the hotel room early every night to watch pirated online movies. Maybe that’s why I find college kids so irritating: I’m already an old woman. Maybe I’ve got a Benjamin Button thing going on, so that in my later years I’ll start acting younger. I’ll just be a super cool old lady. Sure, that’s a good way to think of it.

Anywho, we arrived in Split Friday morning around 8. After being ushered to our hotels, Beth and I immediately headed out to find the beach. The beach in split, Bacvice, wasn’t anything special. However, it did have sand, European men wearing speedos, and perfect sunny weather. It was cool too because the water was super shallow; it didn’t go past our knees even when we walked quite a ways out towards the ocean.

My sunburn level that day after being out for about 3 hours was only a 1.25 (on a scale from 0 to 10, 0 being no sunburn, and 10 being absolutely fried), which is extremely impressive for me. This fact is thanks to my dear mother who made me buy a little tube of sunscreen (which I avidly argued against - accidental assonance!!) before I left the states.

That night we went to a quiet dinner outside our hotel where we tried some delicious fish soup, fish salad, and french fries. It should be noted that because we only ordered those three things, the waiter served me the french fries as my main course. Please imagine me sitting at a table with a huge plate of fries in front of me. Laugh.

I promise we tried to go out that night. We just couldn’t find an open bar selling cocktails. However, we did come across a bakery where we bought 2 yummy cakes which we took back to our hotel room with us to eat while we watched a movie.

The next morning we slept in late and found our way to a nearby town called Omiŝ (pronounced omeesh). Beth did all the research to find out that it had some of the best beaches on the Dalmatian coast (that’s what they call the part of Croatia we were in). After the 30 minute bus ride (on which I left my book - sad day), the beach we found was absolutely serene. There were almost no people around, and we sat very close to the water, listening to the waves lap against the shore, eating strawberries and grapes we’d bought the day before at the Split fruit market.

(After day two of beaching, my sunburn was still only at a 1.25! Impressive, I know)

We had quite an adventure trying to find the bus station in Omiŝ, stopping in a hotel to ask for information (and luckily finding a very friendly receptionist), running into “Italian Frank” who took a picture with us and slobbered all over Beth’s hand, and eventually hopping on some random bus, hoping it would take us where we needed to go (don’t worry, it did).

Dinner that night was UNBELIEVABLE. We went to a place (called Nostromo) directly adjacent to the local fish market, and supposedly the best fish restaurant in Split - I can now vouch that this is a true fact. We went super early so were the only people there, and got some first class service. We tasted more fish soup, got some of the greatest seafood spaghetti (full of clams, mussels, and octopi), and bread. Oh, and Beth thought it was a good idea to split an entire liter of wine between the two of us. This lovely alcohol consumption led to us stopping at an ice cream stand, and then by a grocery store on the way back to the hotel and buying loads of cookies and candy to stuff ourselves with while we watched a movie in the room again (ok, so maybe we are annoying college students - unless you mention the fact that we were back in our hotel room by 9).

After such an eventful night, I felt quite sick the next morning (never mind, I definitely am an old woman) which was unfortunate because Sunday was white water rapid day. I sucked it up, and we were able to participate. Which was good, because it was so much fun.

We suited up in wet suits, life jackets, and helmets, and settled ourselves into our rafts with our paddles. We looked ridiculous. The rapids weren’t very intense and we each had an experienced guide who would yell “bombo!” whenever something mildly intense was about to happen. At this command, we would basically duck into the raft and get swallowed in water while our guide steered us through the rapid. It was exhausting, but the scenery was so beautiful and on the relaxing parts of the ride we got to sit back and look at it all. Hopefully I can put up some pictures at some point. We couldn’t take cameras with us, so the head guide took pictures all along the way and sold a CD at the end of the trip, but there was only one. So one girl bought it and hopefully is going to put them up on Facebook for others to have.

Final sunburn rating for the weekend: a TWO. Guys. Only my face is slightly pink. That’s ALL. I think this is a first in history. Mommy, be proud!

Besides the white water rafting, Sunday should be known as another delicious food day. Almost everything was closed since it was Easter Sunday, so we stopped at a random stand selling breaded stuff. For both lunch and dinner we bought hot dogs wrapped in sesame seed bread and a couple other sweet and salty breaded snacks. Each time, our meal cost less than $5. And it was absolutely delish.

That brings us to now, as I am sitting on the 10 hour boat ride back to Florence. By the time I post this tomorrow I will be heading home in less than 3 weeks. I’m not going to lie, I am extremely excited. Too excited to find my departure bittersweet. Maybe once I’m home for a while I’ll begin to miss Florence (or at least all my European weekend vacations). But all I can think of now is how much I miss Texas and most of the people in it (I have to say “most” because to say “all” would mean I miss people like Jerry Jones - ew).

Since Croatia was my last big trip and starting this week I start turning in final papers and taking tests, this will probably be my last big post for a wile. Maybe I’ll update right before I leave or once I’ve been home for a while. But in any case, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my adventures in Italy. I won’t give this a real closing yet, saying I’ve survived or something, or I’d jinx myself for sure. I’ll just end this with, I’m so excited to see you all and have free tap water at restaurants!! Oh, and Chipotle of course.

PICTURES!!

(sorry, I didn't take very many)

24 hours in a bus: 48 hours in Prague. Worth it.

Prague (located in the Czech Republic) was quite an adventure. i took an overnight bus with a travel agency to Prague from Florence. It took about 11 hours to get to Prague, but once we got there, the bus drivers got lost trying to find the hotel - for almost two hours. Although the start of the trip wasn't ideal, we still ended up having a pretty great time.

We got a late start on Friday, but got to eat beer and sausages, saw the John Lennon wall, the Astrological Clock, and ate a delicious meal of goulash with potato cakes (oh, and more beer).

Saturday was sight seeing day. We woke up early to rush out and see the local communist museum, the Prague Castle (the oldest in Europe), the Lennon wall (again), and the Jewish Quarters (where the Ghetto once was during Nazi power). Unfortunately, the Jewish Quarters were closed, but we did sneak a peak at the cemetery which holds thousands of bodies stacked on top of each other.

There was a Starbucks in Prague, which we happily sipped down Saturday morning, but we still got our share of traditional Czech food. At little stands placed everywhere, there were sausages, cinnamon bread, cinnamon covered almonds, beer, pretzels and more. We stopped for bagels for lunch, which were delicious as well. I ate way too much all weekend, but was happy it wasn't pasta for once.

That night we went to a bar which actually had beer taps at the tables. It was cool to tap our own beer, but the service was awfully rude, so we left after one drink. We had assumed that the bar would have food, but they'd stopped serving by the time we arrived. Thanks to our poor planning, we began looking for dinner places around 11 p.m. after we left the bar. Thus, dinner was KFC. I wish I could say I was bummed about not eating more Czech food, but the coleslaw, french fries, mashed potatoes, and fried chicken were pretty dang good. Thinking about it now makes me hungry.

We left at 10 on Sunday morning and got back to Florence around midnight. The bus ride was quite unfortunate, but the trip itself was really enjoyable.

Some catchy, classic phrase about Rome or Romans or something

This weekend I spent three days in Rome with the big TCU group (well, big as in there were 18 of us, but more TCU people together than usual). Let me just say, I got more history crammed into those three days than ever before, and that’s saying something since I’m studying both history and art history.

We had an awesome guide from Australia. She was brilliant. I think I learned more from her than from Rick Steves.

Our first day (Friday), we left Florence around 9 (took the fast train - classy, I know). We stopped at a lovely little restaurant for lunch after arriving at the hotel. Oh, and then gelato of course, but this time dipped in chocolate. Like an Italian Dairy Queen (without blizzards, aw I miss blizzards - who wants to buy me one when I get home?!). We explored the open market, full of all sorts of fresh fruit and beautiful flowers, and where I bought a bunch of mixed dried fruit as if I were in a candy store. Then we met up with Freya (our guide) who showed us several awesome churches, one with a Carvaggio painting, one with a saint’s body and a statue by Michelangelo, and others which I can’t really remember.

But the most amazing thing was walking into the Pantheon. I’d learned about it in class (obviously making it ten times cooler than it could have been). BTW, the Pantheon is the giant dome with the hole in the top. The one no one could imitate until Brunelleschi’s dome (the one that I can see from my room in Florence).

Our last stop was Trevi Fountain (the one where you make wishes and throw coins in - which, fun fact, are collected and used to help the poor in Rome). We got some classic touristy “throwing-the-coin-behind-you-and-acting-giddy” pictures and then headed back to the hotel for some rest.

Dinner. Was. The. Greatest. Meal. Of. My. Life.

Turns out there’s a Hard Rock Cafe in Rome. I literally almost teared up at the anticipation of so much delicious food. I had a California burger. With real American beef. Guacamole. And, the kicker, RANCH DRESSING. Oh, and this of course followed a lovely precursor of buffalo wings. With a side of ranch. Let me just say, I haven’t felt this bloated in quite a long time. But it was so worth it.

Our second day was spent primarily at the Vatican. We got up early and walked over to the Vatican museum (on the way I tripped and fell, the sequel to my epic wipe out on the hotel steps the day before). We got to see several beautiful artworks, including the School of Athens by Raphael, the real Laocoon (which I’d thought I’d seen in the Uffizi, those tricky Italians), the Last Judgement, and of course, the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo. I was blown away. Plus, we had our nifty tour guide who knew so much, making everything even more epic.

We ended the tour in St. Peter’s Basilica, where he is actually buried, and saw Michelangelo’s Pieta, another mind blower (fair warning, my mind blew wide open on multiple occasions this weekend).

We took the metro (woo so trendy) to the Spanish steps, picked up some pizza and sat on those overrated steps to eat. We headed to a couple churches. One had a crypt, entirely decorated with thousands of bones of Franciscan monks. It was, different. I feel evil if I call it creepy or weird since it’s supposed to be holy. We weren’t allowed to take any pictures, so I’ve found one online to give you an idea of what it was like.

As an avid Dan Brown reader (as much as I hate to admit it - I know none of its true and its all far fetched and every book of his is exactly the same, don’t worry, I’m self aware), I’d been looking forward to seeing St. Theresa in Ecstasy by Bernini. I can also say though that I have learned about it in real school too, not just fictional tales. Thus, we made our way across town to the little church in which it stands. I must admit, it was very beautiful.

Sight seeing from 9 A.M to 4 P.M. wipes you out. So Beth, Veronica and I watched The Fighter on my computer that night and headed to bed early. Such a good movie. Christian Bale impressed me even more than he did as Batman, which is saying something if you know me at all.

Day three was painful. I decided to wear new shoes. You’d think after living for 21 years, you’d know not to wear new shoes when you’re walking generally long distances. Nope. Apparently I don’t know that. However, we did get to see the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Capitoline Hill (on which is one of the oldest bronze statues - Marcus Auralius).

We had delicious salads for lunch at Insalata Ricca (mine had all sorts of fish on it) and then made our way back to the train station for our train to Florence.

Thanks for reading. Sorry it’s long again. I’m going to Prague next weekend, so get prepped for that! Unfortunately I have two research papers due over the next couple weeks, so I’ll be busy on those. Isn’t school in Florence supposed to be easy? I think I signed up for all the wrong classes for sure.

Amalfi Coast Trip: Sorrento, Capri, Positano, and Pompeii

WARNING: This blog is LOOOOONNNGGG. I was keeping it updated on my computer while at the Amalfi Coast because this trip has been too amazing for me to forget anything. Hopefully you find it all interesting. If not, feel free to skip through and just look at the pictures :)

This weekend, I went with an organized tour group to the Amalfi Coast (the southern coast of Italy). We stayed in Sorrento and took trips to Capri and Pompeii. It was a weekend full of hiking hiking hiking. Each town is built into sloping cliffs and hills, so to get from place to place one has to climb steep hills or thousands of tiny steps. Lets just say I’m going to have a very firm bum by the time I get back to the states thanks to all these Italian roads and steps. 

Amalfi Coast day 1:

We loaded our bus to the coast Thursday night around 7 (after a quick McDonald’s stop, of course). After a surprisingly quick 6 hour ride, we arrived to find this:

(Well, this picture depicts what our bungalows looked like in the daylight. We got in at almost 2 am.)

Yes. That’s a freaking hammock. And we were completely surrounded by lemon and orange trees. 

The next morning, we woke up early and, after I took the picture of our bungalow, headed over to Capri at around 9. The weather was sunny and surprisingly warm (I finally wore shorts in Europe). 

The island of Capri is known for it’s grottos, specifically the Blue Grotto, one of the world’s 7 wonders. You know, alongside the pyramids and all that jazz. However, after an entire day in Capri, even without seeing the Blue Grotto (because of the high cost to go inside and lack of time) I’ve decided the island as a whole should be one of the 7 wonders of the world. The water is bluer than anything besides the sky. I’ve never seen water that blue before besides the blue dyed water in front of one of those Southlake, Texas neighborhood fountains. The cliffs, caves, arches, basically every single natural landmark is mind blowing. The plants are so green. I sat with my mouth wide open most of the time, gawking at the beauty of it all. I don’t know who’s in charge of picking what counts as a wonder, but whoever is in charge should talk with me and I’ll let him know. 

After a lovely ferry ride from Sorrento to Capri, four of my TCU friends and I split from the group to search for an ATM. As we waited for our friends, Beth, Sarah and I were approached by a young Italian guy who asked us if we knew what we were doing that day. Obviously this seemed creepy, so we replied with a yes and tried to avoid him, but he kept talking to us and finally found out that we had no idea what to do there. 

He (Carlo) offered us a ride around the island by one of his friends (Raphael) with a boat. Turned out, Carlo worked at the restaurant we had been standing next to with his parents. So of course he hooked us up with some sandwiches and plenty of alcohol to take on this random boat ride with a stranger out into the Mediterranean Sea. Yes, I did think about the fact that we were about to get on a boat with some man who could take us out to God knows where and do God knows what to us. But apparently we were ok with that, especially since Carlo’s parents were involved and we had been told we had to pay (120 Euros - only 24 Euros a piece for a private boat tour). 

Well, we lived and had one of the most epic days ever. For two hours, Raphael drove the five of us girls all the way around the island, and he knew his stuff. He showed us all the different grottos, important points of the island, and even found a place for us to swim. Keep in mind, it’s still pretty much winter here - only 60ish degrees - and the water is FREEZING, plus its jellyfish season, so we had to find a nice place free of jellyfish. However, I can say I’ve swam in the Mediterranean! We got to lay out in the sun (I avoided any bad sunburns!) and relax with our Coronas and vino. This day was the most spontaneous day of my life (scaring the hell out of me), and something I’ll never forget (unless I get a concussion or something I suppose). 

My camera died at this point (way to go me) so the rest of my pictures have been “borrowed” from my lovely friends. 

Once we got back to the port, we laid around on the beach, drying out and relaxing. After some delicious gelato, we hopped a ferry back to Sorrento where we got nice hot showers and prepped for a delicious seafood dinner (pasta with clams and mussels). 

Day 2:

Less successful. We’d planned on taking a bus ride out to the beach town of Positano, laying out on the sand all day, and hopping a ride back to Sorrento for dinner. Unfortunately, despite the beautiful weather reports according to Yahoo! weather, the day was dismal. The clouds hardly let any sun through and it eventually started raining. This of course did not occur until we were already in Positano trying to make the best of the cold beach. So, we made our way back to the hotel quite early and took some long naps. We did stop for some lunch before we left, and got HUGE sandwiches made with fresh tomato, mozzarella, bread, and ham for only 5 Euro. 

Positano

We got a little exploratory around dinner time, and headed uphill to a surprisingly delicious and cheap restaurant. After more seafood (mine was a mixture of fried calamari, shrimp, and sardines = a specialty of Sorrento according to good ol’ Rick Steves), free wine, lemoncello, chocolate, bread and good conversation, we trudged back to the hotel for one more night. 

Day 3:

Woke up early for a delicious 3 Euro hotel breakfast, and hopped on the bus to Pompeii. Good ol’ Bruno bought us all caprese sandwiches and a guide to take us around the ruins. 

After walking on extremely cobbled streets (to the point where I couldn’t even look up at my surroundings to avoid tripping - although that’s not saying much I suppose), through great theaters, bakeries, houses, and brothels (with authentic paintings, might I add) alongside our tour guide, we went off to explore on our own. 

The coolest things about Pompeii were the lizards. They had shiny green backs and were so fast. I became a little preoccupied with catching them, and, in the process, stuck my hand in some plant. And it BURNED. Obviously, I made a scene, yelling for Beth and looking for water to pour on it. Thanks to a very sweet British couple witnessing my show, I found out that I’d stuck my hand in nettles. After I’d realized the old man had been joking about it leading to my hand falling off, I was able to relax and the stinging subsided and I walked on down to the House of Mysteries with some of the most epic frescos. 

Oh also there were water fountains everywhere, with fresh water good enough to drink which was super cool. They looked like this:

We took the long bus ride back to Florence and now I’m sitting in my room while it rains and thunders (yes, Florence does get thunderstorms) and listening to my roof leak. 

Thank God for Rick Steves

I figure I should type this one out before I leave for the Amalfi Coast tomorrow. Otherwise my next blog would end up being much too long for anyone to be interested in.

Forgive me for the recent slack in posts. My mom has been here in Florence, seeing what's been going on, rather than hounding me for more blog posts :) For those of you who didn't know, my family and Heather were visiting me in this foreign land last week. I've put up Pisa pictures on Facebook and creep on Heather Shoop to see more weird pictures of my family.

Today I went with my lovely roommate, Beth, to the delightful Cinque Terre. It is a strip of western Italian coast which includes 5 small towns (hence, the cinque - five in Italian). These towns are all connected by a long stretch of hiking trails. Some people actually try to make the 5 hour trek. Crazies. I know. Beth and I visited the town of Vernazza. It's usually the one you see all the pictures of: the colorful buildings perked up on a steep hill leading into the water. Here's a few I took:

After a three hour train ride into the beautiful beach town, we hiked up a steep hill (about a 20 minute walk) to the cemetery of the town. The hike was warm, beautiful, and completely isolated. Thanks to the influence of my father, I had been inclined to purchase Rick Steves' guide to Italy. In the very informative Cinque Terre section, he provides the most helpful walking tour guide for Vernazza. With his help, Beth and I got to see views of the town we never would have found on our own.

We spent about 5 hours, eating lunch, gelato, laying on giant rocks, writing/purchasing post cards, reading, and exploring. The weather was perfect so we rolled up our pants and sat ourselves down for a nice relaxing day.

Ending the day with a good book @ sunset.

Unfortunately, the day turned awry as we set out to leave. Rick Steves doesn't quite cover what to do if you miss your train. The train ride to Vernazza from Florence had been so easily because we were given three tickets: the exact number of trains we took. We only had one ticket for our ride back. So we were baffled. We decided to wait and ask someone until we left. Vernazza's train people like to leave work super early though, so there was no one to ask. I mistook an arrival time for a departure time, thus missing our train in the right direction. Luckily, by happenstance, after taking the train in the opposite direction necessary, we asked a nice train man what to do. After plenty of stress and fretting, we found ourselves on the smallest, darkest, most vacant creepy train back to Florence. We sat on it for about 2 and a half hours while passing through some definite ghost towns (keep in mind, we left Vernazza at sunset, so most of our ride was in the dark).

We finally made it back to our apartment and are happy to say that we've finally had one adventurous and productive day of Spring Break!! Off to the Amalfi Coast tomorrow night to see Pompeii, Capri, and Naples. Oh, and to get some beach action. I'm preparing myself for a sunburn. Be back Sunday night to update.

French Riviera

It's been a while since I last posted because I spent all last weekend in France and then got back to Florence and got sick. Oh and mid terms start next Monday. And I have three on Tuesday. And my whole family plus Heather get here tonight. Here's a quick run through of my French Riviera trip (March 3-6).

I was supposed to go with an organized tour group, but at the last minute the travel agency cancelled since not enough people signed up. We wanted to go anyway, so I got up early the next morning and bought my train ticket to Nice. I don't particularly do well with last minute arrangements and a lack of plans, so Wednesday night was spent in a stressful fret trying to pack and get everything ready to go.

Thursday immediately after class I headed to the train station. After picking up a delightful McDonald's lunch (a new train station tradition), I hopped on the first of four trains I'd have to take to Nice. The total travel time was about 8 hours. We arrived in Nice around 10 pm and went straight to our hostel to sleep.

I fell down the stairs on our way out of the hotel. 

The next morning a small group of us (I went with 6 other girls) took a train to Antibes, the old summer home of Pablo Picasso and the current summer getaway for lots of rich people with yachts. Picasso's old beach mansion has been turned into a museum dedicated to his work and others influenced by him. It was really interesting to see all of his stuff. He really was a weirdo. A genius nonetheless, but a weirdo.

We saw this on the train to Antibes. The guy told us to
take pictures. 

Yachts in Antibes

With our large group, we went out to a delightful dinner where I had gnocchi (look it up, it's delicious, and also quite Italian). Some of us decided to go out that night, which unfortunately led to a hungover and grumpy Sam the next morning.

The guy who was supposed to lead the organized group (but cancelled on us) took a bunch of us to Monaco. Fun fact: It's its own country and I had no idea. It's also home to the famous Monte Carlo casino (no I did't actually see it because I was preoccupied with the aquarium). Also Grace Kelly married the prince of Monaco and we saw the palace she lived in and the church she's buried in. Also, French aquarium ticket guys are rude. We tried to get the student discount (because, well, we're students) by showing several forms of student ID (LdM, TCU, even my student Visa). He was very offended that we attempted such a scandalous thing, threw our IDs back at us and made us pay the full price. I took lots of cool pictures though. Oh, and the aquarium was also a museum dedicated to Jacque Cousetau. I wish I could tell you more about him, but everything was in French.

A native pigeon of Monaco. 

Monaco

At the aquarium

That night was the big Nice carnival night parade. Silly string and confetti everywhere, we watched these massive (and quite creepy) floats pass by. We also made our way over to the huge ferris wheel and saw the city glow at night.

Most importantly, I have to commend the 24 hour kabob stand around the corner from our hostel. Two nights I ate the most delicious thing ever. It had the meat, french fries, lettuce, tomatoes and onions all wrapped up in a freshly warmed tortilla. They were addicting. It's a good thing there isn't anything like that around the corner from my apartment in Florence.

Three of us headed back to Florence Sunday morning on a more expensive, faster train. It was a unique experience finding relief in seeing Italian signs and hearing Italian after a weekend in France. I still speak very very little Italian, but at least I know which signs mean exit.

Me in Monaco