I have to apologize for not posting in so long, but I’ve been quite busy with classes and exploring new areas of Italy. I’ve done a few small day trips here and there, so I haven’t had a ton of time for relaxing, but that isn’t a bad thing at all really. Last week, we went shopping outside of Florence where I found a few pairs of really great pants (wild colors too!). The Office of Student Life does a great job of keeping us busy and finding fun things to do. This coming weekend, we’re going to Pisa where I hope to get up the courage to climb the tower. Climbing to the top of the Duomo was hard enough for me to get through! This weekend, I went to Siena with a few friends. It is only about 1.5 hours from Florence by bus, so it really is not a bad trip. Patrick, my roommate, considers it “the San Francisco of Tuscany,” which is true because it is so hilly. Every road you turn onto it seems another hill pops out of nowhere. We got to see the head of Saint Catherine of Siena (CREEPY!!!!), as well as the amazing architecture that is typical of the area. It is one of the most picturesque towns I have ever been to. It was nice going back there, because last time I was in Siena, it was raining non-stop. Later that night, we went to an Italian movie WITHOUT subtitles to help us out. The name of the movie is “Parlami d’amore” (“Tell me about love”). It was really interesting to listen to…I was able to pick up on a lot more than I thought I’d be able to. I thought it was going to be this romantic comedy I had seen posters for at the train station, but it turned out to be a very dark movie, but still good nonetheless. Certainly not a family movie despite the fact that the movie didn’t seem to have any sort of rating or warning…and there were quite a few kids in it, surprisingly. It was so weird, though, because the movie stopped half-way through for an intermission. The advertisements before the movie started were strange enough to me that throwing an intermission in completely messed me up. It wasn’t even as if they cut it because the movie was really long…they just stopped it for a break. Worst of all, they stopped it in the middle of a conversation, so you had to wait around ten minutes to get back into it. So strange. I am looking forward to the next few weeks of trips and schoolwork. I am heading to Modena and Bologna in two weeks where Patrick and I are going to attempt to get tours of the Ferrari and Lamborghini museums (and possibly the Lamborghini factory if they still offer tours)! I will be sure to post updates about that when I can. I miss everyone at home, but I am having such a blast that it makes the time fly by. I enjoy getting to talk to everyone online and on the phone, so make sure to IM me or even call me up if you can. Much love to everyone. Ciao!
