Here I am in Florence, where we have spent several days walking around, going to art museums, and exploring all of the leather markets around the city. So far, I have been amazed with all of the amazing artwork and beauty that I can find in this city. It seems as if there is so much to do and not enough time to see everything! I have tried to find time to shop here as well because I want to buy souvineers for both myself and my friends. However, it is always an adventure when trying to shop in this city, [View Full Entry]

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I am now in an internet cafe in Florence, Italy. We haven't had much time to explore the city yet, as we got here yesterday. We came from Venice, where we got to watch a glass making demonstration on the island of Murano and see the beautiful houses on Burano, where I have decided to retire when I grow up. On the way to Florence we stopped in Pisa to see the leaning tower of Pisa, a graveyard, church, a place where baptisms were conducted. On our trip to Pisa we were told that we were going to meet the Mayor [View Full Entry]

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As I am writing this, I am currently in Venice, Italy. Yesterday was our last day in Siena and we had most of the day free except for classes so we were able to explore the city on our own, which was great because we could really see whatever it was that we personally wanted to explore more. Siena was a great city for this because it is full of people and relatively easy to get around. On my free day I was able to go shopping, do laundry, and see the Duomo, which is a beautiful gothic church. On the [View Full Entry]

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Today I had quite an experience as I tried to send postcards to some friends and family back home. I bought stamps a few days before at a tobacchi, which is like a little cigarette store that sells everything from magazines to cigarettes to stamps and sometimes food. Buying the stamps was a challenge in itself because I do not speak any Italian and had to show the man at the register my postcards and point to the place where the stamp was. After writing out my postcards, I went to the post office right across the street from our hotel. [View Full Entry]

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As I write this we are now in the beautiful town of Siena. Yesterday we all boarded buses and headed to Assisi where we toured the church of St. Francis of Assisi, which was an interesting experience because of all of strong religious presence in the town. I was able to learn many things about the Catholic religion and St. Francis in general that I did not know before. After visiting Assisi, we got on busses again and headed to Siena. As we drove, I tried to stay awake and look at the scenes outside of the window. I was amazed [View Full Entry]

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This morning we toured the Roman Forum with our usual tour guide, Francesca. I was excited for this particular tour because the forum is something that I have studied often in the past in school. I had seen some of the ruins before during walks through the city, so I knew what some of them were, but wanted to see and learn more on the tour. As we walked through the ancient Roman ruins, I found it difficult at first to imagine what these places would have looked like long ago. Unfortunately, my honest first impression of the ruins was that [View Full Entry]

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Things have been going well here in Rome. For some reason it feels as if I have been here for a lot longer than I have. It feels strange saying that because I know I will be leaving soon for Siena, and before I know it, the trip will be over. I am really enjoying seeing all of the wonderful parts of history that are found here in Rome. I have noticed how important it is to pay attention to details here. Even the details found in the shape and design of the buildings, artwork in the basilicas, or ruins are [View Full Entry]

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It is officially my 4th day here in amazing Rome, Italy. I have found, in trying to describe it to my friends and family, that Rome is one of those cities that you really have to see to believe. I have never really traveled out of the country much, so I did not know what to expect. The plane ride was long, but the airline did what they could to make it comfortable. Breaking my tailbone the day before I left was probably not the best idea, but a pillow and some good movies helped. After gathering our baggage at the [View Full Entry]

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I'm home in North Wales, Pennsylvania to spend some time with my family and friends before Italy! I went caroling for the 6th year in a row with some of my best friends and spent Christmas with my brother and his family. One week from tomorrow I will be arriving in Rome to spend an amazing four weeks in Italy. I am nervous, but very excited! I feel really unprepared though and will hopefully start getting things together this upcoming week! The next time I write, I will be in Italy! [View Full Entry]

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I am still in Newark, Delaware finishing up my second student teaching placement. Almost everyone has gone home for winter break, but I am here until Wednesday 12/21 because of student teaching. I can't wait to spend some time at home with my family and friends in North Wales, Pennsylvania before heading off to Italy on January 2, 2006! [View Full Entry]

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