So much to say!

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I know it's been a while since I last posted, that last week or so was crazy! I think the last time I posted was a week and a half ago? I'll cover the past week and hope that's enough!

The week flew by!! I started Monday thinking I still had a week and a half left, and befre I knew it we were leaving for the airport. Monday afternoon a very small group of us went on a tour of Santa Maria Novella, which was big, but pretty empty. That was most of the afternoon and then we bad karaoke that night, which was a lot of fun. I once again got by without having to sing, but I got plenty of pictures of others singing!!

Tuesday was low key, no big things happened. Wednesday a larger group crossed the Arno and ventured up the large hill that Piazzale Michelangelo is perched on. Gelato after those stairs tasted quite good 😊

Thursday was just studying for finals and Friday was taking the finals and then scurrying to the bus for the 7 hour ride from Florence to Sorrento, just south of Naples.

Saturday was an out of body experience. We took a shuttle to the island of Capri and just stayed on the beach. I fell asleep on the beach, an accomplishment since it's a pebble beach, not sand. The water of the Tirrenian Sea is quite salty, but so clear and beautiful. I wanted to SCUBA dive so badly!!! Once the sun had soaked up all my energy, I returned to the mainland and took a wonderful shower and MAY have taken another nap before dinner.

Sunday brought another bus ride, this time to Rome. Once we got our things to our respective rooms, we got a pretty involved tour of Rome. For dinner Alex, Sarah, Lien, Liana and I walked to the Tiber Island about a 30 minute walk from the center. On the island it was restaurant after restaurant facing the river and on the banks it was like a carnival with games, food booths, stores and sweets booths.

Monday was jammed packed with walking. St. Peter's sees 20,000 visitors everyday, so we had to wake up earlier than I wanted to to get in line amd through security to see the basilica. It was just as beautiful as I remembered. However, it was also very regulated because there are so many people. A good portion of those there were there not to appreciate the building or for religious reasons, but for tourist reasons. People snapping pictures and talking overly loud detracted from my peaceful viewing and meditation. The one quiet place was the chapel with Pope John Paul II's tomb, but only because it's enforced and curtained off from the rest of the basilica. After quickly changing from our church clothes, we ventured to Piazza Navona, the Pantheon and the Forum. THEN we shopped some (I didn't buy anything, at that point being fairly hot, tired and hungry once again). Alex and I went back to the hotel early to shower, rest and get ready for our last real dinner in both Rome and Italy. The five of us ate a 3 course meal (I'm counting dessert) by Piazza Navona and then wandered to the piazza itself, then the Pantheon, Trevi fountain and Spanish Steps before returning to the hotel.

Tuesday was much more relaxed. We woke up without an alarm and ate a nice breakfast before heading out to the Villa Borghese. It took 30 minutes to get to the park and almost an hour to find the museum inside the park, but we made it in time for our reserved time. I got to see beautiful works by Baeoque artists, specifically by one oft favorite artsists, Bernini. I admit I squealed when I saw his Apollo and Daphne (which I saw 2 years ago when I went before). It gets betters everytime! After the museum we walked back to the hotel and got ready for our last meal in Italy!! The dinner itself wasn't too great, but being with everyone was!

Then. Five am. I woke up, got my bags, went to the Rome airport, got on the plane (some waiting was involved) and fell asleep for hour. Four movies later, I was at JFK. Now I'm in the Admirals Club waiting for my flight to Dallas!!

No more posts! I'm (practically) home!!!!

Love,
Rachel

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