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Published: October 20th 2007
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The duomo in Florence
Also a very pretty duomo I'll write first about last weekend since I haven't done that yet. I went to Florence with my Renaissance Art class, or, rather, the other section of the Renaissance Art class since I missed my class's trip the weekend before to go to Tuscany. It was interesting being in Florence again; I think I'm getting pretty used to it. It's a nice town, but I think Perugia is a better place to study abroad. Julianna and I were both going, so we left together in the morning, and almost missed our train. Luckily, the train was 5 minutes late, so we had no problems. We went to the Uffizi museum, the second time for me, and our professor showed us around. It was nice to have a guide in the museum, and really fun looking at the paintings we have studied in class. I don't remember the exact order of everything we saw that weekend with the class, but it included the duomo (which is the main church in town; that's why every town has a duomo), the Bargello museum, and the church at Santa Croce. Once we were done the first day Julianna and I met up with Shannon, Sarah,
Inside Santa Croce
This stained glass is original, from the 14th century I believe. Victor, and Klas, who came to Florence for the night as well. Shannon and Sarah had had a day trip with another class, and decided to stay over in Florence, and the boys met them there. The six of us went out to dinner. Klas and I had a fascinating discussion about languages, which has continued through the last week. He has studied a lot of language, and it's really interesting to talk about the peculiarities and evolution of English, as well as Italian.
The second day in Florence we did more with the class, and had a huge break for lunch. There was one more church to see after our giant lunch break, Santa Maria Novella, but I didn't want to wait around for the tour for three hours, and catch a much later train back to Perugia, so I just left on my own. I already had the ticket, and I knew the trains ran at least every two hours, so I headed over to the station and waited for the train. Shannon, Sarah, Victor, and Klas showed up and we all rode the train back together. Getting back earlier meant I got to listen to "Matt
and Hec's Truth Smoothie" on Macalester's radio station, which was a bonus. I've also gotten pretty attached to Perugia and my apartment, so it's always a relief to come back. On the way back to the apartment from the train station I got to see the beginnings of the chocolate festival. My favorite was the increase in street performers, including one man playing a Pinocchio puppet.
During the week things were really busy, and I didn't take part in the festivities at all. I worked my way through both papers I had, and all three tests, and Thursday afternoon I bought a chocolate bar and took a nap. It was a perfect end to a really busy week. When I woke up we had dinner; Stephanie was over, and we watched "The Prestige" with Shannon and Sarah. Erica and Julianna went out, as did Klas and Victor I believe. I guess I haven't been much for going out these days; it's really nice to be in the apartment and take it easy. I don't know if that's a bad idea or not. It does mean I'm less likely to interact with Italians, but at the same time it's not always so enjoyable, and staying up late and drinking aren't exactly good for me either, not that I didn't do both of those Thursday night . . .
Today I woke up well-rested at 10:30, chatted with Stephanie, who had slept out on our pull-out couch. We ate cereal, and I took a bath and got ready for the day. Victor was over as well, playing World of Warcraft. He and Klas have been doing a ridiculous amount of that during the last week, hours on end. Oh well. Anyway, Stephanie and I headed over to her apartment, had lunch, and went to an internet cafe to figure out some things for fall break. We found information on trains to and from Perugia to Pisa and Rome, where our flights are leaving from and coming to.
For our break we're going to Seville, Granada, Barcelona, and Paris. We have our flights and hostels figured out, except for our hostel tomorrow night. We are planning to get our train tickets for our travel within Spain at the train station once we get there. As far as what we're planning to visit it's all going to be traveling by the seat of our pants. We could have been more organized about it, but I think the way we're handling things is a product of being young, never having planned a trip like this before, and not having the time to do it because of the massive increase in school work over the last few weeks. I also think it's just fine to travel this way at 20 years old; I'm not too worried about it. We'll start asking around and looking at travel books when we're there, I think. Stephanie is really organized about this, and she'll likely take charge of the trip once we leave for Pisa tomorrow morning. I'm also planning to call Nicko and Ann when we get to Paris, because Nicko's studying abroad there, and Ann should be in town for the weekend. It would be fantastic to see both of them, and I have their cell numbers, so hopefully that will happen.
Right now I'm listening to Mac's radio station again, which is maybe my new favorite thing to do. I loved school before, but I miss it tons now. I love having this way to be connected, and hear familiar voices, as well as some good music.
That's all for now. I'll write about my fall break when I get back. Note to Mom and Dad though: please don't ask me about updating the blog so much. I know you want to read about my adventures, and see pictures, but it's a time commitment to sit down and write it all out. I like writing journals, but it takes a lot of the joy away when I feel pressured to do it. I'll do things in my own time, and I'd like to continue to have all-around positive feelings about updating this.
I hope everything is well at home. I miss it lots and I look forward to being back, even though things here are as fantastic and interesting as always.
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joan nigro
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Thanks for the update
Now I can't wait to see Perugia; it sounds wonderful. I am anxious to meet your friends and do some exploring with you. I have my hotel room so am ready to go.In 3 weeks we will be in Rome! Have a great break. Love,GJ