Florence Program Day 18

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I woke up around 8, and at 9 we had a brief meeting. At 9:30 we left the hostel and walked to the Santa Croce Church. The church was very large and had less decoration than most of the other churches we have visited. It was special though, because it houses the tombs of Michelangelo, Machiavelli, and Galileo. After spending some time in the church, our group went outside to draw and paint in the piazza. I sat out in the center, and within thirty minutes I was way too hot to draw anymore. I found some shade, where some of the other girls were. When I got over to where they were sitting, Casey looked at me and told me she had just seen the most romantic thing in her entire life. The rest of the girls were all giddy too. Apparently, Stacy's boyfriend had contacted one of our instructors because he was planning to come the last weekend of our trip to surprise her. He showed up today, and walked up behind her and gave her a big hug and then told her he was taking her to Venice for the weekend. I think the rest of the girls, including me, were extremely jealous. A few people think he will propose to her this weekend. 😊 I guess we will hear about it on Monday. By noon we were ready to go find lunch. Casey, Dana and I decided to wander around and find somewhere new to eat. We ended up finding a place that serves Mexican food! We were so excited to have a burrito. After eating every bite, we went to the market to buy some more dried fruit. By 3 we were back at the hostel, and got our bathing suits on to catch the last bit of sun before the weekend storm came. By 5 it was pouring rain, with lightning and thunder. Tonight we are having a group byob "social." Our plans for tomorrow have changed, due to a train strike. I may end up just resting and spending time with the group indoors tomorrow.

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