Hey y'all -
I was going to work on my papers before writing this post, BUT then I went to go get lunch, and I'm not quite ready to start work yet. It'll be fine... I have one paper done (just have to edit a little) and the other outline is started. It shouldn't take me that long. Anyway...
This past weekend was so amazing. Friday started with an early class. It was our first lesson with Dr. Arya. We went back to the Roman Forum and got to talk to this archaeologist who is in charge of restoration of a St. Maria church in the Roman Forum. He was really interesting and talked to us about ways that the process of restoration in that building. He was really knowledgeable and it was cool to see how much work goes in to preserving the buildings that have lasted thousands of years.
After class, a group went to the Colosseum to see the inside structures. As a class, we had already visiting the Arch of Constantine (next door) and seen the Colosseum from the outside. However, the day that I went to see the Colosseum from the inside, I accidentally deleted all the pictures on my camera, so I decided to join the group and go again to get pictures. It was beautiful and amazing and HUGE. I can't believe structures like that have lasted for so long. Also, one of my papers due tomorrow is written on the Colosseum, so it was interesting to see the inside again after doing a lot of research on the subject.
Stephen, Vicki, Apu, Ishanee, and I walked around a bit taking pictures. It was pretty crowded since it was the middle of the afternoon, but still really fun!
After the Colosseum, we took the metro back to our apartments. There, we got a quick lunch and then packed for our weekend trip. Meagan and I went to the internet point near our apartments for a few minutes to check email. Then, at about 2, the group (10 of us) met up and we took the metro to Termini.
We bought train tickets and headed to Florence at around 3. We took a train that made a LOT of stops (I think like 20-something) to keep it more in our budgets. So, we ended up getting to Florence at about 7. Then, we walked to our hostel. I had never stayed in a hostel before, and I was really surprised by how nice it was! It was beautiful, and it was really cool to meet people our age from all over the world.
We ended up getting two rooms at the hostel. The hostel where we stayed had a small dance floor, a really cool light-up colors pool, a sauna, a workout room, a restaurant, and all this other cool stuff. It was definitely worth the money that we spent to reserve rooms.
The group wandered around the hostel for a bit and then headed out to dinner. We went to go get some Bistecca Florentina. It was absolutely delicious. We also shared some bottles of a wine for which Florence is famous. (I don't remember the name.) I'm no wine connoisseur, but it was absolutely delicious. Dinner got really expensive, but it was totally worth it. It was an experience that I'll never have again in my life, after all. Dinner was really fun because the group really bonded together, and I don't think I've laughed that hard in a long time. (Hey Roma group, I know that most of you read this, so I just want to say that I adore you all.)
After dinner, we went to go get some gelato (of course) because Florence is apparently really famous for great gelato. It was delicious.
We wandered around the town a bit that night, too. We saw the Duomo piazza area, and it was magnificent. The cathedral is so HUGE. It's almost impossible to take a picture of the entire structure.
The group headed back to the hostel to relax for a bit, and then we walked around Florence some more. We saw some interesting things... including a man using the street as a restroom. Other than that, Florence was really classy.
Then, we went to bed because we woke up really early Saturday morning. I rolled out of bed around 7.40. I met up with Alex, Stephen, and Apu in the hostel lobby. Then, the four of us decided to go see the Uffizi in the morning before the line got outrageously long. After eating a really good, European breakfast (croissants and cappuccinos), we got to the Uffizi around 9.00. The four of us waited in line for about 40 minutes, and then walked around the museum seeing really cool, famous art for about 2 and a half hours. Some of my favorite pieces were "The Birth of Venus" and a lot of depictions of the Annunciation of Mary.
After the museum, we got really delicious paninis from a place a few blocks away. Then, we went to Duomo where we climbed all 493 steps to get to the top. The staircases were really curvy, and we couldn't stop laughing, which made it really difficult to climb stairs. Eventually, we made it to the top of the dome, and the view was absolutely incredible (I will upload pictures hopefully this week.)!! We ran into four other guys from our Roma group and some other UT people on top of the Duomo. [Oh, and Travis! Now that I know you read this (you creeper), we also ran into a guy from Stanford. But, he didn't know you. His loss.] The group relaxed there for a long time... about half an hour. Then, we climbed alllll the way back down the 493 steps. Then, the group of four (Alex, Stephen, Apu, and I) went to go see the inside of the cathedral. It was amazingly beautiful.
[Mu Epsilon Theta girls! I will send an email soon, but I'll write it here, too. I lit a candle and said a prayer for Mu Epsilon Theta in the cathedral. Then, I gave an offering of three euros from us. (One for the Father, one for the Son, one for the Holy Spirit.) I just wanted to let y'all know that prayers were being said for us from Europe. So, YAY!]
After the cathedral, we went to go see where the tombs of Michaelangelo, Rossini, Galileo, Machiavelli are located. The church was beautiful, as are most in Italia.
After seeing the tombs, the four of us got some gelato from a different place than the night before (it was delicious). Then, we walked across Ponte Vecchio bridge. The entire bridge is filled with pedestrians all looking into the jewelry shops that line the street. The jewelry was SHINY and beautiful. I was seriously contemplating buying some. It's probably a good thing that I didn't though. :)
The group wandered around Florence some more, and then headed back to the hostel. Then, we went swimming in the pool there. The pool area was really cool! It sounds silly, but the water changed colors. Even though the water was cold, we all had a really good time. We met two guys from Monterrey named Arturo and Juan, and I told them that two of my best friends were named Arturo and Juan. They didn't think it was as cool as I did, but they were really nice. We kept sitting in the sauna and then jumping in the pool (which was absolutely freezing).
After the pool, we went to go get changed, and then hung out in the hostel with all the people in the Plan II group. We played pool and danced for a bit, and we also met some really interesting people from Maine.
Then, we headed to bed.
I'm going to go work on my papers for a bit. I'll write about Sunday and Monday when I'm ready for another break. :)
I love you all!
Ciao,
Ashley
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