Monday, February 23, 2009
21st Birthday Weekend!
I'm now officially 21! Saturday night kids from my program and I went to the Roma vs. Siena soccer game. The game was lots of fun, the fans sure do get into it. Sunday, I spent the day walking around Rome, eating gelato, and enjoying the day. Unfortunately I lost my phone on Saturday night, sorry to those of you who tried to call me! Sunday night me and 5 friends went to dinner in the Trestevere area of Rome. It was a great way to celebrate my birthday. Ill put up pictures soon!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Barcelona Weekend
Thursday February 12, 2009 – Off to Barcelona!
After class on Thursday, I made my way via city bus to Termini train station to catch a bus to Ciampino, an airport just outside of Rome. Off to Barcelona for the weekend! I was sort of nervous about timing issues, but there was a reliable shuttle to and from the airport every 20 min or so. My friend, Lizzie, and I were visiting our friend Erica from UVM who was in a study abroad program in Barcelona. We flew Ryan Air, a low budget airline throughout Europe. A round trip ticket to Barcelona, on short notice, cost 100 euro. Travel-wise everything was very smooth. We landed in Barcelona around 10 pm. We took a metro to Erica’s apartment, located just a block from Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia. This church was started by Gaudi in 1909. He worked on it until he was killed on site by a bus. Construction continues today, and is projected to finish in 2030. The church was intricate and colorful, with everything deriving from something in nature. I will post some pictures to show this new-age cathedral. Erica was kind enough to house us for the weekend, much appreciated!
Friday February 13, 2009 – Tour of the City
Friday, we did a self-guided tour of Barcelona. We toured the major street of Las Ramblas. This touristy street had many flower shops, postcard stands, souvenir shops, and lots and lots of street performers. There were scary ones, funny ones, entertaining ones, and just plain weird ones. At the end of Las Ramblas is a marina area on the water. It was very pretty with palm trees lining the streets, it felt very tropical. We also walked through the Bario Gotic region of Barcelona. For dinner, we went to a Tapas restaurant. These were little appetizers sort of, and you just sample a whole bunch of them for dinner. At this particular restaurant, your placemat was your menu, the waiter will come around and you just point to the ones you want, he brings them, then go on to round 2 to try some more. It was fun.
Saturday February 14, 2009 – Valentine’s Day in Barcelona
Happy Valentine’s Day! We got a late start on the overcast day in Barcelona. We ventured up to Mont Juic, where the 1992 Olympics were held. This spot had a beautiful view of the city, along with the major ports for imports/exports from the water. Everything in Barcelona is on a much later time table than I was used to. A group of 7 girls went out to dinner for paella, a traditional rice dish. We didn’t go to dinner until 11:30 pm! This was pretty much the norm, there was even a wait at that hour. For all of us to eat, the restaurant served the paella in the largest frying pan I have ever seen. In the picture with the empty pan, there is a standard size dinner plate in the background, and you can get a feel for just how large this dish was. We had no problem finishing it either, it was delicious! It came with every type of seafood imaginable. I also got to sample the famous drink of Barcelona, Sangria. We weren’t finished with dinner until nearly 1 am! In Barcelona the common language is Catalan, not Spanish, though nearly all are multi-lingual. After listening to natives speak, I noticed they also give themselves a sort of lisp in their language. I thought this was an interesting observation.
Sunday February 15, 2009 – Parc Guell, Last Night in Barcelona
For our last full day in Barcelona, we toured Parc Guell. This was Gaudi’s home, and holds many of his sculptures. For any of you America’s Next Top Model fans, the finale for the Caridee/Melrose season was also held here, you’ll recognize the runway in the pics! The park itself was cool, it was almost like a candy-land, with colorful buildings and different sculptures. The world’s longest, curviest bench is in the park, with a beautiful mosaic background. We also went and saw the Arc de Triomf of Barcelona. For dinner, we tried a new tapas restaurant. This one was set up more like a bar. Along the bar were all sorts of tapas, each with a toothpick in it. You go along, sample the ones you want, and collect your toothpicks, and when you’re done sampling, you count your toothpicks and that’s how you pay. Each cost about a euro. It was nice to be able to sample different things; there were lots of different seafood options.
Monday February 16, 2009 – Goodbye Barcelona, Back to Roma
I am fortunate enough to not have class until 2pm on Mondays, so we were able to come back early Monday morning, and have one last full day in Barcelona. Lizzie and I took the very first metro, at 5am, to our bus station to head to Gerona for our flight. Everything went just as smoothly on the return travel. We were back in Rome around 11am. My Art and Culture class went to the Pantheon for class. This monument was built between the years of 118-125 AD. This building is an architectural masterpiece. It has not been restored or mended, everything is original, and is still in good shape today. The name Pantheon in Greek translates to ‘ Dedicated to all Gods’. The building is a perfect shape, the same width as height, to the exact centimeter. The ruler at the time was Hadrian, who ordered the structure to be built. The architect, who hasn’t been officially identified but many think his name was Appolodonus, placed 6 of Hadrian’s most favorite Gods as sculptures in the building. There is a circular hole in the top of the building, which creates a spotlight with the sun. Through the genius design, on the birthdays of the certain Gods, because of the time of year and the positioning of the sun, the light will shine on that God. This was a 1st century creation! I was amazed. For all the visitors coming, I have many more fun facts to share, and plan on taking you on my own personally guided tour of all the things I have learned in this class. Wednesday’s class we’re going to the Colosseum and ancient ruins.
Jackie’s parents are here for the week, along with her younger brother. Tonight they invited me to join them for dinner. We went to a great very authentic Italian restaurant, where the wait staff was pleased to serve us all sorts of wonderful appetizers, a cheese platters, mozzarella, arancina, along with some different red wines. For an entrée I had cod wrapped in eggplant. All was very, very good! We of course topped it off with gelato. Be sure to read Jackie’s blog, it was our first weekend apart from each other! www.jackieinitaly.shutterfly.com
After class on Thursday, I made my way via city bus to Termini train station to catch a bus to Ciampino, an airport just outside of Rome. Off to Barcelona for the weekend! I was sort of nervous about timing issues, but there was a reliable shuttle to and from the airport every 20 min or so. My friend, Lizzie, and I were visiting our friend Erica from UVM who was in a study abroad program in Barcelona. We flew Ryan Air, a low budget airline throughout Europe. A round trip ticket to Barcelona, on short notice, cost 100 euro. Travel-wise everything was very smooth. We landed in Barcelona around 10 pm. We took a metro to Erica’s apartment, located just a block from Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia. This church was started by Gaudi in 1909. He worked on it until he was killed on site by a bus. Construction continues today, and is projected to finish in 2030. The church was intricate and colorful, with everything deriving from something in nature. I will post some pictures to show this new-age cathedral. Erica was kind enough to house us for the weekend, much appreciated!
Friday February 13, 2009 – Tour of the City
Friday, we did a self-guided tour of Barcelona. We toured the major street of Las Ramblas. This touristy street had many flower shops, postcard stands, souvenir shops, and lots and lots of street performers. There were scary ones, funny ones, entertaining ones, and just plain weird ones. At the end of Las Ramblas is a marina area on the water. It was very pretty with palm trees lining the streets, it felt very tropical. We also walked through the Bario Gotic region of Barcelona. For dinner, we went to a Tapas restaurant. These were little appetizers sort of, and you just sample a whole bunch of them for dinner. At this particular restaurant, your placemat was your menu, the waiter will come around and you just point to the ones you want, he brings them, then go on to round 2 to try some more. It was fun.
Saturday February 14, 2009 – Valentine’s Day in Barcelona
Happy Valentine’s Day! We got a late start on the overcast day in Barcelona. We ventured up to Mont Juic, where the 1992 Olympics were held. This spot had a beautiful view of the city, along with the major ports for imports/exports from the water. Everything in Barcelona is on a much later time table than I was used to. A group of 7 girls went out to dinner for paella, a traditional rice dish. We didn’t go to dinner until 11:30 pm! This was pretty much the norm, there was even a wait at that hour. For all of us to eat, the restaurant served the paella in the largest frying pan I have ever seen. In the picture with the empty pan, there is a standard size dinner plate in the background, and you can get a feel for just how large this dish was. We had no problem finishing it either, it was delicious! It came with every type of seafood imaginable. I also got to sample the famous drink of Barcelona, Sangria. We weren’t finished with dinner until nearly 1 am! In Barcelona the common language is Catalan, not Spanish, though nearly all are multi-lingual. After listening to natives speak, I noticed they also give themselves a sort of lisp in their language. I thought this was an interesting observation.
Sunday February 15, 2009 – Parc Guell, Last Night in Barcelona
For our last full day in Barcelona, we toured Parc Guell. This was Gaudi’s home, and holds many of his sculptures. For any of you America’s Next Top Model fans, the finale for the Caridee/Melrose season was also held here, you’ll recognize the runway in the pics! The park itself was cool, it was almost like a candy-land, with colorful buildings and different sculptures. The world’s longest, curviest bench is in the park, with a beautiful mosaic background. We also went and saw the Arc de Triomf of Barcelona. For dinner, we tried a new tapas restaurant. This one was set up more like a bar. Along the bar were all sorts of tapas, each with a toothpick in it. You go along, sample the ones you want, and collect your toothpicks, and when you’re done sampling, you count your toothpicks and that’s how you pay. Each cost about a euro. It was nice to be able to sample different things; there were lots of different seafood options.
Monday February 16, 2009 – Goodbye Barcelona, Back to Roma
I am fortunate enough to not have class until 2pm on Mondays, so we were able to come back early Monday morning, and have one last full day in Barcelona. Lizzie and I took the very first metro, at 5am, to our bus station to head to Gerona for our flight. Everything went just as smoothly on the return travel. We were back in Rome around 11am. My Art and Culture class went to the Pantheon for class. This monument was built between the years of 118-125 AD. This building is an architectural masterpiece. It has not been restored or mended, everything is original, and is still in good shape today. The name Pantheon in Greek translates to ‘ Dedicated to all Gods’. The building is a perfect shape, the same width as height, to the exact centimeter. The ruler at the time was Hadrian, who ordered the structure to be built. The architect, who hasn’t been officially identified but many think his name was Appolodonus, placed 6 of Hadrian’s most favorite Gods as sculptures in the building. There is a circular hole in the top of the building, which creates a spotlight with the sun. Through the genius design, on the birthdays of the certain Gods, because of the time of year and the positioning of the sun, the light will shine on that God. This was a 1st century creation! I was amazed. For all the visitors coming, I have many more fun facts to share, and plan on taking you on my own personally guided tour of all the things I have learned in this class. Wednesday’s class we’re going to the Colosseum and ancient ruins.
Jackie’s parents are here for the week, along with her younger brother. Tonight they invited me to join them for dinner. We went to a great very authentic Italian restaurant, where the wait staff was pleased to serve us all sorts of wonderful appetizers, a cheese platters, mozzarella, arancina, along with some different red wines. For an entrée I had cod wrapped in eggplant. All was very, very good! We of course topped it off with gelato. Be sure to read Jackie’s blog, it was our first weekend apart from each other! www.jackieinitaly.shutterfly.com
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Its been a great first week in Rome. We started classes on Monday. I am just a short walk, less than 10 minutes from the school, the closest I know of anybody! Mondays and Wednesdays I dont have class until 2 pm. I decided to take it upon myself to do some solo exploring these mornings. This morning I went for a jog to the Vatican and back. At 2 pm I have my Italian class, my language skills are improving every day. After that I have Art and Culture in Rome. After my first day, Im already in love with this class. The professor described this class as a very indepth walking tour of Rome. We have a classroom lecture once a week, then the 2nd class of the week we tour Rome and actually go see what we learned about and take a tour of the church/monument/building/museum. The professor informed us she loves guests, so for all of you taht are coming to visit, you all can come on the walking tours with the class! Tuesdays and Thursdays I have an Italian Society class, which is the political, social, and cultural development of Italy from the facist days up until present time. I also have a marketing class, I couldnt fully stay away from the business classes!
Tomorrow evening Lizzie and I are flying to Barcelona to stay with our friend Erica from UVM. Ill be sure to take lots of pictures!
Tomorrow evening Lizzie and I are flying to Barcelona to stay with our friend Erica from UVM. Ill be sure to take lots of pictures!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
First few days in Roma!
Ciao!
Its been a few days, but Im finally all moved into my apartment in Rome. Its very cute! We have a little courtyard in the middle, then 72 very steep and narrow steps up to our apartment. Im sharing the apartment with 3 other girls. Jackie and I share the lofted double bedroom with a sprial staircase leading up to it. We have a large living room and kitchen to share.
The past few days I have just been getting acquainted with Rome, seen most of the big sights: the Vatican, Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, etc.
Classes start tomorrow, I guess its back to the real world!
Its been a few days, but Im finally all moved into my apartment in Rome. Its very cute! We have a little courtyard in the middle, then 72 very steep and narrow steps up to our apartment. Im sharing the apartment with 3 other girls. Jackie and I share the lofted double bedroom with a sprial staircase leading up to it. We have a large living room and kitchen to share.
The past few days I have just been getting acquainted with Rome, seen most of the big sights: the Vatican, Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, etc.
Classes start tomorrow, I guess its back to the real world!
Monday, February 2, 2009
Weekend in Venice and Trip to Siena
Thursday January 29th
Nice weather, perfect day for walking around the city. We get out of class around 1pm every day. The program has provided us with meal vouchers that are accepted at a number of locations around the city. Each voucher is worth 7 Euro and if not the entire amount is used in one meal, a refund is given. I’ve gotten into a bad habit of sampling the pizza and gelato from different places around the city. I can’t say I’ve found a spot I haven’t liked! Thursday night we met up with a few of Jess’s friends from home. After talking with some locals, we were informed about a secret bakery in Florence. As the story goes, there are 4 main bakeries that provide the rest of the city with baked goods. Every small shop supposedly is supplied by one of these four bakeries, as every shop is not able to bake such quantities on their own. One of these secret bakeries opens at midnight every night and will sell pastries and baked goods to those who know about it. It is located in a side alley, with no marks, and you have to knock on the door. We were a group of about 9 girls and we were all very intrigued with this story. We decided to go on an adventure and see if we could find this secret bakery. After following the directions we were given, we stood outside this frosted glass door with a sign that read something like, “Quiet, don’t disturb the neighbors”. From the outside you could smell the delicious treats being baked. We knocked on the door and entered. There was a small counter space then a large floor just full of ovens and baked goods. It looked like it was a one man show. One baker was doing all the prep and baking work, while selling to the small crowd that knew of this covert business. We all got a treat, very happy with this secret find.
Friday January 30
Friday morning we left for Venice at 8am. Our group took four large coach buses. I slept most of the ride, and I was told I missed some scenic views of Tuscany. The ride took about 4 hours. We arrived to the ferry location and took a small boat to Venice. The weather was sunny and beautiful. It was amazing to me to see how this city was literally built on water. Instead of roads there were canals, buildings go right into the water, and there are no cars, only boats. I thought it was pretty funny to see a FedEx boat delivering packages door to door. Our program leader, Rosanna, had informed us that our hotel would not be as up-scale as the hotel we were staying in while in Florence, and had warned us it would be ‘sort of like camping’. This made us a little nervous, but it would only be for two nights. Jess, Suzanne, Jackie and I were rooming together. The hotel was actually not as bad as we expected, just old. Jackie and I had bunk beds while Jess and Suzanne shared the bed. We were lucky enough to have our own bathroom. A few of our other friends were stuck with no bathroom and were forced to use the communal one in the hallway, even to shower!
We visited San Rocco School and the church located near it. This was used as a meeting place for artists and now houses their works. After the visit, we walked around the city shopping and just enjoying the nice weather. The streets were filled with small glass shops with beautiful jewelry, ornaments, glass figures, masks, etc. We got pretty lost walking around; the city wasn’t very easy to navigate. We didn’t have any planned events so it didn’t really matter, and we wandered the city for the afternoon and evening. We stopped for dinner at a delicious restaurant. I had caprice salad and then a gnocchi and shrimp with spicy red sauce dish for dinner. We had heard about a local karaoke bar, and decided to check it out. The bar was small, but fun. There were lots of locals there who were singing Italian pop songs. It was entertaining to watch and listen.
Saturday January 31
We slept in Saturday morning, after a long day on Friday. Saturday was much colder and cloudier than Friday had been. We made our way to San Marco’s square to see the cathedral and views. Not too long ago this square was under water, but luckily for us it was open for tourists. The outside was very impressive. We unfortunately didn’t go in, but marveled the beauty from the outside. Like I had heard, there were a countless number of pigeons in the square. There were even a few people who would let them land on them. I thought it was kind of gross. After a few minutes of searching, we found the brand new Hard Rock Café being built. The restaurant wasn’t open but fortunately the shop was. I got a pin to add to your collection Dad!
The only thing I wanted to accomplish all day was to go on a gondola ride. We found a little canal with a very Italian gondola driver. The five of us (me, Lizzie, Suzanne, Jess, Jackie) piled into the gondola and went for a half hour cruise. It was quite cold but very peaceful and pretty. Our boat guy had a thick accent and was difficult to understand, but he pointed out key monuments and buildings for us. I knew I couldn’t go to Venice and not go on a gondola, it was fun!
We spent the rest of the evening in and out of the small shops. We walked nearly all day, hitting all parts of the city. Venice was a great place for gifts. I bought myself some new earrings and a pendant necklace made from the famous Murano glass.
Sunday February 1, 2009
Sunday we had breakfast in the hotel lobby. As I was enjoying my cup of tea and cereal, I glanced outside the window and saw my worst fear. SNOW. I thought I left Vermont, but the snow followed me all the way to Italy. There are many kids in my program from California and the South who had never seen snow fall. These kids were all so excited, taking pictures, standing outside, catching snowflakes on their tongues. All the kids from the northeast were moaning and groaning. None of us were missing this sort of weather.
We visited the Peggy Guggenheim Collection located in Venice. There were several Picasso pieces, along with Jackson Pollack, the only two names I recognized. After touring the collection, the girls and I went and got a sit-down lunch. We had done a lot of exploring the day before so none of us felt like doing anymore wandering in the snow. Our ferry was departing around 2pm, so we didn’t have much time to kill.
The ferry back to the mainland was very choppy. The 30 minute cruise couldn’t go by fast enough. We took the bus back, driving through the snow storm. Unfortunately the snow actually stuck, and was accumulating along the highway on the way home. Once we got back to Florence though, the snow had changed to a light rain. I can only hope that’s the last of snow I will see while over here!
We arrived back to the hotel around 7pm Sunday night, exhausted. It was Superbowl Sunday, and many local pubs were hosting events for the American students. I was way too tired to go out, and went to bed early.
I started the countdown to my birthday today, exactly 3 weeks until I’m 21!!
Monday February 2nd
After class today (Monday), we travelled by bus to Siena, another town in Tuscany. It was another rainy day. We started at a large basilica just outside the center of town. We were lead toward the center of town. Siena is not very big, the walk only took about 8 minutes. We toured the Duomo and building across from it. The building across from it was used as a hospital from the medieval times all the way up until 1995 when it was turned into a museum. After touring city hall, we were all soaking wet, and decided to sit in a café and warm up. We headed back to the bus for the hour long ride home. Only two more days left in Florence. I move to Rome on Thursday morning!
Nice weather, perfect day for walking around the city. We get out of class around 1pm every day. The program has provided us with meal vouchers that are accepted at a number of locations around the city. Each voucher is worth 7 Euro and if not the entire amount is used in one meal, a refund is given. I’ve gotten into a bad habit of sampling the pizza and gelato from different places around the city. I can’t say I’ve found a spot I haven’t liked! Thursday night we met up with a few of Jess’s friends from home. After talking with some locals, we were informed about a secret bakery in Florence. As the story goes, there are 4 main bakeries that provide the rest of the city with baked goods. Every small shop supposedly is supplied by one of these four bakeries, as every shop is not able to bake such quantities on their own. One of these secret bakeries opens at midnight every night and will sell pastries and baked goods to those who know about it. It is located in a side alley, with no marks, and you have to knock on the door. We were a group of about 9 girls and we were all very intrigued with this story. We decided to go on an adventure and see if we could find this secret bakery. After following the directions we were given, we stood outside this frosted glass door with a sign that read something like, “Quiet, don’t disturb the neighbors”. From the outside you could smell the delicious treats being baked. We knocked on the door and entered. There was a small counter space then a large floor just full of ovens and baked goods. It looked like it was a one man show. One baker was doing all the prep and baking work, while selling to the small crowd that knew of this covert business. We all got a treat, very happy with this secret find.
Friday January 30
Friday morning we left for Venice at 8am. Our group took four large coach buses. I slept most of the ride, and I was told I missed some scenic views of Tuscany. The ride took about 4 hours. We arrived to the ferry location and took a small boat to Venice. The weather was sunny and beautiful. It was amazing to me to see how this city was literally built on water. Instead of roads there were canals, buildings go right into the water, and there are no cars, only boats. I thought it was pretty funny to see a FedEx boat delivering packages door to door. Our program leader, Rosanna, had informed us that our hotel would not be as up-scale as the hotel we were staying in while in Florence, and had warned us it would be ‘sort of like camping’. This made us a little nervous, but it would only be for two nights. Jess, Suzanne, Jackie and I were rooming together. The hotel was actually not as bad as we expected, just old. Jackie and I had bunk beds while Jess and Suzanne shared the bed. We were lucky enough to have our own bathroom. A few of our other friends were stuck with no bathroom and were forced to use the communal one in the hallway, even to shower!
We visited San Rocco School and the church located near it. This was used as a meeting place for artists and now houses their works. After the visit, we walked around the city shopping and just enjoying the nice weather. The streets were filled with small glass shops with beautiful jewelry, ornaments, glass figures, masks, etc. We got pretty lost walking around; the city wasn’t very easy to navigate. We didn’t have any planned events so it didn’t really matter, and we wandered the city for the afternoon and evening. We stopped for dinner at a delicious restaurant. I had caprice salad and then a gnocchi and shrimp with spicy red sauce dish for dinner. We had heard about a local karaoke bar, and decided to check it out. The bar was small, but fun. There were lots of locals there who were singing Italian pop songs. It was entertaining to watch and listen.
Saturday January 31
We slept in Saturday morning, after a long day on Friday. Saturday was much colder and cloudier than Friday had been. We made our way to San Marco’s square to see the cathedral and views. Not too long ago this square was under water, but luckily for us it was open for tourists. The outside was very impressive. We unfortunately didn’t go in, but marveled the beauty from the outside. Like I had heard, there were a countless number of pigeons in the square. There were even a few people who would let them land on them. I thought it was kind of gross. After a few minutes of searching, we found the brand new Hard Rock Café being built. The restaurant wasn’t open but fortunately the shop was. I got a pin to add to your collection Dad!
The only thing I wanted to accomplish all day was to go on a gondola ride. We found a little canal with a very Italian gondola driver. The five of us (me, Lizzie, Suzanne, Jess, Jackie) piled into the gondola and went for a half hour cruise. It was quite cold but very peaceful and pretty. Our boat guy had a thick accent and was difficult to understand, but he pointed out key monuments and buildings for us. I knew I couldn’t go to Venice and not go on a gondola, it was fun!
We spent the rest of the evening in and out of the small shops. We walked nearly all day, hitting all parts of the city. Venice was a great place for gifts. I bought myself some new earrings and a pendant necklace made from the famous Murano glass.
Sunday February 1, 2009
Sunday we had breakfast in the hotel lobby. As I was enjoying my cup of tea and cereal, I glanced outside the window and saw my worst fear. SNOW. I thought I left Vermont, but the snow followed me all the way to Italy. There are many kids in my program from California and the South who had never seen snow fall. These kids were all so excited, taking pictures, standing outside, catching snowflakes on their tongues. All the kids from the northeast were moaning and groaning. None of us were missing this sort of weather.
We visited the Peggy Guggenheim Collection located in Venice. There were several Picasso pieces, along with Jackson Pollack, the only two names I recognized. After touring the collection, the girls and I went and got a sit-down lunch. We had done a lot of exploring the day before so none of us felt like doing anymore wandering in the snow. Our ferry was departing around 2pm, so we didn’t have much time to kill.
The ferry back to the mainland was very choppy. The 30 minute cruise couldn’t go by fast enough. We took the bus back, driving through the snow storm. Unfortunately the snow actually stuck, and was accumulating along the highway on the way home. Once we got back to Florence though, the snow had changed to a light rain. I can only hope that’s the last of snow I will see while over here!
We arrived back to the hotel around 7pm Sunday night, exhausted. It was Superbowl Sunday, and many local pubs were hosting events for the American students. I was way too tired to go out, and went to bed early.
I started the countdown to my birthday today, exactly 3 weeks until I’m 21!!
Monday February 2nd
After class today (Monday), we travelled by bus to Siena, another town in Tuscany. It was another rainy day. We started at a large basilica just outside the center of town. We were lead toward the center of town. Siena is not very big, the walk only took about 8 minutes. We toured the Duomo and building across from it. The building across from it was used as a hospital from the medieval times all the way up until 1995 when it was turned into a museum. After touring city hall, we were all soaking wet, and decided to sit in a café and warm up. We headed back to the bus for the hour long ride home. Only two more days left in Florence. I move to Rome on Thursday morning!
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