It's their last day here...

Tuesday- April 10

Today was the last day my family was going to be here. That was such a weird thought because I feel like they had just gotten here, but I after I thought about it we really got to see a lot. I hoped that they enjoyed themselves because I know I did.

I met up with them after I had two of my classes. We went to Fratellini, the delicious sandwich joint right outside of my school. Mom loved it, so she wanted to go there one last time. After we all got out sandwiches we walked to Palazzo Signoria, where we tried to find somewhere to sit, but it was too crowded. 

They had mentioned in passing a few times that they wanted to ride a horse carriage throughout the city before they left. So after we ate lunch, we walked up to the drivers of the carriages who were hanging out in Palazzo Signoria. Mom asked them if we could take a carriage from here and they said of course!

We all hopped in — of course Ali and Jon snagged the prime seats — and we were off! 


The woman driver told us some history of the city as we passed some buildings. Some of it I had learned in class and other information was new to me. We went down tiny streets and through some piazzas. It was a different kind of view being pulled on a carriage by a horse. I wanted to do this with my friends too, but I was glad I got to do it with my family too. Despite Ali and Jon’s bickering, it was a fun experience. 

We ended in the sam place we started, and mom asked how much time I had until my next class. I had about 20 minutes, so I took them to Grom, a very well-known gelato place, which was near my school. Thankfully when we got there it wasn’t crowded. It’s usually a hit or a miss with crowds, but when it’s crowded, there’s no room to move and people pour out into the streets in a line. 

We walked right in and ordered. It was delicious, as usual, and mom, Ali and Jon liked it too. They walked me back to the school and I told them I’d meet them at their apartment at 6:15 after I got out of class.

In my practicum class today, I unfortunately learned I had used the broken mic to record the voiceovers, so I had to redo them with Glen. After we got all of that done, we ended up finishing our documentary by the end of class, which was a huge relief. Our friends in the two other groups said they weren’t close to being done, so I was glad I was in the group I was in. 

We ended up staying in the classroom longer than expected, so instead of going home first I went straight to my family’s apartment. When I buzzed to come up, no one answered. I waited a few minutes and buzzed again. Right when I was about to leave I turned around and Ali came in through the main door. She gasped because she wasn’t expecting me to be there, which made me laugh because I scared her.

They said they ran into Lydia, who I was just with. She had gone the opposite direction of me, so I thought that was funny. 

We went up to their apartment for a little bit and then went out for dinner. A few days ago when we were walking back from somewhere I finally saw the restaurant I had eaten at my very first night here with Lydia, Jess and Kate. I couldn’t believe it, so we decided to go there.

When we sat inside, it reminded me of my first night and how exhausted I was. I remembered I had fallen asleep from noon to six without realizing it. Now, three months later, here I was with my family.

This time around I knew water wasn’t on tap for free, you had to order bottles and share, you could always ask for more, and you had to ask for the bill. Oh what I’ve learned in the past three months.

Dinner was delicious. I ordered the same thing I ordered my first night, and it was as good as I remembered it being. My family really liked what they had got too. We also ordered bruschetta for an appetizer, which was scrumptious just like the first time I had it. 

After dinner we went back to my apartment for me to pick up the clothes and shoes I wanted to send home with them. 

Afterwards, we hung out in their apartment while they packed for their travels the next day. I wasn’t sure if they were going to successfully fit all of my stuff, but somehow they managed. Now we just hoped that they would be able to make it past the weight limit at the airport in the morning, since they didn’t have a scale here. 

We all decided that we were craving some of the hot chocolate we had the other night at the bar, so we started walking to the place we were at the other night. Unfortunately, it was closed because it was past 8:00 and it was a weekday. 

We walked to the main part of town because I figured there might be some places open. We walked into a gelato place that also served coffee. I asked if they had hot chocolate, but unfortunately they didn’t but they told us Piazza Republica may have some places open with it.

So we ventured that way. There was a bar with seats under a tent. We asked them if they had hot chocolate and luckily they did! The waiter led us to a table near a heater, since it was a little chilly outside. 

He brought us the menus. We think he thought we were going to order actual food, but we really just wanted drinks. After looking at their dessert menu though, we decided to venture into that too. 

The waiter was very kind and entertaining too. The dessert was delicious and the hot chocolate was good, but not as good as the other ones I’ve had. Mom felt the same way. 

We sat and enjoyed our last few hours together. On our way home we saw a man doing a magic show in the street. The crowd was slowly getting bigger, so we stopped. The old man was hilarious and had the crowd in the palm of his hands. 

At one point he was looking for people to pull into the crowd. He came in our general direction. I thought he was going for Ali because he was looking at her, but she turned her head, and then before I knew it his hand pulled mine into the middle of the square. I didn’t even have time to think about what I had just gotten myself into. I don’t like attention, so this was going to be fun.

He had me, a little girl and an older man in the square. I couldn’t stop laughing. Every time I looked over at mom, she didn’t help either. She was bright red from laughing and her laugh always makes me laugh harder. Jon and Ali were laughing too, which didn’t help.

The magician had me where a funny hat and had me take my sweatshirt off, so I was standing in just a t-shirt. He had us do funny things like waddle and help him blow up balloons. I was probably out in the middle of the crowd doing crazy things for 30 minutes. Mom has it all on film, so I plan on uploading it to here, because words cannot describe what it was like. 

All I know is that I couldn’t stop laughing and all I can picture is mom’s face from laughing so hard. 

When we got home, it was all we could talk about, and we couldn’t stop laughing. What a perfect way to end our night. 

I hung out at their apartment until 12:30 or so and then they walked me back home. Before we left, mama got a little teary eyed, but I told her I would be home in 3 weeks, which would fly by!

When we got up to my apartment, I took all of the food they gave me inside and then went out to hug them goodbye.

I had given mom directions on how to call a cab. I wrote down everything she needed to say in Italian. She was a little nervous to do it, but I knew she would be okay. I told her though if she ran into any problems, call my Piccell phone and I would come over and help. They had to get a taxi at 4:30 because their flight was at 6:30.

I hugged them all goodbye. I knew I’d be seeing them soon, but it was still sad to say goodbye.