Florence at night

Tuesday- April 3

This morning I had to wake up early to go into the school to correct my Italian packet since I didn't do it yesterday.

In intercultural communication we started the movie The Last Samurai. I've always heard of it, but I've never seen it. We only had enough time to watch half of it, but it was really, really good. I'm looking forward to finishing it next week.

For Italian Art today, we had to meet at San Marco, which is across town near where Bethany, Amy and Erika live. Kate and I ran home before class to drop off our things and grab something quick to eat. It takes about 20 minutes to get there, and we didn't leave until about 12:15. As we were walking we really weren't paying too much attention to the time. When I looked at my watch when we were almost there it was 12:35. We were already five minutes late.

We weren't sure where we were supposed to meet at because no one was standing outside since class started. We walked over to the entrance of the museum and figured we'd at least try to see if they were there. I saw Rocky talking to a big group and knew it was my class. We told the guards that was our class and we were late. They gave us our tickets and we went in.

San Marco is the old convent. It was beautiful to walk through and see all of the frescos on the wall. The rooms where the nuns stayed were very tiny and reminded me of my room in Beall last semester.

After class I went back to the school to get some work done, or at least with the intent of getting work done. I failed at doing so and ended up fooling around on the computer for about an hour. I was in there with Lydia when Christina, our practicum teacher appeared. She asked if Glen was on his way. I was confused, but then it hit me. Thank goodness I chose to stay at the school because I completely forgot she was taking the three of us early to Paolo Penko's goldsmith's shop to interview him for our documentary. Talk about luck!

Glen appeared a few minutes late, and then we left the school. When we got to the shop Penko was with a customer, so we started setting up our two cameras on tripods and made sure the microphones worked. After the two customers left we set up everything while Christina spoke with him. It was going to be interesting because Christina was going to translate our questions for him and then he would answer. Then we were going to have to translate the interview when we got back to school.

Lydia and Glen worked the cameras while I was the one sitting in the chair in front of Penko. When filming interviews, you don't want to person to stare into the camera. You want to make it look like they're talking to someone, so I was that someone. After Christina asked him the first question, he spoke into the camera and Glen had to have Christina ask Penko to talk to me when he answered. This is when it go real awkward.

When he was answering his questions he would look right at me. We kept holding eye contact, which was fine, but I had absolutely NO idea what he was saying. So I just kept kindly nodding my head like I understood what he was saying. Normally in an interview I'll nod my head because I understand what they're saying. I had no idea what to do, and I didn't want to just stare at him. Most awkward 10 minutes of my life.

When we got back to the school Christina helped Lydia translate the interview while I went into another room and recorded the voiceovers we were going to put on top of video we filmed. It was a successful day for practicum.

After class I went home to drop off my books and such and then went over to my family's apartment. We had planned for me to be there at 6:15. I cooked them dinner: Spinaich and Ricotta torillini with pesto, which is one of my favorite dishes now. I was surprised because Jon actually liked it, and I thought he was going to give me a hard time about it.

Ali was really tired and ended up falling asleep on the couch. Around 8 or so we decided we were going to take a walk. We tried waking Ali up to see if she wanted to come, but she said she was too tired.

We walked through the streets of Florence, and then I led mom and Jon up to Piazza Michelangelo, where I haven't been since the first week I was here. When we were crossing the bridge on the Arno, Jon asked where we were going, and I pointed up to where the lights were on the top hill. "We're going ALL the way up there?" "Yup!"

When we finally made it to the top, the view was spectacular; just the way I remembered it. Jon and mom loved it too. You could see the entire city all lit up. I'm glad I got to show them this.

We walked around up there for a bit and then Jon wanted gelato. We saw a little market that had gelato, so we walked over that way. After we got some we sat on a bench and enjoyed the view of the city at night. Having mom and Jon with me there made it even better.

We had a lot of fun walking around, and we just kept laughing. I love how close my family and I are. I'm so lucky to be able to call them my family, and I didn't realize how much I missed them until I was with them. 

SHOES!

Monday- April 2

Today in Italian class, we had Chapter 10 of our packet due. I finished it last night, but I didn't go into school early to grade it. I'm glad I didn't wake up early to do so because I learned that almost no one actually did the packet. I guess we were all feeling pretty lazy this weekend about homework. I just had little to no time to do it, which was fine with me. 

After Italian class, we had 15 minutes until our intercultural communications class started. While I was waiting I heard that we were going to the Salvatore Ferragamo shoe museum. I wasn't in class last Tuesday, so I was not aware this was happening, but thank goodness I was appropriately dressed to go somewhere. I wasn't the only one who didn't know though, which made me feel better. 

Fabbio and Francesca, another communications teacher, led us across town to the Salvatore Ferragamo museum. It was right near the place where we met a few months ago for Flo'nthego, which makes sense because the company helps sponsor the online publication. 

When I walked down the stairs I was in awe. Shoes. shoes. shoes and more shoes. Everywhere. Odd-looking shoes. Pretty shoes. Stunning shoes. I was in heaven. 

A woman led us around the one-floored museum telling us about all of the different rooms and the history behind Salvatore Ferragamo. There were foot replicas of Audrey Hepburn and Sophia Loren. There were shoes worn by Drew Barrymore in Ever After and the shoes Julia Roberts wore for her wedding. It was unreal. There was also the entire outfit that was designed and warn by Lady Gaga when she performed on The View. 

There were some shoes that were just plain odd, but there were some shoes that I would have loved, loved, loved to have worn. Being in the museum was only making me want to go shopping even more than before. 

After the meeting I went home to make myself lunch because I had a meeting with Fabbio and the rest of the CCI cohort at 2:30. Class let out early since the museum visit was pretty short. We all wondered why we didn't just have the meeting after class since most of us were already there anyway. Instead we now had an hour and half break until the meeting. 

I had told my family last night to meet me at the school at 3:00 because the meetings never last too long. Of course this one ended up being longer than the other ones we've had. It lasted longer than normal for good reasons because myself and the others in the practicum class vented about the class. Fabbio asked us to tell him if anything was wrong with anything, so we finally spoke up about how we felt the class was too much of hand-holding. A lot of us have had problems with this class and the structure of it. He said he's had complaints in the past two semesters about it, so hopefully they'll fix it for next semester. 

After the meeting ended, I started walking downstairs to meet my family. I stopped by Simone's office to talk about a package I had yet to receive. My mom said she mailed it February 21 and it was already April and it still wasn't here. Mom told me she had peanut butter and nutella in there. I didn't know she has sent it because if I did I would have told her not to because I've been told its ridiculously hard to get it through customs. But it was the thought that counted and it made me smile mama did that for me. 

Simone said since we've been trying to get it for the past few weeks, we couldn't do much more and that it would probably just be sent home. I told him that was fine because at this point I only have a month left here. By the time I would actually get it with fighting with the post office, it would be too late, or then I would just have to pack it to come home with me in May. 

I thanked him for all of his help and went downstairs to meet my family. They said they had been waiting since 2:45 because they thought the meeting would end earlier. I felt bad but told them the meeting ran late and I talked with Simone. I told mom what he said, and I felt bad because she was bummed and frustrated it wouldn't come through. "It's just peanut butter," she said. 

We went back into my school for mama, Ali and Jon to use the bathroom and then of course Ali wanted a cappuccino because it's delicious! We then went to the Fratellini sandwich place because mama loved it there. 

Jon and Ali got pizza from the Jersey Shore place again. We all sat on the concrete sidewalk again and ate our lunch —which was delicious. These sandwiches will never get old!

When we finished we walked to the end of the street. When we paused on a corner, all of a sudden I hear, "Ah man!" I turned around and looked at mom. She just got popped on, except it wasn't like Ali when she got poop in her hair. Mom got pooped on her jacket. We all laughed because now Ali and mom had been pooped on. I've been here for almost three months and I've — knock on wood — never been pooped on. Within less than a week, two of my family members have been.

I ran over to Fratellini to gather napkins to help mom clean it up. After cleaning up, we walked around and shopped a little bit. We went into a perfume shop, and I had luck finding something that I liked! I ran out of my perfume a few weeks ago and was in need for something. My official new scent is Acqua di Gioia by Giorgio Armani. I wanted to get something that was only made in Florence, but I didn't like any of the scents. So I decided to get something made my someone Italian. Even though I can get in the states, at least I got something Italian in Italy!

I then showed Ali my favorite store Zara. It's somewhat affordable, but still a little pricey. Things vary between €20 to €80. Ali fell in love with a lot of the clothes inside the store, which I figured would happen. Mom was waiting outside with Jon while he was finishing the gelato he had. Ali and I came back outside to get them because I wanted to show mom the store too. Jon was a good sport about it. He always gets dragged into stores with us. 

We then started walking around the city and ended up walking toward where Bethany, Amy and Erika live. We passed San Lorenzo, and I asked my family if they knew where we were. Ali and Jon had a sense of their bearings, but mom had no idea where we were. I had told her we were near the steps of the church where the gypsy cursed me out a few days ago. She laughed and then realized where we were. 

Jon had asked me earlier in the day if I would show him where Subway was because he missed it — of course. 

So we ended up at Subway for a bit for Jonathan to get his BMT. It was funny because he likes his Italian dressing and that doesn't exist here. We all sat inside while he ate his sub, which he wasn't too impressed with. I guess it's not the same as home's. While we were waiting, we saw the gypsy who had cursed me out the other day, and we watched her try to beg for money from people. I had to give her credit...she was persistent. 

After Subway, we started walking back toward the main piazza. Along the way Jon found a toy store that had a ton of collectable cars. Ali, mom and I waited outside for five minutes while he was inside perusing through everything. We ended up going in because he was taking longer than we thought. I figured we should give him time there anyway because he was so patient with us in Zara and at the Perfume store. 

While we were in there Ali and I found puppets that we started playing with and made talk. I made mine talk to Jon, and he said, "You're turning 21 in two months?" "Why of course I am! Can't you tell?"

I'm a kid at heart. What can I say?

Jon had luck with finding a couple things he liked after a half hour or so of being there. Ali and I went outside and found a toy machine that had bouncy balls for €1. I couldn't pass it up, and Ali was kind enough to give me a euro. We bounced it while we waited for mom and Jon to come outside. We're such kids. 

When we started walking back to the apartment, I noticed how obsessed with shoes Ali really was. It was really entertaining to watch because every time we walked past a window with shoes, she stopped. One time we were walking and I saw a window with shoes. Ali wasn't paying attention and was talking to mom behind her and looking across the street. The shoes must have caught her attention in the corner of her eye because she slammed on her breaks and mom ran into her. I couldn't stop laughing. "Ali you have a problem," I said. 

When we got back to the apartment I skyped with Mel for a little bit because I hadn't skyped with her since February. Around 8:30 we went out for dinner. Mom had a place in mind that she had seen earlier, so she led the way. 

I had never seen this place before we walked in. We weren't sure if we were supposed to seat ourselves or wait, but soon enough an older Italian man asked us how many and led us to a table in the back room. The restaurant was tiny and I wasn't sure what to expect. 

It took a while until someone came to our table to take our entire order. It seemed like it was a family-run restaurant, which makes it even better. We got bruschetta for starters and I ordered risotto. 

The bruschetta was out of this world and my risotto was the same way. The risotto was made with a wine. When it came out I wasn't sure what to expect because it was purple, but I'm so glad I tried it. Mom, Ali and Jon all ordered spaghetti with tomato sauce. Their noodles had to have been homemade and it was delicious. Mom said it was the best pasta she's ever had and that it was what she thought homemade Italian food would taste like. 

We ended up not leaving the restaurant until 10:30 because our food had taken a while to get to us. We were one of the last ones our of the restaurant, but the owners were so nice about it. One of the family members working seemed to be the grandma and she was precious and nothing but smiles. 

I felt like I had just had dinner in an Italian family home. Mom had found a hidden jewel. 

April Fool's day!

Sunday- April 1

This morning we had to wake up early because we were going to church at the Cathedral. Last night when I went home to gather church clothes, I asked Jess if she thought what I already had on would be good because I've been told the dress code is strict. 

She said she thought I would be fine. She recommended getting there early because when her parents were here they tried going to church and waited in line and had the door shut on them. 

So we all woke up at 9 to shower and get ready for mass at 10:30. We ended up leaving at 10 and when we got to the Cathedral about five minutes away, we walked right in on the side of the church. I was surprised because I thought there would be a line since it was Palm Sunday. 

When we got inside we went to the left side to get palms to be blessed, which were actually olive tree branches. I later learned that they use olive trees instead of palms because palms are not as grown in Italy. I found that interesting. 

I was also surprised to see two things. One, that they church was not full. There were a lot of empty seats, so we were able to find seats together without a problem. Two, people were in jeans. I was appalled because I've been told no jeans at church here and no dresses higher than your knees. I guess they're not as strict as what my teachers told me. Oh well, I'd rather be safe than sorry.

The mass started at 10:30 and a plethora of priests filed in with the music. They carried flags and banners. A chorus walked with them singing, their notes echoing in the massive church. After a ton of people filed in behind them. I realized this was probably what Jess had done with her parents. After so many people filed in, they shut the huge, wooden doors and people found places to sit. Quickly, the church was full of people. 

The entire mass was in Italian, so I really didn't follow it too much. During the third reading where they read the passion of Christ, I understood when Jesus was getting ready to die because they said, "Mio dio, mio dio, perche?" Which means, my God, my God, Why? 

I also picked up when they were getting ready to say the Our Father. Other than that I was lost, and the mass seemed like it went on for hours. It was an experience though to be in the Florence Cathedral for Palm Sunday.

After church we went home to change into new clothes. Since it was such a nice day we decided we were going to go to a beach. I found a beach near Pisa, about an hour away by train and then a 20 minute bus ride. Since it takes an hour to get there I figured we could make the 12:50 train since it was only about noon. 

However, everyone took their time getting ready and then Jonathan decided he wanted to make a hot dog. Of course. So we ended up leaving the apartment around 12:45 to catch the 1:38 train to Pisa. Thankfully trains run often to Pisa. 

We stopped at Astor on the way because mom wanted her decaf coffee. It was a different group of workers and when mom asked for what she had yesterday, they said they couldn't make it. I told them they made it yesterday for her, so they ended up making it. The guy didn't look too happy about it, but I figured if someone could make it yesterday, surely someone could make it today. Mom said it didn't taste the same, but it was still alright. 

I ordered a banana coffee frappe, which was surprisingly good. I wanted to try something different and that it was! It was in a tiny cup for €3, so I didn't think it was worth the price, but it was till tasty. 

We walked to the train station around 1 to buy tickets and make sure we had enough time to catch the train. I wasn't in the mood to run to catch a train like I normally do. We got there and had enough time to get our tickets and find the platform. 

Thank goodness we did have time because we couldn't figure out which platform was ours because Pisa wasn't listed. I went back to a ticket machine to see what train number ours was and we learned the final destination was Lucca, so we looked for the train number on the departure sign and found Lucca. 

I went to go validate the ticket, but the newly installed machines weren't accepting it. I waited in line at the information desk to ask how the new machines worked. While I was waiting I asked Jon to try a different machine, which thankfully worked. 

We walked over toward where I thought platform 4 was. Almost all of the trains going to Pisa go out from the same area, but when we got there I couldn't find 4. I asked a man working there in Italian, where platform 4 was. He was extremely kind and directed us to it. I had never left from this platform, so it was a new experience too!

We walked onto a train car, only to find that it was mostly full. So we walked to the next train car, which was almost full too. We walked almost to the end of the train and I was starting to worry we would have to split up for the ride there. I had never seen the train this busy before. Luckily, we found four seats together right in the second to last car. 

After we got adjusted I led mom to the bathroom in the train, which was in the first car. While I waited I looked to my left and saw where the conductor controls the train. I thought, "Oh cool, I've never seen that before."

The train ride ended up being an hour and 20 minutes because there were more stops than normal. When we arrived in Pisa, mama had to use the restroom, so we walked into the McDonald's in the train station. There was a man standing in front of the restroom doors collecting money to use the bathroom. It was more of a donation and wasn't required like some public restrooms, but my family was surprised you had to pay to use the restroom. Welcome to Europe!

Jon decided he wanted to get something to eat from there, so while he ordered I went to the information desk to ask where the bus station was to purchase tickets and catch a bus to Terrenia. The woman was very helpful and it made it easier because she spoke in English to me. When it comes to directions, it's always easier if it's in my first language.

I walked back into the McDonald's and Jon was still waiting for his food. Ali and I waited for him while mom waited outside. Soon enough his fries and pop were up. We met mom outside and we started walking in the directions the woman gave me. Ali and I split a french fry since we were kind of hungry. I hadn't had french fries from Mickey Dees since January, so they were yummy, although they don't taste the same as the ones at home.

When we found the bus station after a 10 minute walk, we went inside and purchased roundtrip tickets for €4 each, which was really good I thought. The woman told us to wait at the middle stop, where most of the people waiting were standing anyways. I looked on the sign and it said Terrenia was stop number 4.

We only had to wait about five or so minutes, which was nice because the bus comes about every half hour. The bus ride lasted about 20 minutes. I counted every time we stopped to make sure we got off at the right one. I've been traveling for the past few months, so I'm used to finding my way eventually, but my family isn't used to it, so I remained calm, not knowing exactly where we were.

When we stopped for the 4th time we got off. I was 95 percent sure we were at the right stop because there was a massive boardwalk a few yards in front of us, and I saw water. I figured that was a pretty clear sign we were at the right place.

The little town was so cute and very beachy.

There was a plethora of people walking along the boardwalk, and there were a couple blow up games and slides where children were running around laughing.

It was a little chilly out, but with the sun shining down, it felt like a summer day. It was already 4:00 because we had gotten a late start to the day, but I was glad we made it. I was also glad it was somewhere I hadn't been yet and got to experience it with my family.

We started walking along the boardwalk, and we weren't quite sure where the beach was at. We saw a lot of people standing on rocks that stretched out into the waters, but no beach.

We ended up walking farther and found a white stone beach. It was like something I've never seen before. With the sun hitting the rocks, it made them appear even brighter than what they probably were.

Despite how pretty it was, it was quite difficult to walk on to get to the water.

The water was something different from what I've seen too. Greece has beautiful clear waters, and so did Terrenia, but this was different. The water was so clear that you could see everything below it, so you could see the algae, which made the water appear green. It was really pretty to see how the water looked as if it were changing colors, but it was actually so clear that you could see the floor of the sea changing colors.

We started walking along the boardwalk a little more because we thought there was a sand beach somewhere along here — at least there was in the pictures I looked at the night before. As we were walking, Ali and I kept getting stares up and down by women and men, and I knew exactly why. They were thinking, "why are they wearing shorts?!"

It was chilly, but not cold enough to not wear shorts. Italians, however, don't seem to wear shorts until it's probably like 90 degrees out. As I was walking around very comfortable and not cold, women were walking around in their winter coats. I wanted to say, "please travel to Ohio or Pennsylvania and you'll experience true cold."

After 10 or so minutes of walking we decided to sit down on the rocks that stretched out into the waters. We all found comfortable spots to relax for a while. Mama laid down and rested her head on her bag. It definitely felt warmer when you weren't moving and the sun was just resting on you.

-view from where we were sitting-

We sat on those rocks for probably a half hour just enjoying our time.

Jon was getting antsy and wanted to start walking — which I'm used to because he does this when we're at the beach. It made me laugh. It's always the same thing: Mom wants to lay out and relax, and Jon wants to go on adventures and see what else there is.

Eventually we started walking on the boardwalk again in hunt for food. As we were walking we ended up passing a sand beach. I thought, "well go figure!"

We decided not to venture down to it though because there were probably three teenage Italian couples going at it. It was ridiculous. Italians have no shame in PDA, and it drives me nuts. If someone was to do that at a beach in home, they'd be yelled at. I guess it's just another difference in our cultures.

It was getting close to sunset and we wanted to catch the 6:30 bus back.  We passed some restaurants along the beach that ended up being closed because it wasn't tourist season. Others were too expensive.

We turned around and started to head back to a pizza place we saw people standing outside of. 

The sold sandwiches, pizza by the slice, or maxi pizzas. We decided to get the maxi pizza for €13 and split it between the four of us. 

When it was finally my turn to order, I went up and told the woman what we wanted. She asked for my name and when I said Caitlin she couldn't understand what I was saying. That happened to me in Madrid when I was at Starbucks. I guess it's just not a popular name here. She was very kind though. 

We waited for probably 15 minutes until it was ready. It was a small joint and we watched the pizza get made and put in the brick oven. When she handed me the box, we couldn't get over how massive this pizza was. It was ridiculous!

We walked outside and sat in front of the tiny place to eat. The woman who helped me order brought out another chair for us to put the pizza on. After she did that her young son came up on his scooter and started asking her questions. Then I saw a grandfather figure come and talk. I realized this was a family-run business. It was so cute to see her son run around while she and her mother made the pizzas and the grandpa played with his grandson.

The pizza was out of this world. It wasn't better than Gusta Pizza, but it was very, very yummy. We couldn't believe we actually finished the entire pizza! We were hungrier than we thought we were!

We started walking back to where the bus dropped us off a couple hours ago. Ali and Jon walked ahead of mom and I, which is completely normal. It's usually them walking a feet yards in front of us and mom and I trailing in the back. I didn't realize how far we had walked along the board walk until it took us forever to get back to the bus stop. As we walked, mom and I enjoyed the atmosphere and view around us.

We saw a bus drive by us and then we realized it was the bus we wanted. When we got to the stop I looked at the times and it said another bus would be here in 20 minutes.

While we were waiting we weren't paying attention to the fact that no one was waiting by us at the stop. Ali and Jon made the observation that there were a ton of people waiting across the street. Hmm...interesting.

Ali and Jon then thought that maybe the bus that had passed us on our side of the street would be making its way back to Pisa on the opposite side of the street. With this is mind, we had two of us look one way and the other two the other way.

Then one of us yelled (I can't remember who) BUS! It was coming on the other side to stop where all of those other people were standing. So we crossed the street real fast before the bus could make it to the stop. When it pulled up, we all said, "Oh my gosh."

The bus was jam-packed, and there were even more people piling into it. The best part was, was that it was a tiny orange bus. I went to the back entrance, and mom said, "Caitlin, we're not going to fit on here."

I said, "Mom, yes we will. I've done this before." I experienced a squished bus at the airport before, so I know how many people can fit on a bus. There were a ton of teenage boys, probably Jon or Ali's age, piled on this bus. I stepped on and so did Jon. Mom said again that we wouldn't all fit. I pulled mom and Ali on and pushed the boys farther back into the bus. There was room, they just weren't moving, so I moved them.

It was hilarious because Ali was pushed up against these two boys and they were laughing so hard. Then when the doors started shutting, they started shutting on Jon and mom. They had to squish in more so it wouldn't shut on them. Mom was belly laughing, which made me laugh even harder. I felt like cattle. When the bus started moving I fell back onto the boys standing behind me and had to gain my balance. We all had to try to hold our balance while the bus kept trucking on. At the first stop the doors opened and Jon had to maneuver his way around the doors so they could open. I though mom was about to fall out of the bus, but then I realized she was bending down to pick up here bag.

I thought it would only be four stops like they way here, but it ended up being like eight. Every time the doors opened, mom bent down to get her bag and Jon moved out of the way of the door and Ali fell into the two boys. I couldn't stop laughing — none of us could.

FINALLY, we got to the bus stations and we jumped off as fast as we could so we wouldn't get pummeled by all of the teenagers. "Well, that was an interesting bus ride!"

After we walked over to the train station, we bought our tickets and tried figuring out again where the platform was. After another potty break, we walked down to platform 8 and hopped onto our train. The train ride back was only an hour this time, which was nice.

By the time we arrived back in Florence it was dark out. Right outside of the train station, Jonathan wanted to get gelato at this cafe he had seen this morning. There were a lot of treats in the window that caught mom and Ali's attention too.

I was worried the man would be rude because I thought he was getting ready to close because it was about 9 on a Sunday night. He was the most welcoming man. He even made mom and Ali coffee drinks. I got this little chocolate pastry that was pretty good. The man was so helpful and so patient with us. It's people like him that re-instill my faith in Italians being friendly.

I stopped back at their apartment on the way to pick up my things to go back to my place. Since I have school tomorrow, I wanted to spend the night at my place. I let mom walk me home the entire way with Jon and Ali because I knew it would make her feel better. No matter how old I am, she will alway mother me and I'll just have to let her.

As we neared my apartment mom asked Ali or Jon if they had the key to their apartment. Jon said he didn't have it and then Ali said she didn't. Mom said, "You're kidding me. One of you has it."

My first thought was, "well, I guess they're staying at my place for the night..."

After a few minutes, Jon said, "April Fools!!" Mama wasn't too happy, but she was at least relieved.

I ended up going to sleep earlier than I normally do because I was exhausted from my day's travels. 

Climbing the Duomo

Saturday- March 31

Since we decided last night that we would hold off on Cinque Terre, we all slept in. Unfortunately my body must be used to waking up at 9 everyday because I woke up at 10 wide awake. I watched an episode of One Tree Hill waiting for everyone to wake up. About an hour later, mama came into the family room. She said she couldn't fall asleep until 5 in the morning the night before! I was so shocked because I was passed out by 1! Mom said, "Yeah I know. All of us were wide awake walking around and you were passed out on the couch." I laughed. 

After mom showered she asked me how to use the converter with the hairdryer, so I walked to the bathroom to show her. After we plugged it in, all of a sudden a loud noise erupted from the outlet and it started smelling like smoke. We both jumped back in surprise. Only two days in and mom already blew a fuse. I've been here for almost three months and I haven't experienced that yet. 

Ali and Jon must have either been awake or it woke them up because they came downstairs asking what the noise was. I walked around the apartment seeing if any of the electricity worked. Everything was "caput." I walked around looking for the electric box like the one in my house. They showed me on the first day I was here how to fix the electricity if we were to ever blow a fuse, but I could not find it anywhere in their apartment. I then called the woman who was at the house on Thursday, and she directed me to where it was at. It was hidden behind a painting near the front door. Clever, clever, I thought to myself. I pushed the switch up, and voila, the electricity came back on!

Around 2 in the afternoon, everyone was finally ready to venture around Florence again. After being away from my family for a few months, I forgot how they take their time. I've become more fast-paced being here. 

We walked down the streets to Cafe Mario, which is a few doors down from my apartment. I hadn't been there in forever, but they have good coffee and hot chocolate. It's still the best hot chocolate I've ever had. Ali, Jon and mom were hesitant to walk up and order, so I asked them what they wanted and I ordered for them. The woman spoke pretty good English too, but I always like to try to use my Italian. I understood where my family was coming from too because I remember back in January I was nervous to go up and ask for something — I still am at times. 

Somehow there was a miscommunication between Jon and the woman about whether he wanted a bottle or can of Coke Light, and they gave him both. He got an attitude a little and I had to help tell them he just wanted the bottle. I wanted to shrink into my shell a little bit. 

We sat outside and ate our breakfast and drank our little coffees. I still couldn't believe they were sitting around me in Florence. 

After breakfast, which was more like an afternoon snack, we walked over toward the Cathedral. Ali and mom were wowed by how beautiful it was. When I saw their reaction it reminded me of how beautiful it really is. When we walked around the Cathedral to where the entrance to climb the Duomo was, there was a line. I was appalled at how long it was! Only a month ago I was able to walk right in and climb it.

Back in November when I was having orientation for coming here, people who went last spring advised us to see all of the art museums and "touristy" things before April because it'll get busy. Boy were they right! I don't want to know what the line is like in the summer during tourist season.

Mom said we should just hop in line now and do it because we were going to have to wait eventually. The line went pretty fast actually, which surprised me. We probably waited about 20 to 30 minutes. Once we paid inside, we started climbing. I told them the beginning was the hardest part because it's just winding stairs that go on forever, but once you get past them, it's smooth sailing.

Jon and I hiked up the stairs and made it to the first rest stop. It took Ali and mom a few more minutes to get to where we were when we waited for them. Mom needed a breathing break, and Ali asked, "This is supposed to be easy?"

When we ready to move on we pushed through the stairs and made it to the point where the stairwell got clogged because people were climbing back down. After we waited a few minutes we pushed our way through.

We made it to the point where you had to basically climb the the arched part of the Duomo. I told mom not to look down as she climbed up it. I knew she was scared of heights, but I didn't tell her how steep this would be or how high the view was because I wanted her to see the city from this view.

We had to wait at the top to climb up the ladder to the lookout point because more people were climbing down to leave. Jon and I climbed up first and walked around to the one side and when I turned around Ali was there and then mom was plastered against the back wall.

I told her to come over to where I was to look at the beautiful view, and she said the view was fine from where she was. She found a bench to sit on and didn't move from it. When Jon, Ali and I got close to the gate at the edge, mom asked us to not get so close to the edge. I had to reassure her I had done this before and I was fine. I laughed on the inside though.

Ali, Jon and I asked mom to take a picture of us and she did, but from sitting on the bench. She wouldn't even stand up and move closer to take it.

I eventually got her to walk around to the other sides with us, but she stayed near the back wall. Ali and Jon loved the view and we eventually got mom to take a picture with us near the edge. As soon as the picture was taken she moved back away from the edge. 

I told her I was proud of her for climbing it. I'm positive if she knew how high up this was, she wouldn't have done it. She loved the view though. I love it too because you can see everything from the city to the mountains in the background.

When we were started to descend Ali said, "I picked the worst day to wear a dress." And that she did. The dress was really pretty, but climbing down a ladder with people standing below you isn't always the best thing. Had I known we were going to climb it, I would have told her otherwise. Thank goodness I had tights on. 

When we got down to the bottom, mom wanted to try Astor, the coffee joint I had showed them when we were waiting in line. It's the place I go to every once in a while to get some work done. They have the best iced coffee. It seems like an American place, so I try to stay away from it because I can get it at home.

My family loved it. I was surprised that mom liked her iced decaf coffee because she's not a coffee person at all. She wanted an iced chai tea, but they didn't know what that was. I hadn't seen it on any menus while being here so far, so maybe it's an American thing too.

While we enjoyed our coffees, we sat outside on the concrete sidewalk and enjoyed the sun rays stretching out to us. Afterwards, mom wanted to try a waffle with nutella. They sell them everywhere and at a lot of gelato shops. I had a really good one with whipped cream on top at a restaurant a couple months ago, but I had never had one from a gelato shop.

We walked toward San Lorenzo, where we found the waffles. I ordered one, and after mom saw they had cannolis, she got that instead. Jon, of course, got gelato.

We walked toward San Lorenzo and sat on the steps of the church and ate our snacks. The waffle ended up being not good at all. It tasted like it had been sitting outside all day, which was disappointing. Mom's cannoli wasn't the best either, she said. It ended up being a bust, but we tried finishing it.

While we were sitting on the stairs a gypsy came up to us and shook her cup with her one coin in it begging for money. She was speaking in Italian and I said, "No mi dispiace." — No, I'm sorry.

She didn't go away and kept talking. My mom was saying no a few times and when the woman kept talking mom turned to me hoping the woman would go away. Mom always gives money to the poor, but I told her in the beginning not to give money to gypsies because usually it's a scam.

I said "No, mi dispiace" again, but she kept talking. After legit three minutes, I finally said in a stern voice, "NO." She then looked at me and said something and walked away. It wasn't said in a friendly way. I looked at mom and started laughing. "I'm pretty sure I just got cursed at on church steps." Mom laughed. Mom, Ali and Jon couldn't get over how persistent the gypsy was and how annoying it was. I told them, "SEE! I TOLD YOU!" They drive me nuts!

After we finished our snacks, we walked through the San Lorenzo market. It was definitely a lot more busy since I was last there. Mom and Ali looked at scarves and bracelets and Jon just waited patiently. We walked through most of it and then walked home.

We hung around the apartment and then decided to go out to dinner.

As we walked around Florence we ended up walking to Gusta Pizza, where I ate at with Lydia on Ash Wednesday. I wasn't entirely sure how busy it would be since it was a Friday, but we went anyways. 

When we got there, there was a line extending outside of the restaurant. We hopped in line, and while we were waiting a drunk man stumbled his way past us. I didn't get a wift of him, but apparently Ali and Jon did and they said he smelled like nothing but alcohol. 

When we finally got up to order, we decided what we wanted and waited for a table to open up. It's a tiny place and most people seem to take their food to go since there's only about seven tables total in this place. After standing for about 10 minutes someone called our number and we realized we were given a seat. I was happy this was happening because I was under the impression we had to fight for seats. It seemed like it took forever for our pizzas to be done, especially because we were all starving. Finally, they called our number and Jonathan went up and kindly got them. I met him halfway to carry two because they are massive pizzas. 

Everyone was extremely happy with their food and mom said it was definitely worth the wait. I couldn't have agreed more because this was probably still the best pizza I've had in Florence yet. 

On our walk home we stopped to admire the beautifulness of the Arno river at night. The calmness of it still amazes me.

When we got home we decided to watch the rest of The Double from the previous night. Ali and Jon watched the rest of it last night since they couldn't sleep, but we still watched it. Ali got tired a little into it, so she headed off to bed around midnight. Jon, mom and I watched the rest of it and then headed off to bed ourselves. 

Wake up! You're in Florence!

Friday- March 30

This morning I decided to sleep in because I was poop dead. The night before I had set my alarm clock for 11, but I somehow managed to open my eyes before I heard that pestering noise. 

I had told Jon to Facebook message me when they were ready for me to come over, so I checked my inbox before hopping in the shower. No luck hearing from them yet. 

After I showered and got ready I checked my Facebook again only to see my inbox empty. I messaged him and told him I was awake and would be ready soon, and just to email me when to come over. 

I decided to clean up my room and tidy up the apartment for it to look spiffy for my family to see. After cleaning up the place I checked my inbox again. Still nothing. By this time it was 1:00, two hours after I had woken up ready for the day and excited to show my family around. I supposed the jet lag was hitting them hard. 

Of course after I decided to start an episode of One Tree Hill, I saw Jon had messaged me, "Sorry we just woke up."

So I gathered up my things and ventured over to their apartment. I loved how short of a walk it was to my apartment. It was going to make things so much easier. 

I buzzed the main front door to the building, even though it was open because I wasn't sure if there was another buzzer inside. I walked through the main door and then to the gated area, where I pushed their apartment, "La Tranquilla."  After a few seconds I heard a click, and I pushed open the gate. I walked up the windy staircase and up to their apartment. 

Jon was all excited because he said he could see me buzzing their apartment and walking up. It was actually pretty nifty because when someone buzzes them, they can look at this screen to see who it is before they let someone in. My apartment is the old-fashioned way where when I hear someone buzzing I have to look out my window to see who it is. 

I lounged around on the comfy, blue couch while my family showered and got ready. My mom said she couldn't fall asleep the night before, whereas Ali said she was out as soon as she hit the pillow. 

I ended up waiting for about an hour to an hour and a half for them all to get ready. I tried to be patient, but I was super excited to go outside on this beautiful, sunny day. 

Around 2:30 we finally left the apartment to walk around my beautiful hometown. Mi familia was hungry so I took them to a cheap, but delicious sandwich joint right around the corner from my school, Fratellini. 

On the way we passed the pizzeria where Jersey Shore worked at when they filmed a season here. Jonathan and Ali got all excited and wanted to eat there, but I refused to. I absolutely hate that TV show because it's ridiculous, but I found it funny they wanted to eat there. 

My mom got the same thing as me...number 6: Fresh mozzarella, tomato and olive oil. Ali and Jon both got something with ham, which they enjoyed. My mom loved her sandwich, which made me happy!

I took them into my school to sit down and eat, while also enjoying 50 cent water from the school's vending machine. While we were sitting in the empty common room I said how weird it was to have them sitting there with me because it's been my friends and I here for the past few months. It was also weird not seeing my mom, Ali and Jon through a computer screen anymore. They were sitting with me....in my school...in Florence!

After lunch I grabbed my sister a cappuccino from the vending machine I always get my morning drinks from in the school for her to try. I absolutely love these 45 cent cappuccino every morning in my first class. Not only are they cheap, but they're delicious! I was happy to see she enjoyed it too.

After lunch I showed them around the school. We walked up to the third floor where we looked out the windows. Mom got a little to close to look out and backed out as soon as she realized how high up we were. Ali and Jon wanted to go up higher, so we went upstairs and my mom went back down.

I never looked out these windows before on both the third and fourth floor, but when I did on the fourth floor, I realized how beautiful the view was. I'm barely up here to even think to look out of the window, but I could see over many rooftops. I looked down to see if mom had come outside yet, but she wasn't there. After a few minutes I began walking down the stairs, while Ali and Jon took the elevator. 

When I made it to the first floor, I saw mom on the stairs talking to people. I thought, "Oh geeze, she already made friends." Then I realized it was my friends. I was happy she got to meet Bethany, Megan, Yelena, Kelsey and Amy. They were going to go buy tickets for the Florentine soccer game that Sunday and were meeting at the school.

While we were talking I heard Ali and Jon get off at the ground floor and they yelled up at us asking what we were doing. They walked up to where we were and I laughed when I watched Jon casually look at all my friends....such a teenage boy.

After we said goodbye to the girls we started walking around Florence. Mom needed to go to the exchange place again, so we headed over that way. Afterwards we started walking over to the Arno. Once we ran into it, my family was in awe...and so was I. The view really was gorgeous, and while I was looking out at it I realized I never come out this way anymore. I really need to start doing that more often, I thought. 

After sitting on the edge for a little bit, we headed over to the infamous jewelry bridge. As we were walking along it Mom kept getting held up while looking at all of the shiny things. It made me laugh. The prices did not. I think the cheapest thing I saw was maybe a little €100. 

Ali took some pictures on a lookout point on the bridge and mom found a staircase that led up somewhere, but was blocked off. After we got across the bridge, Jonathan wanted from gelato. 

He got chocolate — of course — and said it was delicious. I wasn't sure if we had to pay to sit down or not so I told him to get it to go so mom wouldn't have to pay for more. 

We then decided to follow the road where the bridge left off at. I had never been beyond this bridge, so this was a new experience for me as well. Along the way we ran into Sarah Bishop and Lindsay, a girl who goes to school with me. I was completely thrown off when I heard someone say, "Is that the Restelli family?" I soon realized it was Sarah, who I went to high school with. 

While we were talking with them, they told us to definitely go to the Boboli Gardens. Mom then said that someone on their plane ride here highly recommended them too. I had never heard of them, but Sarah and Lindsay both said it was beautiful.

After saying goodbye, we kept venturing on until the streets opened up into a big piazza and I saw this massive building. A sign soon came into my vision that read "Pitti Palace." I immediately said, "Oh my gosh! I've been wanting to go here forever, but I never knew where it was at and never really tried to find it!" Mom was happy to see something new with me. We didn't go in, but we said we would come back another day to see it. 

Since it was a warm, sunny day outside, we sat out in the piazza, soaking up the sun. After about 20 or so minutes we decided to head back toward my apartment. Along the way Jon got hungry and really wanted to try the Jersey Shore pizza, so we headed that way. The manager was very entertaining and had us laughing while Jon tried figuring out what he wanted. He ordered his pizza to go and soon enough the pizza was ready. We took it back to my apartment, and when we reached the doors to my building I warned my family it was about 72 stairs to my place. My mom remembered me saying that and they were all not looking forward to the hike. 

I laughed because I have no choice and have to do it every day. When we were winding around the corner on the floor below me mom asked if we were there. "Only one more flight!" When I reached the door I realized Jon was gone. He was ahead of me and didn't ask which one was my apartment so I let him go up the last flight of stairs that led to the rooftop. I laughed when he came walking back down the stairs, and he did too. 

When we walked in no one was home, so I showed them around the apartment. Afterwards we sat at the living room table while Jon ate his pizza. I ended up trying a bite, and it was surprisingly good. While we were sitting around I gave Ali here extreme-belated birthday present. Since it was too expensive to mail, I decided to hold on to it to give to her for when she visited. I also gave my mom and Jon their presents I had bought for them back in February. I was super excited to finally give it to them after having it for this long. 

While I was home I packed everything I needed because I was going to spend the night at their apartment and we were going to leave early the next morning for Cinque Terre. 

We ended up hanging out at my apartment for an hour or so and then we went back to theirs. After stopping back at their apartment we hung out for a while and then decided to venture out for a little dessert. I took them to the first place I ever went to for gelato. It's where Deb and Stan took us the second day we were here. I had only been in there one other time after, so I was excited to have it again. I got nutella and fior di latte, yet again. It's by far the best gelato I've had yet and it's the first one I had. 

Ali, Jon and mom all loved it as well. 

After gelato, we went home and hung out for a while. I logged on to my Netflix account and we all decided to watch The Double. It got about half way through and then froze and wouldn't work. I was pretty happy about this because I was exhausted and wanted to go to sleep. My family, however, was still awake. Mom said they should probably get to bed anyways. 

Before I went to sleep, we all agreed that we weren't going to go to Cinque Terre anymore because we didn't want to leave so early in the morning. The trains to this place only run every few hours, and since it takes three hours to get there, we figured we would go another day. They were still trying to get over jet lag so we decided not to set alarms and wake up whenever. 

My Family is here!!

Thursday -March 29

This morning I woke up with excitement consuming me. Today was the day my family was arriving. I couldn't believe that it was already the day because I remember talking about it in January. Heck, I remember talking about them coming to visit while I'm abroad at me senior pictures. Time flies by.

I only had one class today because my Italian Art was canceled, which helped because then I wouldn't have to miss it since I was going to skip it to pick up my family at the airport. 

For Italian class today, our class met at the school 45 minutes earlier at 10:00 and we walked to a bus stop. Nicoletta was taking us to an Italian high school where we were going to converse with students in Italian and then in English. She told us a few days prior for the girls to cover up a little bit because there were mostly going to be 17 and 18 year old boys. 

The bus ride took about 30 or so minutes and then we walked the rest of the way to the school. It was a nice change of pace being on the outskirts of Florence. We were walking through the suburbs, and I felt like I was seeing a new side to the city. I suppose it would be like someone visiting Pittsburgh and then seeing the suburbs too. It's a completely different feel than being in the city. 

We walked down a dirt path the led down to the school. It was small and looking nothing like any high school I would have pictured. My Italian class has two boys and the rest girls, so as we walked down the road all you saw were these high school boys popping their heads out the window, pointing and smiling. It was hilarious and we were all laughing. There were bars on some of the windows, just like there are around the city, and all I saw were boys trying to stick their heads out through. We were all saying, " What is Nicoletta doing to us?!"

As we walked into the school, boys kept walking by staring, and then when we walked into the classroom it was chaotic. The windows were opened and people were trying to climb in. Once the teacher got everyone settled down we were given seats. For every four Italians, there were two Americans. Lydia and I were partners and thankfully we were given three girls and one guy. They were the only girls in the class. 

The first half of the hour we spoke in Italian and the second half we spoke in English. It was difficult for Lydia and I because we knew Italian, but trying to keep a conversation going for a half hour was rather difficult. The three girls and boy were all 17 and 18 years old and they liked the school they were at. This type of school was an agricultural school. They came here to learn how to be a farmer, essentially. 

We asked them how many siblings they had, what type of music they liked, etc. The boy said he liked Eminem and I high fived him. They said they listen to a lot of American music. 

When we switched to English the four of them got rather quiet and didn't say much. We tried conversing with them, but they didn't really try. The one girl, Claudia, was the one who tried the most. I was surprised they were so nervous to speak in English because they said they had been studying it for 6 years. Lydia and I have only been taking Italian for two semesters and we were able to speak Italian better than their English. 

I also found it interesting because Claudia said she doesn't want to live in Italy because she doesn't like Italians, despite the fact she is Italian. She said she wants to live in France, which I thought was cool. Since the countries are so close, it's essentially the same as me not wanting to live in PA or OH and wanting to move south. 

After the hour was up, the Italian high schoolers led us outside to their greenhouse and farming land. Claudia said they spend two hours a day in the green house and taking care of the plants. Outside, they also had apple, peach and cherry trees. She said once they grow they all get to eat them. 

It was a different kind of school and one that I did not expect to see, but it was really interesting to see how Italians learn. 

Afterwards, Nicoletta led us home instead of taking a bus back. We walked through this gorgeous park that I didn't even know existed. The entire place was a luscious green, with trees and benches lining the path we were walking along. We also walked along a river and past a dam that was beautiful and had some people laying out trying to catch some rays. 

After a half hour of walking, we decided to take the bus the rest of the way. Once we spotted one we started running toward it because it was getting ready to leave.

We got dropped off near Bethany's apartment, which meant I was 25 minutes away from home. I was getting worried about time because I had to leave for the airport around 1:30 to get there in time for my family. I thought we were going to be getting back at 12:30 and figured I had time to go to the grocery store, clean my apartment, etc., but it was already 1:00. 

So I walked back to the Duomo with my friends and then parted to go back home where I scarfed down a sandwich and called a taxi. 

I waited for about a minute or two outside of my apartment for the taxi. During the drive to the airport I was filled with excitement and anxiousness. I couldn't believe that my family was already almost here.

After the 20 minute taxi ride, I paid the driver and went inside the airport to wait for my family. When I was standing by the doors they would come out of my heart jumped every time the door opened. It was 2:00 and their plane was supposed to land around then. On the arrival board it didn't say that they landed yet, so I started getting a little nervous.

A different plane had to divert to Pisa and I was a bit worried that was going to happen to their plane because I knew they wouldn't know what to do. Plus I didn't know how I was going to get in touch with them. I felt bad because another girl my age and her friend were waiting for her parents and she found out that her parents were on the plane that diverted to Pisa, so she had to go with her driver that was picking them up and drive and hour to Pisa to get them.

I stared at the board and finally around 2:15 it said their plane landed. So I knew they were somewhere close to me, but I couldn't see them. Once again every time the doors opened up I got extremely excited only to find out they weren't behind them. Time was testing my patience.

Finally around 2:30 the doors opened and I saw a ton of people walking out. Then I saw Jon walk around the corner and I became overwhelmed with excitement. I'm not going to lie...I got a little teary eyed, but I brought myself back together. Then my whole family appeared and started walking out the doors.

Ali ran up to me and hugged me and Jon and my mom followed suit. We were jumping up and down with excitement. I couldn't believe they were actually here!

We walked outside of the airport and stood there for a bit talking. I learned that my family almost missed their flight from Frankfurt to Florence. They said their plane from Philly to Frankfurt was late and they had to literally run through the airport to catch their flight. My mom said Ali ran ahead and tried to get on the plane.

They are the luckiest people because I've heard of so many bad experiences where the plane won't let you on if you miss the boarding time. They walked on the plane at 12:22 and their flight left at 12:25. My mom said she almost cried when she thought they weren't going to make it. She said she thought of my blogs and when I said I would run to catch my trains and she felt like she was me. It made me laugh, but I'm so thankful someone was kind enough to let them on. Someone was watching out for them.

We then proceeded to the line of taxis and I asked a driver where we were supposed to go to catch one and he sent me to the front of the line where a younger Italian man lifted their suitcases into his trunk, and we all piled into the car. I sat in the front and the other three sat in the back.

During the drive, I was hoping he would drive crazy and my family would be able to experience the craziness of Italian drivers, but unfortunately he was a decent driver. Jonathan didn't think so, so maybe I'm just used to the reckless driving now.

The man sang to his Italian music and it made me smile. "Welcome to Italy," I thought to myself. During the drive I — of course — had a coughing attack. I had no water and I seriously couldn't stop coughing. I always get them when I really don't want it. At least if I were to get it at home I can cough all I want, but I'm sitting next to a stranger hacking up a lung. He was kind and asked me if he could take me to a bar to get water — a bar here is a cafe— but I felt like I was getting better. Eventually the tickle in my throat went away.

When we got further into Florence I could see the busyness starting to appear in the streets. We passed Florence's Cathedral and my family was in awe by how beautiful it was. I felt like I was reliving what I saw in January because since I've been here and I pass it every day, it's just a pretty building. When I saw my mom and Ali's reaction I remembered how beautiful it really was.

We turned down a smaller street and there was a massive swarm of people standing outside of one of my favorite gelato shops — Grom. As we passed by slowly, it looked like the parting of the Red Sea. My mom was laughing and couldn't get over how a car just pushed through all of the people. "Welcome to Italy," I thought again.

We eventually pulled up to their apartment on Borgo Albizi, and I had no idea where we were in relation to my apartment, so I figured that was going to be an adventure.

The taxi driver unloaded their luggage and I paid him. A woman was standing in the door way waiting for us to come in. I had called her earlier from the airport letting her know my family was in and that we would be there shortly. I said "ciao" to her and then she gave me a lesson on how Italian only say it to people they know and if you don't know someone you say "buona sera." I was so used to saying ciao to everyone because most people say it. I laughed to myself and said "whoops."

She led us through a massive door, through a gated entrance and up spiral stairs. When I walked into the apartment and walked down the hallway I was in awe. The place was gorgeous and it was so quaint. The walls were yellow, which made the room brighter with the sun bouncing off them and the ceilings were high and wooden like my apartment. Ali and Jon's bedroom was up stone stairs and was a tiny little cubby hole, but it was so cute.

"I'm staying here a lot," I thought to myself! The woman gave my family a tour of the apartment and told them the nitty gritty details about it. When I realized there was a dishwasher I exclaimed, "They have these in Italy?!"

The woman looked at me perplexed, and said, "yes?"

I explained how my apartment didn't have one and neither did any of my friends' so it was odd to me.

After she left the apartment we hung around the apartment and they explored their living quarters for the next two weeks. Ali took a shower and my mom ran around the apartment. She was so excited and all smiles. She kept saying, "I can't believe we're here!"

After becoming aquainted with the place we ventured out into Florence for a bit. It was about 4:00 now and my family said they were just going to stay up, despite the fact they were tired. I agreed it was probably a good idea because it would probably mess up their sleep schedule even more.

As we were walking we stopped at a corner to look at Santa Croche. As we were standing their Ali made a funny noise. I looked over at her and started laughing. A pidgeon just pooped on her. I've been here for almost three months and I have yet to have that happen to me. Italians say it's good luck, but I think someone just made that up to make someone feel better about being pooped on. The funniest part was that Ali was the only one who had already showered and then she got poop in her hair.

We ventured over to the money exchange place, so my mom could get some euros for the beginning of their trip. Afterwards we walked down the street a little and sat down for them to eat something little. They loved what they were eating and were thrilled to be sitting down eating Italian food.


We walked back toward their apartment to go to the grocery store and euro store. As we were walking along their street I looked down another and saw The American Diner, which is near my apartment. I finally realized where we were at. Their street was only four streets away from me! All I had to do was walk out of my apartment, go down my street a little, hook a right and walk past four streets, and then hook another right and I was there! Can't get much better than that!

We walked down to the euro store first to get laundry detergent and paper towels because it's cheaper to get it there. Afterwards, we walked to Centro, a supermarket similar to Meta where I shop. I had never been on this side of town, despite the fact it was so close to my house, so it was nice to experience something new with them.

After we got back to the apartment we unloaded the groceries and then we went to dinner at Il Gatto. It was the restaurant I went to my second day here where Deborah and Stan treated us to. I was excited for them to try the place and for them to experience what I experienced my first few days here.

When we walked in and were led to a table we passed my friends Maria, Kelsey and Megan. They were with Maria's sister and Aunt who were visiting. It made me laugh because we all bring people who visit to this restaurant.

I explained the menu to my family and we all ordered. I was surprised because my mom let Ali and Jon try wine with dinner. I ordered quarter liter of the house wine for all of us to have. Jon was really funny because when my mom said they could try the wine, Jon said, "Can I substitute that wine for a beer?"

I laughed and Mama said no. It made sense though because they are both old enough here to drink it and when will they be back here? They should experience it while they're here. I was happy because they loved everything that they ordered to eat.

During dinner Ali started looking more and more tired. I could only imagine because they had been up for over 24 hours. I asked for the check and we headed back to their apartment. I hung out there for a little bit and then my mom and Jon walked me home.

We got to my street and I told them I could walk the rest of the way and they could go home. My mom tried persisting that they would walk me home all the way because she didn't feel comfortable having me walk home by myself. Jon said, "Mom, she's been here for three months and she's been fine."

I chuckled and told her I'd be fine and that my apartment was just around the corner. I hugged them goodnight and headed home to get a good night's sleep. 

Mi Dispiace

So it's been about two weeks since I last posted a blog, but I have good reasons. My family left this morning and I'm sad to see them go, but believe it or not I will be home in three weeks from Friday. Crazy! Time flies by. So I haven't posted anything because I was trying to spend as much time with my family as possible and by the time night came I was exhausted.

I'm going to be trying to catch up from everything I've done with them, just have patience and I'll eventually catch up!