no place like home...

as odd as it may sound, i was glad to be back in Verona. Florence was amazing but when you try to go it alone (as in no guidance from your professors), it can be a bit rough and tumble. despite some of the major bumps in the road, we (my two other friends and I) managed to overcome our obstacles and had a great time.

from the looks of things, our group appears a bit worn from the hectic schedules and as we make our way into the last week of school, things will only get a bit more stressful. the up-side is that once we finish up the week, we're done with school and can enjoy the trip without the worries or hinderances of reading and studying! so glad about that.

Ok so Florence started out a bit rocky and we had some moments through the trip that were a bit rough but overall I really enjoyed the trip and am glad I was with the two other girls I went with! A large number of us went so we broke down the group into smaller numbers. Another part of our group was at the hotel we stayed out so that worked out well for us.

Some of the things I got to see uhmm..well cant remember exactly at this point without looking at my map...but we did the hop on-off tour bus which had two routes. so I SAW alot! did some shopping and picked up some souvenirs, saw David at the Accademia, and traveled to Pisa to see the leaning tower and cathedral. AMAZING!

I really love renaissance art so since Florence is credited with the start of that period, I was in ART heaven! The city itself is pretty amazing but going out into the country side was just breath taking! we made a trip up to Fiesole during our tour and the lush mountains and gardens were beautiful. Pictures just do not do justice to the scenery there....

ok so the train - ive decided that while convenient in terms of getting around from place to place is just not my preference. that has probably been the most frustrating part of our trip since we were provided with Eurorails that are not global passes meaning we have to travel on regional trains. uhm yea...after getting back from Pisa yesterday we developed a plan to get back home which we so successfully executed! i'm so glad too! i bought the upgrades to the eurorail on a direct train back home cutting the trip down by an hour...and the girls picked up our bags at the hotel. perfect timing....

so we grabbed a quick quick dinner at mcdonald's...yea i know... and then made our way to the train station. we already knew when we arrived that something had happened to the track just north of us causing huge delays...so we just waited patiently...and at about 6:30 or so we were headed home! we got back just around 9pm and the group staying at our hotel were the only ones back. so we shared stories and showed our purchases and got to bed a bit late but knowing this was the last week of school! i feel like finals week...ok gotta go meet my group for class...hope you are all enjoying the start of summer!