So, enough making excuses. What have I been up to? Two weekends ago I went to Rome for my 21st birthday. It was amazing. I stayed in a hostel not too far from the train station with 4 Endicott classmates. It was a lot like an orphanage with bare white walls, small beds in a row, and one window...but in all honesty was not that bad. We were on the sixth floor with a balcony, and beautiful view of the city. Rome was actually more different from Florence than I was expecting. Mostly, it was a lot larger with more touristy spots to see. But it was hard to deny the magic and to not imagine it in all its splendor thousands of years ago.
We managed to see the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Coliseum, Pantheon, and Roman Forum in one day. They were all amazing in different ways, but we were very happy to relax in our hostel for a bit after a long day. That night we went out for my Roman Birthday! I turned 21 years old at an Irish bar, where a live band sang happy birthday (along with about 100 other people) to me. It was pretty great, and not a bad way to turn the legal drinking age in America. Saturday, we went to the Vatican and relaxed. It was t-shirt weather, so we soaked up the sun and hung out for a bit, taking it easy. That night, for my actual birthday celebration we went out to dinner at a really nice restaurant with the lit up Coliseum in view. From there we went to a pub crawl, where I got free entry, a free bottle of champagne, tshirt and free drinks for an our just because it was my birthday. It was a great night, where we all enjoyed the Roman night life. The next day we caught a long 4 hour, hung over, train ride back to Florence. It was a great weekend.
(Pictures from the trip soon)
Since then, I have been enjoying my time back in Florence. It finally feels like I am here, and daily life is becoming more and more normal. This past week a large group of us went to a soccer game at the stadium. It was amazing, with Firenze playing against Milan. The Italians are so passionate about everything especially about their favorite sport. We all chanted a long even though we knew very little of what they were actually saying. For the girls, we actually witnessed David Beckham in the flesh. I guess not many people can say that so it was pretty cool to see someone that famous play. Firenze ending up losing in overtime, but it wasn't a lost call. We all had a blast and it is definitely something everyone should enjoy once.
Classes are going well, but at this point seem completely secondary. It is hard to take them seriously because there feels like there is so much going on outside of the classroom. What I do like about classes here is that there are a number of field trips. We have gone to a number of museums and cathedrals. Its amazing to be in the center of the art world, and see the actual works that so many textbooks have taught me about.
This weekend we are going to Capri, Naples, Sorento, and Pompeii for a class trip. We all feel pretty lucky to have this amazing trip set up for us as a class. I hope to see, learn, and experience a lot...I am sure I will.
Anyway, I hope this has given you some idea of the major events happening over here in Europe.
Miss and love you all,
AB
