So I’ve gotten really bad at updating my journal! My life during the week is such a routine now that nothing really interesting happens (well, nothing interesting besides being in Florence, Italy). Life with the roommates is still going well. Katie is doing well. Her hand isn’t completely closed up yet but it’s looking a lot better. Her mom and aunt come tomorrow and are staying for two weeks. Everything is good!
Homework has been taking up a lot of my time. They’re big on papers and presentations here. I have 5 or 6 in the next two weeks, so that’s not fun. My first Italian quiz went ok. I’ll find out for sure on Tuesday. I’ve just been busy!
I booked tickets to Paris for Ana and me. We’re going for 3 nights, 4 days at the end of November/beginning of December. I’m really looking forward to that because it’s always been my dream to go there. I’m just going to have the whole trip planned out before I go, though, because I want to see everything. I’m really excited.
My roommates (minus Katie) and I just got tickets to see Michael Buble! He’s coming to Florence at the very end of our Fall Break. We’re very excited and have been listening to him whenever we can. I’m definitely looking forward to that.
That’s about all that has happened during the week. Yesterday (Friday) we planned a trip to Siena. Siena is a little city that was an hour and 30 minute train ride. It’s really a smaller version of Florence - very medieval.
Alex (from Texas), Ana, Britt, Katie, and I went to Siena. We planned on taking the 9:10 train. Katie and I left for the train station a little early so we could stop at the ATM. It was cold and pouring rain out, so we were bundled up under our umbrellas. We got to the station and met up with Alex. The three of us bought our tickets and waited for Ana and Britt. Katie finally called them to see where they were. Well, they weren’t paying attention to where they were walking and ended up at the bus station, which is in the complete opposite direction. You actually take a left out of our apartment instead of the right we took. They were running to the station. Alex bought their tickets and we waited for them on the platform. Katie and I decided we were just going to get on the train because we didn’t want to wait an hour for the next one. Well, we literally were standing next to the train and it started leaving. We’re so lame. (The Italian guys laughing at us obviously agree with that.) So the girls showed up seconds later and we sat and had some breakfast.
We got on the 10:10 train (still pouring rain) and got to Siena a little before 12. The weather was a real downer. We found the Campo, which is center of the city. It’s really pretty. Every year the Campo fills up for the Palio, which is a three-lap horse-race. 10 jockeys in medieval costume race. It sounds really cool.
Katie and I had packed lunch and dinner for the day, but it was too cold and wet to eat outside so we went to a Pizzeria with the other 3. Siena is not as big as Florence and the streets curve around the Campo, so it was hard to find a place. The pizza we had was good, not the best.
After lunch we headed off to find a church (I can’t think of the name of it) that has St. Catherine of Siena’s head in it. St. Catherine has a whole long story to her. At the end of her life she locked herself in a room in her house and prayed. She eventually died. Apparently, when the Catholic church became obsessed with relics, they dug her up and her head had never decomposed. This church we went to literally had her head in a glass box above one of the alters. It was pretty eerie, but also miraculous when you think about it. Many of her teeth were there and everything. (The church also has her thumb but that is frequently shipped to other churches for periods of time. We didn’t see it.) We spent some time in the church then left to try to find her house.
I forgot to mention. Siena is known for their fruitcakes. Supposedly even fruitcake haters will like them. The 5 of us stopped in a store on the way to the church and got some. Katie and I bought little pieces for 1 euro and Ana, Britt, and Alex went in and bought a pre-packaged one. My fruitcake was so good. It was chocolate with cinnamon and all the fruits and nuts. Ana, Britt, and Alex should have bought what Katie and I did because theirs was gross. Oh well!
Anyway, we went to St. Catherine’s house. Every room is transformed into a chapel now. The best part was that they still have the cross she worshiped for 3 years when she secluded herself. That was cool to see.
Katie and I left in order to get back to the train station. Ana, Britt, and Alex were spending the night in Siena. Our friend Doug is in a band and he was playing in Siena so they wanted to see him. They were spending the night in the bar, though, and that is not my thing. Hostels are bad enough in my opinion. Well, it took Katie and me forever to find a bus to take to the train station. We finally did and had to wait 45 minutes for the next train. We just read. And took pictures. In a photo booth. How American is that? (They’re really cute, though. They have our picture with a big I heart Italy at the top. If anything, it’ll be good for my scrapbook.)
The train was freezing cold, but we got back and went straight home. I grabbed my laptop and we headed to the Internet Train to see if we could download Grey’s Anatomy off iTunes. It wasn’t available - bummer. We came back, laid in bed, and watched TV for an hour or so. (Good thing I decided to bring 100 movies with me. Wow, that’s sad.) Then we got ready to go out. We were going to our friend Sara and Lindsey’s apartment. They go to St. Norberts, too. We went out with 2 of their friends and then met up with 4 more girls from SNC. It was a huge college reunion because 3 boys studying abroad in London were visiting for the weekend. It was a fun night!
I’ve been chilling out today. Katie and I got up really early because it was so loud outside. We’ve just been cleaning and homework. I’m going to be writing a few papers the rest of the weekend. Nothing too exciting!
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