back from traveling..

first off..i am still working on pictures and my next post will have a link for an online photo album!

this past weekend was loaded with traveling so needless to say i am super tired—but it was definitely worth it.  we started in assisi which was one of the most beautiful places ive ever seen. i had been excited to go because i had heard so much about st. francis of assisi while growing up. the town was so quiet and picturesque! st. catherine’s church was very interesting—it was turned into a hospital during the plague so they painted over the beautiful artwork with white paint to sterilize the building. it was fun though because you could still see the colors of the original artwork underneath. then, all of the sudden we turned a corner and saw this absolutely incredible church on top of the hill. the st. francis church really is one of the most breathtaking sights. we were able to go and see where he was buried and i lit a candle in the church on behalf of our animals at home. i miss the babies so much but it felt nice to be in the church of the man who is always watching over them.

next we went to perugia—the church there was stunning. i love seeing all the details throughout the building. it is beyond me to think that someone painted and sculpted those details by hand. there is a college in that town that supposedly is a big place for american students to study but it would be a little too small for me. i learned that due to some conflict that happened thousands of years ago, the town was not sold salt for their bread, so now the bread that you eat in that town is made without salt. it had an interesting taste! after an hour or so in purugia, it was time for dinner so we found a cute place for pasta (obviously) and walked around for a little before heading to bed. we had an early morning the next day so we wanted to be ready for it!

by the time we got to siena, it was freezing!! even the kids from the east coast were saying it was cold and if they thought it then it MUST be cold! we saw more beautiful churches—i lit another candle in the church on behalf of all my loved ones. what i remember most from siena was the huge town square. it was a big open area where everyone comes to sit and eat their lunch and people watch. it had a very relaxing and casual vibe. for lunch i had my first pizza since ive been in italy and it was everything i had hoped it would be! it was delicious—as bubba would say—they definitely mixed a little crack in the recipe.

after siena we to san gimignano—the views were fantastic! there was a great little market in the middle of the town square where they sold clothes and fresh candy and even puppies!!!! it took everything in me not to buy this little yellow lab that was sound asleep even though it was so noisy. he looked so peaceful!

the best part of the day came that night when we went up this HUGE mountain to the castello vicchiomaggio for wine tasting and dinner. we had a tour of the wine cellar downstairs before the wine tasting and dinner. this particular castle made super tuscan wines along with chianti classico. they were so delicious!! the dinner was even better, we had a five course meal followed by a dessert wine that we dipped biscotti in. the dinner was in this giant room with big windows looking down on the city. there was a piano in the corner of the room, which a bunch of the students and chef’s played on after dinner. we sang all these ridiculous american songs—it was hysterical! we all agreed that it was the best time we have had thus far.

we came back to florence that night but left this morning for pissa. it was rainy and cold! there isn’t much to do in pissa besides seeing the leaning tower—so the trip was short. i forgot that the leaning tower was in italy so when i saw it i was really excited! we took the typical american pictures where, from a certain angle, it looks like you are holding up the tower. after that we ran inside to get a quick cappuccino (im officially addicted!) at a little café before we left. we were planning on going to lucca but the weather was so bad that we decided to come back to florence and visit lucca on an afternoon where we could really experience the supposed beautiful views from the town.

tonight i am planning to stay awake and watch the superbowl game at a pub right down the street. they have advertised that they will be showing the game so a bunch of americans will be there. a couple of the guys in our program found out i was from arizona and said they were cheering on the cards tonight with me so it should be a good time! the first day of school is tomorrow and i cant wait! Ill update yall more on how things go after class.

nana--i bought a prayer card for you at the st. francis church—whos the favorite grandchild now?

sof—ive told everyone about deuxfashion!!! they think you and em are so dang cute!

mar-i wear my necklace every single day!!! it makes me think of you! miss you lovebug

have a great week!!!

lovelovelove