mom and dad visit florence...

wow..the past week has been non-stop with mom and dad! it was so amazingly fabulous to see them! while i was able to meet up with them in rome for a night, i decided to take a train in a day early to see some sights on my own. i actually ended up seeing EVERYTHING in that one day! who says  you can't do rome in a day? it was really empowering to find my way around the entire city by myself, but there were times when i wish i could have had someone to look over to and say, "wow look how beautiful that is!" and although the history in that city is truly incredible, it wasn't my favorite place. it just felt like a big, dirty city to me. i have become to used to florence and it's tiny street corners and alleyways--rome just felt so...crazy and fast. but i would go back again in a heartbeat just to see the sistine chapel again. WOW!!! absolutely breathtaking.

mom and dad didn't get in until 11 that night so i decided to grab some dinner while i was waiting for them. the entire dinner experience was a bit weird. i made a reservation for one, and people just kept asking me, "are you sure no one is joining you?" every single person in the restaurant was staring at me all night! maybe italians don't eat alone. i brought my journal along  to update while i was eating--so i would sit and enjoy my dinner then open a page up and write some things down. i started to notice that the owner of the restaurant was even coming out to look at me. i think they thought i was a food critic! once i caught on to this, i would really act the part--id take a bite, think about it for a little, then write in my journal. it was pretty funny! after dinner i went back to the hotel and waited for mom and dad. the next day was rainy so we just did a little sightseeing before i had to get back on my train to florence.

on tuesday, mom and dad arrived in florence. i felt like i had so many places to take them so we got started right away and went to all the great restaurants and markets. i finally found a leather jacket that i wanted but i wanted to make sure that mom and dad thought the quality was nice. they loved it just as much as i did and mom surprised me and bought it as a late valentines day gift! ive worn it every day since then!! on saturday, dad decided we should rent a car and drive to lucca. i had heard so much about this tiny town and had been wanting to go since january. after finding our way out way out of the city, it was about an hour car ride to lucca. the entire city is walled in so we walked almost the entire wall while stopping to get lunch. it is a much more family oriented place than florence. it was so peaceful and quiet--one of my favorite places in italy. after a few hours there, we got back in the car and began the journey to find mom's favorite olive oil. we were driving directly on the coast! it was breathtaking. we ended up finding our way through the mountains at this beautiful house/ranch where they made their own olive oil! they spoke very little english so i had to piece together my italian to try and buy stuff for mom. we bought a five liter tin can full of their home made oil!! we have no idea how it tastes so i can't wait for mom and dad to try it when they get back in the states. 

while they were here i took them to some of my favorite places like the boboli gardens, san michele church, a bunch of fabulous restaurants and my new favorite place--the mago merlino tea house. one of my professors had told me about this place and because this professor is such a weird guy, i was interested to see what it was all about. i had gone for the first time last week and i knew i needed to take mom and dad. you are able to sit on the floor in this back room filled with pillows and just sit and drink all different kinds of home made teas. the chi tea is to die for! all the walls are lined with moroccan tapestries and the rooms smell like incense. it might sound like a shady place but it really is very cool. besides dragging mom and dad around the city, we were also able to relax and catch up. i can't believe they are already gone, but i am meeting up with them in milan on thursday!

this week i will be studying for midterms and getting my last minute planning done for spring break. i hope that this post finds everyone happy and healthy! ill update again as soon as i can!

lovelovelove 

julianna--i tried grappa and WOW!!! it really is like lighter fluid but i really really like it!!