becoming less: March 2013

to all my faithful readers, I love you and I apologize,

1. for not posting in a very long time

2. for this really long post that I hope you will read.

now, story time!

this past weekend was busy busy for this girl,

and I absolutely loved it.

I saw new places, met new people, and had many fun adventures which I shall proceed to tell.

friday:

my school, John Cabot University, so kindly offers different trips for the students throughout the semester to different places in Italy. a couple of my friends and I decided to take them up on one of their day trips and we were not disappointed.

we went to this little town in Umbria called Assisi. I had never heard of it before, but my do I love it now. some say it is the prettiest place they have ever been in Italy (which is saying a lot because this whole country is insanely gorgeous).

unfortunately it was a little on the foggy and cloudy side that day, but it was still beautiful which leads me to believe that it must be a stunner on a nice sunny day.

we went on a tour from one end of the town to the other, touring St. Francis' church (The St. Francis of Assisi) as well as a few other places. then we had time to explore.

my friends and I ate at this precious restaurant that was decorated like Easter and I had the best pasta EVER. seriously, it was insanely good.

we then proceeded up an enormous hill to tour the fortress/castle. little did we know that we would find some pretty spectacular views of the countryside. we had fun just taking pictures and being silly.

on our way down to meet up with the group we stopped and got some yummy Assisian pastries (good life choice), and went into a few shops with some pretty neat treasures.

we met back up with the group and headed home.
side note: bus rides in Italy are my favorite because the views out the window are incredible. I just love listening to music and day dreaming as I watch the countryside roll by.

St. Francis' church.

the castle/fortress we explored.

my sweet friend Mary.

the yummiest Umbrian pasta.

the most beautiful of views.

we are silly.

I loved the peacefulness and tranquility of Assisi; and not to mention the yummy food and beautiful views.

all in all, it was a wonderful day. I recommend everyone visit Assisi if they have the chance.

saturday:

people tour the Colosseum all the time, that's no big deal. however, few have gone to the ground and top floors. (actually, people go all the time but it's ridiculously expensive and just recently opened up). well, being a study abroad has lots of advantages and getting discounts on cool tours like this is one of them.

the things we got to do were unreal. I never thought I would be able to see all these things when I came here.
we got to walk through the gates, onto a platform and imagine what it would have felt like to be a gladiator walking out to face the crowds, Caesar, and possibly death. our tour guide even played the gladiator music for us. so flippin cool. I was geeking out.

we got to go below where they kept the lions and tigers and bears (oh my). this was a little creepy walking through the tunnels, but so insanely cool.

we even got to go the top level and have the most amazing views of the forum and the entire inside of the Colosseo.

it was the best tour. the history behind this amazing structure is incredible. I had goosebumps the entire time.

can you just picture Russell Crowe fighting Commodus in the last few scenes of Gladiator as he is dying and then being honored and carried out as the hero he was? goosebumps.

a lion on the prowl.

the lowest level of the Colosseo.

I look like the secret service with my tour thing in my ear.

the cat followed us.

it was really heavy.

unreal.

you can never have too many pictures of the Colosseo.

it was one of the coolest things I have done while here. I am so privileged to be able to go on tours like these.

sunday:

[see, I told you this was long]

beautiful weather, Italian leather, yummy food, cute tour guide, DAVID.

all of this sums up my day trip to Florence.

Florence is one of the world's most beautiful cities and after visiting it, I can see why.

the weather was spectacular, which made it even more beautiful.

we got there early in the morning and started off our day with a quick tour of the city. we walked around and saw where everything was for reference during our free time later. our tour guide also took us to the Piazza Michelangelo for the most amazing views of the city. it was unreal.

then we were free to wander around Florence.

we went to the Uffizi Gallery which houses some of the most amazing artwork. we were stunned by the many Caravaggio's and the famous Batticelli's The Birth of Venus. it is huge and so amazing in real life.

then we went to find David.

so you hear all the time how amazing David is in real life and you think "yeah, but it's a statue. I don't see how it can be amazing."

oh it is. trust me.

my roommate and I literally sat there and stared at him for 30+ minutes. the details of his face and body are breathtaking. he looks like he is breathing and could walk off the platform any minute.

not to mention he is HUGE.

his eyes are piercing; his brows are knit together like he is pondering over his defeat of Goliath; his chest has muscles; he has veins in his hands. everything is spectacular. Michelangelo was gifted, to say the least.

I could have stared at him for hours. I'm not exaggerating when I say how unreal it is. you have to go see it for yourself.

after our encounter with David, we then ventured to the famous Florence leather market.

we looked around at all the vendors and stores and finally found our dream purses.

I bought a real Italian leather purse from Florence.

it makes me feel fabulous to say the least.

we still had loads of time to kill so we just wandered around Florence, stopping in cute stores here and there. we got a quick cappuccino and then met the group for dinner. after we stuffed ourselves with good food, we got back on the bus and headed home exhausted, but so happy.