The Fiercely Fine and Ferocious Four- June 16th

Katelyn (Blasiar)

I woke up this fabulous morn, birds twittering in my ear... and they told me I had two days left in Florence, and I hadn't done an ounce of shopping aside from what I purchased in Venice. Crap. So I quickly dressed and got ready quietly, because I had been told that the majority of the apartment wished to sleep in.
I grabbed my money and my sketching materials and headed to the Medici chapel first, because I had yet to see its wonder. Inside, I slowly made my way through the chapel to Michelangelo's sculptures of Dawn and Dusk (Lorenzo's tomb) and Night and Day (Giuliano's tomb) to the tune of a teacher shushing a large group of Portuguese students. The statues were amazing; more detailed and beautiful than I could have imagined. (Sorry, no pics allowed, and my sketches don't do any justice.)

After the chapel, I strolled around the adjacent outdoor market, and procured quite a few treasures. I took my booty (I guess technically both my booties) back to the apartment, where the girls were still sleeping in (long week!), and then went back to the markets again to check more people off my souvenir list. I repeated this pattern a few times because I hate carrying things while I look upon other things. At some point, a very kindly gentleman swindled me into buying an authentic Italian leather jacket... though I don't truly consider being "swindled", because I talked him down to 60% off. Maybe I swindled him... Another kindly Italian gentleman laughed hysterically at me when I purchased an umbrella from him (in the shape of the Duomo!!!) but packed it away even though it was raining. He couldn't fathom why one would buy an umbrella and decide not to use it (um... because it's in the shape of the Duomo! And I was already wet and liked the rain on my skin). "Crazy American girl!" he chuckled. Disclaimer: Photo not taken in Italy

When I finished shopping, I went back to the apartment (where Tamra seemed to be missing), and chatted with Amy and Taylor before shopping a little more in their company.

We went to Il Porcospino (the Porcupine) to have dinner together, and our waiter "LOVES Texans," so the wine flowed just as well as the conversation. This was by far my best restaurant experience in Italy. (We went back with Tamra the next night, it was so good.)

Taylor, Amy, and I met up with Payton and the other girls to try a bit of his Absinthe (which I decided I'm not a fan of because it tastes like black licorice... icky). We all made a beautiful piece of watercolor art together, then headed over to Julian's bar to meet up with Zach and the other ID girls. It was a fantastically fun night, but the free-flowing wine + the Absinthe + the beer = headache for Katelyn in the morning. No buono.

June 14th

Farewell Firenza! Our last evening here, and we'll miss you for a lifetime!

Rainy day after visiting David at The Accademia. Ann entering battle just as David did, only she was battling a cheap umbrella.

Ange doing her best David impression... being still at stone.

To celebrate making it through the two biggest and best museums in Florence we all got a delicious gelatto.

The celebration was cut short when the mountain of gelatto crumbled. Now Ange is walking piece of contemporary art.

Have no fear, Megan will save the day. Just scoop it back in! (I think even a homeless gypsy gave a look of disgust.)

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is leaning a little more now that Megan and Ann gave it a little shove!

Oh! the lights at night of Venezia in San Marco Piazza. The water is so clear you can't tell up from down.

Enjoying the nightlife in Venice with our classmates. ( Sorry the waiter can't take pictures... Katelyn and Taylor)

Ange was a little freaked out by the swaying gondola, while Ann found a new boyfriend in Stefano our guide! Ciao! We love you Italy and cannot wait to see you again!

The Fabulous Four- June 12, 2010......Saturday

An angel awoke us for our adventure to Venice. No, actually it was Tamra knocking on our doors telling us to wake up, or we all would be late for the train....! Our weekend adventure to Venice was upon us. After arriving at the train station on time, I think we all basically did our own thing on the ride. Some slept some wrote in their journals, and some gazed out the window. It was always a beautiful view.
Arriving in Venice was like seeing a city created in someones imagination... it was just so unreal. I think that we all found it hard to believe that the entire city was built on water hundreds of years ago. After getting settled in our church museum monastery home hotel, we all went on a guided tour by an Italian fairy.... no really she was beautiful and wonderful. We learned a great deal.
After our tour, an elephant sprang from the great ocean like a Roman god, and poured wine from its tusks and trunk, which we drank as though we were Venecian warriors... not really....but it sounds good... :) After the three hour tour (a three hour tour) we were seperated for a bit to enjoy shopping and getting lost in the beauty of the city.

Amy and Tamara

We decided to get ready and find a place for dinner. We found a nice place to enjoy an awesome seafood dinner. Afterwards we just walked around enjoying the view. Venice is a quiet, relaxing place, free of vehicle and moped noise. It really is a pleasant place to enjoy a peaceful evening.

Katelyn and Taylor

Zach, Katelyn, and Taylor decided it would be a fabulous idea to attempt heading back to the hotel, but we seemed to get lost along the way. We'll be the first to say though, Venice is not the worst place to get lost...

After a while, we got ahold of a map and some information about the World Cup, and headed off to find some sports bars in Campus Square Margherita. We found one pub, shared a plate of absolutely delicious gnocchi, and had a couple beers (well, Taylor had a Melon Margarita... note to selves: frozen=with ice cube). We decided a little dive across the street seemed a little more bumpin (plus, the TV was about 10 inches bigger), so we popped a squat (or 3?) to watch US vs. England. Surrounded by Brits and Yankees, the experience couldn't have been better. And when Tim Howard managed another amazing save, Zach's vociferous response was: "I want Tim Howard to have my babies!!!"

Oh yah.

We stumbled back to our hotel, still drunk on adrenaline (and maybe a little beer), and knew that this first experience in Venice would only mark greater experiences to come.