Firenze - Florence

February 2nd -3rd, 2013

Saturday morning I set off to Florence. It was raining all day but with my rain coat, umbrella (I bargained for £2), and rain protected backpack, I was set to go! I arrived in Florence and began the hunt of a place to stay and to ditch my bag so I could check out the city. I met some American girls that suggested the Florence youth hostile. It was reasonable and right in the center of the city, perfect! The family that owned it spoke English pretty well and were super nice and helpful. I got my own room, but had a bathroom and a kitchen that I shared with two other girls. After settling in I set out to look around at the shops before going to mass. The shops, oh my gosh, the shopping!! A girl could go broke, everything is adorable and great deals, so fun! I wanted to go to mass at the old Duomo (Santa Maria del Fiore), which is Florence's Cathedral. They had mass in ENGLISH, but they ended up canceling the English mass, which was a bummer. That is one thing I miss about America, hearing mass in English verse Italian. I ended up going to prayers at the church across the street at 5 pm and mass afterwards, which was still beautiful! After church it was still raining off and on so I went shopping again and went to the market.

Sunday morning I checked out of the hostile and started exploring Florence some more. Happy 25th Birthday to TJ, (shout out) was thinking about you and hope you had the best birthday!! Sunday was a perfect day, sunny and just warm enough for a light coat. I started my day at the local part of town, across the river. The view of the river and backdrop is incredible! One of my favorite sights so far! The golden bridge was filled with shops of jewelry, everything was so beautiful. I set out to see the churches and stopped to have a cappuccino. I met a man who worked at the cafe and he gave me a low down on the town. 

I went to various places throughout the city; Signoria Square, San Lorenzo Market, Pitti Palace, Palazzo Vecchio, etc. Michelangelo and the rose garden is a must see, walking up the long flight of stairs is so worth it (by the way, walking up long flights up stairs seems to be the normal here). Its this big square platform that you can see the entire city, spectacular view... The rose garden was so pretty and peaceful, can't imagine how much more beautiful it'd be in the spring when the roses bloom! 

Thoughts on Florence (Firenze):

The city smells old and kind of an odd stench. But the beauty of it is incredible. 
People walk around the streets with a glass of wine in their hand at 10 in the morning, no big deal..  

Fashion.. people walking the streets with their trendy clothes and fur, while I'm in Puma tennies with my backpack.. such a tourist. :)

In the middle of a square, there are groups of older men playing and singing Italian music. So joyful and fun to watch. 

Every dog here is very well behaved. In the squares you see owners meeting, like in 101 Dalmatians, and their dogs playing tug a war. 

Nuns everywhere! They have the kindest smiles when they walk by, you can just feel the peace, joy, and love they have for the world.
Lindts Chocolate shops, Disney stores, Prada, Gucci, tell me what you like and they have it! 

Never ending supply of pastries and treats... dangerous! 

Beautiful historic buildings, scenic views, and churches. Such a fantastic city to see! 

Before leaving I stopped at the Loggia del Mercato Nuovo (New Market), shopped, and rubbed the famous boars nose, Porcellino. It is believed that you rub its nose for good luck and to ensure a return to Florence. :)

Siena in a Day!

Friday February 1, 2013

Today we took a four hour bus ride to Siena and arrived a little after 11 am. We had to go through the mall to take an escalator up to the city. I'm talking about an escalator that goes STRAIGHT up, it was awesome! After we got to the city we searched for a place to stay. We met two girls that were staying in Siena for college and they recommend a place that was inexpensive. We went to check it out and we ended up getting an entire apartment for a crazy good deal! Two floors, a bedroom, a living room, a bathroom, a kitchen, and terrace garden that we walked out to from our living room!! After freaking out a bit in excitement, we set out to explore Siena.

We went to the new Duomo, Cathedrale di Santa Maria, a beautiful marble Cathedral with incredible paintings and sculptures. The details in these churches are fantastic, I could sit and look at them for hours! 

After checking out the new Duomo, we explored some other churches, then went to the Basilica of San Domenico. At the Basilica of San Domenico they have the head of St Catherine of Siena and her finger. Okay, stop and think, have you ever seen someones head after they have been dead for years? Its crazy, she was an incredible woman, but seeing anyones head like that kind of creeps me out. Still neat to expirence. 

After checking out the rest of town we went to a wine tasting. I still cant get over how great the wine is every where I go! We then had another amazing Italian dinner, great bruschetta, chicken, potatos, and wine. YUM!! 


After dinner we had fun talking to the locals.We got cappucinno at a bar then we went to the market to get a bottle of wine to drink. On our way back from the market we met two Americans (One of them lives in Europe and is a chief at a restaurant, and the other is traveling for two months to learn more about wine for the restaurant back in the US). We all went to the Piazza del Campo, the famous square in Siena, shapped like a shell. They brought more wine, cheeses, and salami so we had a night picnic right in the middle of the square. We hung out on the Gaia Fountain at the Piazza del Campo. It was so much fun hanging out in the middle and meeting all the of locals that were out and about. Good way to finish the night in Siena. 

Miss you all and wish you were here with me!!!

Oh.. Assisi!

January 25, 2013

 We took a bus to Assisi through beautiful snow covered hills and valleys. I am loving the bus and train rides because I can just relax and enjoy the incredible scenery! We were so excited to arrive in Assisi! When we got off the bus we stopped at a cafe' for advice on the town and where to stay. We then headed up to higher Assisi, which was quite the walk, down the road and up the hill. As we approached higher Assisi I could feel the peacefulness of the city. The walk up to the town was like nothing I have ever experienced before.  I could see the town above, the green rolling hills surrounding the town with fog, and to the left there was a beautiful rainbow! It was like God was welcoming us to Assisi! I have never in my life been moved by such beauty and love. After seeing Gods rainbow I was so touched I was crying. I felt so much joy and love. No wonder St. Francis fell in love with God and nature in Assisi! 

We were walking by a convent so we decided to stop and see if they would have a place for us to stay for the weekend. We rang the bell (felt like the Sound of Music) and Sister Samuella came and invited us in after we told her our story. That in itself was such a blessing, that without hesitation, she gave us a place to stay.  There are five sisters in total that stay at the convent. There was one other girl there that we were so happy to meet, she was also visiting Assisi and stayed there with us for the weekend. 

After settling in on Friday I spent the day checking out Upper Assisi. I went to the different churches of St. Francis and St. Claire, stopped in all the different shops, and checked out the cafes. I loved visiting the churches, spending time in adoration/mass, and just enjoyed learning about the incredible Saints and how they lived their life there. It's super neat to see St Francis' and St Claire's tombs, such a holy place!

Friday night Catherine and I got a bottle of wine and went to dinner at a family restaurant. We had such a great time and met two wonderful new friends from Milan that we hope to see again. After dinner we walked through the town and "accidentally" walked into a kitchen of a nice restaurant...whoops, silly Americans. :) The chief began to talk to us and invited us in for an espresso. It was such a nice place, the floor was made of glass, and everything was white, how beautiful! After enjoying our espresso we headed back to the convent and visited with the sisters before bed, they are so cute and witty. I felt so at peace the entire weekend and slept the best I have slept since I left the States.

Saturday morning we had breakfast with the Sisters and set out to enjoy our second day in Assisi. I headed  to lower Assisi. I found a path through a vineyard and walked down through the hills and countryside to get to the city. It was beautiful outside and sunny, such a great way to spend the morning. First stop was to go to the Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli, it is a big beautifully decorated church, in the middle there is the little church where St. Francis and his followers met.  After spending some time enjoying the Basilica I set off to learn more about the town. Everyone you pass walking through town was so nice. I had fun checking out all neighborhoods, the small businesses, the parks, and the local gym. Yes, I asked to tour a  gym! The gyms are somewhat different from America, so my curiosity got the best of me, defiantly an experience to see what they do there. 

Saturday afternoon I headed back to Upper Assisi and hung out in a wine bar. So relaxing and fun to be able to do what I want and see what I want when I am curious about something. Catherine met me at the wine bar and we visited with the owner before leaving to go back to our home for the weekend. The Sisters were so sweet and made us dinner. The food was home-cooked and so good! After dinner we enjoyed the rest of the night visiting and playing UNO with the Sisters. Let me tell you, those nuns can be very competitive and are spitfires! It was so entertaining to hang out with them! 

Sunday morning we went to Mass at San Damiano and spent the day shopping in the town. After shopping we thanked and said goodbye to the beautiful Sisters then headed back to Macerata. I am always excited when we are on our way back to Macerata to see our "family" here and tell them of our experiences. 

What a great weekend! Such a blessing to be in the presence of so many incredible people and to visit Assisi in general. One thing I have been learning a lot about is Gods love and all the different ways its possible. I learned a lot about it this weekend. Gods love for us is so great! I think sometimes that it can be something that is hard to remember, but the entire weekend that is the one thing I could feel. The feeling of leaving Assisi was like waking up from a GREAT dream! Just pure bliss and joy! 

Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli