And then Klaus came to Firenze

Last weekend Klaus came to visit! It was really fun! We sped through the Galileo Museum (they have a couple of Galileo's fingers in glass jars) and then visited the Palazzo Vecchio where we pretty much ran up the tower. We drove to Pisa and went up the leaning tower. It was bizarre walking up the tower because it feels like you're walking down but you're going upstairs. We ate way too much at dinner (I had steak for the first time in months - thanks dad!). The next day we walked up to the Piazza Michelangelo and then Klaus drove back to France.  I've been missing my friends and Emma and Choco a lot lately so it was really nice to have part of home here. Thanks Dad!

Siena + San Gimignano

On Friday we had a class trip to Siena and San Gimignano which were both beautiful! I had a great time walking around and exploring. It was really nice to get out of Florence and see smaller Tuscan towns. I also had gelato in one of the best gelatarias in the world! (supposedly) it was pretty delicious. 

Parco delle Cascine

I went for a walk along the Arno the other day and ended up in this park. There were so many people out walking and biking it was a nice break from the city center. There was also a lovely sunset. Also the children's fun house was covered in topless women… Welcome to Italy? I'll be posting pictures from Siena, San Gimignano and Pisa soon!

Catelrotto/Kastelruth

This weekend I took the train with my housemate, Kali, to the Dolomites. It was incredible. We stayed in a little town with a very active bell tower. It felt like Austria but everyone could speak Italian, it was confusing. We hiked in the Alpe di Siusi which is one of the largest alpine meadows in the world. We had a beer and lunch at the top of a trail and then rented sleds and sledded back down the mountain. Which was really fun until I went over the bank and fell off my sled. It was still fun though. Probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Before traveling back to Florence we walked around Bolzano for a while and went to the Archeological museum which is home to the "ice man" (5300 years old preserved by a glacier: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ötzi). It was really really cool and he was preserved so well you could still see his tattoos. It was a fantastic weekend and I really want to go back again. Be prepared for lots of pictures of mountains, I couldn't pick a favorite so I just posted a bunch….

Io sono andata a Roma

I've been very bad about updating my blog… So a couple of weeks ago I went to Rome with my housemate, Nika, and had a fantastic time. I met up with some friends from Paris and we ate food and explored the city. It was pouring rain almost the entire time but we still managed to have fun. We walked all over the place and saw all the big sites. Nika and I also went to the Capuchin monastery and into the crypt which was decorated with the remains of 3,700 skeletons, it was insane. You can't take pictures so here's a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capuchin_Crypt. Also Nika is scared of heights and did not have a good time with the metro escalators. Rome was great and I had a really nice weekend.