"What have I gotten myself into?" I thought as I sat on a 3.5 hour train ride to Florence, Italy where my train car was unfortunate enough to have a broken window that let all of the hot air from outside in, negating any good the supposed air conditioner was doing. This was the last leg of 8 hours of travelling in one day, and I was just hoping that the rest of the trip would turn out to be more enjoyable than sweating profusely while wishing that I was anywhere but here. Thankfully things took a turn for the better immediately after stepping off that last train.
Two other girls from my International Studies Abroad group here in Salamanca (including one girl who is also a Luther student) and I spent 4 nights and 3 full days in Florence, Italy. We stayed in a nice, air-conditioned hotel in which an elderly Italian man would greet us each night at the desk where we´d pick up our room key, leaving us giggling back to our room at just how cute he was. Our hotel was in a great location. In only 5-15 minutes we could get to most of the touristy cathedrals and museums. Plus some great restaurants and the outdoor street market were just a few blocks away.
During our 3 days we visited multiple cathedrals that had beautiful frescos, climbed the 414 steps to the top of the belltower of the main cathedral, visited two art museums where we got to see Michelangelo´s famous "David" statue, and hiked up to "Piazzale Michelangelo" (my personal favorite, seen in 2nd picture above) where the view of the city and the mountains was spectacular. I´ll be honest, there were a couple of times that I wished we had a dad around to fill us in on the hours, costs, and locations of some of these sites (because dads are really good with that kind of stuff!), but we three girls did very well getting around and having a great time. I think I got my art fix for a good while, but more Italian food would not be turned down.
The weather was very warm and humid, a lot different from the weather in Salamanca, but we didn´t complain since the forecast had been calling for 70-80% rainshowers each day. We were all pretty relieved, though, when we reached our last day of travelling and knew that when we got home we could put on some fresh clothes that hadn´t picked up any sweat! Oh the prices you pay to travel lightly.
Now with that awesome trip behind me I´m preparing to start classes again tomorrow and get back to my Spanish routine. In less than 4 short weeks I won´t be saying Ciao Italia or Ciao España (hello/goodbye), but "Ciao Mom and Dad!"
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