Hotel Columbia Montecatini Terme

... market (without the sampling) with lots of lovery deli's, cafe's and patisseries. Ofcourse we had to buy the local pastry called a buccellato which is kind of a cross between a biscuit and a fruit loaf... yummy with the morning coffee.<br><br>Before too long Kim pointed out her favorite bar from last time and pull me in to join her in a wine or 3. The tapas were as good as Kim had ...

Today was our last full day of enjoying all that Italy has to offer before beginning our journey back west tomorrow morning. Having had a couple of days off from major metropolitan areas, we decided to finish our journey in Florence, the city where the Renaissance began. The history of this former Italian capital is staggering, from Brunellechi's triumphant dome marking the start of the Renaissance to the Medici family's enclosure of ...

... we walked toward an Italian restaurant whose famous salad made my mouth water. Our guide told us about it our first night and I had been thinking about it ever since. We found this tiny restaurant in the twisted streets of the old Jewish ghetto and unfortunately, they weren't open yet. Oh, hum. <br><br>So we continued onward to the Colosseum where the blue skies provided an amazing backdrop to this richly historical site. Our Rick Steves ...

Just realized those not on facebook haven't seen pictures from Pisa and Florence. No long recap of Anthony and I's weekend in Tuscany, for obvious reasons. Also note that "Anthony and Alison's Great Adventure" was like taking a knife.<br><br>Love you guys! :)<br>

Rented an apartment in a villa which was at the top of a mountain (like most villas in Tuscany), however, our journey to the top was not on a paved road which made for some challenging driving. The villa was really nice with its own pool and great view over the countryside. The owners also provided fabulous meals in their other ...

... that. Then, it was time for lunch. We stopped at this restaurant in the Piazza POPOLO (yes, same name, different town) and had some pizzas. Afterward, we picked up our laundry, and headed back up to the hotel to get some quality pool time in. It is so rough, living in the Tuscan country side, eating this terrible food, and being forced to get tan by the pool all afternoon. I had to jump in like five times to cool down. So, I went down the street ...

... but I'll let you know for sure. Great news for my Italian class! Tomaso let me know that I can get credit for Italian 102 by studying outside of class the basic cornerstones of the second level language course. I will not be taking the 101 quizzes with the rest of the class, and I will be starting to study the imperfect words in Italian tomorrow. Tomaso will be making separate assignments and quizzes for me, and if I need it he can take two extra hours out of ...

... back over everything I've done, everywhere I've been, I can't believe it all fit into four months! I'm sad to leave Florence and all the new friends I've made, my pensione family, our little school, the professors, and the Italians, but I'm excited to be home with my whole family, and then to start the second semester of my Junior year, to live in a house with four of my best friends, start my new major, and live in my beautiful familiar Spokane Gonzaga campus again.

Jason took over this morning so I could sleep a few extra minutes. =) After a little issue with the bus, we got into Florence around 11:30am. First, we saw David. It really was amazing. I snuck a few photos - don't tell anybody! Then, we went to an open air market - think Chinatown meets Italy. Then we ate some pizza for lunch. Then, after lunch we went to the Duomo and the church. The front is ...

... Now when I say plan, I mean wake up in the morning walk down a few streets until I find something that the lovely girl at the hostel circled on my map and then follow random streets until I happen upon another circled area. So basically no plan at all. That's always best I find. Oh yeah and I lost my map when I went to look in a clothing shop, likely punishment for even looking in a clothing shop when I DO NOT need to be shopping, so therefore I am mapless and have no idea where the ...