Birthday!

So for my birthday I went to Florence and it was a blast! Me and my roommate Alicia went and met up with Holly, my roommate from home. During the day we just walked around and went to the big outside market that they have. There was a ton of cool stuff there but of course indecisive me didn't buy anything. Alicia got a cute leather bag and a wallet for her boyfriend and Holly bough souvenirs for her family too. I almost got some leather gloves from Holly for my birthday but the guy was giving us a bad price so we decided to try and look around some more. We got caught up doing other stuff though and never made it back. I think I'm going to Florence for our long weekend after Rome though so maybe I'll try and get some then. My dad said he would buy something for me while I'm here for my birthday so if I don't find anything by then gloves will be a pretty good option.

So then we walked to the grocery store along the river which was really peaceful. We stopped over one of the bridges and just stared at the water and caught the breeze for a while. There was a cute little park next to the grocery store also so we sat there for a while too. Thats one thing I really like about Italy so far. There's always somewhere to stop and relax and no one thinks its weird that your stopping cause everyone is outside anyways. The U.S. is very much and indoors country now so its nice to have something different. So then instead of going to one of the expensive Florence restaurants we went back to Holly's apartment and cooked pasta. It was so delicious! I am definitely bringing some Italian pasta back because it is so much better then anything we have back there. We got the cheapest brand and it was still amazing.

So next is when the exciting, very European part of the night happened. Me and Alicia went to catch our train back to Castiligon, the last train to be exact, and it was canceled because of a strike! They had warned us that the trains usually end up striking on Friday and Saturday nights, but it was still really surprising. Luckily Holly had enough room for us at her place so we just stayed the night. I didn't really mind at all. We ended up hanging out with Holly's roommates and just wandering around Florence. Its completely different to see the city at night and I really liked it. I can't wait to go back again. Florence is a nice change from our tiny tiny town.

Oh and I almost forgot, we also went to a museum called La Specola. It is a sort of natural science museum and they have TONS of stuffed animals from all over the world. I know that sounds kind of gross but it was really neat. Its great to see all these exotic animals that you could never normally see in there true form. They also have an area that is kind of like the Body Worlds exhibit that shows replications and casts of the human body. Apparently since it opened in the 1700's artists and scientist go there to draw and study. There was a bunch of artists drawing and painting when we were there to.

Tonight is the last night of the medieval festival and they are doing fireworks! And tomorrow we have a trip to Asissi. So the next 24 hours are busy as usual. I still miss everyone back home, especially my parents and Nigel. Cant wait to see you guys again! Ciao for now!