Buongiorno! Well... I guess I can only say that if you are reading this in the morning. I have been in Italia for a week now. The beauty has surpassed my expectations. I seem to find it in everything here; in my timely, arched window that peeks at the duomo, in the scent of hot waffles that wafts through the street market, in the undeniable emotions that envelop the street statues, in the rich taste of gelato that melts in the mouth and in every unexpected encounter with someone new. I have gained some new bonds with people on this trip that I hold close and am eager for the experiences that I will have with them. I am feeling ready to lose myself in this art-filled city and find the hidden treasures that only the locals know about. I have already made my first feat at the café, when I was sipping my café latte at the bar and the waiter offered me a seat at no charge (in Italy there is always about a triple charge to sit down to eat or drink). When I am more confident with my Italian, I hope to finally get to know the Italians that I interact with daily. I share my apartment with four other women. We are all still settling into life here and building up our leg muscles with climbing the ninety stairs to our apartment. The light that floods in through the windows makes it all worthwhile though, and besides, it gives us an excuse to eat more gelato. Every day holds a special gift. I have discovered that Tuesday mornings there is a street market filled with fresh food, animals, clothes and knick-knacks, and on Thursday mornings the flower vendors set up along the street my school is on. Of course I walked the whole row and then went back to select a bouquet of narcissus. Tomorrow I am off to visit Santa Croce with my art history class. My instructor is actually an artist and focuses on the piece of art first and then fills in the history. My other classes include Philosophy, Italian Language and an Italian Life and Culture class. Besides missing my loved ones, life in Florence has been amazing. I’m sure that the rest of my trip will continue to prove this true.

The train ride to London was really pretty! There were many old houses and little villages out in the country. My seat ended up facing the back so I got a little queasy from moving backwards the whole time, my vertigo is really bad today! The hotel we are staying at is in the South Kensington area of London. Apparently it is the ‘posh’ area. I went to the theatre show ‘Wicked’ tonight and it was really well done. My days have been filled with going to the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace complete with the official change of guards, London Bridge and much more. The last day was filled with antique shopping and such at Portobello Road street market. The walls of the buildings had been painted in pastel tones and in front of each store was also a vendor table with bunches of knick-knacks. After winding through stores that all seemed to be connected by back hallways, I ended up outside at a table I spotted with teacups. I found two that I really liked and bargained the price down to ten pounds for the two of them. My companions and I made an attempt to visit Hampton Court but we were given wrong directions and did not end up making it there. I missed out on going to the museums as well, but as our tour guide said, “you always want to leave a few major things left to do so that you make sure that you will come back.” After a wonderful couple of days in London, I am sure I will be back.

Bonjour! After my eleven hour flight I arrived safely in Paris. It was beautiful there but very cold; good thing I packed lots of layers. I am rooming with a wonderful girl named Sara, we actually first meet in line in the airport, ended up being assigned seats next to each other on the plane, and were partnered as roommates for the entire pre-tour. The first day we settled in our rooms and then went to the Eiffel Tower. We went on the elevator to the top and took pictures as the sun was setting over the Seine River. We then went across the street and I had the best hot chocolate (very chocolaty!) and had a chocolate crape with wip cream and coconut. Needless to say I got my Parisian chocolate fix that night. The boat tour down the Seine was next to see the famous sights that border the river. The Eiffel Tower sparkeld several times during the evening. The next day was filled with a bus sightseeing tour of the famous spots in Paris including the Eiffel Tower again, Napoleon's tomb, the Arc d' Triumph, Notre Dame and much more. I enjoyed soaking in the views of the detailed architecture and quaint side streets. A group of six of us split off after the guided tour and went to the Louvre, then continued on to dinner where I got to savor French onion soup. This morning we woke up early and went to a pastry shop to get eclairs and chocolate crossants. The Parisians were very friendly and helpful, and I must say, whenever we said we were from California, they would chant "Obama!" at us. It has been a wonderful trip so far and I have met many great people. Off to London...