Do I have a concussion?

My entire blog post just got erased.  I seriously debated rewriting it.  Here we go again.

Hey there my little apple fritters.

So this weekend was all sorts of exciting! Here we gooooo:

FRIDAY! We woke up early Friday morning to get to the bus for our weekend excursion.  We were headed to Padova first.  We were the first ones there! Buuut we thought we missed the bus because no one else was there... Everyone usually sleeps for the entire bus ride.  We are so zombied right now.  Everyday... I don't know why we are always so tried.  When we got to Padova, we checked into our hotel called The Plaza - oh la la.  Then we headed out for a walking guided tour.  Let's be real... none of us were really interested because we had never heard of Padova and we were all excited to go to Venice and Verona that weekend.  My favorite place we saw was one of the churches where St. Anthony's tomb is located.  Man do these people love their saints.  His tomb was insane.  It was so beautiful! In another room, we saw his tongue, his vocal chords, and his bottom jaw... These were parts of his body that hadn't rotted away when his tomb was opened.  People believe that it means that his teachings with never be silenced or die or something like that... It was kinda weird... Cool... but weird.  We then had some free time for lunch.  The roomies and I decided to try some famous mint chocolate coffee from a place called Pedrocchi.  It was okay... Diane and Christin loved it.  We were so tired that we decided to skip the second tour and take a nap.  Best idea we've had since we've been here.  The hotel was air conditioned! WHAT?! It was so great.  Padova is a cute city.  There are many college aged students because of the university - much different from other cities we have been to.  It isn't overrun with tourists.  After napping and reading some HP, we headed down to a dinner at the hotel.  It was delicious! It was fun meeting new people.  After dinner, we headed back to the room for real showers and a good night's sleep.

whoooooooo

Mint chocolate coffee!

SATURDAY!  And then we went to Venice.  We got up early to eat breakfast and catch the bus to Venice.  When we got off the bus, we got right onto a boat that took us to the island.  Venice is so beautiful.  Exactly what you see in pictures.  The streets are extremely narrow.  The city is completely overrun with tourists.  I would be interested to see how it is on a weekday.  I don't think I would want to go back to Venice unless I went with someone who hadn't been there before.  We had a walking guided tour, then about four hours of free time.  The roomies and I found a cute restaurant on the Grand Canal.  The food was alright, but you are definitely paying for the view.  After lunch, we did some shopping and walked around.  We also went on a gondola ride! It was so fun.  This is definitely something everyone should do once in their life.  Our driver/sailor dude named Fabio was hilarious.  He started singing that song that plays when Lizzie McGuire is riding through Rome on the back of Paolo's vespa.  So naturally, it was sing-along time.  After our gondola ride, we walked around for a while, then headed back to the meeting point to catch the boat back to the bus.  That night, Christin and I ate dinner in Padova, had some Grom gelato, watch a medieval battle/parade thing, then went to sleep.

Venice!

Gondola!

Gondola!

So pretty!

Gondola ride!

Yay!

Venetian gondola driver outfit!

SUNDAY! And then we went to Verona.  We got up early to eat breakfast and catch the bus.  I hit my head on the door trying to get my sunscreen from under the bus... it still hurts... People think I have a concussion...  Probably not...  But I have had a headache ever since.  Verona was beautiful.  It is probably one of my most favorite places that we have visited in Italy.  We had a walking guided tour.  Our tour guide's name was Franklin - he was so adorable.  He was our favorite tour guide.  Verona is known for being the city of Romeo and Juliet.  We saw Juliet's balcony and touched her statue for good luck.  There were some creepy Italian men groping the statue... Can't say I'm surprised.  We also saw Romeo's house.  Whoo! The city is quiet, quaint, and romantic.  I loved it! I wish we could have spent more time there.  The tour ended at the arena where there was another medieval battle taking place.  They were using cannons.  So loud.  We found the cute restaurant that Franklin recommended.  We then walked around for a while and did a little shopping.  The shopping there is awesome.  After our free time, we headed back to the meeting point to catch the bus to a private winery in the Italian countryside.  It was absolutely beautiful! I hope that I get to go back to a place like that soon.  We had a wine tasting and a tour of the vineyard.  So cool.  After the tasting, we headed back down to the bus to head back to Florence.  The walk was a small hike, and it started raining (the one time I left my umbrella on the bus).  It was fun walking through the rain with all of my homedogs.  When we reached Florence, we were super hungry.  The roomies and I went to our favorite little cafe by our apartment.  It is run by all girls, and they crank the music when we eat so we can jam.  Always a good time.  And the student discount isn't bad either.

So much writing on the walls around Juliet's house...

Juliet's balcony!

Apparently, this will bring us good luck.

Due Torri Hotel!

FRANKLIN! :)

Verona!

Wine tasting!

GORGEOUS VIEW!

MONDAY!  Today in pairing food and wine we watched a movie while our teacher cooked for us.  I mean, okay. :) It was delicious! We always have the best food in this class.  In history, we walked around another quarter of Florence.  I LOVE the people in this class.  We always have so much fun together! After class, I did a little shopping.  The lady that worked at the store let me pick out a free piece of jewelry! :) YAY! Apperativo by the Duomo tonight!

I really miss my fish camp.  Camp Sturtevant went on their first road trip this weekend, and I can't believe that I had to miss it! :( Of course I love being here, but I am so sad that I couldn't be with them.  I MISS YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!! I can't wait to get back and spend some time with them.  I am so blessed to be in such an amazing camp! STURTIN' IS A HABIT.

Fun Facts:

- Italians love them some PDA.  They have no problem kissing in public... making out in public... groping each other in public...

- IT'S THE ALBANIANS! The creepers are the Italians AND the Albanians! Yes, like the ones in Taken.  Diane loves to make that reference.  "That door looks like the door in Taken. " "This is like that scene in Taken." ..........

- In order to use the electricity in the hotel room, you have to take the card that is attached to the key and put it into this slot thing on the wall to make the electricity turn on.
- Everyone smokes.  Everyone.

Ciao ciao ragazzi!