I think i'll name my child Siena...

I should probably write more than once a week Because when I finally take the time to sit down and think about what I want to say, I do not even know where to begin! This week was our last week of intensive Italian and I can not say I'm sad for it to be over. We had our final on Friday. It was not too bad. I'm a lot better at writing than speaking. We went to Fiesole with the school this week. The view was amazing. It was about a 25 minute bus ride from school and then we could see over all of Florence. It was beautiful, I'll def. be going back. Other highlights of the week included: going to my first Italian nightclubs, trying two of the best ice cream places in town (Grom and Vivoli), and falling down multiple times on the stone roads. I'm a fan of ice cream. Hil still prefers yopo, but I think I'll take ice cream. It is kind of expensive but we found a place close to our house for 1 euro. It's fun to explore all the different places and flavors (my favorites so far are black cherry and white chocolate). The weeks literally fly by. We never feel like we have enough time in the day to do all we want to. This week we are finally making time to climb to the top of the Duomo and find the Academia where Michelangelo's David is housed. Cooking is going well. We eat a lot of soup (from these little packets) and Stand bread. We plan to branch out this week and try out some homemade pasta sauce-we'll see how that goes! I'm really excited for our classes to start this week. As much as I enjoy 5 hours of English every day, it will be a nice change to learn about art and literature! Ok enough about the week, on to the fun weekend trip!

This weekend we went to San Gimignano and Siena. We left on Saturday morning and caught the 9:30 bus to San Gimignano. We had to change buses at Cold Werid little sleep, and would have missed our bus to San Gimignano if it had not been for a really nice woman who told us the bus was about to leave us. No kidding, God watches over us. Everywhere we go we meet extremely nice people who help us. We made the bus and got to S.G. Around 11:30 or so. Before coming to Italy multiple people had warned me that: A. it was going to be cold and B. it rained a lot. So far neither of these things have really been an issue in Florence. It has not rained Once and while it is cold, it's totally bearable. When we got to S.G. It was drizzling and very chilly. The town is known for its medieval towers and beautiful views of the Tuscan countryside. The rain held off and we managed to climb around the tower / walls and see all the breathtaking beauty of San Gimignano. Literally as soon as we made it back inside the town it started to rain. We got pizza and ice cream (surprise surprise) and waited an hour or so for a bus to Sienna. One interesting thing we learned this weekend is that Italians must eat and walk, Because every place we went to charged extra to sit down, or had no sitting area at all. Be prepared to eat ice cream outside ... it's worth it. We were thrilled to get on the nice warm bus and when we finally made it to Sienna, we all would not have minded 1 more hour of rest on the cozy bus. When we got off the bus we were kinda in that disorientated "Where in the heck did we just get dropped off at" feel. It did not help that it was pouring rain and freezing. We found the first coffee shop (with seats) and sat for a little while to get our bearings. It's amazing what a little coffee, bathroom, and warmth can do for you! Sienna We headed into our hostel and called just to check it. The hostel lady could speak zero English so we ended up having to go straight to the hostel Because she kept screaming at us over the phone (we were a little scared). Finally found the hostel, got yelled at by hostel lady on the phone for a couple more minutes (she kept asking "where are you" in Italian ... we are standing right outside of the door but she just could not get it .. . showed me how poorly I speak Ital), and somehow managed to get settled into our extremely nice rooms. This was my first hostel experience and it could not have been better. We stayed at Casa di Antonella and it was really just a nice apartment with rooms they rented out. We got lucky. Dropped off our stuff and headed back into the heart of Siena to explore.



I loved Siena. I have really loved all the little Tuscan towns, but I really loved Sienna. The Streets were unreal. At one point we got a little lost while looking for a dinner spot but managed to see the coolest, steepest, winding streets. I loved all the people in "The Champ" (the main square), and the little kids that Chased around the pigeons. I especially loved the Duomo in Sienna. Unreal. The outside was beautiful in itself, but the inside was indescribable. Every part of the cathedral was striking. The details are what amazed me. Whether it was the floor, the striped marble columns, the ceiling, or (my favorite) the stained glass windows, I gawked at everything! I can not help but think "how in the world did anyone ever build this? We had a nice dinner Saturday night at a place Rick Steve's suggested. It was great. I tried some kind of Duck Sauce b / c that's what Siena is famous for. We went to bed early, but by 10 I do not think I could have seen much more. There was not a cloud in the sky on Sunday. We had the best time exploring St. Catharine's Church (Church of San. Dominico) . Her head and thumb are still preserved here, weird I know. "Once again, I could not get over the stained glass. We did random things like go to our favorite store "everything / everything .99 euros" and took pictures at the camp until 1: 30 when we could finally go into the cathedral. If you ever go to Siena, go inside the Dome. Favorite part of the weekend for sure. We managed to find the train station and got back to Florence around 5. It was a great weekend.



A couple things I learned from the weekend:
- Wear hats, they keep you A LOT warmer and you do not have to shower b / c no one can see your hair;)
- Be prepared for rain. Have an idea of where your hostel is located, and make sure you know the #.
- When trying to speak Ital take your time and use the words you know. Do not feel discouraged when someone looks at you like you are an idiot.
- Wear lots of socks.

Overall I could not have asked for a better weekend. It was good weekend to learn a few things before Hil, Melis, and I venture to Venice for Carnivale next weekend! The whole weekend Continually I thought about how beautiful God's creation is and how blessed I am to see it (and with some of my very best buddies). God is good. Whether in Florence, Brown Summit, Chapel Hill, or Haiti. He is the same, even if I'm not. We went to worship at Pepperdine yesterday, loved it for the 2nd time. Tonight we have LDM welcome dinner. Should be fun. Promise to write more than once a week. Love y'all.

meow meow,
Bec