Italy

At 8:30 Sunday (the 25th) morning, my host parents, Laura and I headed to Florence, Italy, in my host dads car. We actually got to sleep in a little later than I had anticipated because France has a time change too, and I think all of Europe does (or at least the countries in the European Union). We stopped around 12:30 for lunch at a small Italian town, the restaurant was called Trattoria Del Peso, everyone was served the same thing. That 'same thing' however, consisted of 12 courses! No joking, the meal took three hours. There were also two plates, one bowl, three forks, two spoons, one knife, and three glasses. Throughout the meal, we were served five wines, two were white, one was red, one was a 'cleanser' wine which was EXTREMELY strong and called grappa, and the last was a 'cooked' wine which was sweeter and a redish brown color. After lunch, we continued to drive to Florence and arrived at about 9:00 pm. The hotel we stayed at was called Accademie, and was very nice, though it was like a maze to try to find our room!
Monday we ate a complimentary breakfast at the hotel, then walked through a church, a museum, the climbed up 400 something staires to the top of Campanile di Giotto and took some pictures of the city. Then we walked through about church-turned-museum place, ate some gelatto and returned to the hotel. We went to dinner at a restaurant called Zà-Zà.
Tuesday we first went to a museum, but learned we needed reservations, so we made them for the afternoon, and then went to a really cool authentic Italian market. I bought some Italian olive oil and dried herb seasoning for pasta for my family in AK, though they will have to wait to eat it until July:) Then we walked around in a large chuch and then went back to the same indoor market for lunch, then ate some gelatto, then went to the museum we had previously made reservations for. Side note: my host dad really REALLY likes history and all things that tell it (such as museums, churches, etc.) after about the third church and museum, I think my host parents figured out I dont exactly LOVE them. So Claire said that if I finished walking through the museum early, I could wander around the city by myself and make my way back to our hotel by 6 or 7! So I walked through the museum, though I have to admit I didnt really read the signs much, just looked at the sculptures, and then wandered (and got a little lost:) ) through Florence, and eventually found my way back to the hotel. Then the others werent back yet, so I did some homework. When everyone else got back, we went to a restaurant called La Lampara.
Wednesday we got up and headed straight for Rome. We stayed in a large apartment located a little to one side of the Tiber River. It only took about two hours to drive to Rome, so the rest of the day we walked around the area called Old Rome, and we walked through the Pantheon! Then we ate dinner at a restaurant called Cul De Sac, which is apparently known for their wines, which is why my host dad really wanted to eat there.
Thursday we went to the Vatican! It was a little more exciting to me because I had actually heard of it before, unlike the other museums we had walked through. We first went to St. Peters Basilica, and then to the Vatican Museum which led us into the Sistine Chapel. Then we ate lunch at a pizzaria and then walked up 560 staires to the top of the Cupola.
Friday we went to the Roman Colosseum, ate lunch, then went to two churches, then ate gelatto, then went to another church.
Saturday, we took the train to a beach on the Mediterranean Sea. The beach was really close to the road and it wasnt very pretty because you could see bilboards, etc. The air was cool and the water was cold so we didnt stay long. I brought back a bag of sand and some shells though:) Then we ate lunch and took the metro-bus part way back, but stopped at an ancient sea-port town that was pretty much in ruins. Not many of the brick buildings had roofs and most of the upper parts of the walls were missing. Then we went to an Italian sausage/cheese/pastry shop and I bought some very Italian noodles (the man told me they were very Italian!!) Then we went to a restaurant called Marios, where we were serenaded by a goofy guy playing the guitar and singing.
Sunday we were on the road by 8:30, stopped twice for gas, bathroom breaks (though they say pee-pee even for adults here:) ), and to eat, and made it back chez nous at about 6:40 pm.
Today I slept in because we dont have school again til Thursday, and tonight Laura and I are going to a party our host cousin is throwing and then spending the night at her house.