Hey Everyone!
I just got back from my school trip to Tuscany late last night and it was such a great time! On the ride up we had to be at the school at 7 AM and it took us 12 hours to get there (but also when we reached the rest stop in Rome some girl fainted so we were waiting there for an hour) but it was so worth the ride! We stayed in the Hotel Le Fonti, which was about an hour outside of Florence, but the town was so cute and very peaceful, with lots of green hills around (actually all of Tuscany looked like that, it was so beautiful). Then that night we took a nice walk around with all of us. The next day we spent the day in Florence, with most of the day spent with the tour guide, and we walked around to see all the famous sites of Florence (Dante's house, all the famous squares, the Duomo, etc). However, we couldn't enter into the Churches because there were masses going on. That afternoon we went to this garden, which was really beautiful. At the highest part (altitude-wise) there you could see all the hills and the city and there was lots of lovely flowers too. On Monday however we went to see several museum type things and in the afternoon I climbed to the top of the Duomo's bell tower with two of my friends. At the top it was AMAZING! You could see all around the city with a nice view of the Cupola and the landscape around it. There were 414 steps each way! After that we got to do some shopping and it was just fun in general to spend time with all my school friends and see the city. And we did some bargaining with the vendors. After that we took the bus back to the hotel and that night we went out in that town. It was lots of fun, we went to this bar that was outside and and there was singer and we all danced together and I really enjoyed myself. Our last day (yesterday) we went to Siena for the first half of the day. Siena was a lot smaller and more tranquil than Florence, but it was a really nice city. Unfortunately we didn't have time to really get to see it in detail but the tour guide took us into one of the churches and we walked around to all the famous points in the city (the piazza, the cathedral, etc). We ate lunch at this really cute very italian restaurant and at around 3 we left to go home. After a very long trip we arrived in Maglie at around 1:15. It was funny to see how on the ride up everyone was singing and being loud, and then on the ride back everyone was sleeping. It was really a trip I will never forget and it really strengthens my feelings of having my heart in two places! I know it will be really sad to leave here but at the same time happy to return. At this point I only have a few more weeks left of school and I can't believe how fast the time has gone. See you all soon!
Emily
PS Congratulations to Nina who graduated this weekend and happy birthday to Mary Clare!
This weekend, in the town where I go to school, Maglie, they had their Patron Saint's festival (San Nicola). Last night I was at the festival with my friends from school and I was expecting to see something typical Italian, but it turned out that it was almost exactly like the Marshfield Fair.... with rides and everything! There was the thing that spins really fast and all those types of fair rides. I went on the Tagada (the spinning one) and the Frisbee, which was like a thing that swings back and forth and spins at the same time (like the Freak Out at the Marshfield Fair). It was lots of fun! Then if you walk down to the Square where the school is, it was all lit up with all kinds of lights and there are little markets selling whatever it is you could possibly want. Then as we were leaving they set off fireworks... basically, a pleasant night and it reminded me a lot of times at the Marshfield Fair.... it was actually quite strange too because it was almost the same thing, except I was with all Italians instead of Americans.
In the historical part basically theres a kind of valley and one the two sides where the earth goes up, there are all kinds of houses built into the side... and a million stairs! There's actually another student from AFS who lives in one of these houses... and he said everyday to go to school he has to climb up 150 stairs, can you imagine?
I'll add some photos to the blog so you can see exactly how it was like... nevertheless, it was beautiful! Also, at the top there was a cathedral, where you could see all around... incredible!
