GTL

ok so its been awhile i know and im sorry.  So lots to go over.  Ok not too much happened in the last few days of Rome, at least worth writing whole paragraphs about.  On thrusday we went back to the forum and went to the Palatine Hill which has a bunch of ruins on it.  We actually got to explore a descent amount of everything this time around instead of being driven around by a tour guide.  This time we also knew what we wanted to see so it was a lot easier to go see everything.  On friday we had planned to go to some cool churches however we were all rather beat so we siestaed instead.

The fun part of friday was our end of Rome dinner and party.  We planned a dinner for the entire group at a very nice restaurant downtown, with a 3 course meal, wine, and the works.  I had probably the best lasagna that I have ever laid eyes upon, and had a couple of glasses of the house wine, which was also excellent.  After we ate we went for a group picture in front of the Vatican at night.  Always fun to have a bunch of political theory majors in such a spiritual place.  Oh, our other professor for the trip had just arrived that morning in Rome, and met us for dinner and then joined us for our picture, which added to the fun, as he is one of the most colorful teachers i have had in my career as a student.  After the picture, we did some things, at a bar....you get the picture, but it was aptly named the drunken scholar (also fitting because professor petrie joined us for drinks there).

Saturday was amazing as well, as a couple of my friends and I went to the Vatican Museums with Professor Petrie to give him the grand tour.  I must say, it is hard to come up with a better time than that.  Professor Petrie hates crowds, and he mostly just wanted to see the Sistine chapel, so accordingly he blasted through most of the rooms, stopping occasionally if we mentioned a piece, or to look at a nice window view.  Yes he stopped for the window views in the Vatican Museums and not most of the art.  It made our day, as his remarks are also incredibly witty, much to our enjoyment.  Afterwards we had lunch and chatted about the upcoming class, the parts of the program he missed, and philosophy.  It was a great time.

On Sunday we didnt do much, but pack, and clean the room to get ready to leave for Florence, which we were all pumped for.  We got up at 630, and where at the train station at 715 ready to go on Monday, which is today.  AHHHH!!!!!  So, train ride, it was really fast and took only about 1 hour and 30 mins, I thought that was pretty good time.  We got to the place, met the Accent people who got us Taxis to our apartments.  We quickly learned a few things.  1)We were in Florence! 2)our apartments are very nice, and bigger then in Rome (or at least look bigger) and 3)We have internet!

We dropped our stuff explored our apartments for a bit and then went to meet up for a tour of the city, which started at the steps of the Duomo, which you may say where is that, but in Florence all you have to do is look up and you found it, that's how big it is.  Spending about 15 mins walking in the city I have basically decided that I love this place!  Its SOOO amazing!!!  Its smaller then Rome, and more compact, there are less people, it is quieter, its cleaner, and its just so nice to explore.  After our little walk we took another walk to show us around the major points of the city, including the accent center where we will be having class.  AHHH just so much over load and its almost time to go eat, so i shall blog more later.  

One last thing though, on our way back from the tour, we saw Pauly D from Jersey Shore.  I could not stop laughing.  I think im going to like this place....