Italia 2006

Wow I cannot believe I have already been in Italy for a week. Seems like it was yesterday that we started. Today is our first day of school and after a magical weekend, reality begins. On Friday, after a long day at registration, our host mom took Brittany and I to the duomo where they had opened the terrace of the dome. I guess they only do this once a year, on the day of the birth of the Madonna. The Sights from the top of the Duomo were magnificent. We tooks tons of pictures and then I started to get queezy because we were so high up and I felt like I would fall over the edge. After visiting the duomo she took us to the town of Fiesole. A village filled with gigantic Villas looking over the city of Firenze. Once again, the view was amazing. After a long day of walking and a huge dinner we went to sleep, anxious for what our weekend had in store for us. Saturday morning, our host mom took us to il mare (the beach). The beach was something you would see in the Caribean. The water was crystal clear, but ice cold. After spending the whole day at the beach we went to our hotel and got ready for dinner. Before dinner she took us to her son's boat where we sat and talked (in Italian of course) about her family. We then went to dinner with some of her friends and her friend's daughter Alice. I can't even tell how cute this little girl was. She reminded me so much of myself when I was little. She was a total actress and would stand on her chair and sing and dance. I was laughing the whole time during dinner. The following day Rita, our host mom, took us to a different beach where the water was less clear but still just as beautiful. At one point Brittany and I were so hot that we decided to go in the water. We were pretty far out and all of a sudden I see a huge fish swimming toward me. Lets just say the whole beach was looking at us because I was screaming and flailing around like this fish was a shark. I swear that thing wanted my toes because it was chasing me around. By the time I was out of the water, my heart racing, Brittany was still in the same spot laughing hysterically...until the fish decided to chase her. She was out within 10 seconds. For the rest of the day we stayed at the beach and around four we left to go to Rita's daughter in laws house in the countryside. After a 2 hour drive up a windy road, Brittany and I thought we were going to vomit. We visited her daughter and her new grandson in their ancient house, built in the year 400! After an extremely long day we headed back to Firenze, where we ate a wonderful dinner made in only 20 minute, mama lugliani style. Basically I could not have asked for a better weekend and Im excited to have more just like it during my stay in Italia.