Wonderful Weekend at Home

I spent this past weekend at home in Florence, just getting over the last leg of my cough/cold. It was so, so nice to be able to sleep in and not have to get on any long bus rides or follow anyone else's agenda! Thursday night my pensione hosts organized a small pizza party/beer pong tournament for everyone that lives in my pensione! It was really funny because they set up a bunch of chip bowls and made a bunch of popcorn and there were colorful balloons and tablecloths everywhere; I felt like I was at an Ingleside dance. So funny. We all paid 2 euro and our pensione hosts, Matteo and Massimo, made homemade pizza and bought Italian beer and we all hung out for a couple hours. No other pensiones have done anything fun like this, so my friends that live down the street in the other pensiones couldn't believe that we got a party thrown for us! I am so happy that me, Shannon, and Leslie were lucky enough to get placed where we did.

After our beer pong party Shannon and I went with some of our guy friends to a bar by the duomo and had a really nice night. When I got home at around 2:00 am I accidentally answered a skype call from my mom who was not too happy about me going out when I had been complaining about being sick all week.. sorry Mom! But now the weekend is over and I feel much better, so no harm done! The rest of the weekend I spent walking around and exploring the streets of Florence, sleeping in late (something that is actually really, really rare for us Florence kids) and drinking fabulous wine. Last night, Saturday, some girls and I went out to dinner and then stumbled upon a live concert in the Palazzo Vecchio, a square (called a "piazza" here in Firenze) right by the Museo Uffitzi, and we drank wine from plastic cups and listened to the band play, along with 100s of Italians. It was a really cool event, a free concert for everyone right in the center of Florence, and it happened to be an english-speaking band! Such a fun time.

Today, Sunday, I have so far spent all my time doing homework and preparing study guides for my upcoming midterms this week. My mom and dad get here Wednesday so I would like to be done with my work before then! I am SO excited to see them and spend the entire weekend with them. I'm planning on taking them to the top of the Duomo, to the Museo Academia to see the David, to the Palazzo Michelangelo for a fabulous panoramic view of the city, to the Mercato Centrale for a taste of authentic Italian cuisine, and maybe to the San Lorenzo market for some shopping and beautiful Italian leather goods. We are planning on taking a day trip to Cinque Terre, an Italian coast town that is famous for its hiking and beautiful views, and possibly going on the same Chianti wine-tasting bike tour that I went on with my friends a couple weeks ago. I can't wait to see my parents and show them everything that I have been up to here in Florence and give them a taste of my life here. It's insane how fast the semester has gone by, I really can't believe how many places I have been and things I have seen since I have been in Europe! My experience has been truly amazing. It's just flying by so quickly.. pretty soon I will be back in Phoenix for Christmas and immediately after my mom and I will be on the road taking my car and my life back up to Spokane for my second semester of Junior year. 

It's absolutely crazy thinking about how fast time has gone. I can still remember the day that Cooper left for his Freshman year at Gonzaga.. I had no idea that I'd end up at the same school. It's almost painful to think about how fast time has gone since then. To think that I am almost done with my time at Gonzaga is such a difficult thought for me! I never want to leave. I'm pretty sure it's the best thing that has ever happened to me. 

One thing that living in Florence has taught me is to live my life one day at a time and enjoy every moment of it. I have adopted this take on life because every single day since I arrived in Europe has been such an adventure; there hasn't been a day gone by without a new experience or memory. Over here, it's impossible not to live my life one day at a time because every day is an adventure. I have realized that I am living in the most historically and culturally rich city in the world, and it's not something to take for granted. But, returning home will not mean I will leave this perspective of the world behind.. it will be something that will stay with me forever.