I Have a Headache

I figured I'd knock out part of my blog post in the title.

Anyway... today was our final/last class with Francesco. Rome won't be quite the same experience without our great tour guide showing us the ins and outs of the city. It has been less than a day and I already miss him and his dry sense of humor.

On a more annoying note... I was supposed to find out if I was hired for RA today around 7 my time... it is now past 10... Yay for BC running on time per usual. I promise as soon as I find out if I got it or not I will pass along the information!

This weekend I'll be heading to Bologna and Pesaro with Father Meinrad. It should be a good weekend. More on that when I get more information, but I'm really looking forward to spending some time with him.

Tomorrow I have a Italiano quiz and a bar-b-q with those not heading out for trips tomorrow evening. This has become a bittersweet few days for me. I want to return to the things I know and love in the states, but I also know that as soon as I get on that plane in Rome I will want to stay a few more months.

Picture taken the night of the Unification. They had similar lightings elsewhere around Florence.

Ah yes, I can't forget the most recent thing to have happened! Father Meinrad, Pietro, Anne, McKenna, Stacey, and I watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It's always fun to watch the genius of that movie.

I think that's it guys. Pray for me!

Ciao a tutti!

God bless!

A Monday is Still a Monday No Matter Where You Are...

So I woke up today a little under the weather, which is quite ironic since it was storming. I took some medicine and wrapped up in my bed to sleep off whatever it was that was ailing me. That plan did not work for long so I pulled out my laptop and started to watch The Big Bang Theory.

So that's how I've spent most of my day until I got up and went to the Supermarket for the last time in Florence... tear...

Otherwise, things are going really well. I just started my paper for Father Meinrad on the Knights Templar. Things are quickly starting to wrap up in Florence and in two weeks time I will be in Rome. Rome has always been my favorite city to study and I can't wait to finally be there! I feel like all of my posts lately have been lame... sorry! :-D

Catch you guys soon!

God bless!

Apparently there was a miscue with one of the pictures I posted earlier. Sorry to any of those that saw that. People don't seem to understand the internet is a free forum where things are going to be shared... anywho... replaced the picture. Stupid people annoy me...

Lazy Sunday

Not much to report today. Hope everyone had a blessed Sunday.

A view from the city walls.

God bless, my friends!

A Simply Packed Weekend

O man, this is going to be an interesting weekend. Today has been slightly crazy but completely awesome. After lunch today, Daniel, Adam, McKenna, and I went to grab our tickets for the AS Roma v. Fiorentina game on Sunday @ 12:30. It's hard for me to believe that I will be going to see my favorite futbol team play live. Of course, before I even get to the game I have a trip to Siena and San Gimingnano tomorrow. Things just keep moving and they don't look to be slowing down any time soon. Monday morning we leave for Umbria and Perugia. It is unbelievable. Only four weeks left before I'm back in the states, yet there is so much to do before I even get to that point. Cinque Terre is coming up as well. For those who don't know, it's a beautiful beach town that has become somewhat of a tradition for the BC students who study in Florence to visit at least one time.

If I recall correctly, this was on top of the old armory in Berlin, Germany.

So after we went to get our tickets, we continued down in to Florence to get out of the Villa since a majority of the group is out on weekend trips. I ended up buying a pair of sunglasses and a great authentic Italian leather wallet with the Fiore on it, much like my journal, that I think is going to be a great lasting memory of my time here in Florence. After wandering for a few hours, we stopped by the super market on our way back to Settignano and I picked up some more cookies and wine. Seems like forever since I've had a bottle of wine at dinner.

That gets us to just about the present. I spent the time since I finished dinner to now reading. I finally finished reading Wizard's First Rule and will soon be starting the second book of the series called Stone of Tears. It has been a good long time since a book or series has grabbed my attention in such a strong fashion.

This is the cover art from the second book.

I think that's all, my friends. Until next time!

God bless!

A Pleasant End to Spring Break

So much confetti...

It has been a great trip. Spring Break was absolutely amazing. I can't really reflect on all of it at the moment, but I'm just checking in. Been hanging out all evening with our group. There will be a video up from part of it.

Tomorrow I'll try and sum up my Spring Break. Love you guys!

God bless!

We Open in Venice!

Since I doubt I'll be able to post anything significant tomorrow, I'll give you the break down tonight.

Today was pretty good, if I say so myself... which I do... just in case you were wondering. We ventured into town again for our culture class with Francesco. We went to a few more churches including Santa Maria Novella, which is a Dominican (go St. Dominic!) church.

Santa Maria Novella

After dinner a few of us went into town. I ended up buying a messenger bag and a zip up Italia hoodie. This has led the way to how I'm going to commemorate my trip in Italy. In Ireland I had decks of cards. In Italy, I will be buying patches from every city I go to so I can sow them onto this jacked/hoodie. I think it'll turn out well :)

So I'm going to Venice tomorrow (or at least I'll be leaving tomorrow to wait for the train for Venice) so I thought that this would be fitting. This is from one of my favorite musicals, Kiss Me Kate.

It's kind of fitting since I'll probably hit Padua on Saturday as well. But I think that's it for today. I'm freaking exhausted.

God bless, everyone. I'll hopefully post tomorrow sometime before I got. Love you all!

Oh and comment!

Hmmmmmm

Just another random image. I sometimes wish I were a pirate... or at least a pirate like Captain Jack...

As you can probably tell, nothing really interesting happened today. Another five hours of Italiano. And basketball. So I guess my original statement was kind of a lie. Got eight guys (including me) to play. Kind of wish I had followed through with it into high school, but you live and you learn. I got my jump hook going and I played considerably well since I haven't played for over a month. Did I mention that the rim is bent? And the ball we used was a few sizes too small? Made the game interesting, that's for sure. My team ended up winning two of three very close games. Other results were a blister on my left foot and a jammed left pinky finger. Something so small shouldn't be able to hurt as badly as it does.

Came back, took a shower, went to dinner. Fun fact: I had stuffed peppers for dinner tonight and they tasted exactly like Nani's. Benissimo. I guess what they say is true, home cooking is the best cooking. Miss my family's Italian food-- kind of seems like blasphemy since I'm living in Italy, doesn't it?

I have never heard a better description of myself...

So as you can tell, I'm just relaxing now. Probably should be planning for Venice.

Like how I did that?
Combined Pirates of the Caribbean and How I Met Your Mother.
I can hear your applause.
*bows*

But that'd be productive.

Uhm. Yea...

To some, this chain of photos/video will not make any sense.
Others who know me will get a good laugh from it.

So...

I think this is where I say: And that's how it was.

O wait. Wrong sign off.

God bless!

She Turned Me Into a Newt! ... I Got Better...

I watched/am still watching this. Classic!

It has been another lazy day in Settignano and I wouldn't have it any other way. It's nice to just relax and think about everything that has occurred in the past month (not even!). These past three and a half weeks have felt like an eternity, but I have loved it. I spent most of the morning organizing my room and yes, my half is finally clean.

This evening I was able to call my brother Anthony for his birthday and they were out for his birthday brunch, so I was able to talk to my entire family. It was awesome. Hearing their voices again makes me miss them, but I'm glad to know that they'll be there when I get back. I've got to keep moving on, like I have been, and experience this with an open mind. Rarely have I been at a lack for words, but it is becoming more difficult, as I've mentioned in one of my Ireland posts, to really put my experiences and thoughts into words. Really it comes down to the gentle reminders for myself to help me remember what was going on each of these days. Hopefully future Dominic thinks present Dominic did a good job.

One more week. Venice. Two more weeks. Germany & Austria. Four more weeks. AS Roma v Fiorentina then Umbria/Perugia. Six weeks. Rome! This entire trip is going to fly by before I even realize that it's gone, but that'll also mean that I've enjoyed my trip. To amend a popular quote, the reward of a good (life) trip, is a good (life) trip.

Although, I must say, I'm kind of hurt I'm not getting any comments. Don't you guys love me?! Hah anyway...

I have an N64 Emulator on my computer... so I can kind of play some of my favorite games...
Anyone remember Harvest Moon 64? Freaking awesome!

I'm about to get dinner here in an hour, so maybe I"ll update again after if something interesting happens. Otherwise... God bless!

Under the Stars of Firenze

My titles are becoming more 'floofy' I think. I don't know if I like that or not.

A picture of the Florence skyline tonight.

Today was a pretty lazy day. I woke up and went for a walk, came back and watched a movie, and then Dan randomly showed up so we went to the English mass at the Duomo. This was a good choice for multiple reasons, but it was a great decision because I was asked to the second reading. Talk about a once in a lifetime experience. The whole place echoed with my voice and I could hardly believe that I was doing a reading inside the Duomo in Florence, Italy. We stayed after a little while to talk to Don Mario and Dylan, but after that we picked up some dinner (I had a delicious sandwich with ham and cheese and eggplant and mmmmmmm) and now I'm about to go outside to drink wine and smoke cigars with Dan and Bridget. This has turned into a quite relaxing weekend and I'll be wanting more of these after the next two weekends that I have in store.

Until next time, mi amici, God bless!

Saw this on Facebook tonight and really liked it:

Everyone longs to give their self completely to someone,

to have a deep soul relationship with another,

to be loved thoroughly and exclusively.

But God, to a Christian says,

“No, not until you are satisfied with living loved by Me alone.

I love you, My child,

and until you discover that only in Me is your satisfaction,

you will not be capable of the perfect love that I have planned for you.

I want you to stop planning, stop wanting,

and allow Me to give you the most thrilling plan existing—

one that you cannot imagine.

I want you to have the best. Please allow Me to bring it to you.

Just keep watching Me, expecting the greatest things.

Keep experiencing that satisfaction knowing that I AM.

Keep learning and listening to the things I tell you.

You must wait.

Don't be anxious. Don't worry! Don't look at the things you want.

Don't look around at the things others have gotten or that I have given them.

Just keep looking to Me, or you'll miss what I want to show you.

And then, when you are ready, I'll surprise you

with a love far more wonderful than any you would ever dream of.

You see, until you are ready

—and even to the minute, to have both of you ready at the same time—

until you are both satisfied with Me and the life I prepared for you,

you won't be able to experience the love that exemplifies your relationship with Me

and is thus, perfect love.

And dear one, I want you to have this wonderful love.

I want you to see in the flesh, a picture of your relationship with Me

and to enjoy the everlasting union of beauty and love.

I am God.

Believe and be satisfied.

- St. Anthony of Padua, 1247 -

An Untitled Post from Your Gracious Host

It has been a slow, relaxing, day, as you can probably tell by the 'rhyme' in my title. I went into Florence today and ended up taking a wrong turn somewhere as I've found myself liable to do lately, but I really enjoyed just wandering. I was finally able to catch up on some reading and skype a few people I had meaning to get in touch with since I've arrived. That's about all. Sorry to disappoint.

God bless!

A Quick Update

Hey guys! Just a check in before the weekend. Not really much going on. More than half of the group is going to Milan for the weekend, but I'm staying in because of the play. I had actually planned on Verona and Padua this weekend, but that isn't going to work out.

Insert witty comment here.

Not a whole lot happened today. I had shin of pig (and it was delicious) for lunch, but that really sums up my afternoon. I went for a run in the rain a little later (got lost) and ended up going a few more miles than I had intended, but that was okay. Came back, showered, and went to a mass commemorating Monsignor Luigi Giussani. It was a beautiful mass, even if I didn't understand most of it. Anywho... I'm off for the night.

God bless, guys! Much love!

The Second Class Trip Into Town

Almost forgot to post again. That would've been a shame. I've gone quite a few days in a row without missing to lose my streak over sheer ignorance. :)

Hey look! New photos! This was from the courtyard @ San Lorenzo.

If you hadn't noticed, I was able to take new photos from our class trip into town for our Culture class. It was awesome. Of course, I had to wake up obscenely early (in comparison) to start my day, but in the end I think it was worth it. We visited two churches to see how art had grown in Italy. It was another educational day.

After coming back to the Villa for a late lunch, we went back into class for our history lesson. Francesco was fantastic today and it made me want to read biographies of the Ninja Turtles. (I know it's lame to make the same reference within a week or so). Donatello, the oldest of the bunch, was the Father of Renaissance sculpting in Italy. The next century followed with the rest of the turtles: Michelangelo, Raffaello, and Leonardo. I don't know what it was about the second half of class, but he made their lives seem so awesome that I'd love to learn more about them. Add onto the fact that I love the Medici family (who built most of Florence) and I have quite a list of people to read about. In retrospect I shouldn't have left my pleasure book at home (Wizard's First Rule) because I really want to read it now... ugh!

Before you get up in arms about this being random, it's not. This is the TV Show based off of the Sword of Truth Series.

Anywho, (I think I like that word too much...) after class I went to my first St. Thomas Moore Society Bible Study. I was appointed the liaison between the main group in Florence and the BC students at the Villa. It was awesome to meet the others who showed up who lived and studied in Florence. We had students from Texas, Vienna, and Tennessee, to name a few. We studied John 6:1-15 and we had some very insightful discussion.

What else... what else... I'm not really sure if there is anything else to say. We're going to Monsignor Luigi Giussani's mass for the sixth anniversary of his death. I'm kind of surprised how much I like reading his writing. It is dense at times, but it is extremely easy to relate to and makes perfect sense. If you ever get the opportunity, don't hesitate to pick up the Religious Sense (the first of a trilogy).

Beyond that? I've got the Glass Menagerie this weekend. Other than that I'll just be hanging out at the Villa. Venice next weekend. Germany/Austria the weekend after that.

Oh but now I want to go on a rant because I miss some of the technology from the States. I've been a Google beta tester for over four years now and they just released their new operating system: Chrome OS. This OS is meant for netbooks and will run every process through the Chrome browser. This means that there is virtually no boot up time and that everything you do on the computer will be accessible from the "cloud."

Yes, I'm kind of a geek. Get over it.

The beta testers are sent one of these 12.1 inch netbooks to use. Sounds perfect for travel, right? Of course. Want to know when I got mine? The 26th of January. Two days after I left for Ireland. My very on Chrome book is waiting for me when I get back to the states. Kind of a good welcome home, I think.

I think that's enough of my rant for now. It might happen again sometime.

There really isn't a reason for this picture. At all.

God bless!

Wandering

Do you know what time it is?

Tool Time!

Sorry... got distracted... at least I waited a few days for another 90s reference. That makes it better, right?

Today was pretty chill. It was a great change of pace. Most of my group went to Siena for the day, so I decided to take my alone time and explore Florence in a more intimate way. It was awesome just marveling at the great things around Firenze. I was looking for a place to find a Mahjongg set, but I have been fruitless so far. On top of my freedom, I was finally able to sleep in!!

As I was getting back on the bus for Settignano, I ran into Father Meinrad so we were able to catch up on our adventures of the day. People started rolling back in from their trip around three or four, so I went to the lounge to hang out with them. It was just a relaxing day in general as we talked about classes, soccer, and trips that we are planning. Talked to Will, and we'll probably make it to Sicily and Calabria the first weekend of April. I'm really excited for that.

Now I'm watching AS Roma v. Napoli. I can't believe I'll be going to my first international calcio (soccer) game on Wednesday. That game will be Fiorentina v. Internazional (Inter Milan). I will be seeing Roma play on the 20th of March.

God bless!

Felt bad for almost posting without a picture from Italy. As great as Home Improvement is...

My Blue Suede Shoes

I'm sure plenty of you are confused or concerned about the title of this post. That's ok. For those of you following along at home, I've been in a search for athletic shoes since I arrived in Italy. I ventured into Florence again today with Lauren and as it were, I found a store where I found moderately priced shoes. They are blue. And they resemble suede. There you have it. They're made by a company called Lotto, which I've never heard of, but I'll give you a review when they fall apart on me, because in all likelihood, they will.

We went out to drink tonight after dinner. FUN. Ran into Dylan (the leader of the St. Thomas Moore Society) and got free shots. They were lemon shots with an actual lemon sitting on top that was lit on fire. It was quite enjoyable. So I really didn't pay for anything the entire night. I'm really not in the greatest of moods right now. It's hard to explain. You'd think being here I'd find distractions for myself, but even that hasn't been enough. Know that I am praying for you as well.

Anywho! On to brighter things. Tomorrow, Pietro, Adam, and I, are going mountain biking through Tuscany tomorrow. It is going to be awesome!

God bless!

This is a picture I took yesterday in front of the Duomo.

A Trip to Remember

Have no fear! I almost forgot to update tonight, but, alas, I have remembered. Lucky you.

The tomb of Dante Alighieri. Sadly, his body isn't there because of a political fallout while he was alive.

So what did I do today? That's a very good question. For the first time since I've arrived, I didn't have Italian.  Both a good and a bad thing. Instead, we had a class on Italian culture and history. We had a theoretical background of what we were going to do in the afternoon -- a two part class. Venturing down into Florence, we visited the Duomo and the Baptistery. Francesco, our guide, was fantastic and gave us the incredible history of Florence. The picture above is from the Cathedral of Santa Croce (Holy Cross). It houses some of the greatest minds Florence had the honor of birthing. Galileo Galilee, Niccolo Machiavelli, Michaelangelo, and, as pictured above, Dante Alighieri. It's hard to fathom how many great minds came from this one city, but it's absolutely awesome at the same time.

We saw beautiful art all afternoon, even if it was a little bit chilly.

The crucifix made by Donatello.

I felt honored to be in the presence of two Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles today.

Heroes in a half-shell... TURTLE POWER!

Ok, now that I've got my geekdom out of the way, we can continue to the rest of my night. No, really, no more 90s references. At least I don't think I'll have anymore. *shrug*

Anywho! We came back to Settignano through the Chocolate Festival, where they were giving out free samples of various chocolate liquors. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in town today. Of course, there's still a lot for me to do in Florence, since I still have yet to find a shoe store that will actually sell me shoes for less than €90.

This is the Cathedral I was talking about earlier with all the paintings and tombs. The Chocolate Festival are the tens to the right.

Oh! But my Spring Break has officially been booked. Or at least the first part of it. We fly out of Pisa on Saturday March, 5, to Hamburg, Germany. We will spend one night there since it will be quite late when our plane finally lands. In the morning we will take a bus to Berlin and spend two nights there. From that juncture, our group will split into two. Three will go int Poland, and David and I will head further South into Germany. We will hit Nuremberg and Munich before we take a train across Austria to Vienna. I'm really looking forward to it and glad that I will be able to see a country I have always wanted to visit.

One more thing! My Florence album in the top right will be updated with all the pictures I have taken in Florence. So you might want to check that album every now and again to see if I've added anything. In the past few days I've added seventy or more photos.

I think that's all for tonight, though. God bless!

An Adventure into Florence

Well... today was interesting... again. I really don't want to talk about classes again, so I won't.

Part of our group at the St. Thomas Moore Society.

So we went into town to do a St. Thomas Moore Society, a local Catholic group in Florence, meeting. It was great eating dinner with fellow Americans studying abroad who were encountering the same kind of issues that we were. I absolutely loved hanging out tonight. Dinner. Wine. Good company. Gellato. Bellissima! Oh, but I also got some Italian pharmacist's number -- she was kind of hitting on me at the bus stop. It was very interesting... anywho...

God bless!

La Vita è Bella

Spending the last two weeks in Europe has taught me quite a few things. Whether it be about myself or the world I live in, it has been quite enlightening.

It is becoming much harder to get up everyday. The excitement isn't quite at the levels from my prior trip to Ireland, so motivation to get out of bed is back to normal. But that also means I'm getting enough sleep, now. It's one of those damned if you do, damned if you don't, situations.

If you can't read it, this is a statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi.
If you don't know who he is, don't feel bad. I don't know either.

So yea... Today I had five hours of Italiano. There are limits to how much language I can absorb in one day -- and we got dangerously close to that limit today. After all of my classes today, a group of us headed into Florence. I had intended on getting running shoes in town, but that quest continues to elude me. So I'll try again at a later date. On the bright side, I got two soccer jerseys for 8 euro. They are replicas from the World Cup, but I think they are still really cool and quite well made.

We're about to watch Life is Beautiful at nine, but that's all I've got planned for now. Although, I have to reshuffle my entire Spring Break now... grrr.... let's hope I keep my sanity through the entire thing. I love you guys! Keep reading and commenting! I want to hear from everyone!

God bless!

For most of my evening I have reflected upon Life is Beautiful. There is so much in this movie that entire novels could be written about. Subjects so diverse that it would put my blog to shame. What struck me as I watched tonight was the selflessness of Guido. I'm trying not to ruin the movie for anyone, but if you haven't seen it, you have something to do this weekend. There is more to selflessness than simply putting someone else's needs in front of your own. As Guido showed so clearly throughout the entirety of the movie. His love of his son and his wife shattered worlds that couldn't even fathom the way in which this small man approached his life. It was hard for me to see the humor or react to any that was present in the WWII segment of the film, but therein lies the beauty of this masterpiece. Even in the bleakest of times, life can truly be beautiful. Whether the charade Guido performed for Joshua is realistic is null. Guido is the image of our inner childhood. A childhood so vibrant and alive: an inner child that all of us wish to hold on to -- at least for moments. It's films like this that make you consider your life in new light. Count the blessings you have, regardless of where you are, what situation you are in, or what hardships you face. Dance when everyone is crying, sing when the world tries to silence you. We only have one life: make it beautiful.

Trip Into Florence

Ciao! Having Friday off is a great way to make study abroad an enlightening experience. I spent the day in town with our entire group. It was epic! We walked around for over four hours just exploring. We saw great views of the Florence and had a great tour guide in Pietro. We got gelato and got up close and personal with the city. We came back around 7 and ate in the Cantina. I always thought that the group would fraction off with so many, but we have quickly become a homogeneous unit. I couldn't ask for a better group of people to be in Italy.

I really don't know what else to say. It seems like more and more I lack words that can encompass and mean all the thoughts that are flying through my head. We're all sitting in our lounge area just hanging out now (before we head into Florence again) and it's totally chill. I wish everyone could be here with me. We're going into Pisa and Lucca tomorrow. I'm really excited.

Maybe I'll be able to write more in retrospect, but I'm completely overwhelmed with things to say and images and memories. Love you guys! God bless!

Beautiful landscape!

I decided to update this post so that I don't forget what happened. Kay, Maria, Maddie, Maggie, Bridget, David, Matt, and I, went into Florence to grab some drinks. Earlier in the day we had received a few fliers from people in the square and decided to check at least one of them out. Amadeus was the bar we ended up choosing and it was a great decision in retrospect. We were able to get three mixed drinks for ten euro, so David and I split that bill and I ended up getting Rum and Coke (my favorite) and a Long Island Ice Tea. They were both very well done. There was American music, so Maggie was joking that we should all get up and dance. An Italian group beside us agreed, so after a few minutes of discussion we all got up to dance. Of course, we wouldn't have done this had we known the bus schedule better. We were under the impression that the last bus left San Marco at 1:20, when in actuality, the bus left at 12:20. This forced us to call a taxi... either way it was a fantastic night and I wouldn't trade it for anything! :)

Italy: Day 2

These days have been absolutely incredible. Whether it is hanging out with my new friends or just exploring the beautiful countryside, I really couldn't ask for anything more.

I really don't know what to say about today. I had two hours of Italiano, then we had lunch, followed by two hours of Reform in the Church. I relaxed for a few hours after before going to dinner. The students here have the opportunity to cook for everyone with the help of the chef here at the villa and tonight was absolutely amazing. We had a LOT of pasta and it was some of the best I had ever had.

Dony MacManus, a sculptor from Dublin, came and presented around nine and he was awesome. We followed this with a trip up to the Communist Bar. You'll probably hear more about this later because I'm terribly tired and need to get some sleep.

The entrance to Villa Morghen.

God bless!

First Day of Classes

School has officially started in Florence. After an hour of orientation, we were immediately immersed into our first Italian class. They split us into two groups (since there are forty of us). It was a lot easier than I expected it to be. I think that my solid background in Spanish is helping me immensely understand what is going on in that class. Honestly, I don't think I've enjoyed my first day of classes as much as I did today. Daniel and Giovanni are our two instructors in Italiano, and their philosophy was total immersion from the start. They didn't use English unless it was absolutely necessary because no one understood. Absolutely fascinating.

Florence from the Villa. You can see the Duomo in the back.

So after Italiano we broke for lunch and preparation for Father Meinrad's class on Reformations in the Church. We used my computer to show the videos we saw -- so I immediately became the A/V man for the Villa. Luigi Giussani (the founder of the Liberation and Theology) was the subject of our first class. He had an awesome point of view on how the world works and the happiness inherent if you are just willing to see it. It might get a little taxing having every class for two hours, but for once I think I can enjoy it.

After our final class a group of us got together to play soccer up the road a few kilometers. It was awesome playing soccer with everyone. We had originally played on a grass field, but it ended up being too wet. The game moved to a parking lot. This was good and bad. One of the guys ended up kicking the ball well over the walls we were playing around and into a cemetery. I ended up climbing onto the roof of one of the mausoleums in order to find where the ball had wandered off. It ended up resting under a movable steel staircase. After THAT adventure we headed back to the Villa for mass and dinner.

Overall, even after only a few days, this has been incredible. It will only get better from here and that makes me really excited. We have a beginning of the semester party at nine, so that'll be awesome.

The statue in the square outside the Villa.
I couldn't make out who it was... sorry!

Verdict for the party? Awesome. A local guitarist came in and played Italian and American songs and we all sang and danced (most did hesitantly). It was like a gay tarantella, to steal a verse. But it is getting late here and I"m starting to tire out. I have no idea what tomorrow has in store for me, but hopefully I'm able to make it into Florence tomorrow and get a little shopping done...

Oh! But if you guys hadn't noticed, there are links in the top right to my photos (at least some of them) from Ireland. Just click on the links and enjoy! God bless!