So today was a bitter sweet kind of day seeing as how it is our last one. By the way I am writing this at 1:47 am Tuesday morning so I am kind of tired (but not as much as I will be later). I went to the last meeting where they said how proud they were of us and that they hoped we had had fun. I also signed up to go shopping in Santo Spirito with Lindsay and Callie, Damiana, Claudia, and Xaymara came along too. I bought some shirts that I thought were cool and then we played cards while waiting to be dismissed. Callie, Xay, and I played “Go Fish” and Callie kept getting books; I eventually got so “upset” that Damiana took over for me, and when Callie undeniably won I through the cards on the ground which everyone thought was mildly amusing.
On the way back next to the bridge everyone stopped for some gelato. Because we were going to lunch right then I was set on not getting any, but seeing everyone else get it and looking happy, coupled with the fact that I was really hungry, I caved and got a small one. We went up to the bridge and ate the gelato there which was really nice. After that we went for the last time to ZaZa’s. This time I went all out and ordered a steak (the wrong one because it didn’t come with potatoes) but it was still delicious and I stole some potatoes from Callie. Then we went to the market. Damiana was got a necklace made for her (one said “I heart Gelato" which was funny) so I hung out on the sidewalk and people watched. I also went a little crazy and bought some souvegnirs for my family and friends. Then we went home.
I hung out in their apartment for a while which was fun, but somehow we all ended up falling asleep. I was only asleep for maybe twenty minutes and then I just relaxed. When it was around 6 I went back to my apartment. Damiana later commented that she couldn’t believe that I had got out of the apartment without her noticing (she was awake and in her room) and that she had come in to say hi and saw that I wasn’t there. I told her my secret that I was a ninja. I helped clean the apartment and then it was time for dinner. We went to a restaurant that is literally next door and had a very nice meal. I even was able to draw a little picture on the paper underneath the plates. Then we went out for gelato which was fun.
After that we had a talent show. I am surprised by the talent that some of these kids have with the guitar and their voices. Two girls got really creative and made up a song about Abbey Road to the tune of Selena Gomez’s song “Who Said” which was really funny. William even preformed at the end with a guitar and then actually slammed it onto the ground; when he started to do it I thought he was joking but he really smashed it well against the concrete. 
Then we went up into one of the apartments and had a photo montage (I was in some of them and looked decent) which was fun and I am glad that I didn’t cry. Then we went around saying what our favorite things about this trip were. We didn’t get to my but I would have to say that my favorite parts were;1. Having the waiter try to buy one of my pieces
2. The beach in Cinque Terre where I tried the Tiramisu, hung out with Xay and Claudia, and had steak
3. the beach from this last weekend
4. and drawing at night
Those were really fun times. I might have said climbing the Duomo, but that is more a memorable experience than a good experience. What was funny was that one girl admitted during this time that they threw peas at a neighbor’s cat and thought they killed the cat (the cat is fine) so that was really funny to listen to along with everyone else’s funny stories. After that my group went up to my balcony and we hung out for a while and took pictures and then finally had to say goodbye.
I will actually miss these guys, and I will try to stay in touch with them. I have already friended a few on Facebook and I am considering getting a Skype so that I can talk to them. It is kind of sad leaving. I really will miss everyone but I am happy to see my friends and family again and I am glad that I took this trip. I feel that I have matured and become a little more independent, negotiative, outgoing, positive, fit, and knowledgeable. It really was a trip of a lifetime.
Pisa was not what I expected at all. I thought it would be a thriving metropolis but from what I saw it was actually a small town. Not only that, but the Leaning Tower of Pisa was much smaller than I expected it to be. However, it was still and interesting sight and I finally have my pictures of leaning against it and holding it up which was “on the bucket list”, though I am not sure they are very good pictures. It was also funny to see all the people doing the same pose since it is such a cliché, but Damiana and Claudia mixed it up a little and hugged and licked the tower. It was pretty funny. We were only there for 45 minutes and then we came back to San Gallo.
The Opera was called La Traviata and it was pretty good. It is amazing how people can control their voices like that. The story was about a woman who is a prostitute and is having a relationship with a gentleman. However, the man’s father thinks she is only after his son’s money so he convinces his son that she is cheating on him. Her lover then disgraces her and then there is a duel and then he learns the truth and she dies of tuberculosis. It got so cold that I had to use Claudia and Callie as blankets and we were all freezing. The opera house was even selling blankets!
The evening activity I chose tonight was to go to Palazzo Vechio where the statue of Poseidon is and go into the palace. It was pretty cool in there even though it was very humid inside. There were lots of great artworks on the ceiling and it is amazing to imagine someone living there so many centuries ago. It belonged to the Medici family at one point and many of the rooms were designed for them and what they did for the family. I even got to go part way up the tower and take some cool pictures of the surrounding area. It was really nice and cool tonight so along with the amazing view was a nice breeze (I was able to wear jeans!!) 
Cinque Terre is a small town that pretty much sits on the mountainside above the sea. The train was literally over the sea so I got some really good pictures of the waves on the rocks and even a cave. The water was sooo blue and I could see it stretching forever across the horizon. We all took a group picture. Then we started a little fifteen minute hike on the Cliffside. It was pretty much a trail for lovers because love locks were everywhere and people had written their names on the rocks and even carved it in the cactus. It looked like people from all over the world had gone there. Other than that though, I got some pretty amazing shots. 
At the end of the trail we had a choice to either hike all the way to the beach or take the train. I opted for the train because I knew I wasn’t going to make it. The beach was nice but very small, smaller than my backyard. Xaymara, Claudia, and I went to a little café on the cliff to eat and had some really nice spaghetti. For dessert I tried for the first time Tiramisu, it was really good but not as good as the dessert from last weekend. Then we went to the beach. 
We found a little place for us to lay our towels and then Xaymara and I went swimming. It took a few minutes to get used to the water because it was kind of cold, but the rocks were the worst part since they were so jagged. I found a smooth one though and practiced my ninja skills by trying to stay on it with one foot. Xaymara kept being knocked around by the waves because she is so small and it was pretty funny.
Then we went back to the same café for dinner to get some well deserved steak. It was really good and I ordered a side of potatoes with it; the funny thing was that Claudia’s plate came with potatoes and I didn’t realize that it wasn’t the side dish so she was just like “Maddie these aren’t yours” and I was saying that it was the side dish but then the waiter came over and said “those aren’t your potatoes” and laid my ones down. Funny moment!! Anyway, after that we went home and I slept a little on the bus and then passed out when I got home.
For the evening activity I went and made my own plate. Before we went though we ate dinner with the group going to the activity and Brittany even got a cake, which was nice but I didn’t have very much. At the ceramics place the guy was very nice but painting the plate was intimidating because I didn’t want to drop it and I didn’t want to screw up. I think in the end though it came out pretty nice but I need to see it after it goes through the fire. What was funny however was that as I was carrying the plate over to the table I said to everyone “no one get in my way” and then literally a second later I was tripping over the table. I didn’t drop my plate luckily but the guy did come over and take it from me just in case. I am glad I am able to laugh about it.
Photography was good today. We went and took pictures of the “lovers Locks” near the river and then took pictures of people walking around; basically people watching. It was really fun and people would take pictures of us and some men even flexed for us. One guy selling pictures set up right in front of us so he could get attention and sell some pictures. What was funny was that there was a wedding going on and while we were trying to sneak pictures of them, the groom and eventually the bride came over and posed with us. It was really funny and I think they enjoyed it.
For evening activity I did Night Photography. It was sooo much fun. It was originally just Callie and I, and it was fun walking around and taking pictures of random stuff. After a while though we met up with Damiana, Xaymara, and Claudine and they joined us. It was really fun and we goofed around and took some very nice pictures. We also got gelato; I was the last to order because people would keep coming in to this small store and there was this one man who was really bossy and mean to the serving girl who was trying really hard and was very busy. She got to me though while the bossy man was still ordering her around and I told her to keep the change; she was very grateful and gave me a smile. Other than that I took some more really good pictures that I can't wait to put into my altered book.
After that we went to the town of Siena. I noticed while I was there that everything seems to be set up in a spiral kind of way; maybe that is what makes the city so interesting. We went into a church and saw the head of Saint Catherina which was shriveled up and small so it was kind of gross; I wasn't able to look away though.
At 4:30 we decided to climb the tower. Climbing it was not as bad as climbing the Duomo, but there were some places where it was better to be short than tall to get through and up, so that was annoying. Otherwise the view was really amazing and this is where is saw the spiral forms of the city. After that we just took the bus home and it was very relaxing. 
Since we didn't have our minor today we had afternoon activities. I really should have gone to the pool or took free time, but instead I opted to climb to the top of the Duomo which is something like 465 stairs. That didn’t sound so bad to me until I realized that it was a cramped passage with a winding staircase and almost no windows. It was so bad climbing up and we all started to really, and I mean REALLY, sweat so the passage did not smell good. However, we made it the top in one piece and the view was really pretty. You could see everything from the top and it made for some really nice pictures with my friends. There was a nice breeze that really refreshed the body, and it was just tranqul and fun to be at the top. I had to kind of glance over the edge to see that the roof curved down to really appreciate the fact that I was literally on top of a giant globe. I also got some really nice pictures that i think will go well with my photography class project; my theme is Italy and the elements and Friday we are going to start doing our "altered books" where we put all our pictures that go with the theme we chose into a book that we alter to our liking so as to document our time in Italy, so I am very excited. It was a good afternoon.
After lunch we went and climbed this really nice tower that was pretty close to the center of the city. It had trees at the top and it was really pretty, and I got in some pictures with my friends. Then, we went on a bike ride around the wall which was a bit hard in some places because the bikes didn’t have gears and I got one that was at an expert level. But otherwise it was a really nice ride.
We then went to dinner, which was pasta with sauce. For dessert there was vanilla ice cream with raspberries; I never thought there would be a day when I would eat my ice cream with fruit on it but it was actually very delicious and I can’t wait to have it again. Funnily enough, right after we finished dinner we learned that the train we were going to take home at 9:30 was cancelled and we had to run for ten minutes to catch the 8:30 train home or risk coming back really late. It was both terrifying and exhilarating racing through the streets and trying to keep 72 people together to catch one train in complete chaos! In the end though we all did catch thetrain and had a very nice night in.