The last day of florence.

On the last day... meet my roommates: Marcy, Kara, Meg, and Steph. Of all the things in Florence, these people are what I will miss the most. The laughter, tears, and memories shared together will never be forgotten.

I leave Florence Saturday morning at 6am and will arrive in San Francisco at 10pm on Saturday night, a total of 25 hours of traveling- ahhh! If you remember, please pray for safety.

More posts to come, I'm sure

The 2nd day of florence.

On the 2nd day... meet Romeo, the most amazing photo professor. I got along so well with Romeo because he is what most represented a Westmont professor for me, someone who actually cares about students and their work. And besides that, he is an incredible photographer. I will miss him.

The 3rd day of florence.

On the 3rd day... meet "Casa Boschi," the Woods' Home. For photography, my semester long project was to photograph the owner of the house (Elsa) and her farm. Elsa taught me more about life in these three months than I could have imagined, especially about forgiveness. I will miss her.

The 4th day of florence.

On the 4th day... meet the view from Piazza Michelangelo. You can the little hike to a place where all of Florence is visible. Brilliant!

The 5th day of florence.

On the 5th day... meet the Central Market. This two story building is filled with fresh food vendors. The first floor is breads and meats, and the second floor is fruits and vegetables. Not only are these items the freshest in town, they are also sold at the best price.

The 6th day of florence.

On the 6th day... meet my favorite restaurant: Acqua al Due. Mmmm, so good- especially the balsamic steak. Yes, if you look closely you will see the words San Diego on the sign. Yes, this restaurant is also in San Diego. Yes, you should go (order the steak).

The 7th day of florence.

On the 7th day... meet gelato, the most loved dessert. My favorite is fragola e limone (strawberry and lemon). Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

The 8th day of florence.

On the 8th day, meet Maria, also known as #8. Her store is 100 yards from our apartment and she sells the most marvelous goodies and trinkets, oh yeah- and peanut butter. She loves when we come visit her, sometimes we even get free chocolate bars.

The 9th day of florence.

On the 9th day, meet the Ponte Vecchio. "Old Bridge" is a wonderful place to relax and shop- it is illegal to sell anything other than fine jewelry on the bridge. I will miss this beautiful tourist trap.

the 10th day of florence.

On the 10th day of Florence, meet Roberto Nesti, my interior design professor. he is an architect, professor at 2 schools in florence, and the bounciest 50 year old man i have ever met. he loves his jobs, and i'd say he's pretty good at what he does.

the 11th day of florence.

On the 11th day of Florence, meet the Duomo. I walk by this amazing place often; it comes complete with gawking tourists, begging gypsies, and Florentines who hardly take notice of its' beauty.

the 12th day of florence.

My last 12 days in Florence you will get to view the people/ places/things that I will miss the most...On the 12th day of Florence, meet Mierco, the man I buy sandwiches from weekly. Mierco helps me with my Italian while I eat my "fontina e proscuitto panino."

chocolate, waffles and beer.

Belgium, quite the place. I wouldn't say that I am amazed by Brussels; it is an oversized urban city that has some pretty important buildings and people that work in them. For example, NATO's headquarters are here along with the EU (European Union). Neat.

Meg and I decided to splurge and stay at the Hilton because we found a great deal and only ended up paying 10 euro more than our normal hotel budget. Time was spent with Meg's boyfriend, Anders, and their friend Andrew. They took us around Brussels and were quite the tour guides. We went to the music museum; I really enjoyed listening to all kinds of different instruments; definitely worth the 3 euro. We ate, ate, and ate some more... Waffles and chocolate of course. Supposedly the beer is the best in Belgium so I had one sip and I still don't like it; oh well.

Saturday was spent in Brugge, an hour away from Brussels. Brugge is home to the best chocolate in the world. It's a quaint little town that hasn't changed since the 1600's. Everyone should go to Brugge, just for the architecture and the chocolate.

My traveling is over. Sad. Florence for the next 13 days. Crazy, really.