Florence and the Parentals!



Climbing the Tower next to the Duomo



I just finished a week filled with fun, family, and (finally) some relaxation! My Dad and Debbie flew in last Thursday, and after some harried moments (the traffic was HORRIFIC from the airport to their hotel, and I had to doctors appt to get to--more on that later) I was finally able to have a great, reallly rushed reunion with them. Since I had the appointment and classes to get to, I sort of...threw them into Rome, which I feel a bit bad about since they had just flown the red eye into the city to see me. That night, though, I was able to stay over with them at their hotel (so swanky!) and then we left for Florence the next morning.



View of Ponte Vecchio and Florence



Florence was amazing. I know I say that about everywhere I visit (and will continue saying that), it was. The Duomo was almost unreal in its beauty, and the view from the tower was breathtaking. We went on a Chianti Wine Tour, which was very nice, because it didn't just include the wine tasting, but also a dinner and tour around a lot of villages in the area. They were so cute, with amazing mountainous views. The next 2 days we toured around Florence, practically stumbling upon Michelangelo's Piazza, almost as high above the city as the Duomo, which was really fun. Unfortunately, I had to leave to get back to school, as I had classes Monday, so I left my parents in Florence Sunday night. I saw them again Wednesday, though, and was once again able to spend the night at their hotel, and then give them a tour around some of the monuments in Rome.

They left early Saturday morning, and while it was sad to see them go, it was so nice to see them during the week that it kind of overshadows it. But of course, now, I am forced back into the reality of midterms for the next two weeks...great.

Okay-so back to the doctors appointment. I am now officially declared "physically able" to work on an excavation, which would normally mean I would already be working on said excavation. Not so much. Unfortunately Italian bureaucracy has kept me and the other interns from getting anywhere near the site, and its getting so aggravating! It is already halfway through the semester and I have not done any work there, and I just feel like I'm missing out on an amazing opportunity. Hopefully (fingers crossed!) we will be able to start this week. Of course, that means I have less time to study for my exams, but oh well. It had to happen at some point.

Freshed-squeezed Grape juice!



This past Friday I visited Bomarzo, which is a town about an hour outside of Rome, for a grape harvest and visit to the famous Park of Monsters there, where I had to give an oral presentation on one of the statues there for my Italian class. The day was long (and SUPER early for a day we usual have off--8 am) and involved a lot of walking, but was an amazing experience. The park was so pretty, and the statues were works of art, literally...The grape harvest was really cool, we got to both harvest the grapes and then drink fresh grape juice from those same grapes! To top it off, it was a beautiful day, so you couldn't help but be happy with the day.



Outside the Uneven House



Inside the Uneven House at the Park of Monsters...
so crazy!





Hope to blog soon, ciao for now though!