We Have Arrived

Well...here we are. I am writing this from my bed in Florence, Italy. Never really thought this day would come! But alas, we arrived Tuesday evening after a very eventful, almost frightening taxi ride to our "home" for the next seven weeks. It's kind of hard to call this place home when we're only here for 3-4 days a week, but we'll just stick with calling it that anyways. The rest of our time is spent being nomadic as we make our way throughout Italy and Europe!

First two days here have been filled with introductions, orientation, big meals, lots of bread, and even more walking. Oh...and a lot of heat. Luckily it cools down a lot at night because it is HOT out there during the day. It probably doesn't help that we go on two hour walking tours of the city, but how else are we to find our way around? After a nice dinner party on the top of a fancy hotel last night, Liza and I settled back in to catch up on more sleep. Today is likely to be the first day that I feel almost fully adjusted to this time difference.

This weekend is our first trip away. Destination: Venice! We will leave tomorrow morning at 8:00 am, load up the buses, and make the 3 hour drive to Venice, where we will then travel via boat to our hotel. Saturday we are going to do more "touring" of the area, followed by heading to the beach!! Sunday will be a long boat tour throughout the Venetian Canals, and we will head back to Florence on Sunday afternoon! I'm confident that this trip will prove nothing short of fantastic and beautiful.

Things I miss from home so far: lucky charms. baxter. oh...and some people :)

Ciao for now.

Let's Do This.

The day has officially arrived. Well, in a few hours that is. Only one (hopefully) good night's sleep lies between me and the "trip of a lifetime" that I have signed up for. I think it's safe to say that many emotions have overcome me in preparation of tomorrow. Excitement has been building since my neighbor/long time best friend Eliza told me she was going on this trip and quickly convinced me that I should do the same- what a friend. Although now that the day has finally arrived, it's also safe to say that the nerves have begun to set in. Am I worried that I'm not going to have an absolutely incredible time? Absolutely not. I know that this is going to be one of the best experiences of my life and am so grateful that this is something I'm able to do this summer. That being said, I'm also not the biggest fan of flying. I'm not one of those that absolutely dreads flying and will be anxious the entire time we're in the air. But I'm also not one of those flying fanatics, loving the fact that we're beyond thousands of feet above land for up to 9 hours. Hell, I didn't even really enjoy the 4 1/2 hour flight to San Diego. That being said, the anticipation of our arrival in Italy (well...Frankfurt first) will definitely help ease my "anxiety" when it comes to taking off.

Aside from the fact that I'm not nearly packed, I am so beyond excited for this adventure to begin. I had an amazing weekend leading up to my departure. Additionally, my brothers had me over for "Italian" night, with the American version of Italian food (aka pizza!). And if that wasn't enough, my brothers, their wives, and my grandpa came over for a "farewell" dinner tonight, fully equipped with red, green, and white balloons and many books on the Italian culture. Thanks, Mom :). I couldn't be more ready to embark on a journey that I've anticipated for these last few months. Here we go...there's no turning back now.