I can’t believe that my time here is already half-way over. It feels alternatively like I’ve been here forever and like I got here yesterday. Everyday I am so grateful that I was able to choose the twelve week program. I love the experience of actually living here and experiencing this place that I have fallen in love with. For instance, last weekend, my roommate and I hiked to Piazzale Michelangelo and picnicked while we watched the sunset. Adding to the beautiful view was our view of the entire city. It is breathtaking. We also happened to be up there when the Italian MTV Awards were happening, so it was interesting to see that side of Florentine culture.
I took my first out of the country trip, as well. I visited Paris, France, for a weekend. Before that, I had never been anywhere but Italy, so it was very neat to experience international travel between European Union countries. It was a very typical tourist weekend- I got to see the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Orsay, the Opera House, and Versailles. By far, the Paris Opera House was my favorite. I am an enormous fan of the Phantom of the Opera story and saga, so seeing the place that inspired the story was a dream come true for me. Even though it was a wonderful weekend, I was relieved to land back in Florence.
Back in Florence, I went to town visiting museums. In the past few weeks, I have visited the Accademia, the Uffizi, Palazzo Vecchio, the Bargello, and the costume gallery in the Pitti Palace. I have loved getting to see the various pieces of history that each museum has to offer.
It has been sad to say good-bye to the friends we made over the first six weeks. We were thrown into this crazy experience together and we became very close. It will be fun to meet the new people, but bittersweet that the people we first saw Florence with won’t be the ones who leave with us. I truly don’t think that I can say enough or in enough ways that this is the best summer of my life and I cannot wait for the second half.
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Anna, Auburn University
