I can't believe it's over.

Today I say goodbye to the most beautiful city in the world. It's been an awesome month, but i'm definitely ready to move on. I think I never want to eat pasta again. There's a lot of things from home that i miss too, like breakfast. I know I'm going to miss the tomatoes here-- i like tomatoes anyway, but you have never had a tomato like the kind they have here. It's going to be weird not walking everywhere (not to mention walking past monuments like the Duomo daily).

But I'm not coming home just yet! From here I go to Rome for the night so that I can catch my plane to Paris! Laura and i are going to spend a few days in Paris together before we go back to the States. Even though I'm anxious to get home, I'm really excited about paris. I've never been outside of Italy in Europe, unless you count my 1 hour layover where I rushed through the Paris airport (and got a little lost). I don't speak any French, but Laura does, so as long as we're together I should be fine. She did, however teach me how to ask if somebody speaks English, and i feel like i'm going to be saying "Parlez-vous anglais?" a lot.

This week we had our finals, so it's been a bit crazy. I can't believe I just finished 2 classes in a little over 3 weeks! I can't believe they're over, but i'm not going to lie, I'm glad they are.

On Thursday Laura and I celebrated our fifth annual "Laura-Michelle Day," a holiday we invented in high school where we make sure we spend the day together. This year it just happened to be while we're both in Florence, the day after our finals! We shopped around in the market, where I used my italian and stubbornness to score us some deals. Then after a delicious lunch, we went to the Boboli gardens! This was my third attempt at going (the first was last year, when we got there too late in the day, the second when I went to the Pitti Palace and was too tired afterward), and I finally got to see the gardens! They're beautiful, but very hilly. we were a little disappointed that there weren't any flowers either.

I didn't get a chance to post this earlier, but last weekend we went to Cinque Terre, a BEAUTIFUL area with 5 mountain towns along the northern coast. Usually, the thing to do there is hike through the mountains between the 5 towns or spend some time at the beach. Unfortunately, we got there on a very rainy saturday and everything was closed. We had planned on hiking, but the trail was closed because of the weather, so instead we took a train between the towns until the rain got too bad and we just went back to our hotel. The next morning it was still rainy and cold and we were pretty disappointed. A bunch of people went back early, but some of us decided to stay and stick it out. Luckily, about an hour later everything cleared up and it was the most beautiful sunny, clear day.

Three of us plus our adviser, Chiara, decided to hike. We couldn't go on the trail between the towns, but there was another, less traveled, one that went further north to another town. It was an intense hike--we went straight up for probably 30-45 minutes or more and finally we reached the top of the mountain!

Then we still had to hike around the mountain for about 2 more hours until we reached the town. It was the most beautiful hike, and definitely the highlight of my entire trip. There were waterfalls, flowers, and amazing views of the incredibly blue Mediterranean. As we got closer to the next town there were some mountain homes with olive groves, fruit trees, and gardens. Unfortunately, I hadn't thought to charge my camera before we left and my battery died along the way, so i have limited pictures to show, but luckily for me, i think these mental pictures will stick with me forever. It was incredible.

Two and a half hours and (we think) 4.5 miles later, we arrived, and immediately took the 2 minute train ride back. The rest of our group that had stayed spent the day on the beach, and was waited for us to go kayaking! The other two girls who went hiking decided not to come, but Chiara and I joined the group for an hour of ocean kayaking before jumping on the train back to Florence.

It was a perfect day, and an amazing way to spend my last free weekend in Italy.

There's a few pictures I'd like to attach, but i'm low on internet time, so i may go back and insert them later. for now, sorry, but you'll have to use your imagination.