Florence

I went to McyD's to get some egg mcmuffin this morning, so I can say I got an eggmcmuffin in every country I've been in, but there was a bit of a dilemma considering they don't have a breakfast menu and just serve the same thing throughout the day minus eggmcmuffins... :'( So I just got some pastrys that were not that bad and a yogurt and a cheeseburger since I was there anyways. Oddest breakfast ever.

I then took a train to Florence and we went into the Uffizi and saw a ton of famous paintings that I studied in Music 201 including The Birth of Venus. I also got some delicious spaghetti alla carbonara and of course gelato, which is pricier here, but they also give you more.

The next day we had a surprisingly good breakfast with hot chocolate, juice and breads and jam. The hotel has been pretty good and we have an awesome view of the river.

We went to the Duomo and it was a bit less exciting and empty, but it was so crowded to get in. It's very touristy here and with a ton of Americans compared to everywhere else I've been, especially in Vienna. If your in Vienna and someone is speaking english you have to take the chance to speak english with them and ask them where exactly there from, so it's way different.

We also went and saw Michelangelo's David which was HUGE and it was way awesome and worth it to come here just for that. It was cool being up right next to it and looking way up and seeing it and it's just really incredible. There was also a flea market that was fun going through and I got a little pendant to make a necklace with. I also went to this garden place called the Boboi gardens and we saw this cool view.

I had (from what I remember of a Cake Boss episode) a lobster tail and it was crunchy and the creme was different and not as good as I think it could potentially be, but I also had a canoli and that was pretty good. I got some biscotti too and was eating it on my bed and it was SO hard that the girl next to me slowly looked over and asked if I was eating a tree trunk. I had some delicious ravoli in this cute restaurant and that was fun, because it was like a legit olive garden. The bathroom was the best though, because the sink was these fish that water squirted out of their mouths.

That night we went to this free concert in this church and it was SO crowded, but it was really good and I think it was a Mozart mass.

I sometimes feel bad, because I love this trip so much and I feel a little spoiled, because even though I'm really busy it sometimes just feels like a really long vacation and Vienna really is my ultimate utopia, but especially this week I've remembered how incredibly terrible my semester was in the Fall and this was a definite needed break from reality.