Fiesole & Carnival

This weekend was filled with beautiful sights, great company, and relaxation.

Since my classes are only Monday-Thursday, the weekend starts Friday! (technically Thursday at 4:30 p.m.)

Friday I got to sleep in later than usual, waking up in time to still get breakfast though. I then spent a few hours just lounging in bed catching up on some TV shows etc. Around 2 I met up with a few others and the four of us journeyed up to Fiesole where we enjoyed beautiful views overlooking Florence as well as getting up close with nature again.
 
(you'll notice I figured out how to put some pictures into my posts!)

Florence is a city, which means LOTS of buildings and stone, and very little nature and trees. Coming from Maine and New England seeing trees is a common occurrence, so to go from having woods in my backyard to less than 20 trees in the whole city...it's extremely different, and getting to spend some time outside the city with the trees was wonderful!

The view was also breathtaking and made me realize how much bigger Florence is than I thought...




Saturday, while the Northeast USA was dealing with "Nemo," I stayed inside all day. Not because it was gross outside, simply because I needed a day to keep to myself, relax, veg, and cry. It was an unproductive day, but one that was much needed and well worth it.

Sunday was Carnevale in Viareggio!! It was similar to our parades and fairs/carnivals, but MUCH BIGGER! There were gigantic floats:





and Rides:

 

We left around 11 a.m. getting to the beautiful coastal town around 12:30, got some lunch and enjoyed the beach before the parade started around 3.



There was even a kickball game!

Needless to say, it was a great day, even though it was a bit chilly. But I can't complain because it was nothing compared to the 24+ inches of snow home got.

Today started week 2 of classes and began with a gloomy, chilly day, and even some snow flurries this morning! Nothing stuck of course, and it turned to rain after only an hour or snow, but all the locals were going crazy: huddling into their big coats, walking (and even biking!) around with umbrellas up, and overall looking pretty miserable.

Three more days of classes and then this weekend a big group of us goes off to Interlaken, Switzerland! We leave Thursday evening around 6:30 and return around midnight Sunday-Monday. So, that will be quite the trip, and definitely a long weekend, but I am looking forward to it!


I'm sure I will post again before I leave, but if it seems awfully quite over the weekend, you'll know why!