Spring Break and Other Good Things

Well, I'm back! The last month or so has been crazy, so much to do, so little time. And now, so much to write, so little time!

My spring break began just a day or so before Easter...the first interesting thing I got to do was see "Lo Scoppio del Carro," which is a Florentine Easter tradition. It's basically this huge, fancily-decorated cart that is pulled into the Piazza del Duomo by some huge oxen, along with a parade of people dressed in Renaissance costume. The cart is covered in firecrackers and stops in front of the main door of the Duomo. There was entertainment for a bit, traditional flag throwers. Then the archbishop of Florence came out and threw holy water on the crowds...quite interesting. Finally after what felt like forever, they lit the firecrackers. When the popping began, a large fake dove was released by the archbishop from the pulpit of the Duomo. Tradition says that if the dove flies all the way out to the cart without problems, it means it will be a good year for Florence. Fortunately for all the Florentines this year, it did! So that was a really fun cultural experience, I'm really glad to have been there.

The same day as the cart, my parents arrived in Florence! I met them at the station and we spent the next four days together, two days in Florence, and two driving a rented car through Tuscany and Umbria, the region to the south of Tuscany that is known as "the green heart of Italy." It was a great trip, we got to see several lovely little hill-top towns, such as Monteriggioni, Cortona, Spoleto,Assisi and Todi, and several of the bigger, but still medieval cities: Siena and Perugia. It was nice to just drive, see the countryside, try out the local foods, visit churches and other touristy sights. I also loved just walking through the narrow cobble-stoned streets of the little towns and just getting the feel of the life there.

After those few days I separated from my parents and began my two week whirlwind tour of some European countries with my friend and roommate Heather. We had train passes and big backpacks and we just went! We stayed in hostels for super cheap, and saw so many churches and museums, it made my head spin. Definitely a trip I will never forget: Berlin; Dresden, Germany; Prague, Czech Republic; Vienna, Austria; Bratislava, Slovakia; Budapest, Hungary; Zagreb, Croatia; Ljubljana, Slovenia; and finally back into Italy, stopping in Milan to see the amazing Gothic cathedral! The traveling was a bit exhausting, but we tried to make the most of our time and see a lot. It was really interesting to see a different part of the continent, and it's amazing how countries so close to Italy can be so different. The trip just continue to fuel the fire that I now have to see the world. It's too big, I want to see all of it!

By the time the two weeks were over, however, I was very ready to come back to Italy, a place that now feels somewhat like a second home to me. That's one of the great things about traveling: it makes you appreciative your home even more, and at the end of a long trip, there's nothing like being back where you feel you belong.

P.S. LOTS of photos will be on my photo sight!