An Overview of the Semester

Well, I'm back in Gainesville. The thrilling and adventurous European posts are over; now it's back to my daily life in Gainesville. Hopefully I can figure out how to make this just as exciting ;) Today began the second week of classes here at the University of Florida. Classes began last Wednesday and I started my second year of college. For those of you that don't know, or may have forgotten, I am a General Business major with a minor in Mathematics. The plan (as of now) is to one day become a math professor. So, that means that this semester I am taking Calculus II, Financial Accounting, Business Statistics, and Age of Dinosaurs. The last class is just a general education requirement, nothing special. It looks like it is going to be a very challenging semester, but hopefully doable.

I am living with Callie at a new apartment this year. Callie went to Leon High School in Tallahassee and I met her through her boyfriend, Justin, who rowed on the crew team with me. Both Callie and I are very organized and a little bit OCD, so we get along great. We are living in a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment. So far, I'm loving it! It's on the third floor and there is no elevator...so, I get to work out my quads a few times every day by climbing the stairs. We have a full sized kitchen so I am looking forward to cooking a lot of meals this year :)

CrossFit begins the 1st of September and I am eager for it to resume. I am so out of shape and need the routine of working out back in my life. However, I know that the first few weeks are going to be absolutely awful as my body loses some fat and starts to rebuild the lost muscle. Oh well. No pain, no gain...right? I am planning on working out three times a week in the mornings before class, so around 9:00 a.m. I am hoping that this will be a good start to my day and I can develop a healthy habit of waking up at a reasonable hour and getting my day started.

As far as clubs and involvement on campus goes, I have not started looking into clubs intently...as classes just started. My goal is to join at least one organization on campus this semester. Possible candidates as of now are Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and Toast Masters (a professional speaking club). I am also looking to volunteer at a local school to start developing contacts, connections, and experience in the education world. Through volunteering, I hope to eventually be able to tutor some kids for a little bit of extra spending cash.

It's raining here in Gainesville, and I'm sure most of you in Florida are experiencing similar weather. Although I don't particularly like walking to school in the pouring rain, I do love looking at all of the students with their different colored umbrellas. I imagine that if one was to take an aerial shot of the campus during this rainy week, it would prove to be a pretty cool picture. Tropical Storm Isaac looks like it will miss most of Florida come time for impact, but stay dry anyways! Happy Monday, make it a great one.

That's a Wrap (August 7th)

On August 7th, I returned to the United States of America. My morning began with a 45 minute taxi ride to the airport. As I rode out of the city of Rome, it hit me for the first time that I was leaving Europe. As excited as I was to go home and see my friends and family, I was also very sad to be leaving Rome; it proved to be a remarkable, unbelievable city that I had the privilege of spending my entire summer in. I arrived at the airport immediately after two gigantic groups on Astro buses. Perfect. Fortunately, they were not flying on the same airline as I was or else I might have missed my flight home. I checked in with US Airways and watched Pirates of the Carribean 2 on my laptop as I waited to board my plane to Charlotte, NC. The plane was an hour delayed leaving Rome. I can't say that I didn't expect it, but I was still an unhappy camper. When it finally came time to board the plane, a mob formed and we all pushed and shoved through to board the plane from the tarmac. During my summer living in Rome I learned how to push, shove, and weave better than most Americans; I was through the mob and on the plane in no time at all.

The plane ride to Charlotte, NC was 10 hours. This flight home seemed shorter than the ride over there and I was grateful for that. Although we made great time to Charlotte, we arrived an hour later than scheduled due to the delay and I was most likely to miss my flight. I tried to be patient through the long line at customs, but spent most of my time in line bouncing up and down. When I made it through customs it was 5:20. Boarding began in 5 minutes and my flight left in 40. I sprinted to the baggage claim where I had to pick up my luggage and re-check it. The lady at the help desk suggested re-booking my flight due to the time, but I said "No thank you. Please put my luggage on the flight, and I will see it in Jacksonville at 7:00 p.m." I was determined to make my flight. To my unfortunate surprise, I had to endure another security checkpoint and time was growing close. It was now 5:40. 20 minutes until departure. A few understanding people let me cut them in line and made way for the anxious girl trying to make her flight. As I made it through security, I threw everything in my backpack, slung it over my shoulder, hopped into my shoes, and sprinted to my gate. Literally. I passed dozens of people on the moving sidewalks and a few shouted "You can do it!" or "Good luck!" as I passed by. I made it. With almost no time to spare, I boarded the plane and we took off within 10 minutes. I was on my way home. I was seated next to four Florida students...what a small world! The hour plane ride flew by with conversation about the University and Gainesville.

I scurried off of the plane after it landed and sped walk to the baggage claim to see my parents who would be greeting me when I arrived. As I turned the corner, I saw two signs labeled "Kristy" and "Schmidt" being held up by two young men. Around them was a group of 15-20 high school and college aged guys. I tried not to show my confusion and scanned the group for familiar faces. None. As I walked towards this herd of men, I had no clue who any of them were. When I get about 20 feet away  or so, they began to chant "Kristy! Kristy! Kristy" and divided into two lines to form a tunnel. I decided to go along with it all and ran through the tunnel of cheering boys to find my parents waiting for me at the end of it. What a greeting! I was so confused, but also so happy to see my parents. As things settled down, I learned that they had been waiting on their friend Scott who had just returned from a month in Spain. After they greeted him, they said to my parents, "We're waiting for Kristy Schmidt" and asked for the signs. My parents had no idea who this group was, but they said yes. Of course. Well it made for the most interesting, exciting, and unique greeting I will probably ever receive at an airport. We picked up my luggage at the baggage claim (all of it!) and headed to the parking garage after a farewell to my new friends. I was finally home. Almost. 3 hours later, I would arrive in Tallahassee, Florida...but Jacksonville was close enough. With Zaxby's in my belly for dinner, I was a happy camper.

Below is a music video that I created while abroad. It features Jennifer and I around Europe in famous places such as the Colosseum, the Eiffel Tower, Florence, Venice, and much more! It is to the very popular song "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Ray Jepsen. This video, to me, reflects my experience in Europe just as accurately as all of my blogs. Enjoy! Thanks so much for following me on my European Escapade! I am now back in Gainesville for another school year at the University of Florida and will resume my normal blogging routine this coming Monday. Have a wonderful Wednesday! :)

Venice (August 3rd- August 5th)

Our final trip in Europe would be a weekend excursion to Venice, Italy. Four hours by high speed train, Venice is a sinking island, and a beautiful one at that. We left on Friday after our final exam and arrived in Venice around 8:00 p.m. Our hostel was actually located on another island called Tronchetto, so all we planned on doing that night was eating and then heading to the hostel. After walking around for about 20 minutes or so, we found a place to eat. Seated at a table by the water, we ordered from a set menu that included three courses. After dinner we took the People Mover to the island of Tronchetto. Here we would catch a bus to Jolly Camping. Yes, we would once again be camping. This campsite was from the same company as our campsite in Florence. Appearance wise, it was much nicer with much nicer bathrooms and a better layout of the campground. However, the tents were placed so close together that one could hear every conversation going on in the tent next to you. Unfortunately for me, I can't go to sleep unless it's silent. Well, I have my sleep machine of course. After two hours of listening to these girls talk next door, I finally went over at 2:30 and asked them very nicely to be quiet. Around 3:30 a.m or so, I finally drifted off to sleep.

Saturday was our one full day in Venice. We started the morning off with some breakfast from the local supermarket: chocolate donuts and strawberries for me. Mmmm. We missed the shuttle to the main island so we were forced to take the public bus. No biggie; we were professionals. Following a 15 minute walk, we made it to the bus stop and headed down the island on a 25 minute bus ride. Once on the island, we just began walking. And walking. And walking. Venice is the perfect city for wandering. No big roads, just little back alleys. We stopped in almost each and every little shop, trying on the famous Venetian masks and looking at the beautiful Murano glass. Shelley, Jennifer, and I each bought souvenirs for family and friends. Through wandering in the back roads, we finally made it San Marco Square: the most famous square in Venice. We toured the basilica and walked up to the edge of the water. The water was absolutely breathtaking, with the gondolas perfectly placed along the shore and docks. San Marco's Square was overtaken by pigeons. Hundreds and hundreds of pigeons flew overhead and walked along the ground. I had to be careful not to step on one and kill it. Many children had purchased bird seed and would hold out their hands as pigeons swarmed over and landed on their shoulders, arms, and heads. It was quite the sight to see. Close to 4 p.m. we took a gondola ride through the back canals of Venice. Though it was rather expensive, it was the one "thing to do" in Venice, and it was worth the money. Our gondola man was friendly and pointed out little fun facts for us throughout the 35 minute ride. The rest of our evening was spent exploring more shops before catching the 9:30 p.m. bus back to the campsite.

Sunday was a half day. Shelley would catch a train home at 2:30 p.m to meet up with her aunt in Rome and Jennifer and I would catch the 5:00 train back to Rome.  We had one mission today: buy masks. Venice is famous for its beautiful masks and we each wanted one. After trying on dozens and dozens of masks and once I had about 10 pounds of glitter on my face, I finally found my perfect mask. And it was lovely. Jennifer found hers at the same place as mine, but Shelley still had not found "the one". Well, when Shelley finally found her perfect mask, she actually found three. Venice is Shelley's favorite place in the entire world, so three masks was a must. I'll admit, they were all beautiful. We had completed our mission and with an hour or so to spare. We searched for a place to eat lunch and found a smal bar/cafe. The Olympic Games were on so we spent a while watching the women's marathon before heading to the train station. One last gelato stop and we headed to the train station. Jennifer and I chose to wait in the train station; it was much too hot to be walking around and we had already accomplished all of our goals. The train ride home was rather long, but for a long stretch of it all I could see out the windows were fields of sunflowers. I was a happy camper. Jennifer and I arrived back in Rome at 9:00 p.m. Tomorrow would be my last day in Rome before heading home to America on August 7th. Gosh, time truly does fly when you're having fun.

Walking Around Rome, Tivoli, and Gypsy Camps (July 24th-July 29th)

This was my second to last week here in Rome, Italy. Our UF final exams are July 31st and August 3rd. After those, I will take one final excursion to Venice before returning home to the States. This week was occupied with my Survey of Art and Architecture Class, and I can actually say that it was a pretty interesting week. I will apologize in advance for the lengthiness of this post.

Gianicolo Hill 

On Wednesday, we walked around the neighborhood of Trastevere in Rome. Our first stop was Villa Farnese, a beautiful villa that was home to Cardinal Farnese, who later became Pope Paul III. The villa was extravagantly decorated, maybe a little too much for my taste. Still, it was beautiful nonetheless. We then made our way up to Gianicolo Hill. On our way up, we stopped at the place where St. Peter was actually crucified, although his body lies in St. Peter's Basilica. This basilica was very small and our professor said, "It's similar to Honey I Shrunk the Kids, but it's Honey I Shrunk the Temple." That definitely gave us all quite the laugh. We sat around the temple for a few minutes, eating peaches that he had brought for us. These peaches were flat and incredibly sweet. If I remember correctly they are called white peaches. After our refreshing snack we continued our trek up the hill. As noon approached, our professor hurried us along to the site where the cannon blows every day at noon. We made it just in time. Literally as we stopped in front of the canon, it went off. It was a pretty awesome experience; one more thing to check off of my To-Do list. We began to make our way back down the hill and our professor stopped us at the edge of the mountain. He pointed out the jail and explained how communication back in the day was done through shouting names. Even if your loved one didn't hear you, word would travel through the jail that someone stopped by to say hello. I suppose. Well, our professor had us scream "Bruno!", apparently one of his friends. Unfortunately, and rather anti-climatically, there was no response from Bruno. "No matter.", said our professor. "We will be seeing his family on Friday when we travel to the gypsy camp." We all exchanged looks of terror and confusion, but also laughed. More adventures with Professor Ferro.

The Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and Capuchin Crypt 

After class, Kaleb and I caught a bus towards the Pantheon. We had a few things left to accomplish here in Rome, and time was running out. The Pantheon is probably the second or third biggest tourist attraction in Rome, and for good reason. It is truly a remarkable building and is my second favorite place in Rome after the Colosseum. The architecture was mind blowing as well as the sheer size of the building. The Trevi Fountain ranks pretty high on the tourist attraction list as well, and it was conveniently just ten minutes away from the Pantheon. Unfortunately the left side of the Trevi was under construction (typical), but it was still beautiful. And packed with people. Kaleb and I squeezed through the crowds and finally put our 1 euro cent coins to good use. Make a wish and make it count! It was impossible to find a place to just sit and relax for a while, so we decided that we would have to come back at night with the rest of the group. After another ten minute walk, we arrived at the Capuchin crypt. This crypt is "home" to hundreds and hundreds of Capuchin monks. Boy was it creepy. The crypt walls are "decorated" with thousands of bones. Some monks were still in their robes, propped up, appearing to be looking at us. The "Crypt of Skulls", "Crypt of Pelvises", and "Crypt of Femurs" were exactly as they sound. Rooms just filled of bones. Although it was a very cool experience, it was nice to be outside and back in the fresh air when we were finished. There is something a tad weird about being in a room with a few hundred dead people and being able to see their bones.

Tivoli 

Thursday, Domenico accompanied us to the town of Tivoli. Just over an hour outside of Rome, Tivoli is another ancient town. The layout reminded me very much of Sorrento, but without the coast nearby. Our main attraction was the Villa d' Este. Now, this was my kind of villa. The inside of the villa was...well, exactly like every other villa that we have seen. But the outside; it was beautiful. The "backyard" of this Villa was overrun with magnifient fountains (including the 100 fountains featured in the Lizzie McGuire movie), pools, and just gorgeous trees. I was in heaven. We found tons of little baby frogs and I picked them up, of course. I did have a small mishap with one as I tried to place it on my nose and it fell off. I thought I had killed it, but it survived, thank goodness. We spent a couple of hours just frolicking in the garden and taking pictures. Domenico suggested a sandwich shop for lunch and Shelley, Kaleb, Jennifer, and me took him up on his suggestion. Tivoli is famous for its pork, so that's the kind of sandwiches that we got. Oh my gosh. Fresh sliced pork and fresh sliced peppercorn cheese. It was probably the best sandwich I have ever eaten in my entire life. No joke. Finish the meal off with a lemon slushie and I was in heaven. At 3 o'clock we made our way out of the town and back to the train station to catch the train home.

Now, this is where things got interesting. God bless Domenico, for without him, we would have had no idea what was going on. Apparently there was a fire somewhere between Tivoli and Rome and all trains were temporarily suspended. We were told to wait on the train in the AC until it was cleared for departure. Well, two hours later we were still waiting. Everyone was sleeping except for Shelley and me. We don't have the gift of being able to sleep anywhere and at any time. So, we just sat and talked about our future school and career plans. As 5:45 rolled around, I was beginning to accept that I would have to move to Tivoli and never return to America. Thank goodness that was not the case. At 6:00 p.m. a bus came to pick us (and 50 other people) up and take us back to Rome. We boarded the bus for an hour and a half ride home on velvet seats with no air conditioning and static playing over the radio. Shelley, Jennifer, and me attempted to stay positive and played the "Share your dream life with me" game, but after thirty minutes or so we were all clearly ready to be back in Rome. When the bus finally arrived in Rome, we boarded the metro and arrived back to St. John's 30 minutes later. Turns out that we didn't make it back to Rome until 8:00 p.m, 4 hours later than originally planned. That made for a 11 hour day of class, yuck. If not for this transportation issue coming home, the day would have been perfect. Villa d' Este was truly magnificent.

Gypsy Camp

Today was the day that we would brave a gypsy camp with our professor. Going into this visit, we were all quite skeptical, and for good reason I believe. It's not everyday that you go and visit gypsies in their homes. I stored my money in my bra and was ready to go. Turns out, that was an unnecessary precaution. The family that we met was extremely nice and welcoming, despite the humongous language barrier. I could tell how much they appreciated our professor and the food he brings for their family. Contrary to the stereotypical images of gypsies, they were not dressed provocatively and in colorful garments. They were dressed rather normally, I thought. After formal introductions, Professor Ferro suggested that we went inside and drew with all of the children. Even though we couldn't communicate through talking, drawing is universal. I was pleasantly surprised and had a wonderful time with the children. We stayed for an hour or so and then headed back to Rome before we overstayed our welcome.

Olympic Opening Ceremony

On Friday, as you know, the Olympics began. USA! USA! Lucky us, we had the opportunity to watch the ceremony live. Study abroad advantages. So, at 10 p.m we watched the Queen, David Beckham, Mr. Bean, and JK Rowling in what was a fantastic opening ceremony...in my opinion. The whole pub at Scholar's was watching and cheering as their favorite people came on TV. It took a little persuasion for the bar to put the sound on. Apparently Italy doesn't really care about the Olympics, just soccer. Lame. After chanting "Sound! Sound!" for a few minutes, the manager obliged and we all watched the ceremony as happy campers. Jennifer, Shelley, and me left before the US walked out (it was 12 am), but as we arrived as St. John's we saw the ceremony playing in the common room and the United States walked out within 5 minutes of us sitting down. Talk about perfect timing! Let the Olympic games begin and may the odds be ever in your favor.

Climbing St. Peter's 

Saturday morning Shelley, Jennifer, and me climbed St. Peter's Basilica. Talk about an early morning workout. We made it to the Vatican shortly after 9:00 a.m and began our climb up the dome. 551 steps up, 551 steps down. 90% of these steps are spiral staircases. The first 200 steps or so weren't really steps...more of like a spiral ramp with small steps every feet or so. We didn't feel anything until about 300-400 steps in. The spirals began to get narrower and steeper. We never really knew how close we were to the top of the dome, but somewhere along the line we all got disoriented and had to take a couple minute break. Good thing none of us are claustrophobic...or at least not really. We knew that we were nearing the top of the top when the walls began to slant inward. We had to lean to the right in order to climb the steps. The final fifteen steps were the worst of all. Steep spiral staircase that was just narrow enough for one person to fit in, at an angle.


After we made it to the top, we were all sweaty, exhausted, and rather confused. That was probably the weirdest experience I have ever had climbing to the top of a building. I can say that I am glad that I did it though, the view from the top of the basilica was breathtaking. It was a long way down, but that meant that we could see for miles and miles. The dome allowed us to get a full 360 degree view of Rome and we all pointed out the famous landmarks that we have been too many a times. After a solid twenty minute rest at the top of the dome, we made our descent back down the dome. It was much easier going down, but it still felt never-ending. 1102 steps later, we had climbed St. Peter's Basilica, and in just over an hour. Power climbers!

Palace of the Medici and Returning to Rome (July 23rd)

For our final day in Florence, we would visit the Palace of the Medici and Santa Croce Cathedral. Kaleb opted out of these activities and waited in the train station; it was just us four. We got a rather late start to the day, checking out of the hostel around 11:30 a.m. It was our final bus ride down the mountain and back to "home base", the train station bus stop. From here, everything in Florence was no more than a 15 minutes walk. We headed off towards the Palace of the Medici and waited in a short line before purchasing tickets. The Medici was the richest family in Italy, and rather ostentatious if I do say so myself. The palace was beautiful, but Versailles is still my favorite palace that we have visited to date. We toured the palace for an hour or so before making our way out into the dreary skies; rain was coming.

The final church that we would be visiting is called Santa Croce. This is the cathedral in which Michelangelo, Galileo, and Donatello are buried. Unfortunately, and not to our surprise, the cathedral was under construction. The altar was covered in scaffolding which was disappointing; however, the graves were fully visible. The church connects to a secret leather market where we got to see the work stations of leather makers and more high quality leather. No more prizes, though.

For a rather late lunch, we had pasta in a small restaurant. I had the pasta carbonara and it was delicious, and for a rather good price. For dessert, on our way to the train station, I stopped and splurged on a Nutella covered waffle. Good decision. My goodness that was good. Around 4:00 p.m we met Kaleb in the train station and waited patiently for our train to come. Just eight minutes before departure, we saw the "bin" number flash on the board and made our way to our high speed train home.

More Markets and Florentine Steak (July 22nd)

We spent most of today walking around the city of Florence. We started under the arch where the original Roman forum in Florence was. It was in the center of one of the many piazzas. As we walked under the arch and down the road, we spotted another leather market and decided to peruse. Many of the purses were the same as we had seen on Friday, but it was still fun looking. We managed to come across a statue of a boar that had a golden snout to rub for good luck. So we did so, obviously...who doesn't want good luck? As we were walking up a shopping street we were given a flyer for a pizza place. I quickly dismissed it, but Jennifer noticed the words "Jersey Shore" on it. Could it be? Was this really the place that Jersey Shore worked while in Florence? For those of you that have absolutely no idea what Jersey Shore is, let me fill you in. It's an extremely dumb reality show about kids who like to party and do stupid things; however, it's addicting. Kaleb is obsessed with Jersey Shore, so that was all we needed to convince ourselves it was okay to eat there. It was still rather early for lunch, so it was just us in the restaurant. I'll admit, it was pretty cool. I am not obsessed with Jersey Shore, but I do watch it on a regular basis; it's always very cool sitting where celebrities sat and pretending that you're famous. The pizza was actually amazing! It was rolled, tossed, and prepared right in front of us. I ordered some spicy salami and mozzarella pizza and I was impressed. It was way too big for me to finish it, though. Before leaving the restaurant, we managed to sneak some pictures, as always.

As we continued our walk through the town, we made our way to the bridges. The first bridge we stopped on overlooked the river (obviously), and we stayed for a while. I kicked my shoes off and laid down on the bridge, relaxing and soaking up the sun. Shelley had booked another reservation for he Ufizi museum, but the other three of us had not. So, while Shelley went off and toured the museum, we sat in a piazza and watched a miming performance. It was perfect timing really. It's hard to really describe what he did...considering he's a mime. Nonetheless, it was very entertaining and kept Kaleb, Jennifer, and me occupied until Shelley returned from the Ufizi gallery. When Shelley rejoined us, we walked over to another bridge that had markets all along and inside the bridge. It was packed with tourists and the shops were way out of our college budgets, but it's always fun walking around. Intro to Walking Around... A+.

For dinner, we headed back to the Duomo to a restaurant that we had spotted on Friday. It had a great deal for a Florentine steak and fries. I was beyond excited. I love me some steak. Although I tend to prefer filet, any cut of beef would satisfy me tonight. The steak was a gigantic T-bone and accompanied with a good amount of fries. I ate quickly, and then slowly, trying my best to savor this meal. I knew that the next time I would have steak would be in America. While eating, something happened. As always. I'm sitting there, just minding my own business, and I feel something on my foot. I look down and a pigeon is crawling on my foot! After saying some mean words to the pigeon, it walked off my foot and continued meandering along and finally out of the restaurant. Not a dull moment when traveling in Europe...I love it.

The Academia (July 21st)

Despite the blaring of music until four in the morning, I got a pretty decent sleep. Around 8:15 or so, I trekked across the campgrounds in my PJs to take a shower. The bathroom was filled with girls showering and attempting to primp in front of sinks and tiny mirrors. The showers were interesting to say the least. There was a wall of six or seven showers, with short doors. When you closed the three foot door, your head and shoulders peered over the top and your knees and legs below. I threw my towel over top of the door to shield everyone from me awkwardly staring at them while I showered. Showered and ready, we left the campgrounds on Bus 13 down the mountain. Our first stop this morning was the Leonardo da Vinci interactive museum. Apparently there are two, so we just picked one. This museum was filled with replicas of Leonardo da Vinci's early work that pioneered the way for future automobiles and weapons. As we walked through the museum, we were invited to turn knobs, wheels, and all sorts of things that made the pieces of art move. You're never too old for interactive museums. Never. Unfortunately, the museum was smaller than we had anticipated and when we were finished we still had over two hours to kill before our 1:30 p.m. appointment at the Academia. After grabbing a bite to eat we strolled the streets, poking our heads in souvenir shops along the way.

1:15 p.m. We made our way to the entrance of the Academia museum. With our reservations, we avoided the line and were let in right at our appointment time. The Academia houses Michelangelo's famous David. We started out in another room looking at oil on canvas paintings and other sculptures, but the anticipation was killing us. We walked into the next room and as we turned the corner, we saw it. At the end of the hallway stood David. It was by far the most magnificent sculpture I have ever seen in my life. He was huge in person. I've always heard how large the statue is, but seeing it in person was nothing like I had expected. We spent a solid twenty minutes around the David, just marveling at him. Although pictures were strictly forbidden, I managed to sneak in a few...after being scolded by the security lady. Oh well. We strolled around the museum and while it was all very impressive, nothing compared to the statue of David. One room had a floor covered in shards of mirrors which was fun to play around in, but even then I found myself wandering back to the room with David. We eventually said our goodbyes and made our way out of the museum and back onto the streets of Florence.

As we made our way back up the mountain, we ended up riding the wrong bus up and down the mountain twice. We were on the bus for 94 minutes before we finally got off at our stop. By this point, we were all rather frustrated and decided to postpone the Cathedral we had planned for today to another day. We had dinner at a food truck on the top of the mountain by Piazzale Michelangelo. I ordered a Motard sandwich which probably sounds unappetizing, but it was amazing. A toasted panini was layered with fresh beef, sausage, pork, bacon, and this secret sauce concoction. I couldn't finish the whole sandwich, unfortunately. For 4 euros, that was definitely in my top five meals of this entire trip. As the sun set, we crossed the street to Piazzale Michelangelo where a copper replica of David stood. The Piazza overlooked the entire city of Florence, quite the sight to see at night. Shelley took some great pictures of the city with heat lightening lighting up the night sky. We once again had the privilege of falling asleep to club music. I guess this counts as the substitute for my sleep machine?