Florence, Food, Friends, and the Flu: A Week In The Life of a Student Tourist

Hello friends! My sixteenth week abroad (of my eighteen week program) is now over. With two weeks left, my classes are starting to heat up with preparations for finals and my body is shutting down. Well not really, but let me start from the beginning of my week.

Easter Monday is a national holiday in Italy so I didn’t have class… and to enjoy our holiday, the family and I took an early train to Florence for a quick day trip. Turns out everyone goes on holiday to Florence because the city was packed! We went to the Galleria dell'Accademia to see Michelangelo's famous statue of David. We walked through the Ponte Vecchio, a 14th century bridge filled with fancy shops… and when I say “fancy” I mean jewelry and Italian leather… all the expensive things I cannot afford. We strolled down the busy side streets of the city and we enjoyed some amazing pizza and wine for dinner. To end our outing, we had a three hour train delay… and, thanks to Dad (the real MVP of the trip), we were able to switch our train tickets and take one of the last ones out of Florence back to Rome. Even though it was stressful and frustrating in the moment, I think our crazy train experience will be a fond memory that we will laugh about soon.

On Tuesday, after I had class and the family toured St. Peter’s Basilica, we an amazing dinner by the Vatican. We also stumbled upon the gelato shop that makes gelato for Pope Francis… and needless to say, it was amazing! On Wednesday, I attended the papal audience in St. Peter’s Square for class, which consisted of a popemobile ride around the square along with readings and blessings given in several languages. For one last lunch together, we chose a restaurant right outside the Vatican walls and I had my favorite pasta dish yet. And we finished our day with some goodbyes before my family left for home.

Thursday was another national holiday, Liberation Day. So to enjoy another day off, I meet up with my old friend, Katianne, that I have known for years! She is also studying in Rome for the semester and she came over to our apartment. We made lunch and caught up over some wine and gelato. It was a great way to spend our day off!

Now back to the whole “my body is shutting down” part of the week. With last week being full of site-seeing with my family, this week I was pretty worn out. So worn out actually that I have been sick since Wednesday. I definitely needed some good rest and that is exactly what I got. A weekend in bed is totally what I needed and now I am ready to take on my last two weeks in Rome! While I am excited to come home, I am also excited to enjoy my last twelve days in this beautiful city.

Thanks for tuning into "A Week in the Life" with your resident student tourist!

Until next week,

Olivia

Pictures: our day in Florence, Statue of David, The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (i.e. Duomo), another gelato picture, The Ponte Vecchio, sleep deprived train shenanigans, Wednesday's papal audience, the best pasta I've had so far (featuring salmon and tomato cream sauce), our last group picture together, and me and Katianne.