Where has the time gone

Ok, sorry for taking so long to get back to blogging. It hasn't been easy getting to a computer. Plus I have been running around a lot this week. I don't have a lot of time so I will try and give a very brief run down as to what trouble I have been getting into.

Monday was just a low key day wondering the steeets of Salzburg. There was a traditional desert in town that I was looking forward to trying. I herd that it was huge and delicious. But the only place that I could find it at was at an upscale kind of restraunt. I felt a little out of place going into that sort of place and eating by myself so I oppted for a cheap dinner instead. Now I have an excuse to go back though.

Tueday was a long travel day down to Florence. It was a sunny day though and that made the ride very enjoyable. And it was nice getting into Italy in with all of the vineyards. After so much time in Eastern Europe it was nice seeing a little green. I was met at the station by some friends from college who are studying abroad in Florence. So instead of blindly running around the streets of Florence I had my own guide to take me to my hostel. The other nice thing about visiting friends with an apartment is that I home cooked dinners every night in Florence. Nice thing to have after 3 weeks of kababs. Plus the food was really good. I also got to wash some of my cloths as well so now I don't smell quite as bad as before.

Wednesday and thursday was spent roaming the streets of Florence. I got to go up inside the dome of the Il Dumo cathedral. It gave a very impressive view of the city. A little expensive but I think a must do if you can afford it. I also walked to a nearby little town called Fisole. I was glad I did it because it gave me a break from the downtown that I have been living in so far. I was disappointed I couldn't get in the monestary in the little town but the walk was so nice I didn't care too much. On the way back I met a little Itallian women who tried to talk make little conversation with me. But I could only smile and nod. Oh well, next I come to Italy I am going to need to learn some italian.

Friday I went to Rome with Eric (met up with him on wednesday) and my friends from college, Jenny and Lauryn. We got into Rome and dropped our stuff at the hostel and headed off to the vatican as Eric had scored us some tickets to see the some of the tombs under the Vatican. When we were in line getting into the Vatican we noticed we had about 20 min to pick up our tickets. We ended up running accross the Vatican and just barely getting our tickets. Will go into details about the tour later. But it was really good if you want to know.

Saturday we went to the Lateran Basilica. (5 min left on computer, going to summerize rest sort of quickly). Then to ruins, then to vatican museum that we were a little late to so we coundn't get into.

Sunday we went to mass inside St. Peter's. I guess thats the good thing about going in the off season is you can go into places that usually would be really hard to go and see. Afterwards we went outside to catch the pope's blessing he does every Sunday and noon. Even though he was far away and just looking out his window, it was cool to know that I could actually see the pope. After a d little prayer he then said some things to the crowd in different languages. I am now getting ready to go off to Assisi. About out of time, so until next time.