In my mind, I see the colours of green in nature as being different in different parts of the world. The greens Japan are thick and intense, as if God were trying to pack as much pigment as he could into as tiny a space as possible. The greens in Canada seem to be a bit more diluted under such an open, blue sky- the colours seem to dissipate in all the immense space. And the greens in Tuscany are yellow. Someone told me before I left that it would look like this, like it always does in the movies, but I was still surprised looking out the window of our train as we chugged into Florence yesterday. Everything seemed to be bathed in a yellow light. It looked exactly as I had always imagined. The landscape here is unbeleivable- what with the cypress and olive trees, and the sunflowers growing in feilds! Its so beautiful it breaks my heart. And I just can't get over how the world looks like you were looking at it through yellow-coloured glasses.

Today was the only day we actually got to spend in Florence. It was amazing. We split up and went our own ways in the morning, and met up in the afternoon to walk the old bridge that spans the river and take a stroll to visit our new idol: Michelangelo's David. If I ever find a guy with his body, all he has to do is say the word and I'm his! Hehe... just kidding of course, I'm not nearly that shallow. Though it would be nice. It wasn't the original of course, which is in a museum, we just made sure to see both of the two copies that exist in Florence. I of course spent the morning in the churches- the amazing Duomo, and Santa Maria Novella. I don't know what it is with my fascination with churches, but I love them. I love going inside and feeling the peace and wondering at all the people who have walked in through the ages to worship or admire. And their reasons for coming. There is this dark beauty to them that is hard not to be in awe of.

Like I said, we crossed the old bridge, Ponte Vecchio, which is lined entirely with jewelry stores on either side. Dani renamed it the "Golden Bridge". It was a great place to window shop- but I feel so poor that I think they would spot me kick me out as an imposer if I tried to go inside any of them. All I can do is gaze through the windows and dream... But by this time we were so hot and tired we decided to head back. I wanted to go into the Uffizi, but the line was ridiculously long (the guidebook says its not uncommon for the line-up to be a few hours long, before the gallery even opens), and like I said it was hot. So I got a strawberry gelato and enjoyed the street performers instead. Thats still art, right?
We are staying in a campground. We have these huge tents with bunkbeds in them, get eaten by mosquitoes every night, and have fun rigging our cheap flashlights with tape and rubber bands so that they will actually stay on without us having to hold the button down. Haha, we prepared for a lot of things, but didn't think that we would ever be someplace where a flashlight would be necessary!

The best thing about our campsite is that it is right beside the Piazza Michelangelo, very literally a two minute walk, from which you can see one of the best view of Florence. A bronze copy of David is in the middle of the piazza (hehe, I told you I loved him... so much that we sleep next to each other), and at night various street performers and local artists will come out, along with guys who sell knock- off Prada purses. Its beautiful at night. The city seems to transform into something from out of a dream, and being surrounded by the music and noise of locals and tourist alike feels surreal as you look out at the Duomo illuminated in the distance and see the lights of the buildings lining the Arno reflected in its waters.

I wish we had more time to spend in Florence. One day just wasn't enough. And I wish we had been able to see more of Tuscany too. Sigh... I suppose I'll just have to come back!!


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So the above blog on Florence took me 3 tries to finally write and finish. I don't know why I can't seem to finish these anymore. We are in Rome right now, the last of our stops before heading to Croatia for the next 3 or so weeks. Croatia and free internet, which means I can post pics. Being in Croatia also means not lugging our bags around until we are ready to go home, staying in one place night after night, and being able to eat real meals!!! A much needed break! Anywho, the point I was getting around to making is that I'm taking a break from this blog. I've asked Danijela to post something on here about Rome. It might be nice to hear someone else's persepective anyways, and as soon as I have something to say about Croatia I'll be back. It probably won't be long.

I do want to say that I'm afraid I might be morbid. And this is all I'll be saying about Rome on here: Today we went to the Capuchin Monastery, which has chapels containing the remains of thousands of dead monks. Bones decoratively line the walls and ceiling, even making up a type of chandelier. And the whole remains of some obviously more revered monks are laying or propped up standing in the middle of the chapels, wearing their hooded robes like the grim reaper, arms folded in front of themselves holding a cross. The atmosphere is very somber, we felt compelled to whisper as we stood looking at the remains in a mixture of some kind of disgust and awe. In the very last chapel/crypt, there were about 5, is a plaque which reads, "You are as we once were, and as we are you will be." On the ceiling of this one is an intact skeleton holding a scythe in one hand and an old counter-weight balance in the other. Haha- what a great way to get the message across that we are all going to die, and then our lives will turn into an eternity that reflects our time on earth. It made me wonder about these Christian monks though- were they just that fascintated with death and the afterlife, or were they trying to scare you into living a good life? Or maybe a bit of both? I'll be looking them up when I get home. I'm curious.

And if this is the coolest thing I see in Rome does that make me morbid?? Or my experience in Rome lacking something? I did sneak one illegal picture- and it is undeniably cool.