This week we finished intensive Italian (having Italian for five hours a day) and had our final test on Friday. Friday night we went to a beer festival at Santa Croce. Beer tents were everywhere and it was pouring. Everyone was huddled underneath the tents and under umbrellas. I choose one that was coffee flavored very subtle and smooth and another lemon flavored beer both were subtle and soft opposed to the other drinks my friends had that were bitter with lots of hops.

After we went to the Red Garter but I was tired and new that I had to wake up at 9 am the next day to meet Rachel at the bus station and make our way to Genova. We bought a ticket at Santa Maria Novella train station and made our way to Pisa where we would have to transfer to get to Genova. From Firenze to Pisa it’s about two hours. From Pisa to Genova it’s another two hours. After a long ride we finally got to Genova. I was able to figure out how to buy bus tickets. We bought them from this little shop and then found the bus that took us to a little alcove. We had lunch by the sea. Then we spent five hours in the aquarium. It was huge and packed with families. I loved it so much.

The little children were full of life and excitement. They kept shouting the Italian names of all the fish and were marveled by the beauty. I missed my little sisters profusely but the little kids reminded me of them and gave me a sense of peace and tranquility. My favorite part that I was looking forward to was the jelly fish they were mesmerizing. Then we went to sit on the dock and take in the view. Sitting on the dock was “delicious” we were surrounded by buildings cascading up and down the hill, a huge sky filled with a deepening blue that met the water. We made it back just in time for our bus and I arrived back at “the casa” when everyone was meeting up to go out to the pub. I went out to give Zoe a happy birthday hoo-rah and saw the end of the Rome vs. InterMilan game. Rome scored in the last few seconds it was a big upset and really fun to watch.

Sunday we went to Via Reggio

Sublime. It rained when we had pizza for lunch. The mixture of warm food and the smell of rain filled our senses. Then when we were at the sea Zoe said, “It felt like when you are about to enter a warm bath tub full of water”. Surprisingly the water was warm and the wind gusts created gigantic crashing waves. The gusts of howling wind created huge waves of crashing water that felt so loud and large. I was wet with salty water between my toes and the pressure pulled the sand from underneath my feet. Everything was sublime and serene.

We road the train back to Santa Maria Novella Station. Then I finished up some homework and prepared myself for the week ahead.