Today I woke up with many mixed
emotions. I’m looking forward to seeing my friends, family, and dog, but I am
not ready to say goodbye to the amazing friends we met along the way. Ten days
is not nearly enough time to get to know everyone at the institute as much as
you would like and it sure makes it difficult to say goodbye. We leave from
Florence tomorrow, so we needed to pack our bags and say our goodbyes to Casa
Cares this morning. I posted two pictures below. The one on the left is from 20
days ago when we first arrived in Venice. The one on the right was this morning
standing in front of Casa Cares. It’s amazing to think how much has changed in
just 20 days. I can promise you all that we are leaving Italy with more than a few new hats and souvenirs. I am leaving with more confidence in myself and my ability to travel and adapt to new situations.
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| Venice- May 12 |
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| Casa Cares- May 31 |
After we said farewell to Casa Cares, we boarded the bus for the final time to head to Pisa and Lucca. When we arrived in Pisa, Dr. Paul took us to see Italy's largest Baptistry. Every half hour, a woman sings at a normal volume at the bottom of the dome. This truly illustrated how powerful this structure is, as her voice was amplified throughout the entire Baptistry. I posted a video below so you can hear just how amazing this was.
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| The Baptistry |
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| Inside The Baptistry |
After we explored The Bapistry, we decided it was time to take the typical touristy pictures in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. We did not have an opportunity to climb to the top of the tower, but we did learn that only 15 people are allowed to climb to the top at one time. The tower was built in 1360, it stands 183 ft (7 floors) tall, and was designed by architect Bonanno Pisano. It's the smallest "tower" to achieve worldwide recognition!
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| Katie and Cara in front of the Tower |
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| Mike, Cara, Anne-Claire, Katie, and Sydney |
When we arrived in Lucca, the GSU crew got lunch together at a restaurant off the beaten path. It was great to sit down and debrief after an incredible three weeks. As counselors do, we talked about the group dynamics and what each of us would be bringing back with us to the States.
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| Dr. Michel, GiGi, Katie, & Cara in Lucca |
After a delicious lunch, we got Gelato (again) and met up with our
friends from University of Florida to rent bikes for an hour to ride
along the walls of Lucca. While some of started singing songs from the
Sound of Music, others took in the views and enjoyed our last hours with
our new friends in Italy.
When it was time to get back on the bus to head back to Casa Cares, the GSU group started saying their goodbyes. The bus driver was kind enough to drive us to the train station. When the bus stopped, signalling it was time for us to get up and get off the bus, everyone on the bus started clapping. I couldn't have imagined a better way to say goodbye to our new friends. Matt and Emilie, who attended last year, and Ashley from UAB, got off the bus to hug each of us and wish us well. Plans were made to visit each other soon and the bus drove off. It was a lot harder than I imagined watching the bus drive away.
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Cara riding a bike in Lucca
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| Mike, Sydney, and Katie riding bikes along the walls of Lucca |
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