HOME.

As I write this post, I am sitting at my desk in my bedroom in North Attleboro, MA. It has finally ended and all I can say is that was the most amazing experience I've had in my life. Those past 4 months flew by and were full of beauty and adventure and I loved every second. I definitely fell in love with Florence, and I plan on going back as soon as I can. Even though this has come to an end, I realized reflecting on my trip on my car ride home from the airport that it really was more amazing than I even realized when I was there. I recommend studying abroad to everyone. It's a chance to not only discover the world, but discover a lot about yourself as well. I look forward to being back at St.Mikes and it's nice to be back with the family and friends for the holidays. I hope everyone has a wonderful break and see you in January (: For those of you going abroad in the spring, love every second and have an amazing time!

Christmas is everywhere in Florence! There are lights on every street, and there are decorated trees in all the main areas. Its so much fun because a Christmas market has come to town. Most of it has German products, and all the food they have are sausages and pretzels, and candy as well. Its really neat because you feel like you're in Germany, but you can enjoy the Christmas spirit they have there right downtown. Below is a picture of one of the booths at the fair. It was selling interesting Christmas trees, and Christmas dolls.

This is a picture of another one of the boots at the fair, it was metal crafted into little men that hold wine bottles, they were so much fun to look at and a great gift idea as well!

This picture is what the streets look like at night, with the lit up tree that has numerous Florence ornaments, and lights lining the streets in different patterns on each one. Its a magical place to be at night.

Yesterday, my friend and I did some exploring and wound up at a church called Santa Croce, and it was beautiful with stainless glass decorations and everything purple and gold, just like St.Mikes! One neat part about this church is that it holds the graves of countless people from the past. this one below is the tomb of Michelangelo. This was interesting to see and his tomb was their along with Galileo just to name a few.   

The last week has finally arrived, and the thought of leaving Italy is so hard to grasp. In a way I feel as though I am not ready to leave the beauty and magic of Florence. I am excited however, to see my family, enjoy the holidays and be back at St.mikes. Hope everything is well and I'll update you with my last week stories, hopefully I'll have a lot even though there are finals!