~ Me and Mary Shannon on the ski lift to take us to the top of the mountain~

~All of our friends that came to celebrate with us~

~ Me and Mary Shannon celebrating my 21st birthday~

~ Us getting a picture with the people that really dress up for Carnivale~

~All of our roomates hanging out in Venice~

~We are getting ready to go night sledding in the Alps~

~ We got our face painted in Venice in celebration of Carnivale~

Let's Try This Again :)

Kelsi: Okay so I originally had written out a long novel on everything that has happened and unfortunately it was erased but that's ok I'm over it and I'm ready to try again! :) ok so My birthday was amazing my roomates made me feel so special! I was having a great birthday week yes "week" that is what we do in my family we get a week for our birthday and dad usually gets a birthday month! That's my dad for ya! Neways so I went and bought my brother a birthday present and was taking it to the post office to mail it when I walked in to a nightmare. No one could speak any english which is crazy to me because I mean it is an international post office. Neways I went to buy a box which took me 15 minutes to even put it together because the directions were in italian and this was not a typical box I promise! So after I put it together I walked back in and let me just say this place is huge and there were so many different lines to choose from and of course I couldn't read what anything was saying so I found this woman who spoke very few english but what I got out of her was to get a number, take a seat, and when my number appears walk up to the line. Ok so I took a seat and waited for an hour or so and then I saw my number well as I was walking up there this old man who I thought was going to be so nice to me just started yelling! Well I'm looking at him in confusion and am asking him if he spoke english and then he continued to yell and poked his head around the corner and yelled at everyone in the building for someone to speak english. Of course now everyone is looking at me and no one is responding so I just stand there. Well then he starts waving his arms in my face and I just start to tear up when someone told me I didn't have the right number... well I guess that's what they said, they just kept pointing at my number and so I just turned around and walked off and had a break down! I guess you could say I had my first bad experience or break down where I just started crying and griping! haha well after a few phone calls to mom and dad I was calmed down and decided I would go back tomorrow and try again. Me and Mary Shannon went to this other place the next day and they were so nice to me and spoke very good english so everything went well and my brother did get his present:) Well then came my birthday and when I woke up Mary Shannon had me a card and some flowers by my bed. The 2 yellow roses were beautiful and the card with bugs bunny was cute too! haha I walked into the kitchen and it was decorated with a bouquet of yellow roses that were gorgeous! Mary Shannon told me that I needed to go downstairs to get something so I walked downstairs and when I opened the door there was a man standing there with a huge bouquet of peace lillies!! It was from my family so of course I got all emotional because well that's me I'm kind of an emotional person! haha So the day was going amazingly and that night we went out to eat to a restaurant which I wasn't able to know about. All my roomates asked me was what kind of food I wanted to eat and of course I said STEAK!! That night we went to this beautiful restaurant that looked over the Ponte Vecchio. When we arrived we met up with some of our close friends and sat down to enjoy a tasty dinner. We all ordered a huge piece of meat of course I ordered the big Florentine steak which was absolutely amazing! Well later to find out my dad treated us all to the meal so I was very excited about that!! He has such a big heart and he always takes good care of me!! Oh I almost forgot the night before this which was midnight me and Mary Shannon walked to the Ponte Vecchio and I cut my fake i.d. (which I never used :) ) hehe and threw it into the arno. We sat on the bridge and just talked for a little bit and then I decided I wanted to go get a beer so we walked to a club might I add no showers, no makeup, hair in a ponytail and both wearing t-shirts and loving life!! We had a few drinks and then went back. There is no one better to spend my birthday with then Mary Shannon. We had so much fun. Ok so now fast forward to my birthday night, after dinner we went to the club Yab and had a blast the rest of the night. Well we were now getting ready for Venice for Carnivale! Once we got to Venice it was the most beautiful place I have ever seen! Everything is on water from the postman, to the ambulances, policeman and everything else in between. It was amazing. There were no cars and the roads were so small. Everyone was dressed from head to toe in costumes from older couples to 3 year old kids. There were also a ton of americans just running around in masks dancing and laughing and just enjoying life. Me and Mary Shannon bought some really cool masks that we wore and we also got our faces painted which was fun. The people there weren't very happy to see tourists this particular weekend I guess because it was so busy but wow they were mean to us. It's not like you can say anything back to them because well there is a huge language barrier between us! haha I will say this trip has definately made us hard women who have to clinch our fists and smile and walk right by them. I can't even tell you how many times we have been yelled at but that's ok because we are getting really good at it now! You know us 2 Arkansas girls who "think" we can take care of ourselves no ? about it :) Well once we got home we were so tired and ready to be back home. Let me tell you this past week went by so fast and before you know it we were getting ready to head to Interlaken, Switzerland. WOW can I just say that place is amazing! There were about 200 students that went and we took a bus that was about a 6 hour drive. The ride wasn't all that comfortable but I mean the view itself was just phenomenal. Once we got there which was at 3 a.m we got our keys and went to find our room. Ok now here is where it gets interesting. This was our first hostel experience which was very well let's just say different. We asked for a 4 bed room so that we could all room together. Well when we walked in there were 8 bunk beds in a room maybe as big as one very small bedroom. There was no room to even move around. Well as were all got the 4 bottom bunks we see these 4 random ppl come into our room. Yep there were 3 girls and 1 boy that were going to be bunking with us. They ended up all being from NYU and they weren't that bad they were pretty cool but it was just really weird sleeping in this little bitty room with ppl you don't know. Well now it was about 4 a.m and me and Mary Shannon were going skiing the next day at 7:30 so we knew we needed to get some sleep. As we were all getting ready to go to sleep the girl above me starts snoring!!! OMG I thought I was going to die! I layed there for about an hour and then thought hmm. maybe I can start coughing or clearing my throat to give her a hint to quit snoring... well NO that did not work! So then I thought I will get my ipod so as I was getting up I saw Kate get up to get the same thing I was getting! haha all of us 4 girls were wide awake and could not sleep because this girl was sooo loud. Let me say I have uncles who snore really loud and I can sometimes deal with that but this girl was snoring with the best of them! haha As I got my ipod and got back into bed I smiled and put on my headphones and went to turn on my ipod when of course my ipod is dead! That's just me of course no luck! Well I leaned over and told Mary Shannon to lay her head by mine so we could share her ipod. Hey best friends are willing to do anything to help each other out! Well so we got maybe 2 hours of sleep and had to get up and go ski. We were sooo excited and so exhausted at the same time the next morning when we went and got our ski's and headed up the mountain. This was the cool part we had to take a train up the mountain. This train went up, over, around, and under the mountains to get to the top where the ski lifts were. Oh and my parents sent me my ski jacket so I was feeling pretty stylish let me tell ya! haha Once we got up there we just kind of stood there in amazement realizing that we are about to ski on the Alps. As we were thinking that we looked down the mountain and started getting a little nervous :0 When skiing in the Alps the level of difficulty colors are different so we couldn't really tell so we just said oh well and headed down the mountain. We of course fell a few times towards the beginning when trying to get use to being back on the slopes. Once we got the hang of it we were off. We did a few hard ones and also the very top which was so cool because at the top there was a sign saying that this is the top of Europe and it's the highest point in Europe that you are allowed to ski on. That was a pretty cool experience! The view made everything so worth it though I mean when your skiing down the slopes and you look up and just see cliffs some with snow on them and some without mountains for days! What I really liked about it was that its not totally based around tourism. I mean there is like one hotel at the base and maybe 4 shops and a couple of restaurants and the rest is just mountains! So there isn't much up there on the Alps but that is what I most enjoyed about it because like in Colorado it's just a huge cluster of buildings and tourists and it's even hard to come down the mountain without almost running into someone. This was alot more peaceful although it was a little icy but not as much as I thought it would be. We ate lunch outside of this restaurant that overlooked the Alps and it was just beautiful. The weather was perfect not to cold not to hot. After we got done skiing we went back and went out to the bar like club that was at our hostel. We danced and all had a good time and then the next day we got up and went into Zurrich. We spent the day there which was really cool. There is a lake beside the city that we went and looked at that was so pretty because if you looked beyond the lake you saw the snow covered mountains in the background which was just so peaceful. We also ate at this small Tai food restaurant that was so good. I got shrimp fried rice and ate every bit of it!! I mean we are so use to eating pasta the second you put something else in our face that is not pasta we go crazy! haha That night we went night sledding with the group which was so much fun. We kind of had the wrong idea at first I mean when we though of night sledding I though of like 40 of us on this huge sled getting pulled around the mountain and Mary Shannon thought that dogs were going to be pulling us so as you can tell we had the wrong idea. Night sledding is like a sport I mean they gave us our own sled and we had to steer it and everything! They sent us down the mountain which was like a green if you were to ski on it and we had to steer the whole way and let me tell you we got some speed and were having so much fun screaming the whole way down! We fell of course a few times but night sledding if you ever have a chance you have to do it. That and skiing just made the trip for me!! I mean its not every day one can say they went skiing and night sledding in the Alps! Once we got down the mountain our guides treated all of us to cheese fondue. They bring you a big pot of cheese and little pieces of bread and potatoes and then you dip them in the cheese and then eat them. Oh it was so good, I know it sounds strange but its so good. We were going to go out that night when we got back but we were so tired that we couldn't so we just went to sleep and got up the next morning to pack. We decided to go into town so I could get some things for my family to give them for when they came over here. As we were walking it started to rain which was not good considering we didn't have an umbrella! Well we wanted to get something to eat and the one place in Interlaken that you eat at seeing that it is a very small town is Hooters. haha yea so we ate there along with a ton of other americans. The food was actually really good however the atmostphere not so much! haha Afterwards we went to this chocolate factory and decided to take a tour of the factory. That was pretty cool even for me considering I don't like chocolate. I know it sounds crazy but I just have never been a huge fan of chocolate but I will be honest and tell you that I ate a few pieces of white chocolate and milk chocolate and loved it! The swiss chocolate I mean its so different over there, it has a better taste than most of the chocolates I have tried. Mary Shannon who lives for chocolate was loving every bit of it. Our guide told us that we could take some if we wanted well Mary Shannon decided to get a few handfuls! haha See she gave chocolate up for lent so when Sundays role around its nothing but chocolate for her! She deserves it though because I will say temptation is everywhere I don't know if God is giving her a hard time or what but every store we walk in there is always huge displays of giant chocolate bars that are her favorite right beside the front door!! Crazy huh!! Yea that's what I thought!! He's got a good sense of humor let me tell ya! :) I went to get my swiss army knife that I was getting engraved with my name on it before we left and of course they spelled my name wrong. Well I was upset but was to scared to say anything but like they say when one friend is down the other one fixes it and sure enough Mary Shannon got my knife took it back up there got them to fix it. From what I heard it wasn't that easy of a process to do but Mary Shannon she found a way! We are always taking care of each other :) We got on the bus to come home and got back into Florence at about midnight. Oh yea me and Mary Shannon washed our sheets but since there is no dryers we had our sheets hung all over our apartment all weekend so we were hoping they would be dryed when we got back and they were thank goodness. They weren't very soft though I will say that. But that is about everything that has gone on the past couple of weeks. This coming up weekend we are going to Paris which I think is going to be pretty amazing so we are getting really excited about that!! It will be our first overnight train experience so I'll be sure and let you know how that goes! I miss everyone and will talk to you all soon!! Love you all!!!

Mary Shannon: Back again, another eventful and long week. It is passing SO fast over here that I feel like I already miss Europe! Now that we are travelling so much on the weekends it feels like the work week is only a short recovery period, then we are off again!
Last week, during the recovery period haha, I decided to slow down a little. I took one afternoon and dedicated it to doing absolutely nothing outside in Florence. I didnt want to walk 5 miles or shop, I just sat in my camo hat on the front steps of the Duomo by myself. I didnt even try to figure life out, I just sat and watched people walk by. I looked at how they dressed, their shoes, their interactions, the venders, the tourists, the locals, the pigeons. It was nice to be lethargic and lazy in the sun. I also tried to count in 3 hours how many actual overweight people I saw: 4. A little different than in Arkansas... Then I decided to take pictures of the 'every day life' in Florence. It made me realize a lot of details-there are bikes everywhere! Men wear scarves and dress very metro! You can tell a tourist from a European based on their shoes. Still, there are Asians everywhere! Giselle the model is just as popular here if not more. They also love Demi Moore. Pharmacies and supermarkets are seperate businesses with different atmospheres than say at Wal Mart or Brookshires.
Thursday night Kelsi, Kate, Chrissy, and I met the bus2alps group at 7pm at the Santa Maria Novella train station (where Kelsi and I got McDonalds no.7 since its our train-station-tradition)! The guy in charge of this student-travel group is Simon O'Keefe, a guy in his late 30s from Australia. He LOVES his job from what I can tell haha! He actually lives in Interlaken, Switzerland and has been taking students on these weekend trips for almost 10 years. We got on charter buses with almost 200 other students from Florence and Rome of all different study abroad programs from all over the USA. On the way to Switzerland we passed Lake Como, the vacation home of George Clooney - from what we saw even in the dark it was breath-taking!! (If you ever have a couple mil laying around, I would suggest a vacation home here too)! When we got to Interlaken, Switzerland it was 3:30am! We checked in to our hostel, Balmers Herbage, thinking it would only be us four...wrong! There were four other students from NYU, 3 girls and a boy! Sara, Megan, Francine, and Mark. (They had this very northern lingo, always saying, 'Thats wicked cool')! Francine, or 'Frenchie', and Mark went skydiving the next day!! I bet almost 100 of the kids went skydiving. They also offered canyon jumping, paragliding, moped 4-wheeler or car rentals, night sledding, and ski\snowboarding! Friday morning at 7am (yes, even less than 2hrs of sleep since two of our new roomies SNORED) Kelsi and I had to get up to get ski rentals, left tickets, and rental pants and goggles. Outdoor Interlaken's , the store running all the activities, employees were pretty much all English or Australian. They were so friendly and laid back! Then we ate our included breakfast consisting of either 1. bread, roll, butter and jelly OR 2. oats cereal and a piece of fruit...mmm (not). I was pretty disappointed in the choices until they said coffee was free. I was excited, that is until I walked up to the hot water dispenser and a large ceramic pot full of powder labelled coffee. I had no idea, and still dont, of how coffee is supposed to come from this. I drank it anyways with 2 scoops ?? and A LOT of sugar!! haha. To get to the slopes, Kelsi and I had to catch a bus for a 10 min drive to Gridswal train station. The bus ride was fantastic bc it was the first time we saw Switzerland in the daylight...and wow! Everything was green, but when you looked up the valley we saw we were enclosed by large walls of pure rock covered on the tops by snow. The mountains are more like cliffs compared to the rolling Rocky Mountains. We also passed Swiss homes which looked like homes pulled right out of the movie Heidi, or gingerbread homes ready to be displayed. There were creeks and windey roads and stacks of firewood everywhere. (I continue to struggle with the feeling I am in a large, surreal theme park bc of how cliche these countries are to what I formerly thought). At Gridswal we climbed on to this small three-car train which then headed straight UP the mountain (Kleine Shredigg??) At the top Kelsi and I realized that the mountain was actually known as 'the top of Switzerland', and a small train travelling even higher (for a fee of £80 so we didnt do it) you could reach 'the top of europe'! We skied for over 2 hours before lunch. It wasnt great snow to ski on, but there were such dazzling panoramic views that we didnt care! We ate at a restaurant on the mountain for lunch where we had the soup of the day (who knows WHAT it was but it was good) in a roll and a piece of bratwurst! MMM, that really was good! We sat outside in the sun on a deck looking out over the valley below! Exhausted a few hours later, we decided to resign from our physical yet memorable adventures of skiing and get the local beer Rugen Brau (YUM!) Back home, Kelsi and I took a quick yet powerful nap on our floor mattress bunk beds with no sheets, a dusty comforter, and our less-than-a-couch-pillow pillow. yes. Then we took showers with no flip flops and shared towels (bc we didnt bring one, and the hostel ran out of rentals), where you had to keep re-pushing the shower nozzle to keep the water running every 30 sec (like in those public restrooms with the push-on sinks). That was a nice experience too... For dinner Kelsi, Kate, Chrissy, and I made reservations and ate at The Little Thai Restaurant which was ABSOLUTELY MOUTH-WATERING GOOD! We hadnt had flavors or spices like that in a long time and it was truly pleasant. Plus, even for American-everyday standards it was amazing. Under Balmer's is Interlaken's club (very convenient I know)! All night they showed the videos of the students who had skydived that day, it made skydiving seem so much less scary, different, or unimaginable...now, sorry parents, I really want to do it before I get married or 'grow up' haha.
On Saturday, us four met with Simon and the other students who signed up and took a charter bus to Zurich. It was also a great drive even though we were all still SO exhausted and sleep deprived! We got to see the lake (interlaken is between two lakes) which was more aqua blue than most skies I've seen on a clear day! We also passed through the mountain pass. In Zurich it was rainin as we stepped off the bus! Us four then set off on our own to discover this town. We were dropped off in the metropolitan\shopping section which was actually really Americanized (we walked into a Claire's)!! We finally found this chocolate store (my favorite food\dessert in the whole freakin' world) with a caffe above it. Kelsi and Chrissy got the club sandwich made with three toasted pieces of bread, tomato, grilled chicken strips, mayo, egg, lettuce, and bacon. I definately had a piece and it was just as delicious as you're thinking right now. After, I went downstairs and bought milk chocolate pieces, dark chocolate with caramel, and peanut butter chocolates! (The terrible part is that I gave up chocolate for Lent so even though I can cheat on Sundays, I still had to carry that bag around all day-like a million dollars that you've won in the lottery but you arent allowed to spend it)! Then we walked across the bridge to other side of town, like 500ft away, and the town was completely different! (By this time, it quit raining for awhile). It was much older, with cobblestone walkways and no cars and just vasts amounts of stores and restaurants. Like Italy, only everyone was so much friendlier to American tourists, everything was in German, much more laid back, and all the restaurants were different: Italian, Mexican, Asian, McDonalds, etc all right next to one another. It was a melting pot, a clean, relaxed, and eye-satisfying melting pot. Kate and I stopped at this heated tent in the middle of a square where Jamaican-sounding music was being played and bought what we 'thought' were hot dogs. They gave us these huge pieces of pork off the grill and a big roll (with real Heinz ketchup)!!! It was actually one of best meals I'd had (I always say that dont I)?? Well, it was really good! When we got back to Interlaken (1hr 45min drive) Kelsi, Kate, and I had to run upstairs, throw on more layers, get snowboard shoes from Outdoor Interlaken, and climb back onto the bus to go nightsledding! For some reason when I signed up for this I pictured sitting back on a big sled, cuddled up in a warm blanket, with hot cocoa, maybe even dogs pulling us?? Ha ha. Definately wrong assumption, though this was MUCH more fun! We took the bus to Gridswal again, and were sent up the train with big plastic sleds! At the top it was pouring snow! The guides showed us how to ride our sleds, turn, hang on, and most importantly bail! There were two groups, our group had about 25 people and we all took off down this paved path down the Alps! It was curvy and bumpy and downhill and one of the BEST times of my LIFE! I screamed the whole way down, got soaking wet (had jeans on!!), and laughed so hard at Kelsi flying down this mountain like a pro..except for when I came up fast behind her and she couldnt move and caused my sled to fly off in a ditch with Kate following me haha! So, of course, we did it a second time! Then, with our new guide pal, Elliot we went into this restaurant and ate really great cheese fondue with bread and potatoes and a glass of white wine. Elliot is from England and is the head of the skydiving branch of Outdoor Interlaken. He was the main guide jumping with all of the students, and has been skydiving for 18yrs!! He has only been in ONE bad jump, which was actually base jumping like 10yrs ago. He's 38yrs old with long hair, newly married, yet very professional when it comes to talking about his job and being a boss. This weekend we met so many people like that...Elliot said a large portion of the population is made of tourists who were passing through, fell in love with Interlaken and just never left. We met some Australian guys who were like 23 who were living in Interlaken to snowboard for like 6 months, then were going to move on to another town and look around for where work is needed, then when that was done move on again! I think that kind of lifestyle is so intriging bc I could never ever do that. I would die of stress!
On Sunday, we had to check out at 11:30am. We walked into the center of Interlaken and ate at HOOTERS! They had real American food: chicken strips, french fries, and more real ketchup!! How could we say no? Then we took a short chocolate tour at this famous little chocolate store\cafe. We got all these free chocolate samples. They, Switzerland, won the worldwide competition for best milk chocolate and he was just handing it out to us!! YUM! (When the head chef wasnt looking I took handfuls of the pieces and put them in my bag...yay)! And lets remember, it was Sunday, so I actually got to eat it all!
The other things I loved about Interlaken\Switzerland: SO clean! Clean air. Interlaken has about 10,000 population, like at home. You could really tell bc everyone knew each other, they would drive down the street and wave at one another, hang out in the restaurants with the owners bc they were all friends, Simon knew everyone on the pal level. I loved that part! No traffic! Zurich had normal-sized cars...and they were all Mercedes, Lexus, BMWs, Porches cars and SUVs!
Also, figured out that Switzerland is not a part of the European Union. We had to use Francs instead of Euro. Our bus was pulled over for speeding I think on the way back home. Swiss knives were everywhere since they are known well for that, along with watches, chocolate, and crystal. The picture of the clock is in Zurich, and is the largest clock in Europe!
Love you all, miss you all

Man oh Man!!

Kelsi: Ok guys so I spent an hour writing you all and lost everything!! :( I will write again tomorrow but I am just to frustrated to start all over now!!! :( haha Sorry but hey you know my luck!

Venice

Mary Shannon: Hello again! I know everyone is sick of hearing from me - I will be sure to force Kelsi on here later today or tomorrow! This past week has been full once again: Valentines Day, more importantly Kelsi's 21st that day, and Venice and Carnivale! Last Wednesday I had some majorly important tasks to set out searching for. This included flowers that would be delivered from Kelsis dad, birthday candles, birthday decorations, a birthday cake, dinner reservations, presents, and wrapping paper?! Finding these things in America is a ten minute drive to the Wal Mart Supercenter, and a flip through the yellow pages. In Florence? Not so much. So for the two days before her 21st I found I was participating in a scavenger hunt! Kate, my TX roommate, and I found this amazing little flower shop near school with long-stemmed roses of all colors, gerber daises, tulips, lilies, you name it. All the flowers hear are blooming as though its the middle of March with vibrant colors and over-powering smells. mmm! Kate helped pick out a bouqet of pink long stemmed lillies with long stemmed peace lillies to be delivered on the 14th!
Tuesday night, Feb 13, Kelsi and I sat up having an amazing conversation, or a 'heart to heart' as Kelsi likes to call them. As it got later and later I realized she kept getting more giggly, thats when I noticed the clock was approaching midnight and she was about to become an official adult! You see, from what I have been told, birthdays are SUPER important in the Konecny family. BirthDAYs are actually celebrated as BirthWEEKS! So as not to disappoint a living American tradition, Kelsi and I decided to go to the Ponte Vecchio at 12am. There, Kelsi took her old fake ID (which I am sure she NEVER used...) and used my pliers to rip it apart. She then cast the pieces into the Arno! We sat there with our legs hanging off the edge between the gold shops looking out onto the city for a moment. Twenty-one takes awhile to sink in: no more speeding tickets that get off your record when you 'turn 21', you should be completely financially independent, dont have any other real big birthdays to look ahead to, and oh yeah...American legal drinking age. nice. So thats when we realized she should definately go out and buy a beer in celebration! In our pajamas and no make up, Kelsi and I headed out to one of the biggest bars where everyone was dressed up in heels and had a beer!
On Wednesday, I found a 0.99£ store (dollar store) and found candles, banners to hang, birthday cards (though ONLY ones with either Tweety or Bugs on them!), and other birthday decors. On the way home I bought a bouquet of yellow roses, and my roommates and I decorated the kitchen! We also went out and had Kelsi pick out a pink feather boa and princess crown from the Disney store (Yes, they are OBSESSED with Disney stuff here!!). That night Kelsis dad treated a group of 8 of us to dinner at a restaraunt called Alfredo Sull'Arno. We sat right next to a window that directly faces the Ponte Vecchio, by candle light. We had spinach and ricotta cheese crepes and ravioli for a first course (crepes were amazing!) For dinner, Kelsi and I both had the Fiortina Steak...this was no joke a melt-in-your-mouth-don't-talk-to-anyone-at-the-table-until-it's-all-gone kind of steak. The steaks here, from what we've been told, are completely different than in the US bc the cows are raised and fed starkly different. Quality not quantity; you dont order steak well done, medium is what you order. And let me tell ya, from experience, I have never had anything that can even begin to compare.
On Thursday, after a failed attempt of buying any kind of cake anywhere, we finally decided on a couple of nice pastries to put candles in ! Haha, o well... In my cooking class we made baked macaroni and cheese, and zuccoto. I got to make the zuccoto which was making a from scratch whipped cream with bits of chocolate, I had cut from a bar, poured into it. Then we made a chocolate cream that was basically pure sugar and cocoa. I LITERALLY licked the bowl clean!!! I was in chocolate heaven! YUM. The chefs were making fun of me, because Kelsi and I combined have eaten the majority of the food compared to the other 12 or so kids in the class. Thats how Arkansans do it I say; I remember getting in trouble if I didnt get seconds at my Grandmas as a kid!
Friday morning around 8am Kelsi and I, and our roommates with friends from school, packed our big hiker backpacks and headed to the train station. It was the first time we'd been on a train longer than an hour. To Venice it took 2 1\2 hours (which still did not seem long at all). One of our roommates, Chrissy, also forgot her reservation number that the website gave us to retrieve our ticket! Last minute we had to leave her - but thankfully she was a trooper and gotta a later train, meeting us in Mestre, a station near Venice. Here's the thing though, when you book a hotel because its the cheapest available and it says its a quick 20 minute bus ride from the center of Venice...they are probably stretching the truth. As you have read from all of Kelsis and I's adventures you must guess by now that this truth was not only stretched, but yanked, pulled, and beaten to death. Getting off the train in Dolo, it was amazing how much there WASNT in this 'city'. After half an hour we finally found our hotel in Mirano, Italy. Then, we had to turn straight around walk to the bus stop, where as soon as we got on it took a left and docked in the Mirano bus station. So we had to get off, find where to buy a bus ticket for an Indirect Venice route so we could stop at Mestre to meet Chrissy. Got off the bus 4 blocks too soon and had to walk to Mestre. There, we had to find an ATM, figure out if it was cheaper to take trains and buses and taxis all weekend or rent a car. Finally deciding to stick with the train, it took us another 1\2 hr to figure out how to buy a ticket into Venice. We got into Venice right when the sun was setting haha! But I have to say, the second we stepped out of the train station our breath was taken away. We were in awe. Actually, Kelsi and I both skipped (yes, I know, really cheesy but true). I have seen a million pictures, movies, etc that have described Venice, but nothing can really prepare you for how surreal it is (especially during Carnivale). First of all, there are only waterways through the city, no streets for cars. So the 'police cars', ambulances, and taxis were actually boats. We got on one of the main boats that carry people down the Grande Canal and (first went the wrong direction and ended up in the port bc its Kelsi and I and this always happens) headed towards St. Marks square where we saw the most beautiful cafes, churches, and hotels. Stone steps would cascade down into the water as if leading down into the ocean. People sat here watching people pass in the boats, as we watched them - all in admiration. There were vasts amounts of bridges, alleys, and tunnels. When walking to find St. Marks it became very evident that Venice has to be the city easiest to get absolutely lost in, in the world. Like I said before, there are no main streets, and bc of Carnivale it was SUPER crowded! There were people dressed in costumes like Halloween, some with just large wigs or just masks, lots of couples dressed in colonial attire with the white wigs. At night it was even crazier, everyone had a mask or face painting, throwing confetti and silly string all over the place. People in full costume were taking pictures with everyone, yet never broke from character. Walking down an alley, it would be say 6 feet wide with stores and restaraunts on either sides. Everytime you thought you'd have reached the end of the alley, you'd notice there was a small street to the left or right. Then, you'd come out into this grand piazza where you'd barely notice small streets in the corners where a sign directed you to walk. An alley like that, in America? You would have to be paid some big bucks to walk down (especially if you are claustrophic!) You never knew which direction you were walking in bc there were no forwards or backwards. It was a labyrinth filled with creatures in paint and masks along the way. I was complaining the other day how I was sad I was so young when my parents took me to Disney World bc now at 20 I dont remember any of it. After spending a weekend in Venice, I'm cured. I was definately at a theme park - a true confusing surreal sensory overloaded carnival. There were stages set up in the big squares with concerts and plays, and flame throwers! In St. Marks there were huge screens set up and light shows being displayed on all the surrounding buildings! Kelsi and I got our faces painted the first night there in St. Marks. Sunday we were sitting at the train station waiting to leave, when I saw the lady who had painted Kate and I's faces sitting in front of the station with a picture book of faces she had painted before, and we were in it! It really was an amazing city, and carnivale really was a blast! But I would not suggest going there during that time again. I really want to go back, and could probably do it in a day in order to ride the gondole, find a less touristy restaraunt, and visit some churches and museums. (I have to say the only true relaxing part of the journey was the two hours before the train left where Kelsi and I just sat on the steps being warmed by the sun and watching all the interesting people.)
Things I've still been noticing: 1. Some Italians can be really rude, they are always in a hurry to get you in, feed you, get you out. For Americans it is pretty bad, for college-aged kids even worse, for girls who are both...its terrible sometimes. However, I don't think they've dealt with girls like Kelsi and I who don't care what language you're speaking-we know what you're saying and will probably call you back out. We actually havent really had many problems with it in Florence, but other places (like this weekend!) we got snubbed a lot. 2. Have you ever heard how smells associate you with a memory? Well, the only times I have really smelled the ocean are the times I've gone to the beach in Florida. Walking over the tiny bridges in Venice, Italy on a cold night, there would usually be a breeze carrying with it the salty smell of the ocean! It was really odd, bc it would catch me off guard. I couldnt really be the association of that smell with where I was! I couldnt imagine that the water all underneath the city, was ocean! Crazy. 3. Venice was super clean, least amount of graffiti and trash I have ever seen in any city! 4. More people with more dogs. The dogs here are so pampered and can pretty much go on trains, in hotels, in stores... 5. Watching Paris Hilton, Kate Moss, and Nicole Kidman do commercials in Italian is really funny to see. 6. Kelsi and I's count of eating McDonalds food is now up to 5 :)
miss you all love you all

Mary Shannon: Hello everyone! This past week has been SO long! Last Monday we started going over what we wanted to do with our weekends over here in Europe. Surprisingly, we began realizing how 'little' time we have to travel! There are so many places to see, but only 13 weekends to do it! I know it sounds like a lot, but here's a rough idea of what we are thinking: 02\16-18 Venice for Carnivale!, 02\22-25 Interlaken, Switzerland, 03\01-4 Paris, 03\08-11 Spain, 03\16-28 family will be here, 03\29-04\01 school trip Sicily, 04\07-9 Rome on Easter, 04\12-15 Croatian beaches, 04\19-22 school trip to Amalfi Coast, Capri and Pompei, 04\26-29 Greece, 05\05 school trip Cinque Terre, then home! Most of it is still up in the air, but we will see! There are some places like Prague and Ireland that I had to give up in order to do others, but some things might still get switched around.
We really are starting to feel like Florence is home, we've cooked a little more, know how to get around better, and are started to get to meet more people in our classes. We have regular restaraunts, cafes, and pubs we like. We also have favorite walking routes, stores to window shop at, and favorite meals. (I LOVE a pomodoro e mozzarello sandwich toasted! You have to try it!! Its just sliced mozzarella with sliced fresh tomatoes on fresh bread, then use your Foreman grill or something to toast the outside! Multo bene!)
I also spent A LOT of time at the school computer lab last week. Its free, friendly, and clean. Its so relaxing to go with head phones and just sit there for hours (since we have no tv, and I didnt bring a computer its actually very therapeutic). I looked up trips, like train tickets, cheap flights, cheap hostels, where and when and how the trips will happen. You parents - I have a new found respect for you all. Though travelling is cheaper here than in the USA, websites can always be frustrating!
Last Monday, Kelsi and I went to find the bookstore to get our school books, and it took us TWO HOURS! (So ok, its still a big city to us small town girls, getting lost once or twice is allowed)! My feet were aching by the time we got home. This Thursday Kelsi and I's friends from Wisconsin and Chicago called us over to cook an Italian dinner for us! It was wonderful, they have already taught themselves to make great olive oil for dipping fresh bread in, where they buy near their apartment. Then they made penne pasta with pesto sauce Nick made. (Nick, from Chicago, has already been here a semester so he knows more Italian and how to cook). We had a glass of Chianti Kelsi and I bought at our local cafe which is amazing - called Chianti Perticavo and only £8. (By the way, Italian wines from 2005 are supposed to be really good, and 2006 is not for next time you are buying a bottle). We had so much fun sitting down in someones kitchen with a home cooked meal and good conversation. We dont get that much here since Kelsi and I cannot really cook, unless it consists of deli meat, hot dogs, or PBJs. Friday, Kelsi, Kate, Chrissy, and I went on a school trip through the Vasarian Corridor! We began at the Uffizi, which used to be the famous\infamous Medici family's bank offices! Now it holds the last finished painting by Michaelangelo which we got to see. We also saw the Birth of Venus and Primavera by Bottocelli! Primavera is my favorite! Then we walked down to this Corridor that the Medici's had built as an upper ground tunnel over Florence from the Uffizi across the Arno River to the Palazzo Piti where they lived. At this point in time, its only opened to special groups, not the public. So it was great to see! The corridor holds the largest collection of self-portraits done by the most famous artists around the world! Along with some magnificent views of the river, town, and ponte vecchio! The corridor then dumped us out at the Boboli Gardens - which we will have to go back to see completely. It was a great experience finally seeing some of the true history of Firenze, then walking three blocks to home! Now when we walk across the Ponte Vecchio bridge it has a whole new meaning!
Saturday, Kelsi, Kate, and I took a train to Montevarchi (on the way to Arezzo) where we took a costly taxi through the rolling hills of countryside to the Designer Outlet mall. I mean Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, Gucci, Pucci, Armani, etc in this prestigiously and newly built outdoor strip outlet surrounded by a town of no significance and just vast amounts of green and yellow countryside. You would be so engrossed at how NOT inexpensive this 'discount' mall was, and then walk outside and look up and just have your breath taken away. Beautiful. (Dont worry mom and dad, we all walked away without designer fashions haha!)
Saturday night my brother called me to inform me he had opened my mail, and that...I got into nursing school at UAMS! Talk about a relief!
Yesterday, we were planning to go to Assisi, but decided too late. Then we decided we would travel to a small medievel town outside of Florence. On the way to get lunch at our favorite cafe, which is actually in the Piazza del Santo Spirito (where I got a delicious pomodoro and mozzarella and pesto panini for only £3!), we found our backyard was a huge outdoor market on the weekends! Antique, jewelry, candy, flower, and scarve stands covered the whole piazza! It was so cool, I actually bardered with two different venders! So of course, we decided to stay and check it out. Walking home, we decided to walk in a different direction. We came up on the Arno from the West and found where you could walk along the shore. We walked through the grass as the sun was sitting behind us, watching dark skies from the west move in over the northern part of Florence. There were ducks, some other white small birds, and wild geese. There is also a small dam that causes the water to cascade over it, like a small waterfall. It was peaceful. I cannot truly explain the brilliance of this city because it is ever-changing depending on the time and weather of the day.
Love you all, miss you all.

Sorry pictures are so unorganized! Did the best I could! You can click on them too to see better, and see the parts that are cut off! love you all, miss you all msd.

Time to Catch Up!!

Kelsi K: Hey guys I am so sorry it has taken me forever to update everyone! Well school has started and my first class of course I got lost trying to find it so I was a little late. Well once I got in I found out my teacher claims she is British, born in Iraq, raised Muslim but now doesn't practice it, and is now an aethiest (however u spell it) Ok so let's just say I was a little overwhelmed!! The class with her is International Management which is actually going to be alot of work which isn't good news for me! All the other classes are good and I don't think are going to be alot of work at all. One class that I thought was a wine tasting class definately wasn't! Me and Mary Shannon have that class together and we walked in and our teacher was wearing a chef hat and spoke very little english. We saw all these cooking utensils and found out that we would be cooking Italian food every thursday in class! Ok so me and Mary Shannon don't cook, the only thing I can cook is spaghetti and steak if dad is there. We had to cook chicken and our teacher gave us a huge knife and we had to chop up stuff which was pretty fun! Well our meal actually turned out great! We actually enjoyed the class and cooking makes us busy so that we don't look at the clock and realize that our class is 2 and a half hours long!! :( So all in all our classes went well for the first week. I have bought a few things over here like a sweater jacket, a top, and some black boots. Ok so the boot thing is kind of different because the fashion over is no heel. So the boots that are really big here kind of look like a horse rider's boot! Well I knew I needed to stay in style so I went out on a ledge and bought a pair and I actually love them they are so comfortable! Everythings getting a little easier now for the most part well until I had to do my first load of laundry! Chrissy and Kate already had done there load so I went to put mine in and got it going, oh and let me tell you it takes about 2 hours to wash your clothes!! Well everythings was going good and I tried to get my clothes out and the door would not open. Well our landlord told us under any circumstances do not jerk the door or it would break. Well so I couldn't get the door open and I ended up having to wash my clothes 2 times and they stayed in there all day!! Gah only happens to me I am so unlucky! Oh but it does get better. I was taking a shower and Chrissy was doing the dishes, well you already know how horrible the showers are here so I was trying to take a quick shower and my body was covered in soap and shampoo was all in my hair. Well you can probally guess what happens next... the water turns off completely, we didn't even have cold water!! I just stood there for about 5 minutes of course yelling and wondering what in the world just happened when finally the cold water turns on so I had to take the coldest shower ever!! It was awful!! God has a good sense of humor I guess he was making a point by telling me to appreciate our little, no water pressure, handheld, awkward shower! haha Ok so this past weekend me, Mary Shannon, John (Wisconsin), and Joe (Wisconsin) went to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Wow that was an adventure. It was my first train ride which was really cool by the way. Once we got there of course we had to climb the tower. So up we went climbing to the very top. Did I forget to mention how afraid of heights I was!! OK it was like 295 steps or something like that to the top so you can figure it was a long way to the top and really high at that!! It's like a concrete tunnel when your climbing to the top and since it's leaning, when you start to walk up it you kind of feel loopy! Me and Mary Shannon kept getting motion sickness because it felt like you were about to fall forward. It was a crazy feeling! Well once we were at the top I DID NOT let go of the rail! My knees were shaking so bad I could barely walk! I understand my mom now and why she is so scared of heights. haha The view though was absolutely beautiful!! You could see the city miles and miles away and if you looked a little further you could see the mountains! It was gorgeous! Oh and I forgot one of the coolest things ever... there was this small beautiful church, kind of like a small palace like church. Well we had all wondered what it was because it was sitting right beside the edge of the the river before the bridge. Mary Shannon decided to look it up and we found out that it holds one of the thorns from Jesus's Crown of Thorns!! How amazing is that! Talk about feeling like your close to God, wow me and Mary Shannon felt like we were just hanging out with him when were standing right beside the church! Once we got back into town we had planned to go to Sienna on Sat. but I got sick so I couldn't go. Chrissy our other roomate had been sick and it just came through all of us, so we have all been sick :( I was really sad that I missed that trip but Mary Shannon said she had an awesome time and that it was beautiful so I was excited she still got to go. We have been so excited about the Superbowl and our school was hosting a party for everyone so that we would have a place that we could all meet up and all watch the game together. It was soooo much fun! It was at this place called Space Electronica which was this awesome club! It was so cool inside, it had a huge dance floor and the bar was a fish tank, I mean the layout of this place was awesome! The Superbowl of course didn't start til like 1 or 2 in the morning so none of us got home until about 5:00a.m but it was so worth it. Me and Mary Shannon kept saying how we felt like we were back in Arkansas just hanging out and watching football :) We loved it! So now you all are pretty much caught up to date with us. Well my 21st is coming up and I am so excited however I won't really be able to appreciate it until I get back into the states and can use my i.d!!!! We are going to Venice for Carnivale and to celebrate my birthday!! Carnivale is like a huge festival kind of like mardi gras but way better! You have to wear a cape and mask like the whole time you are there, it' s like tradition so we are thinking that is going to be a really cool experience! We are staying in our first hostel so I'll let you know how that turns out! Sorry again that it has taken me so long to update you all!! Oh and me and Mary Shannon are trying to figure out how to post pictures on here so hopefully here pretty soon you will have something to look at. I have posted a bunch of pictures on Facebook but it's kind of hard to view them if you are an adult because you don't have an account :( so we will try to figure out a way so that yall can see them on here. Well I have to go shopping for my brother for his birthday but I 'll keep ya posted! Miss you all.... Talk to ya soon!! :)

1. On Ponte Vecchio, towards Duomo
2.Ponte Vecchio, Florence 3.Beyond Ponte Vecchio, Florence

4.Piazza del Campo, Siena

5.View from S. Catherine, Siena

6.Sunset same view, Siena

7.On leaning tower, Pisa

8.View from tower, Pisa

9.Duomo and tower, Pisa

10.View from bridge, Pisa (church that holds thorn on right)

Mary Shannon: Hello everyone! I have so many amazing pictures, but I dont know how to put multiple pictures on here without spending 5hours here in the internet cafe (I might be calling you soon Andrew!) Friday, Kelsi and I went to Pisa with two of our friends from Wisconsin. It was so beautiful. Well, Pisa isn't the prettiest city in Italy, but the leaning tower was really worth the hour train ride. On the way there our train went through 'New Florence', west of the city and there was a lot of industrial buildings and dumpy apartments. I was pretty surprised by this. When we got there, we had no map, no itenerary, and no idea how to get around - pretty much a parent's worst nightmare (we also slept in that day and didnt even leave Firenze until almost 2pm!) It was great for us though, no 8am wake up call with parents rushing you out the door haha! We read road signs and headed towards the river, since we figured out every duomo is near the center of towns. We walked past this small gothic church in the middle of the sidewalk-and come to find out it held one of the thorns from Christ's Crown on Thorns! When we got to the tower, there were more venders here than anywhere I've seen. (Stolen-but real- Prada and Louis Vutton bags are sold everywhere, but if you buy one from a vender they get arrested for like 3 months while you get up to a $10,000 fine!) Climbing the tower made me kind of motion sick, not only are you walking up steep stone stairs that spiral up along the sides, but the building is as you know leaning! So walking up I would be forced to lean into the left wall and then 10 steps farther up would have to start leaning on the right wall!! At the top, Kelsi exclaimed she was afraid of heights! However, she was tough and even went up along the edges. (I cannot lie that I had my own slight fears that I was constantly neglecting in order to enjoy the amazing views). It was worth the £15 to climb up though. Walking around the huge bells, we also stepped onto this thick piece of bolted down glass in the center of the tower-through the glass you could see all the way down the center of the tower! A huge hole beneath our feet! We also found another set of stairs that went even higher than the bells, onto the very top of the tower! Talk about an adrenaline rush! We could see the entire city, the snow capped mountains in the north, and soccer players practicing in the Pisa soccer stadium! On the way down, we had a difficult time acclimating to walking no longer on a leaning platform (it was like that feeling when you get off a tredmil and you feel like you're floating). Our legs were shaking and we all had to sit down for a minute. We went in the Pisa Duomo, which was just as extravagent as the one in Florence. Only, when I walked around one corner into one of the side chapels, there was a glass coffin! It was the patron saint of Pisa wrapped in a cloth with a metal? mask covering his face! It was really creepy! We then got some gelato and walked back to the train station and home. It felt so great to travel so short a distance to see something you've heard your whole life about, and then get to come back to your OWN bed! After spending an hour or two in our local pub with the free wireless and apperitivos (appetizer bar food) we headed off to bed. Saturday, my roommate Kate and I decided we would meet our Wisconsin friends (Joe and John) at the bus station to travel an hour and a 1/2 south of Firenze to Siena. Unfortunately, they got completely LOST on the way to the bus station, and so Kate and I had to go by ourselves. I cannot say the trip was spoiled though, the bus through the wine country, covered in vineyards, was very picturesque. In Siena, we once again had no map or itenerary. We got there around 3pm and decided to walk towards the Church of St. Catherine. It was much less gothic or baroque than most the churches we've seen, but was still really interesting because inside the church was a box with her head in it! This, again, was really cool-but creepy. (Her thumb was supposedly there too, but we didn't see it). Kate and I then walked through the VERY hilly town of Siena to the Piazza del Campo. In the city center, it was filled with Italian families (Siena is definately more of a family town, unlike Florence where I never really see school-aged children). There was a huge building and museum at one end, and then a string of hotels and cafes along the other side. There was a beautiful water fountain in the center that actually used to be the towns water source! Here, Kate and I sat down and again had gelato. We watched all these families come out into the square with children, aging from around 3-5yrs old. They were all dressed in costumes, throwing confetti and silly string out into the streets. We never figured out what this was for-we think maybe like mardi gras for kids before Lent?? We also bought frigoletta (doughnuts) that were being made in this shack in the square. They were making them right in front of us as we ordered it, throwing the dough into these huge vats that were boiling the dough, then they poured sugar on them! YUM! I am going to get so fat, but I've really come to peace with it haha! Before it got dark, Kate and I headed back to the bus stop. It was really the most beautiful place I've seen so far though. There were no imparticular 'tourist sights' but I would never tell someone to at least not try and see it! On Sunday, our school threw a welcome party at Space Electronica Discotecha! (Free Wine!) We ate apperitivos here and met some other students before walking all the way back to our favorite pub (The Friends' Pub owned by our new friends Matt and Fabrezio which I mentioned in another one of my posts) and ate pizza! Then, so tired of walking, we had to take a taxi back to the Disco (thats what they call clubs here) to watch the superbowl on the big screens! We met all our friends here, and I even met an Australian guy who taught me that if you don't want to be stuck talking to someone you don't like you must scratch your head-as I sign to your friends to come over and HELP! But if you like talking to that person and want to be left alone, you scratch beneath your nose! I will be using this technique in the future, so watch out! Yesterday, Kelsi and I spent 4 hours trying to find where we buy books! We also ate dinner at one of our favorite, and conveniently located restaurants, Angiolino. MMM!
Things I've noticed: Everyone has a dog! And they take them with them to work, in all buildings, even to come to school to teach! They have really pretty breeds here though; I think they clean the streets at night because they are always wet in the morning-shopkeepers are also sweeping the street right in front of their doors; there are Asian tourists EVERYWHERE in mass groups! That cliche stereotype of the Asian tourist is so much worse here than in America (at the leaning tower of Pisa, this one Asian girl was walking around on her knees freaking out about the height-they seem even sillier than Kelsi and I if that's possible); I must say again how much graffiti there is!; Every cafe, restaraunt, business, pub, or disco plays majority American music, and mostly 80s and 90s music at that! So even when you try to immerse yourself completely, you are doing it to the tune of Michael Jackson, Sheryl Crow, Prince, or Madonna!
Ok. Love you all, miss you all...still strong : )