Hey everyone!

This weekend was really busy but really nice. Friday morning, our entire fashion group departed for Milan. While in Milan we visited several large retail stores that are well known in the industry. The first store we visited was called Muji. It is a Japanese department store, it was pretty interesting, but there was an H&M across the street and I decided to spend most of my time in there because I liked the merchandise better. After Muji (and my personal trip to H&M) we headed to the church that houses the "Last Supper" painting by Leonardo DaVinci. Once arriving here, about 30 of us went inside at one time to view the piece of artwork. I was very surprised at how large it was. It was painted on a wall and basically takes up the entire length of the wall. During the World Wars, the community of Milan did their best to protect the painting by building up the walls with sand bags to keep it from being destroyed by bombs. Although the rest of the church was demolished, the Painting itself was saved through the communities efforts. It was a really meaningful thing for me to see, having learned about it for so many years.

After viewing the "Last Supper" we went to a store called 10 Corso Como. It is a fashion Mecca! It truly is one of the most fashion forward and influential retail stores in the world. It was really awesome to see. They carried everything from H&M perfume to Chanel couture gowns. The store itself is not very big, they just have a very select and wide range of merchandise. They are very well known for their fashion bookstore. Many of the books were very interesting but super bulky and heavy, therefore I decided to jot down the books I liked and am hoping to find them on Amazon.com.

Following 10 Corso Como we visited the Armani MegaStore. The store was huge. It carried all of the Armani brands from AJ Jeans to the highest labels. In addition to this it housed a bookstore, a restaurant, a hotel, a sushi bar, a florist and a chocolate shop all under the Armani Brand name. It truly was an experience. Oh, and to all of our delight, the walls were covered with beautiful ad campaigns of David Beckham posing in his underwear! :) We could have stayed for days! To my own surprise, I found a beautiful pair of navy blue heels at the store (Navy blue heels are so hard to find!). After trying them on I decided that I had to have them and all of my friends agreed! I thought the purchase was appropriate because it is an item by a designer from Italy and I purchased it in the fashion capital of Italy. I'm sure you all will get to see them once I'm home! If your a size 7 1/2 maybe I'll even let you borrow them! :)

To end out our Milan day trip we stopped at the Duomo to take pictures and then visited the original Prada store within the Galleria. The store was beautiful and looked very vintage because it has not been updated much since its first opening.

We arrived back to Florence at around 10PM, the next morning we were heading back to the train station to depart for Venice at 8:30.

On Saturday I left for Venice with Jill and Alyssa. The train ride was easy getting there. Just before entering the area of Venice the train went across this very narrow road that reminded me so much of Cedar Point Causeway, it made me feel like I was at home!! I kept thinking that if I looked hard enough I'd see an amusement park in the distance, but that wasn't the case! haha!

Once there, Venice was BEAUTIFUL! We really lucked out because we had the most beautiful weather the entire time! Our hotel was very nice too. It was about a 5-minute walk from the Rialto bridge, therefore it was close to everything! We spent our first day in the area near Saint Mark Square enjoying the sun and the scenery. In the later afternoon we took a water bus (a fairy boat) over to Murano Island where we watched a glass blowing demonstration. Venice is most known for its glass blowing and you can find blown glass in nearly every store you walk by! It was a great place to buy some gifts for the family and friends, hint hint!

That night we went on a "Ghost Story Walking Tour". Although we were not to frightened by any of the stories, it was a great way for us to see parts of the city that we would not have seen otherwise. We also learned some history of the city as well. For instance, we learned the story of Macro Polo growing up. He is originally from Venice! After the ghost tour we had dinner right on the edge of the water near the Rialto Bridge. We were able to sit outside because the outdoor seating was heated. It was very beautiful and the canals were still very busy with boats and Gondolas.

The next morning we ate breakfast at our hotel and spent the morning shopping before having to depart to the train station. Overall, our stay was really nice and relaxing. You will be able to tell by the pictures how beautiful it was. It truly is a great place for people in love. I'm not really sure why, but the entire city just has a sense of romanticism. Everyone says the canals make it romantic, but I never before related a canal of water with love?? Regardless of why or how it became such a romantic city, it is, and hopefully I will return someday with someone I love. We'll see!

The upcoming week is packed with final projects!! I am doing my best to have everything done by this weekend so that I can relax my last two weeks. Jill and I have dedicated this upcoming weekend to acting as "Florence Tourists". We think it would only be appropriate to actually visit and understand all of the historical buildings we walk by on a daily basis. Haha.

I heard the weather is getting colder back in Ohio! I'm actually kind of jealous! I'm so excited to see snow when I get home! I feel like I haven't really seen snow in forever. Last year when I was in New York we never had snow on the ground because it would melt from the warmth of the subway underneath the ground. For now, I hope everyone stays warm! I will be home in 24 DAYS! I know, VERY hard to believe!

Taryn-- Congrats on winning your conference cheerleading competition. You truly have turned into the kind of cheerleader that I once was, and I know how you always wanted to be just like me!! :) hahahahha. No, but really, congratulations!! And also for making 2nd team!! That is very exciting! I'm proud of you!

**SPECIAL BIRTHDAY SHOUT-OUTS**

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT RUTH!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT TY-TY!

... I hope they are both fabulous days! Aunt Ruth, I know yours will be special because you will get to see my family and Aunt TyTy I know yours will be special because Taylor will be coming home! Enjoy your special days, I will be thinking of you!



Love you and miss you ALL!

Ciao for now,

Carrie :)