The wake up call came at 5:00 and we went to the airport where we had to part with our fellow Sionians sooner than we thought. Luckily, one of the California schools went with us through security, so Sarah and I felt much better. We were nervous that our flight was so shorti that we'd get there and just fall asleep at noon haha. But we were really excited. Luckily, our families were waiting for us with huge smiles :) it was so nice to finally meet them! We drove ...

We left the hotel and took the subway... There are only two in Rome because they keep digging and finding ancient ruins... It took us straight to the Colosseum where they were on strike... So our tour guide just took us to other ruins and gave us some history of the Colosseum without going inside. We broke early for lunch to kill time so Michael get us new reservations for the Colosseum. It was back open when we finished lunch (where we got a fabulous meal deal)....

Our phone was off the hook again (literally), so we woke up late and had to get dressed and packed very quickly. We grabbed some food and ate on the bus. On the way there I sight-read with some friends the Latin tune that began solfege. It was a few hours to Assisi where we toured the Basilica. We got lunch and shopped around there after the tour. Highlights were the panini (yes, that is the plural form in Italian), the water spout, and going to the top of the to...

I got to listen to Mark play the piano after breakfast. We began the day with a tour around the Academia. The light hit the David perfectly, and he was 16ft tall and weighed 12 tons. He was cooler than I thought he'd be. After that, we just toured the city and enjoyed the imorning weather before it got unbearably hot. Then, we went to Santa Maria Cathedral. Unfortunately, I prepared more for the heat than the cathedral, so I had to wear the huge blue tunic to cov...

The trip to Italy was very mountainous, so the roads were mostly bridges and tunnels. We left a little after sunrise, and every time we emerged from a tunnel, the new scenery was even more breathtaking than the last. Wow. I gave up taking pictures because I knew I couldn'ti capture it all. We finally got to Pisa where we were swarmed by venders. I was always told to be skeptical of these guys, but I soon learned how fun they were. I bought four items while we wer...