i am now home. the picture here is of tuscany. and the map says i'm in italy. i figure, that's ok because technically i was in florence this morning...early...and i flew over all of tuscany today as well. i wanted to write to say that i am now home, showered, and in fresh, clean clothes. i also wanted to write up about the past 2 days i've had. yesterday, i was on trains throughout most of the day. i took the train from lucerne to milan. i ended up not staying in milan because i was able to jump on the next train to florence. i wanted to stay and check it out, but i didn't want to take my chances on getting into florence too late. like before in italy, the temperature was hot, hot, hot...yet many people still managed to look quite fabulous. are the italians resistant to heat? anyway...i arrived in florence a bit after 7pm. i wasn't exactly sure what i was going to do. i decided i would make sure i knew how to get to the airport from the bus and the bus station. it was easy...and while at the airport, i sat down and thought about my options. my plane did not leave until the next morning at 7:30 am. hanging out and sleeping at the airport was an option...but i quickly pushed that aside. i thought about it for 10 minutes, sitting there, and realized that i would go absolutely mad if i stayed there overnight. if you have ever been to this airport, you would know. and if you ever go, you'll totally understand. it is the smallest airport. basically a box. and everything was closed. i took the bus back to the center of florence to find myself a place to crash for the night. but i needed to catch the bus at 6 am, so staying near the station was a must. i treated myself to a hotel room, in order to give myself the opportunity to have a bit of rest. i found one with a cheaper deal and importantly, with an alarm clock. at the hotel, i was informed that the room i booked was actually down the street, in an apartment complex. they rent apartments as well it turns out. and they set me up with one for the night. it was sweet. i had a big bed, a full kitchen, a table, a clean bathroom and shower. an alarm clock. tv. and...air conditioning! the first for the trip. it was quite lovely and i only wish i was able to stay longer there. i had to leave a little after 5 am. and that brings us to today...i flew from florence to milan. and then transfered in milan to philadelphia. the flight to philadelphia was majorly delayed. about 2 hours. it had been late coming in, and they needed to refuel and all that jazz. then when we were on the plane, one of the over-head compartments broke. and we couldn't leave until it was fixed. we sat on the plane for an hour. in order to make up for that, us airways gave us free headsets to watch the movie playing for that flight. us airways makes you pay for headsets if you want to watch what they are showing. 5 euro. that's nuts. but today, they were free. and the movie was pink panther. eventually, we arrived in philadelphia and i am now officially home. which brings us to right now. these past weeks have really flown by. it was amazing and wonderful and great, and i can't really think of how to fully describe it or explain it. sitting here, typing this on a familiar keyboard and computer...it feels like it happened to someone else. or like it occurred in a dream. it's an interesting feeling! so, that's about it...lots and lots of love to everyone, and i hope i get to see you all very, very soon!!! xo, jess