Anyway, today has been very, very, very hard. After unloading some of our luggage, Amy and I went to a little Brasserie on the south side of Paris, near the ISA office. The simple meals that we ordered were amazing, and the water was NOT free. I suppose I will get used to this soon. I took for granted how much we get free or in large quantities at home. Anyway, I only have thirty minutes on this computer, and need to hurry. We boarded our train to Milano from Paris around 20:30, and found our "couchettes" or sleepers for the eleven hour ride. We ended up in the top, where it must have been ninety degrees, and smelled like the four stinky men sleeping below us. One of the men was Indian (well, two of them were, but I only liked one), a grad student who has lived in California the last few years. He was very nice, spoke perfect English, and it was good to have a conversation with someone else from the States. And he smelled American. He and the Italian man in charge of our train car were the only good things about that trip. Poor Amy was sick all night, throwing up. After we left the couchette room, we sat together in the freezing, cramped hall for the entire eleven hour train ride. This is because we were locked out of our room by some weird guy who, we were informed later by our Indian/American friend, apparently drank all night and was weird. I have no idea how we made it through the night, and then onto our connection in Milano to Firenze. Only by the grace of God. But we made it (albeit feeling more miserable than we have ever felt) to Amys friends apartment (I cant find the apostrophe key here). We cried a lot, for a long time--homesickness, real sickness, and utter exhaustion. But Anna finally got there and let us in. She fed us pasta and hot tea, and let us shower and just rest. Things are getting better.
Florence is beautiful--much friendlier-seeming than Paris. We had our first real Italian pizze tonight, it was amazing. After I finish here, we are all going out for our first gelato! I am so thankful that we are a bit rested and feeling better physically. And it helps the morale so much just not to smell bad. (had not showered since friday--no opportunities!
We have four nights in Florence, which is wonderful! Having a consistent place to stay for that long is something I have a much better appreciation for!
I have to go--but thank you all for your prayers. It is so very hard right now, but I know I am where God wants me right now, and I am certainly learning to trust him more!
em
:::edit:::
PICTURES!
This picture is from the Ponte Vecchio, our first night in Florence. I'm not sure how well it captures the atmosphere that was there, but it definitely reminds me enough of the "ambiance" to bring to mind the live violin and guitar music we heard. The taste of my first gelato (tiramisu flavored). Quietness of being over a river at night. This night was much less influenced by all things touristy than a lot of our time in Florence, since it was a week night. I suppose I just like this picture a lot, and hope it conveys a little of what it was like to spend nights on the Arno with new friends and that very unique "italianity" that we got to experience!
Not that you can tell from this picture, but the four of us are sitting on the Ponte Vecchio, facing what you see in the first picture. From left to right, that's Katie, Anna, Amy, and me. These are the people I spent my time in Italy with--all Berry students. Anna and Katie actually opened up their apartment to Amy and I for the entire week--we don't know what we would have done without them!
This is the courtyard of an old church in Florence called Santa Maria Novella. It was right by the school that Anna and Katie go to, so Amy and I wandered into it one beautiful morning. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but it was beautiful. Because it is not quite so frequented as il Duomo, spending some time here was very relaxed, with a very reverent atmosphere. Amy and I really enjoyed this place quite a lot.
Il Duomo. This cathedral was amazing. I know that everyone always says that words and pictures can't do things justice, but that's just the way it is. This place is MASSIVE. Amy and I know this quite well--we climbed all 463 steps to the top of the dome for panoramic view of Florence. Thinking about the creative energy, the physical labor, the planning that went into building this place really just boggles the mind. And to think that it was all built over 800 years ago. There is a room where some of the tools used to build it are displayed--seeing such rudimentary machinery juxtaposed with such grandeur made this place that much more amazing. Of course, it was also a bit sobering/convicting. Realizing how much effort and money and time went into the building of a lavish, ostentatious cathedral while so many people starved and suffered back then...It put into perspective a bit of how we do the same things today. Spending crazy amounts of all sorts of resources on things that don't really matter when people are suffering...No bones about it--we have our own "cathedrals" today. And we also often associate our excess with the Glory of God. It is an interesting balance--using the creative gifts we have while not neglecting our responsibilities to fellow human beings. All that to say, il Duomo is breathtaking, but with a tinge of bitterness that comes with conviction.
I took this from near the top of the Dome, on our way up. Look waaaay down, and you'll see little shadows that are really people. I like this picture a lot because you can see how ridiculously huge this space is. It's a little fuzzy, though, because I had to take it through some thick plexiglass that I guess keeps people from toppling over...
I think that's all for now. I have more Italy pictures, and of course Paris pictures, but they take a looong time to load on the computer I'm using, so I'll hopefully be able to do a chunk at a time fairly consistently!
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