The reason I haven't blogged in so long is because my phone has been not working. Although suddenly today it started working, so I am blogging today. My phone was getting a little fiesty and it's a long story but essentially if I worked really hard I could take pictures with my broken phone; however, I did not take a ton of pictures. Until Friday. Then I took a ton.
Tuesday started with the normal routine of sociology classes. In the Itaky and China class, we talked about Matteo Ricci, and his early successes. It turns out his teacher from the Jesuits is actually from the same town as my family. The book we read about Matteo Ricci:
Then we learned about how Italians make food as a sign of love. Also we learned about the roles of women in Italian society. The book on the senses of Italy:
Lastly we had a lecture on the Italian renaissance.
Afterwards my roommate and I decided to cool up some Pizza and get ready for the opera. The opera was definitely a classy affair as I got on a blazer, khakis and a tie. The opera was called Madama Butterfly and it was pretty good. There were 3 acts. It was about a Japanese woman who married an American sailor so her family forsakes her, and she becomes pregnant. The American sailor (Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton) has to leave and says he'll be back next year. He comes back 3 years later with a new American wife. Madame Butterfly is so upset she gives her child to Pinkerton and then stabs herself in the heart. It was kind of sad and in Italian (with English subtitles that were on the top of the screen) but still very good. I ended up coughing a lot.
The next day we had Italian class where we learned past tense. Then we headed to the Uffizi for a three hour tour where we saw a lot of paintings. A lot. 
Thursday was back to Sociology where we learned about the Jewish struggle in China. Then we talked about the different senses we used in the opera. after class I tried to go to the mall to get my phone fixed at the only apple store that's in Florence. It didn't work. We just got really lost on the bus system and for back after essentially 3 hours of wandering. We ended up going into a tabaccheria and my roommate was convinced it was actually a mafia headquarters and then I dropped all of the stuff out of my pockets. Definitely not the smoothest in the mafia headquarters. The bus system was definitely tough to navigate. But at least we got back safe:
Paul trying to write out a Valentines day card:
The next morning we got up to go to Verona and Venice. If you have read all the blog posts before then you know that I'm not a huge fan of Venice for various reasons. But I'm gonna keep an open mind this time and try to love it.
That Friday morning we have to meet at Sabta Maria Novella train station at 8:10. I set my alarm for 5:45 cause I hadn't packed, I needed to shower, I planned on eating breakfast, we needed to take out the trash, close the windows, put away our laundry, do the dishes and walk 25 minutes to the train station to catch a bus. My alarm didn't go off because my phone is broken, which I probably should've thought about when setting it. I woke up at 7:15 and we were only 2 minutes late and not the last people there. It was a three hour bus ride to Verona, a place I had never been. Verona is in the same region as Venice but on the other side so it's a little different. Verona is home to the third largest Roman amphitheater in the world. It's still in use today for operas and concerts:
It was really big
Lauren and I enjoying the great weather:
There was a giant pit in the middle:
Dr. Malone, Vicky and I all liked the Arena:
It had a great view of Verona:
A great view of Verona:
After the Arena, we headed through the city a little bit. For those of you that don't know Shakespeare used Verona as the setting for Romeo and Juliet. It has since become a huge tourist attraction. Did I mention that Friday (the day I was there) was Valentine's Day? This is supposedly where Juliet lived. There is a statue that if you rub the left breast you get fertility. The line was too long for me. Also there is a balcony where the famous balcony scene would've taken place unfortunately the balcony was built in 1930. Also people do this weird thing where they just stick their gum on the wall here for luck or something. It's really gross and everywhere. Lastly you should be able to see all the locks in the background where people lock together their love for all time. There is also a place where you can write letters to Juliet. I chose to only take a picture:
We then got some free time in the town which I took advantage of. It was really a beautiful place. Probably one of my favorite places in all of Italy:
Kathleen and I posing:
Just a really beautiful place:
The tombs of the old ruling family of Verona:
The streets were marble and it was awesome:
After exploring we decided to stop at a pizzeria for lunch. I got a pizza and beer. It was pretty good:
Then it was back to the bus to say goodbye to Verona and hello to Venice:
We arrived in Venice after a 2 hour bus ride from Verona. We wet into the city via "the people mover": 
We got to our hotel in no time and then decided to go get some dinner. Venice is famous for it's seafood and it's liver. I stuck to the seafood. This was risotto and seafood. The just put a bunch of random seafood in here, like clams, squid, shrimp, fish. It was pretty good:
Afterwards we got a little lost in the city and then got back at around 1 A.M. In conclusion not a bad day in Venice.
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