Ticket Stubs & the end of the last day

I kept all of my ticket stubs and placed them in a written journal I kept. Here's what I remember:

Santa Maria Novella:
The Holy Trinity by Massacio (I need to check the spelling) First fresco made with linear perspective. Perfectly proportional. May have had help by Brunaleschi (sp) Lauree's favorite lecture.

Virtuosi di Venezia-Le Quattro Stagioni:
The four seasons in Venice. Always played for Rendentore. Bought the CD with Lauree.

Galleria Dell'Accademia:
The Accademia. The Music museum with Rona and the David by Michaelangelo with Rocky.

Cinema Odeon:
Saw Harry Potter with Sirena, Jessica, Thomas, Eric, Kenneth and Chelsea in a theatre that looked like it should have plays going on. We had beers while watching it and it had an intermission!

Arena Di Verona Aida:
Aida was absolutley fantastic! We saw it inside a Roman Arena underneath the stars. It included so many beautiful voices and insturments and because the acoustics are so good in the Arena they didn't use microphones. There were pyrotechnics and two long intermissions.

Galleria degli Uffizi:
The Uffizi really means offices, since the Medici had their offices here with a secret passageway to their palace, Palazzo Pitti. Botticelli's paintings "The Alegory of Spring" and "the Birth of Venus" are here, along with Fra Lippi's "Madonna with Child and Angels" We saw some of Da Vinci's work, "The Annunciation of the Virgin Mary" and so many others. It has some fabulous things inside.

I had to take a break from the tickets/biglietteria in order to finish cleaning the apartment and get out. Jen left at around 4:30am and so it was just me and Helena for the rest of the day. We walked over to Accent and check our email. I sent Chris the flight information just in case he didn't call before Helena left (which he didn't). Helena and I left our bags there and started to roam about Firenze trying to figure out where to eat. We decided to go to Cafe Amerini across from our apartment. MMM. I will definitely miss Italian espresso, and as much as I hate to say it... paninos too. After eating our brunch we headed over to Mercato Centrale near San Lorenzo so I could buy pistachios for the train--haha I mean plane ride--I've been in Italy too long. We bought a half liter of red house wine and cheered our last cheers in Italia.

Helena's sensitivity must be rubbing off on me.

We walked back to Accent so Helena could call a cab to take her to the airport. After a quick goodbye (Helena starts the water works if it's too long of a goodbye) I walked over to Amex to change the last of my travelers checks just in case something crazy happened at the airport again. I left in time to catch the 14:30 bus to Pisa airport. This time I know I have more than enough time to get to my plane. Although I couldn't help but doze off for a few minutes here and there on the bus, I took in as much of the scenery as I could.

I love the villas in the rolling hills, the yellow of the sunflower fields and the tall thinness of the Cypress trees (it's like Italians model themselves after those trees) Everytime I've come close to Pisa I find myself searching for the Leaning Tower. Still haven't seen it . Maybe I'll see it next time I come to Italy.

Here comes a new and exciting part of my summer adventure, PARIS! But before that happens I want to reflect on as much as I can about my last week and a half/two weeks in Italy since I slack on writing quite a bit. I am really impressed with the dynamic of our group. There was always someone who opened a different door for me, gave me a new perspective or reminded me why I believe what I do. The trip has changed me and to what extent I may to fully know--only time will tell. One thing for sure...this is only the beginning of my journeys to new lands and far off places. I can never go back to the sheltered American girl I once was. I wonder where I will go next.

Five hours later...

So I'm on a plane to Paris which I felt descend just a bit. I sat next to a husband and his daughter, both of whom are French and don't speak any English. I love children so it didn't stop me from making facial expressions to get my point across. I've spent the last hour reading Time, eating pistachios and drinking frizzante water. The flight attendants offered up scratch cards for a E1.50 and as with all things that are based on luck, I lost. Although the woman right before me and the husband sitting next to me both won!