| Erin's Journal for Friday, 3-29 Today was the first day I've ever spent in a foreign country! It was exciting and almost overwhelming. We woke up early, since we're not quite adapted to the time zones as of yet. But we took our time getting ready, and when we went out the day was already gorgeous. We walked down the street from our hotel, and pretty quickly found a spot to have a croissant and juice. The orange juice looked to have been from blood oranges and was squeezed right in front of us. It was so sharp that it made my eyes water! As for the city itself, I noted that they all looked to be better constructed than almost anything I've seen in the states. They all seemed to be from 3 to 6 stories tall, made of granite or some other stoney material, and most of the floors we've walked on were marble. Most of the apartments we saw that had balconies were decorated with multitudes of plants, and overall it looked like a beautiful city to me. There were parks scattered throughout the areas where we walked, but not a lot of greenery other than that. The cars are amazing - many of them so small, I doubted that they'd sell in the US with our penchant for wanting bigger and bigger spaces to drive in. There were several occasions where we saw cars that absolutely were blocked in and wouldn't be able to get out until the other cars moved. As for the sights we saw today, the Duomo was the major one. It's a beautiful cathedral, with over 700 spires on the top and a golden statue of Mary at the very top. The inside was overwhelming. Statues everywhere, gorgeous marble floor, huge stained glass windows that told stories, and soaring ceilings so ornate it looked incredible. After that marvel, we walked around outside and found the equivalent of a deli, where we purchased sandwiches with ham & cheese and some other yummies. We searched afterward for several museums that were on our map, but never found them. It seems that nothing is very well signed - we even had trouble earlier in the morning finding the US Consulate! I supposed, considering the terrorist threats that have been publicised, that this was on purpose in that one case, but it seems to be true for all these buildings. You pretty much need to be standing right in front of the building to see any signs of what is in it. After our fruitless museum search, we found a cybercafe where we checked email and relieved parents that we'd arrived safely, updated our website (finally!), and uploaded software to use the fold-out keyboard with our Jornada (the reason I'm able to type this journal!). Next problem to solve: plugs that will work with the European three-pronged power outlets. |
 |
| Me in the Piazza di Duomo - neat statues! |