I cannot believe I'm actually going to do it!!!!

So today, being Monday, normally is a slow day for everyone. But this week is a little different. We have midterms in most of the class, all of mine except Global Issues, so things were a little different today. First of all, it's not raining (yeah blue skies and great, warm weather). Secondly, when we all walked down to class, Global Issues, Bob announces that the afternoon classes are canceled (yeah no classes so we can enjoy great, warm weather). Thirdly, when we all came back up the hill to Villa Bonelli, the rooms were not being cleaned. So we all dropped our stuff off and focused on that which was most important, midterms.

A bunch of us girls went down to Florence around noon though to check out this place that has preplanned trips for around Italy and outside Italy. We go to the office thinking we'd just get some more info and think about it. We leave the office having booked out spots on the trip to Interlaken February 26th. OMG!!!!!!! 180 euro and a note to put our names (Jill, Bailey, and I) down for skydiving later, I'm completely out of my mind. I'm going to Interlaken in a couple of weeks and going skydiving!!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!!! Randomly throughout the rest of the day I just have to say it out loud again: "I'm going skydiving!" "I'm going to Interlaken!" I cannot believe it. Although, it has not cleared my bank or even shown up as a purchase yet.

So, here are the details for the trip. €180 – 3 days and 3 nights Includes: accommodation, breakfast and round trip transport. I've copied and pasted from the website the info on the Interlaken weekend. Interlaken, labeled the adventure sports capital of northern Europe, couldn't be a more magical place. This gorgeous village is nestled in between the Lakes Thun and Brienz and framed by the snow-capped trio of peaks of the Swiss Alps, the Eiger, the Mönch and the Jungfrau. Offering Skiing, Snowboarding, Skydiving, Night Sledding, Paragliding and more, there are endless activities to keep the adrenalin pumping.

For those of you who like to keep you feet a little firmer on the ground, explore the region by taking a day trip to the Swiss Capital - Bern, discovering Interlaken by quad bike or horse back, take a ride on the Jungfrau to the highest railway station in Europe, indulge in spa beauty treatments or shopping along the elegant streets of Interlaken.

Easily the most popular destination in Switzerland for students and young travelers of all nationalities, the hostels have created a fun atmosphere including on-site bars, restaurants and clubs where you can enjoy a night out with a DJ or live band only steps away from your room and a good nights sleep.

Whilst there are plenty of options to experience the local Swiss cuisine (hmm cheese fondue!!), there are also an array of international restaurants including Thai, Indian, Mexican and more, that will give you a well-deserved break from pizza and pasta!

All of your activities can be pre-booked or booked at the hostel. Even if your friends don't want to do the same things you will meet new people knowing that you will be all meeting back up in The Lounge in the Funny Farm at the end of the day.
The FunnyFarm Hotel/Hostel has the following facilities -

• The Lounge – Lobby Bar open from 8am till late,
• Pool Tables, Open Fireplace, INTERNET access,
• Club Caverne – club under the hostel open from 10:30pm to 1:30am with DJs, Live Music and concerts. In 2008 Club Caverne special guests included Ziggy Marley, Naughty by Nature, Red Lotus, Note va gustar and Lord Bishop.
• Adventure activities booking desk,
• Spacious gardens with swimming pool and outdoor bar, beach volleyball, Guinness Tent (summer only) with evening bonfire and a whole lot more!
(http://www.florenceforfun.org/index.php?lng=1&id=1979).

Wow! So, after we left the office all of us split up. Ania and I walked around downtown a bit before walking to the stazione to catch the #7 bus. When we got to the stazione, there was this group of kids, probably around 16ish, waiting with suitcases and backpacks. I just knew that they would be getting on the #7 bus and was proved right when the bus pulled up and they all cheered. Ania and I booked it to the bus in order to get seats as the group of kids was quite large. We sat in the back and these two guys from the group sat down next to us. Ania and I believe that they were probably Norwegian, from their accent and ice blue eyes. Oh, their eyes were just gorgeous to look at, although, well never mind. They got off a little after San Domenico. The bus was soooo packed with them and everyone else on it that we were squished next to these kids, but such is life and we move on.

We met Bob at the bus stop in Fiesole. He said that he was going into town. We told them about the trip to Interlaken and then walked back up to Villa Bonelli. Not 10 minutes after entering my room, Adam knocks on the door and asks if I could go over the stuff we need to know for our Literature midterm tomorrow. I said sure and he went to grab his stuff. We start discussing what Chiara said would be on the test when Allyson, who is also in the class, walks in and starts to participate. Not long after Andy joins the group. We go over all the stuff and discuss what we remember from the reading and what we remember Chiara saying before calling it good. I'm glad we did that because I feel better about the test now and I can start focusing on the other tests.

I then rested the rest of the afternoon, doing a little light reading and checking out my websites, before heading off to dinner at Etrusca. Bob didn't eat with us at dinner tonight so we got kind of loud. We had the spaghetti with garlic, olive oil, and pepper flakes for the first course and the chicken breast and fries for the second course. I opted out of a dessert as they were out of gelato and only had two panna cottas. So I just left the restaurant early to come back to Villa Bonelli early to study some more.

I think this last weekend has been the most that I've seen of us yet studying and getting homework done. Everyone is cracking down and studying for the midterms this week. But we are all trying to figure out our weekends as well. I think we're all going to Venice this upcoming weekend. We'll be in Venice for Valentine's day which would be sooooo romantic if I had a boyfriend to share the experience with. As it is we'll have five guys and ten girls to share the experience, if we all go.

Now, I have major studying to do so wish me luck! Ciao.