This Thanksgiving I
was in Bologna, Italy spending it with two friends from back home. While
Thanksgiving obviously isn’t celebrated outside of the States, most exchange schools
put on a dinner for the Americans. Miguel, Ashlynn and I had dinner at a restaurant that made a
“Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner”. They first brought out bruschetta, olives and other Italian
foods. Next, came the pizza! I know, it sounds like I didn’t have Thanksgiving
dinner at all, but that was just the appetizer. Finally, after two hours of
eating Italian foods and chatting with Americans and Italians, the turkey came
out with an American flag sticking out of it along with sparklers. It might
have been the most American turkey out there! Spending time with my friends on
Thanksgiving was fun!Friday morning we woke up early to head to Florence.
Miguel and Ashlynn had never been there, so I showed them around. We climbed to
Piazza de Michelangelo and visited the basilica San Miniato al Monte. It was
beautiful. The basilica overlooks the entire city of Florence at one of the
highest points. The Romanesque basilica is said to be one of the most beautiful
churches in Italy and I can confirm that it is my favorite so far. Although it is not the biggest, it is the most decorated by far. Geometric shapes
cover the tiled floor and stripes are on all sides.
Every church that I
have visited in Italy has unique characteristics. Some are simple, some are
extravagant and some are big and some are small. What I love about Europe is
that everything is old. We have very few places in the States that have such
beautiful architecture and nothing is as old, clearly because we are the “New World”. I am lucky to have
been able to see the east coast in the States. I’ve seen Plymouth Rock and Jamestown.
The States has a different beauty that I love.
Being the adventurous
person that I am, I led Miguel and Ashlynn through the streets of Florence
not knowing where I was going. As we
strolled thru the streets, we stumbled
upon a Synagogue and decided to see what one was like. I have never been in a
Synagogue before the one in Florence. There were palm trees in the garden in
front of it.
Being thankful for family is something that I appreciate more now that I couldn’t spend
time with them this year.
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