L'Italia, qui vengo!

When all is said and done, the weather and love are the two elements about which one can never be sure.

Alice Hoffman, 'Here on Earth'
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Exams are done! First-year is DONE! I can't believe how fast it went, and I'm going to ITALY!

...in three or so more days. I'm so excited! We're in Paris for a few days first, which will most likely be spent in the Louvre haha. You have no idea how much I want to go there, and the galleries in Italy (Uffizi!!!!). We're spending a week each in Rome, Florence, and Venice. I tried to convince them to spend more time in Florence, but oh well. They wanted to skip it and I was like "OMG WTF you can't just skip like -the- center of Renaissance art!!! I want to see David!!!" haha...it's all good though.

I went shopping yesterday with my sister, which was exciting because we haven't done that at all this year. I was supposed to get a halter for my dog, though. So we come across this pet store in the mall, and we went in and found the halters, and were about to buy one when I look over my shoulder and see this family looking at a lab puppy which an employee is holding. And then I look past them and see a cage crammed full of chihuahua puppies, and then three more rows filled with other dogs. Well, I walked out of there pretty fast. It ruined my whole day. I hope the family didn't buy a puppy, it'll probably get sick and die like I've seen so many petstore dogs do. I wanted to walk up to the store owner and say "So where do you get your puppies" to which they'll reply "Local breeders" "Oh, so you mean puppy mills?" God! These placed should be shut down. Honestly, I refuse to be a patron to anyone who has any part in keeping these puppy mills going.

Anyway, other than that it was ok. I realized how much I hate shopping lol.

I finally got my moleskine sketchbooks from amazon! Two of them! I needed them for Italy so I can do some stuff. A sketch/ ink/ painting a day. I want to bring my watercolours so bad, but I'm almost positive they'll get confiscated at the airport. I would use my pencils but I can never get a really rich colour from them. So hopefully I'll have some art to post when I get back. I need to brush up on my very limited knowledge of italian...I have a feeling the title is quite incorrect.

And I need to pick my concentrations before I leave! Tell me what to do! Please! I have no idea. I'm leaning towards art history/ drama medial, or geology. HELP! And, it's like summer here.

Anyway...Arrivederci amici! I'll be gone for about a month...seeing some amazing art, eating some delicious food, and drinking some fantastic wine. Jealous yet?
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Tea Quote of the Day:

Love and scandal are the best sweeteners of tea.

~Henry Fielding, "Love in Several Masques"

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Tea of the Day:

Lipton Chai Tea

For something totally different, try LIPTON Spiced Chai, an exotic blend of savory spices, rich, all natural Assam black tea leaves and a hint of ginger. Add milk to create a Chai Latte – a delicious treat. Plus, LIPTON Tea provides a healthy dose of protective flavonoid antioxidants.

From me: Mmm, chai latte.
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There are SO many blackbirds now that I can't even count. Not to mention the crows, morning doves, chickadees, woodpeckers, sparrows and finches.