Sing it, Bing Crosby...

I've got some random pictures here...some of them are pre-Christmas here in Italy...the rest are just some pictures I thought I'd share.
Note: Apparently, they don't do advent wreaths in Italy. I asked my Italian professor about them, and she had no clue what I was talking about. So, I had to fashion my own wreath, using my "Martha Stewart" skills. It took me forever to find purple and pink candles; I don't even know where I was in Florence when I found some in a small "dollar store" type store. But now I have an advent wreath, and my RA is turning a blind eye to the burning of candles...candles...what candles?...I don't have any candles...

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/569073097zoVkCw?start=0

Christmas Time is Here

Life in the Villa continues to go as normal. I've taken no big trips lately, and it doesn't look like I will be traveling much for the remainder of the semester. The past couple weekends I've taken small, short day trips to Arezzo and Prato: two small cities near Florence. This coming weekend I hope to go a little farther, but I haven't decided where yet.
We've started singing Christmas carols in our little choir. I now know Silent Night in Italian and Adeste Fideles very well, and sometimes have a hard time getting them out of my head.
Things are winding down with classes. We are now in the week before the cram-week before finals. Its difficult to try and buckle down and study. I'm so excited about going back to the States, and I'm catching the holiday fever...How can I concetrate when Celine Dion is singing "Feliz Navidad" in the background? Florence isn't helping much either; the city has put up Christmas lights over many of the major streets and it looks *beautiful* at night.
But I'll soon be back in the freezing cold and snow, looking at pick-up trunks instead of Smart cars, going to Meijer instead of Esselunga...