Florence is many things...

I heard a lot about Florence before I got here. I have heard of the small town feel, the glorious duomo, the out-door markets, the incredible food, but never...did I ever... hear about the mosquitos.

Ladies and gents, I have 24 mosquito bites. Yes. 24. Don't know how, or when it happened.... But they seem organized and I am enemy #1. My leg looks like I have contracted some sort of pox disease. It's like they knew I was on blood thinners, and all decided they were in the mood for fast-food. I have six on one foot. ONE FOOT! Did I miss memo somewhere about Florence and it's militia organized mosquitos? I mean the pizza is good, but not that good. Incase anyone is dreaming of a getaway to Florence, Italy... Invest in bug spray... And maybe a bee keeper's outfit.

Last night might have added fuel to the fire. We participated in a pub crawl that I insisted on wearing a dress to... Naked legs were a poor decision. However, before my leg turned into an all-you-can-eat buffet, the crawl was unbelievably fun. We went to several different bars, with a free "shot" at each (the shots were barely the size of half of an American one)(Note: sizing may be influenced by amount of alcohol intake). We met tons of new people: French canadian girls that were as in love with us as we were with them, a gaggle of Bostonian dudes that were pretty cute, another group of Canadian girls that had no regard for personal space, and a tour guide that reeked slightly of BO and was in love with Brie. By the end of the night, we had 13 new best friends that we were planning future trips with, inviting back to Albuquerque, being in pictures, etc.

Dre and I spent most of this morning in our room, avoiding anyone we might have made friends with. Except for the hungover "I want food" walk, we didn't leave the room and started referring to the lobby as landmine country. So much for my 4-month-long vacay to Quebec.

Tomorrow, we start our endless train venture to Spain. It's almost a full 24 hours of train traveling, which will be a no-go without a trip to the pharmacy, where I will purchase anything that even slightly resembles calamine lotion. Ciao, Italy... I hope to see you again one day.