I know, it sounds really lame that I am in Italy and there is not much to tell but I promise that it's the honest truth. I have spent most of my this past week in the archives and the Biblioteca Nazionale doing research, and the weather has been so hot that all I have wanted to do at the end of every day is take a cold shower and go to bed. (I managed to give myself a cold by doing this and spent yesterday in bed trying to recover; I feel better today!) Besides my research I have managed to do a few fun things: on Saturday I went to a graduation party for Elisabetta's friend Maria Giulia, who just received her PhD. The best part was that it was a surprise party, and Elisabetta, her friend Giacomo, and I took Maria Giulia out to give her husband time to prep the party and have the other guests arrive. We went out for a drink (diet soda for me!) and then we went back to the house to, as Maria Giulia thought, pick up her husband. Elisabetta pretended to call him and ask if he wanted to come down or if we should come up, and then reported that we needed to go up. So up we went and it was great because Maria Giulia had no idea what was happening and she was genuinely surprised. She is a very sweet, graceful, and demure person and her face was just beaming when we reached the of of the stairs and everyone shouted "Surprise!" The party itself was really nice; there was great food and I met some wonderful people, so it was a Saturday evening well spent. Other than the party, the only non-research oriented thing I did this past week was go to the Accademia gallery and see Michaelangelo's David. They won't let you take pictures so here is a shot of me with a postcard I bought:


As you can see I tried, and failed, to match his serious, determined expression. The David is a magnificent sculpture so it is definitely worth the trip to the gallery to see it; it is also worth it to stand to the side and watch the faces of people as they come down the hallway and see it. There are looks of amazement, wonder, huge smiles, excitement, and the list could go on. It's a great place to people-watch!

So that's the update for now . . . I only have a few days left in Florence since I go to Siena on Wednesday, and there is a lot I need to try and finish before then. Wish me luck!