Day 69: Softball and Firenze

Wow, so much has happened in the past 36 hours that I don't know where to begin!

I got off work yesterday (Friday) and headed for the softball fields. We had a tournament that started at 6 pm and went until "whenever we finish." I got there as the first practice game ended, and at 8 pm we started up again with one practice game, followed by the bracket games. We played three in a row and then had an hour and a half break. If you're trying to figure out the time, we had a break from 11 pm - 12:30 am. We won all three, including one against the base varsity teams (half the men's team mixed with half the women's team). I batted .800 and played first the whole time, including making several double plays. :) I had already signed up to go to Florence (Firenze) and was leaving at 4:30 am, so I ended up leaving the fields after the three games, around 11:30.

I went home, showered and got ready for Firenze. But when I laid down on the couch at 12:45 am, I couldn't stop thinking--How was the team doing? Were they hitting? Were they winning? I finally ended up grabbing my things for Firenze and went back to the fields at 1 am! They did win their 12:30 am game (28-5, or something to that effect!), and had a two hour break until the championship game. I hung out with the guys (who are absolutely hilarious!) and chilled until the game started around 3:15 am. I had to leave at 3:45, but they ended up winning the championship and our shortstop got MVP for the tournament! It was awesome news to hear.

When I left the fields at a quarter to 4 am, I had a broken blood vessel in my hand from our (awesomely hard throwing) shortstop. But Firenze was calling my name! So off I headed to the meeting place where the bus would pick us up. :)

My friends from work, Breanna and Kendra, along with Kendra's husband Drew, and I explored Firenze from 9 am this morning until 5 pm. I must say that I haven't had such a fun 36 hours (including softball time) in a LONG time! We had a guided tour for about two hours, and then we were on our own for 6 hours to explore! There are way too many pictures to post here though, so I'll post under 10 and you can check out my Facebook for more. :)

 This is Ponte Vecchio over the Fiume Arno. :) So beautiful!

David! This is a replica, since we were not allowed to take pictures of the original. It's huge though!! 20 feet high. :)

Myself, Kendra, and Breanna on Ponte Vecchio.

 :)

 Couldn't resist the gelato!

 ... Or the Prosecco!

 Intoxicated grins. :)

Salute!

... I am now off to bed. Since Thursday morning, I've only slept maybe a total of 10 or 12 hours! Ciao!