The second week in Florence started a little differently than the week before. After getting back from Venice, I was starting to develop a bit of a cold. The smart person would have gone back to their hotel and crashed early, but alas that night I was not the smart person.

Instead of catching up on sleep, we went to our favorite hangout, Uncle Jimmy’s, and watched the Super Bowl. For those who do not know, I am a huge New England Patriots fan, so nothing was going to stop me from watching the game.

Unfortunately for football fans abroad, the game did not even start until two in the morning.

Even though I did not get back to the hotel until 6 AM, it was worth the sleep deprivation and the roller coaster of emotions. I may have almost tackled my friend to the ground (he is ok) with tears of joy streaming down my face when St. Malcom Butler caught the game-clinching interception for the Pats.

Staying up all night resulted in my slight cold evolving into a full blown head cold that sidelined me for two days.

Instead of describing how I laid in bed all day, I will take this chance to tell a story I could not get to from the first week.

The best part of the program I am in is that it offers students a vast amount of trips and opportunities to explore and integrate into the Italian culture.

This time around they offered a wine tasting. We all figured it would be a quick event we would all meet up at in Florence and sip on some wine.

Instead, we loaded up the bus and we were off to a vineyard in the hills of Wine Country. The view of the rolling hills and small villages canvassing the countryside was breath taking.

We arrived at the villa at what is called the “Painters Hour,” in which the sun paints the landscape in a golden color that you need to see to believe.

We were greeted by Gino, an expert on everything vino, who was our guide for the evening. I have never met a man who exudes passion like Gino.

As he showed us each room and cellar of the vineyard and explained the process of how the wine is lovingly created, he told us passionate stories of his own love for life, wine, and even of his love for his American wife (which resulted in a tear or two from members of the group).

Once we had completed the tour, it was time for the tasting and dinner. Before Gino left, he told us one more quote that stuck with all of us.

“Eat, drink and love 100 percent, and you will never be afraid of death.”

We learned how to properly drink wine, ate great food and relaxed with friends after another phenomenal day.

Flash forward to week two, and I am feeling good to go. The day after I started to feel better, we were off on a day trip to Sienna.

Sienna feels like it could be out of “Game of Thrones.”

The town is made up of 17 different districts, from the She-Wolves to the Gooses and Dragon districts and everything in between. Over the course of the city’s history, rivalries between the different districts were formed.

These rivalries are only heightened twice a year when the entire city shuts down for the city’s main event.

Since the 14th Century, Siena has held horse races in the town square. Officials bring in some of the best jockeys in the world to come and compete for each district. Whichever district wins the races basically gets to party the rest of the months until the next race. They also get to sport their district’s scarf when the rest of the 16 cannot.

Absolutely bonkers.

The rest of the time in Siena, my friends and I came up with how we are going to turn this into an HBO Miniseries. We are in deep in contract negotiation with HBO, so I can’t tell you much more except that it’s coming soon.

(Back to reality)

Between the wine tasting and Siena I did not have much expectations or knowledge of either.

“Oh cool we get to see wine get made and then see another cool old town in Italy,” a naïve Alex thought.

Tip #10: Get out of your comfort zone and experience things that you don’t know much about.

If I wouldn’t have gone on either trip, I would have missed out on some of the highlights of my study abroad experience. If an opportunity comes up to do something new, get out there and do it.

After Siena, it was just about time to pack up for Roma.

On the last day we were in Florence, I packed my bag and went to struggle through my Italian final (I got a B in the class!).

When I finished, it felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. My roommate and I smoked victory cigars walking through the streets one last time.

After lunch I split from the group to see one last piece of art I still had not seen. The David is an incredible piece of art that needs to be seen in person.

Tip #11: Pictures do not do most things in Italy justice; you need to see them with your own eyes.

After an hour of marveling at the marble, I got a really nasty sandwich and jumped on the bus.

Florence was an amazing experience and if you have the opportunity, please go. There is something for everyone there from the art majors to the food people.

Alex Stadnik is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected].