Day 1:

Howdy! This is Devon and Erin writing to y'all from Italy. We had an exciting day of traveling today in which we got to get to know all of our new companions. We are so excited to get to meet all of these new people, because from what we have heard, we will make some lifelong compadres on this trip.
We started out our day meeting all of our new friends at the Houston Airport. We got to hear from Mr. Fitzhugh before we departed. While waiting in the terminal, we played icebreaking games, such as Fluxx and other card games. Once on the plane, in our assigned seating, we came to realize that nine hours stuck in a very small area can take a long time to pass. But, we were surrounded by our new friends, so getting to know them was very easy. We were also very well fed, with the flight attendants coming by regularly passing out dinner, breakfast, and ice cream. After nine excruciatingly sleepless hours, we landed in Paris at 1AM central time for our four hour layover. We wandered around the small terminal, spending our first Euros, sleeping under benches, playing countless rounds of Uno, and getting funny looks from the non Americans that also wandered the terminal. The next flight from Paris to Florence took two hours and was filled with snores. We then boarded a bus for a two hour long ride through the Tuscan countryside, arriving at the study center, Santa Chiara, at about 10 AM Texas time.
Some showered, some unpacked, and some crashed. We then headed to our first authentic Italian dinner, where we had spaghetti, chicken, spinach, bread, and ice cream. We then toured the study center and the BEAUTIFUL Tuscan town. The weather was incredible. We concluded our tour at the local gelato shop, The Coco Palm, with the most delicious gelato. Ever. We then headed back to Santa Chiara, where everyone but us, the dedicated bloggers we are, adjourned to their rooms for much needed peaceful slumbers, after more than 24 hours of exhausting travel and wonderful bonding.