Today was the free day we had on our trip. We slept in until nine o’clock and went down for breakfast.

I made sure to call my mom and leave her a message for Mother’s Day.

A big group of us went out shopping for the day. There were so many designer stores in Florence, specifically Italian designers that only make one of everything.

We went into this little boutique called “Styled by Florence” and their clothes were at a decent price. I ended up buying a leather jacket for 70 Euro. Nicole got this yellow lacey skirt that is completely not her style and out of her comfort zone so I’m super excited to see her in it and how she styles it. I believe she’s wearing it in Milan.

We went to lunch in this little Bistro place that had salads, Paninis and coffees. I ended up getting a mozzarella and tomato Panini. Their Panini portions here are so much smaller than American portions and to be honest, it practically completely fills me up.

From there we went shopping some more. I didn’t buy anything else but there was this pink dress I saw in a store that I really wanted, but I looked at the price tag and it was 400 Euro so I had to pass.

We went back to the hotel to rest and take naps. After napping, Morgan, Emily and I went to this little pasta place where we met two girls that just flew in from South Carolina and Alabama who were studying abroad for six weeks. They lost their entire luggage so they were looking for places to shop as well.

We asked our waiters if we looked American and they said yes to everyone except for me. They said I look Northern Swedish, which might be the best compliment I’ve gotten in Europe. From dinner, we decided to swim in the pool and relax in the sauna before going to bed.

I called my mom one more time before going to bed.