Buon Viaggio!

Thanks to Google translate, I was able to title my blog with the ever popular saying: "Bon Voyage!", but in the language of the land where I am headed.
Tomorrow morning, I head out of Nantes to meet a couple of my friends in Paris before we depart for Pisa. We will be spending a day in Pisa, taking touristy photos of ourselves holding up the Leaning Tower. After, we will be going to Florence for a couple of days, which is supposed to be an absolutely beautiful city. I remember studying the architecture of the Duomo in grade 12 history, so I'm really looking forward to seeing it myself! After that, we will be going to Rome! We are technically in Rome for 5 days, but only 3 full days... which we are going to jam-pack with sightseeing! I actually just forgot to print off a walking tour guide from Frommers.com, so unfortunately spent about an hour today copying it all out by hand. Which is not really too bad, I suppose. It got me really excited, reading about all of the things we will be seeing. It is strange to think that I will be visiting some sites that have so much history to them. Talk about bringing history to life! I am so excited for my brother, who will be visiting Europe with his school in April, and who will get to see Rome as well. He's a huge ancient Rome buff.
Today was mostly spent getting ready--I went for my last run before the trip, printed off lots of maps (it's like the amazing race!), ate some lunch, bought some little shampoo containers, and then did some last minute research and packed.

This is a photo of my traveler's backpack. I bought it last year at Wild Rock Outfitters in Peterborough, and I absolutely love it. It is an Osprey, which comes with a lifetime warranty.  Right now it is packed with: my little sleeping bag, a traveler's pillow, 1 pair of pants, 4 t-shirts, some underwear and socks, my toiletries bag, first aid kit, journal, travel guide, book to read, and some food. It is seriously an amazing pack.
And with that, all I have to do now is wait! My train leaves for Paris at 9am, so I will be up and ready to go bright and early. I can't believe it has come up so fast!
After praying about my nerves, I woke up this morning feeling really excited for the trip. It is a once in a lifetime experience, which I cannot wait for.
I think that some hostels have free internet for a bit, so if I get the chance I might send little updates, but probably just via Facebook. I'll take detailed notes in my journal so that I can give you all a highlights tour when I return.
Until then, have a wonderful week, enjoy the Fall colours, and thanks for reading!