perspective on coca light and going green

CORRECTION: i have led you astray. 'Duomo' does not in fact mean Dome. it means Cathedral. my bad. The Dome is the most intricate part and most decorated of the Cathedral. 

so we have established that living in Florence is very expensive. i have learned the hard way just how expensive some things are that i take advantage of in the states. at a restaurant a bottomless giant glass of pop and ICE is usally under 2 bucks and you can drink as much as you want. here, there is no ice and a small can can be any where from 3 to 5 euros even more. thats almost 7 bucks!!!! i can buy a whole meal...or 2 in Lawrence, ks for 7 bucks. at the cafe i went to tonight the price for coca light (diet coke) was not on the menu so i just assumed it was the usually 3 euros. i will NEVER buy pop again. im bringing my trusty water bottle everywhere...even to dinner! 

enough complaining about money. lets talk culture differences. italians in some ways are very old fashion and traditional. the old apartments, and narrow streets and shop make the city feel very old. but driving on those old narrow stone streets are tiny electric cars and mopeds. no one drives SUVs and most people ride bikes or walk.  they are eco friendly because they have to be, importing gas is so expensive. but italians don't stop with green cars.  the government regulates how many hours you have have the heat on in your house and at what temperature. genius! saves gas and money. you just have to get used to a few more blankets and a sweater at night, no biggie. but how can a country so advanced in some ways be so behind in others? the city is not set up for the internet lines we have in the states. you have to pay to get wifi in most cafes and the older land lords are hesitant to install it. and sometimes its very expensive and doesn't work at all!

random-we had a culture lesson today from one of the program directres of Accent who hosts our classes and plans trips for us. we learned that the 'hookem horns' or the 'rock out sign' is very bad. something like "F#*K off" or "your wife is sleeping with another man!" haha crazy italians. 

tiny cars. they park every which way on the side of the street. 

ROBOT CAR!! people here plug their cars in. way cool!

near the open air market
flowers and cacti in the market

a store front window. its kids clothes..very well dressed kids. all those things are tiny cocktail umbrellas! tight!!

DAY TRIP TO SIENA, ITALY TOMORROW!