hey guys. i still dont have internet so i have been typing on my computer and saving the posts. so here is a little bit about what i did this weekend!
And the saga begins… 1/8
Traveling started out fine, plane was on time from Kansas and we met up with the rest of our group in Chicago. After a short wait in the airport we boarded to go to Germany. It was snowing so we sat and sat and sat some more. An hour and a half later we arrived in ERUOPE!! Only to realized the delay caused us to miss our flight. Our group of 17 got split up into two, one group Professor Tom and the last 6 of us, including me were to get on a flight 4 hours later. SUPER! So what are a bunch of college kids to do in the Frankfurt airport? Try out the German beer and eat. Classy right? After the excitement of arriving in a foreign country wore off, we realized just how tired we were and we all fell asleep at the table waiting for our plane. We boarded for the last leg of the trip and set off for Italy. After the near death experience that was the bus..tram..thing from the terminal to the plane we got settled ..and again fell asleep. 5 out of the 6 of us got our bags in Italy. Not bad. We got picked up from the airport and were put into to taxis to go to the restaurant the others were at for dinner. I do not think im going to enjoy taxis in Europe. People don’t signal and lanes don’t mean a thing. Scooters and bikes drove up the lane lines and sped out from ally ways, along with people walking and talking and barley avoiding getting ran over. Dinner at last. A 3 course meal of pasta, chicken and potatoes with the house wine and panacotta! How fancy! Then back in a terrifying taxi to our Florentine apartment. Fully furnished, 4 bed 2 bath. Kitchen..washer..no dryer ect. I unpacked showered and for the first time in 2 days slept in a bed instead of a chair. Its going to be a good semester .
1/9
Last night the whole gang, all 17 of us had dinner at a great little pizzeria and the chef just so happened to be from LA! He helped us order and told us all the good clubs and bars to go to. We had pitchers of sangria and ate yummy pizza. At the end of dinner there were Spanish dancers performing. A real mix of cultures. After dinner we wandered to a few bars. No ids so cover charges, a college kids dream. It was our first night in Italy so we went out with a bang. Lets just say…karaoke bar. After wandering around till the wee hours of the night we made it back and make a plate of bread, salami and mozzarella to munch on.
1/10
My roomies and I went out for lunch and I ate the most amazing gnocchi (potato dumpling things) and when I ordered Coca cola light (diet coke) the waiter look puzzled and responded with “no wine?” Oh right. Wine goes with every meal, all the time, no matter what. Oops. I think I offended him. Guess I’ll have to do as the locals do next time. We met up with the group for another walking tour. After a while we arrived at a long set of stairs. Ug. But it was worth it. We got an amazing view of Florence and hung out for a few hours. Then we saw a church, but not the one we were supposed to, Oops again, waited for the group that never came back and finally gave up and went to get gelato. Great choice. There is a gelato stand or store every 10 feet, its heaven. I have not had a bad thing to eat here and I don’t think I’m going to. Even the meat and cheese from the market is gourmet as are the 1 Euro bottles of wine. Bonus: the cereal comes with toys! Oh yes, I got a Madagascar toy in my Honey Nut Cheereos today!
I have become a big fan of people watching, even more so than I was in the states. The people here have such character, and I’ve never seen so many fur coats and leather boots. I feel underdressed all the time no matter how hard I try.
Weekends are nice and relaxing and its great to site see but I’m ready to settle in and start a routine. Feeling so touristy gets frustrating and I want to get to know the lay of the land. Which is getting easier since we live 5 minutes from the Dome, which can be seen from anywhere, or if you ask anyone they will point you in the right direction. I also have no Internet and I feel so…out of touch. (I have been writing these in word documents and saving them) The Italians are, as Daniella our housing supervisor says, “still sorta stuck in the dark ages and really need to be pushed” so we have an internet box…but no code! What a tease. And I haven’t used a phone since I left the states. Its hard but its nice not being so in touch with everyone. Phones are so distracting and I find myself focusing more on what’s around me rather then texting…or calling while walking somewhere so pass the time. Here, walking somewhere is always exciting and there is always something to see, and if you take you eyes off the road you will get ran over in a second. Eek. Walking everywhere is very freeing. No more worrying about gas money, or parking spots, you just wander around and find cool shops and little cafes. Walking back from the market is interesting, you have to buy bags first of all and bag your groceries yourself, which I forgot and the lady behind the register kept shoving food in my face. Then you have to walk a few blocks to the apt, carrying bags, and usually multiple bottles of wine. I’m getting the sense that the locals have a better method because a couple walked by and snickered and I heard “vino” which is wine so I’m pretty sure they were making fun of us. I can deal with it. Nothing gets to me, we are in freaking ITALY!!
this is the view from the top of the city. the turquoise dome is the synagogue. we are going there soon so ill have more pics/info later
Duomo!! (the Dome) our apartment is really close to it so we cant get lost. we ask where it is, people point and we wander home. its great! 
here is me at the top of the viewing point in from of all of florence and the Duomo. 
There are the really long stairs we climbed for an amzing view of the whole city. 
Statue in the square. 
Me and Emily on the Pontivecio, a bridge with lots of jewelry stores that sell gold. 
Roommate picture on the Pontivecio (bridge with jewelry shops)
