independence and a visit from the boy

I think I just completed one of the best weeks of my life. I'll let you know.


Gaber left today after spending one week strolling my Florence streets by my side. We stayed in a little apartment right in the center by the sede, cooked dinner, came and went as we pleased, slept in, watched tv together, and chatted until 4am. It was the definition of perfection.


Wednesday - went to happy hour at a Mexican bar called Tijuana with Christine, Breana, Anna and Claire, then went to a yummy little trattoria called Gusto Leo (I think?) where we ate pizza, then home to snuggle and watch tv (by way of gelato, of course!)


Thursday - introduced Gabe to the wonder of kebabs in this city (he ate 2 in about 2 hours I believe), then strolled and did some grocery shopping, tv watching and snuggling since it was chilly and dreary, came home after class and made heart-shaped pasta with oil, garlic and hot pepper - so good!! I'm going to guess we got gelato afterward?

Friday - wandered ALL day, went to the History of Science Museum, checked out some cute churches, the building that I want to buy to start my restaurant and hotel (where Napoleon's brother lived and died I might add... its a stretch but its abandoned and beautiful.....), walked up the hill over the Arno, ate more gelato and kebabs, met the crew for aperitivo at Moyo, headed to karaoke and then spent about 20 minutes at 21, a discoteca, then headed home for the night.

Saturday - after not sleeping well at all (we decided there was Red Bull in the free mixed drink shots we got for singing karaoke....) we took the bus over the Arno and up to San Miniato, a beautiful little church on the hill, took lots of pictures, then wandered through Florence to the Duomo, ate gelato, stopped by my host family's house to introduce everyone and pick up all the stuff I sent home with him, then wandered home to cook roast beef, thinly sliced bistecca fiorentina and roasted potatoes (pretty successful, I must say!!). I am tempted to say we had more gelato after dinner.... (In case you hadn't noticed, Gabe was quite taken with the gelato!! Especially the lemon!)

Sunday - tried to go to Villa Demidoff in Pratolino.... after successfully figuring out the bus and wandering until we found the entrance, it was closed for restoration, but we found some snow and a "Gigantic Adventure Park" which was a huge ropes course up in the woods, then we went back into the center, strolled through the San Lorenzo market, stopped for gelato by the Duomo and then headed home to make a feast of amazing meats and cheeses and breads and beer, then tv and chatting til late. 

Monday - after Translation class we wandered all around in the sun, visited my favorite church and sat in on Mass for a little while and then went home to get ready to go out to dinner at an ADORABLE and delicious restaurant that Gaber found called Trattoria da Tito - SO GOOD! We took shots of limoncello with our waiter and the busser and then strolled home... by way of gelato. 


Tuesday - had class on and of all day long, Gaber played computer games, did some work and ran some errands, we made some lunch at home with the leftover meats and cheeses and some tomatos and then for dinner we went to my favorite restaurant in Florence, I Tarocchi, over the Arno where we had pizza, salad, bistecca fiorentina and then topped it off with gelato (we did stop by the apartment to pack for Wednesday first!!) Then there was a minor catastrophe (which we avoided very well!) Gaber left the keys in the apartment.... and the cell phones.... so we couldn't call ANYONE to let us back in.... and other than the owner, there isn't anyone else to let us in anyway! So first we found the woman in the neighboring apartment to see if she had access to the courtyard so maybe we could get in the window, but she didn't.... so she asked someone else.... but they didn't either (very teary and upset Sera on our hands at this point..... very covered in mascara and sniffly and pink....) Then I had an idea.... So we walked to Hotel Maxim, the first hotel we all stayed in when we first got here in September and, looking as sad and pathetic as possible, I explained our problem to the man and he let us use the internet to get the woman's number and then the phone to call her and BOOM! She came in less than 20 minutes! And said we were lucky because she usually turns her phone off at night! THANK GOODNESS! Tragedy avoided! Good thing we also had some strawberries waiting in the apartment to eat in bed as we watched House Hunters! 


Wednesday - a sad day... but we made it! Had some (VERY OVERPRICED) pastries at a famous pastry shop (they were pretty good I suppose!), hopped on the bus to the airport, said goodbye as bravely as possible, and that was that! Then I went to the sede to study for my opera midterm, took it, and came home!! Phew. 


Host family update: It's so nice to be back with them! I missed them! We had an amazingly yummy dinner of chicken, roasted potatoes and salad with tomato and avocado! Then we brought out all the Easter candy that my mom sent with Gabe. The Reese's eggs were a hit among the host parents and the Jelly Belly's were a HUGE success with the host bros. Especially the buttered popcorn ones. Yuck. I think I might have to request some more. And Harry Potter beans because the bros are very intrigued. I am going to miss it here. 9 weeks from today and I will be in my house in Vermont... how did that happen?? Scary, exciting, sad, and very different.... Vermont is going to feel awfully small..... 


Life update: As of right now, while my restaurant dream is still fully in tact, I have a new plan that will help my future in the food biz. There is a graduate program in Gastronomy at BU. And I can concentrate in business. While Gaber goes to school at MIT or works there..... And Alex will live down the street. It's a great life plan. I love being young and falling in love either everything and wanting to do everything. It's so invigorating. Did I mention that I am also considering finding a job/internship/something in cookbook/food book translation? It exists! I just need to find it! It would be AMAZING! 


Anyway! Time to go browse dresses online for my 21st birthday and my lovely best friend Isadora's bridal shower that I am throwing as well as her rehearsal dinner! 


Amore a tutti!!


P.S. Countdown to Barcelona, Madrid and London = 13 days and 19 hours!!!!!

part two of random ramblings

Saturday
Fabulous day!! I wore a tiny little light sweater thing and flats and walked around all day in the 60 degree sun! It was incredible!
After breakfast and such, I headed into the center to go to the San Lorenzo market where I bought my very own leather jacket!! Its gorgeous! And yes, it was probably overpriced initially (350 euros) but after talking with the man for awhile and impressing him with my Italian and telling him all about what I study, etc. he sold it to me for 130 euros! AKA $177 when it should have been about $476 - not too shabby right???

After dinner host mamma and I looked through some more maps and photos and magazines and things and talked about movies and more places we would like to go. Then I went and watched the soccer game with the twins and host dad while looking through some really cool magazines (have I mentioned that we have HUNDREDS of house and travel and vacation and architecture magazines????) These were my primary findings: 

http://www.graftlab.com/

http://images.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=aqua+tower+chicago&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=_I-JS-DuCs7__QazjOzpBg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CCgQsAQwAw

http://ammos.it/web08/pagprova.htm

I love being with my host parents.... maybe I will go to mass with them in the morning.... after I make pancakes of course!!!! 

So far today

No mass! We didn't make it..... as usual! I did make pancakes though! And we used up the last of the mix.... I guess I will have to start making them from scratch! After breakfast Silvia invited me to go for their usual Sunday passeggiata (little walk) to the Piazza where their church is and then to get coffee and pick up chicken for dinner. Filippo stayed home to do homework (yeah right....) so it was just me and Lorenzo and the host parentals. We stopped and talked to just about everyone we passed on the street, walked to the church, greeted some more people, got some cappuccino, and headed under the train tracks to another piazza I didn't even know existed to go to the rosticceria (rotisserie) to buy some chicken parts. Yum. In a few minutes I am going to do my translation homework then make some more lists, finish planning Isadora's bridal shower, dream about life a little, and then watch the amazing 1999 version of Alice in Wonderland and possibly Nine! Perfection! (Did I mention that the NEW Alice in Wonderland is coming to Pistoia - about 40 minutes away - on Wednesday and Thursday and therefore after class on Thursday we are SO going to see it!!!)

Baci a tutti!! I miss you all!!! 

a bit of random babbling

I don't really have anything in particular to share but I am in a blogging mood and therefore I am just going to go for it and chit-chat about various things.


Friday
Friday morning I had my university class (which remains continues to be amazing I might add) and then I headed home for the afternoon (after picking up magical medicine at the pharmacy). I did some homework, watched some tv online, organized my room, etc. Nothing particularly amazing. Until! I had a fabulous night with my host family! 
After dinner, host mamma and I made some chamomile tea with orange zest and honey (amazing by the way!)  and looked through some magazines together. She told me about all sorts of cool places to go in Italy and all the beautiful hotels they have stayed at and all the therapeutic natural hot springs nearby. I must say.... it would be awfully nice to live the life they live!! They've been so many places!! Fiji, Bali, Hawaii, all sorts of other islands, Morocco, Egypt, France, Spain, the U.S., Switzerland, Mexico, Greece, everyone you'd ever want to go - they've been there! 
Then I meandered into the living room to sit with host dad and broskies who were watching the History Channel. There was a show all about the Air France flight, the Concorde, that burned and crashed in 2000. It was very sad..... I didn't really even know anything about it but now I am pretty well educated and it pretty much broke my heart to see interviews of people who were minding their own business and driving to work when suddenly there was a plane in flames 30 meters above their car.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_4590
Speaking of flights, we are working on fixing my flight home. When I came here, we bought a round-trip ticket from September to the summer, but we weren't sure when I would be coming home so we booked the flight as far out as we could which is April 14th or so. Unfortunately, all the cheapest seats (equivalent to what we bought at first) for all the flights for the week of May 17th (when I would like to come home) are sold out. All of them! All week! So not only do we need to pay the $200 fee for changing the ticket, we need to pay almost another $300 to cover the price difference in tickets! How absurd!!!!! 
I am feeling funny about going home.... I want to be home and I want to work and be with friends and family but I am going to be so heartbroken to leave here..... I told my host family when I was thinking of leaving and they all looked so shocked because they thought I would be here until June..... I am torn!! I wouldn't have anything to do here because I won't have much money left.... and I want to be home in Vermont... I guess no matter when I go home I will be heartbroken..... I think I will come back to Florence for a month or so as a graduation present to myself in a year and a half (WHAT?!?! Can you believe that?!?! A year and a half!!!) Or maybe I will come work here for a bit!! Only time will tell I suppose! 
As for jobs at home... I am hoping to work at the Reservoir a decent amount like last summer and I am looking for other options just in case I can't get enough hours there. I have emailed probably close to 20 restaurants with my resume and cover letter and so far I have one option and a possible interview in May. Sigh. Real life. Yuck. On another job-related note - Gabe accepted a job working in the Lincoln Labs at MIT!!!! Congrats!! Its a pretty incredible opportunity.... even if it does mean he will be living in Worcester for the summer.... a little upsetting, but worth it in the long run!! (He will be here in Italialand in precisely 10 days!).
I think tomorrow I will do some futzing and some shopping.... It's supposed to be AMAZING. And I want to think about something to cook for my host family for dinner this week..... And I want to find some dresses for my birthday and Isadora's bridal shower which I need to finish planning.... Oh the to-do lists!!!! 


A domani!!! Baci e abbracci! 


P.S. Booked a flight to London to see Alessandra!! The day I get home from Barcelona and Madrid with Breana I am turning right back around at the Pisa airport and heading to England!! 

and the world gets even smaller.

this weekend my best friend from home (alessandra, who is studying in london this semester) came to visit me in florence with her best friend, kaltra. they stayed with kaltra's friend from home, eileen, who is spending this semester here. we spent the whole weekend with my best friend from smith, breana. kaltra and alex's good friends from london were also here. along with about 15 other people that we knew from various other places. it was a weekend of best friends. 

it was almost surreal to have my best from from vermont and my best friend from smith with me in italy of all places. surreal and very fantastic. 

friday afternoon i wandered around with alex and kaltra and eileen, looking at piazza signoria and the duomo and the smith sede and various other things. we ate some delicious gelato and then headed home to get ready for the night. we met up with breana and lots of other smith girls to have aperitivo at moyo. i had a delicious fruity drink (turns out it was not a good idea....) and yummy snacks. afterward, we wanted to go sing karaoke at the american bar called the red garter but no one was there yet. breana, alex, kaltra and i headed back to eileen's apartment to hang out for a bit before trying again. when we got back to the red garter, we snagged a strawberry daquiri and sang two songs: first the spice girls with some other american girls and then n'sync with some american boys. after we had enough of that, we met up with kaltra and eileen and went to 21, a discoteca, where we danced our bums off til 3:30am.... oops! 

saturday, after sleeping in of course, breana and i went and met up with alex and the others to wander around the san lorenzo market before dinner. alex and i bought very cute rings (after MUCH haggling) and breana and i bought little flower-printed scarves like we've always wanted. oh, and alex bought a little leather bag just like mine and breana's so now we all match! for dinner alex, breana and i wandered over to my FAVORITE restaurant in florence, i tarocchi (the tarot cards) where i had a greek salad followed by AMAZING roast beef and roasted potatoes. so good. alex had carbonara and breana had delicious penne in spicy tomato sauce. after checking in and stopping by various places to see all the various people we knew in florence, we headed to braumiester for the usual saturday night beer (well in this case, raspberry lambic - yum!) 

this morning, the three of us met up to have american brunch at the diner. soooo good. i had eggs benedict and they each had chocolate chip pancakes. we spent the rest of the day wandering florence, going to the socks and tights store, popping in the anthropology museum, and wandering to santa maria novella and over the arno to see pitti palace. finally we had t say goodbye and watch everyone pile into the cab and head to the airport to go back to london. it was very sad..... good thing sometime in the next 6 weeks or so i will be heading over to london to see them all again!!!! 

overall it was a FABULOUS weekend! and it made the world feel very small in the most wonderful of ways!

off to do some translation! baci e abbracci as always!! 

un giorno worth a blog

today was my first full day off without any commitments, assignments, classes, appointments, or any other kind of require thing. it was grand.

9am. wake up (unfortunately to an alarm but it was soooo very worth it)


10.30am. head over to the stazione leopolda to meet claire and breana to go to a trunk show of sorts, all different italian vintage stores showin' off their goods.


11.00am. find a chandelier that i absolutely must have in my future apartment..... 3,000 euros....


11.20am. explore all sorts of wonderful vintage things including crazy sunglasses, gorgeous felt things, bright patterned dresses and funky homemade pins (i bought two as presents.... you better hope its for you!)

1pm. wander over toward santa maria novella with miss breana to find some lunch. 


1.30pm. munch said lunch in the freezing, brisk air of the piazza, sho-ing (how do you say that?) away the vile pidgeons.


2.30pm. hop on bus 17 toward home.


3pm. sip some tea and share a delicious italian donut-thing with silvia.


3.15pm. tidy room, change sheets, refold clothes in closet. get nice and comfy on bed, wrapped in blue snuggie.


3.30pm. commence afternoon of doing anything i want on the computer EXCEPT opening word to write or wordreference.com to look up words in english. talk with bestie from home, bestie from here, boyfriend, mamma and padre. think about spring break in barcelona, and other various little trips. order valentine's present for parents and have it shipped home. desperately try to think of boyfriend presents for 4th valentine's day.... still stuck on that one.


8.00pm. re-emerge from room for dinner. eat DELICIOUS fried schiacciata aka amazing dough fried into puffy little disks which are then cut in half and stuffed with prosciutto and various amazing cheeses. also broccoli and romanesco and cauliflower. and a kiwi. and some red wine. and a delicious almond cookie that i bought the other day.

9.00pm watch tv with enrico.... aka watch 20 minutes of soccer games and another 30 of grease. in italian. just me and him. it was fantastic.


10.00pm. return to the beloved bed and computer to settle in for a nice evening. load on episode of one tree hill, talk to boyfriend and bestie in florence while munching some chocolate with almonds and raisins.


11:20pm. after much distraction (what else is new....) get in pajamas after very merrily having decided to go on a science museum crawl with breana tomorrow. followed by a literary aperitivo with some other girls and giovanna. a nerdy day, indeed! how i cannot wait!


11.40pm. finish the list of muse-see museums for this semester including not only anthropology and archaeology museums but a carriage museum (by appointment only), the old pharmacy at santa maria novella, the porcelain museum, the synagogue, and the photography museum. it's on, florence, you just wait. 

11.44pm. find out from bestie that tomorrow is national lady gaga day... that must mean i need to find an outrageous outfit and tie my hair into a big bow.


11.45pm. finish blog, snuggle deeper into bed, and watch one tree hill. then fall asleep dreaming about valentine's gifts, museums and travelling.... 




it's going to be a grand semester.




bacione! 


11.54pm. find out that boyfriend is driving home to freshly-snowed-on vermont and even worse, he is stopping for buffalo wings in northampton on the way.... i miss you all... vermont, northampton, wings.... boyfriend.... too bad italy is divine! <3 

aiutami! (help me!)

I am struggling to come up with ideas for spring break traveling (march 31-april 7) as well as various little day trips and weekend trips! Ideas? Suggestions? Help finding good cheap accommodations/trains/flights? Here is my brainstorm:



SPRING BREAK
**spain/spagna
prague/praga
greece/grecia
egypt/egitto


WEEKENDS/MAY
brussels/bruxelles
bruges
austria 
switzerland/svizzera
paris/parigi


APRILE
**london/londra




<3 Baci! 

Almost home!

I am a terrible blogger. I am so terribly sorry!


As you can imagine, spending three weeks at home was crazy! Appointments, dates, visits, things to do, people to see, places to go, errands to run - it was just go go go the entire time! And of course we got a Wii, so that had to be scheduled in as well!! Needless to say, I guess I didn't put blogging on my list of priorities where it should have been! But fear not because I have returned with full-force blogging!!


I am now sitting in the airport in Zurich, waiting for my gate to be announced. They changed my flight to Florence from an 12:15 flight arriving in Italy at 2, to a 2:55 flight arriving at 4:05.... And I got here at 11.... So I am just sitting. And waiting. And they have created this great little "Transfer Zone" which happens to be a random cluster of 15 chairs placed in the middle of the hallway in front of security. My gate should be announced soon... which would be great because I am hungry and would really love to get through the gate and find a sandwich!!!! 


Leaving home was hard..... saying goodbye to Gabriel was very hard.... but the GREAT news is that he is most likely visiting in 8 weeks for his March spring break! And these next 4 weeks will fly since I have so many papers to write and exams to study for, followed by a week in Sicily! And then second semester, which I am very excited for! History of Cinema, History of Opera, Translation and hopefully an anthropology course at the University of Florence! And once I know that course, I will know when my final exam is and therefore when I will be at home! And upon returning home, I will most likely be back working at the Reservoir in Waterbury, and perhaps a restaurant in Stowe as well! Then senior year..... WOW. 


Time flies when you spend a year in Italy, thats for sure!


Love to everyone! BACIONE! 

that was just a little joke I was playing on you

so first of all. that last blog post was going to be a very nice, sentimental, mushy, happy, loving post about how great italians are and how we met lots of very sweet people yesterday and how luciana is taking such good care of us during all of this bug nonsense....

but then.

we went out. and before we went out, there was a bug. a little round, flat, brownish-red bug. crawling on my wall. i decided to ignore it and assume it was a fluke....

too bad that was NOT the case.

at 230 am when julie and i got home, we found 5 more. and then 6, 7, 8.....9, 10..... THIRTEEN MORE. little baby ones, big full ones, crawling on the floor, the bed, the light switches..... everywhere. per tutto.

long story short, i texted giovanna, she called back immediately, i was awake in the living room trying to nap until about 7am at which point luciana realized i wasn't in bed and she freaked out, we were up looking at bugs in my room for an hour, then i napped some more, talked with giovanna, then luciana, then ali and julie, then giovanna, then luciana, over and over.

verdict: we are moving out this afternoon/evening to either an apartment or a bed and breakfast. we will eat either in the apartment, out, or possibly with luciana every night (which i don't understand because i don't think anyone should even BE in this apartment at this point....) and while we are gone, they are going to re-exterminate. hopefully the ENTIRE house this time. not just the "spots" where the bedbugs "most likely" live. they need to do inside the walls, the sockets, the light switches... poor luciana having to pay all this money......

anyway, if after a week the coast is clear (which we will know only after staking out in my room with giovanna in the middle of the night on a bug-watch to ensure they are not lurking - giovanna's idea), we will move back in. if there is any sign of any bugs, we are being reassigned to new families and new houses....

talk about a nice welcoming into florence.

Unsure where to begin....

For a few days now, I have had many little bug bites - some standing alone and others in smaller, denser areas of bites. I thought nothing of this because everyone has been getting terrible mosquito bites since day one.

Bite count: A decent number, yet nothing alarming. Just a case of many Italian mosquitos perhaps?

Yesterday when I woke up, I was covered. I had little patches of bites on the back of my legs, my feet, my arms, and my back. I was slightly worried but decided to go get cortisone cream and some Benedryl. I figured, at worst, I was having an allergic reaction to laundry detergent or some of the fruit I had eaten. Off I went into town with Ali to go to the pharmacy and do some shopping.

Bite count: More. Definitely more. Getting worrisome - assumed allergic reaction!

About 1 minutes after leaving the house, Ali and I encountered and older woman walking very slowly, clutching onto the wall beside her, making pained and exasperated noises. As we came up to her, she let go of the wall and began falling backward. I caught her.

After Ali grabbed hold of the woman as well, we looked at each other rather panicked because the woman was speaking very quickly and quietly, in Italian, and even so, it didn't quite seem as though she was making perfect sense. She kept pointing to an address on an envelope she was holding and we didn't know if she was trying to get there, or if she wanted to get to the post office, or what, but then she asked us where the bus stop was. We tried to tell her it was too far, but it didn't matter either way since soon she was unable to stand even with Ali and I supporting her.

I called over the first man that walked by, since we couldn't let go of her to call an ambulance. He shook his head no and walked away. Unbelievable. Fortunately a woman soon biked by and stopped immediately when I asked her for help. I told her in Italian that we wanted to help this woman but we didn't speak Italian well enough to be able to. The woman called and ambulance, meanwhile two young men showed up and took the woman from Ali and I to lean her up against their Vespa while they held her. They asked us what happened and we explained in Italian as best we could. Fortunately, they also spoke English.

Interestingly enough, these two young men were seemingly and incredibly impressed with the fact that we were two American girls who a) spoke Italian well enough and b) saved a woman we didn't know on the streets of Florence. I don't know what imbecile wouldn't have done the same... but apparently they are out there somewhere. Finally, about 10 minutes later, an ambulance appeared. In Italy, no one moves over to let ambulances, fire trucks, police, etc. through. This ambulance was stuck behind a line of cars and actually had to wait through the stop light. It was appalling!

When asked what happen, this lovely older woman said she wasn't sure and she didn't understand because he legs just stopped working. She said she was always fine and this had never happened before, but her legs just wouldn't walk anymore. Between hearing this and having heard her try to speak earlier, our assumption is that she had a stroke. It was the most heartbreaking event I have ever experienced and I was shaking and tearing for a good long time afterward. The two younger men asked Ali and I first if we wanted to smoke, then if we wanted to go get coffee with them, then if we needed something cold to drink and finally, if perhaps they should call an ambulance for us as well. Maybe they should have, given that 6 hours later, we were still unable to think or speak clearly....

After that particular incident, we met up with the other ragazze from Smith and did some shopping, got a panini, had a beer and went to the pharmacy to buy some cream and Benedryl. The man at the pharmacy agreed and said that I was probably just allergic to something. Although the cream helped a little, I don't know how great of a help the Benedryl was.... and by this point, since they had been itchy for quite some time, the bites seemed to have spread.... I had them all over my arms and legs and back at this point.

Bite count: SPREADING!

Upon arriving home, I started panicking because I was tired, and almost a little woozy, and I started feeling that every little ache and pain must be related. I had myself all but convinced that I had adult chicken pox until....

I saw a bug crawling on the wall.

A tiny bug, mind you, but a bug nonetheless.

Naturally, I caught this bug in my waterglass and hopped on Google. Big mistake. Also very smart decision, but BIG MISTAKE. Within minutes, I was sobbing.

Bed bugs.

Che. Schifo.

How. Gross.

How Florence Helps One to Find Faith: A Brief Guide to Encountering God in a Foreign Country

First of all, I must say that there is nothing like discovering new and beautiful places in Florence. There really is nothing AT ALL that even compares. It was in doing this that I realized perhaps Florence is the best place to find some faith.

This morning we took the bus (did I mention that there are tiny orange electric busses in

Florence?? We didn't take one this morning, but I did this afternoon!) and we went to la Chiesa di San Miniato. San Miniato is across the Arno, up a beautiful hill, and it overlooks ALL of Florence.

On top of the church being incredibly beautiful on its own, today was a gorgeous, bright, sunny, cheerful day. Coming to the crest of the hill after scaling at least 500 steps, I saw la chiesa - a very large one at that - and was struck silent.

To think that this church has been standing in the same place, appearing almost exactly the same as it did about 1000 years ago.... È incredibile, no?

So that is my first piece of advice when you desire some faith - find a church (or temple, or synagogue!). It doesn't absolutely NEED to be in Florence... but hey, my advice is my advice. Find a church in Florence. ANY of them. A huge famous one, a tiny one built in among other buildings on a side street, a roadside shrine - anything. Stop for a minute and just be. Don't think about faith or finding God, or talking with anyone of the divine sort. Just be. And perhaps take a minute to think about where you are and why you are there and who else has been there before you and how long people have been doing just that - standing and enjoying. Chances are, if you're in Florence especially, millions and millions of people over thousands of years (or even only hundreds, but still!) have been standing just like you, their feet on the same stone, wondering what you're wondering. It's a bit of a miracle.

My next piece of advice is to find an Italian nonna to cook you some dinner. This with inevitably help you find more faith in life and humanity. I say this because what better way to enjoy your life than to sit down with someone who loves you and has spent all day preparing something special for you to enjoy together (also... enjoying fresh Italian food.... a real delight.... something to savor and remember forever... and something which at least seems to give me some faith in love and life and famiglia). Tonight Luciana made spaghetti with tiny shrimp, mussels and some other types of seafood. Then we ate some delicious white fish and amazing potatoes made with rosemary, followed by the best nectarine I've ever eaten. When we finished, I had never felt better. Wasn't too full, wasn't empty. I had napped before dinner, and laughed my way through dinner.

As usual, a perfect giorno in Firenze!!

Moltissimi baci e abbracci!!

Note: The GoogleMaps image shows my house (A) and San Miniato (B). In between, you can see the Arno, the Boboli Gardens and to the left of my house, there is a huge park with places to run and walk and wander. Also in the park there is an apparently amazing market every Tuesday morning where you can buy everything from fruit and veggies to leather jackets and shoes to clothing and jewelry. In between Piazza Santa Maria Novella and the Uffizi, there is a little piazza called Piazza della Signoria and that is where I go to class every day.

The Menu for Sunday, September 20th, 2009

I have finally figured out why Italians eat their salad and vegetables after eating their pasta and meat....

The following was the menu for this evening, in order:

One large bowl of spaghetti carbonara (once we all had our full large bowls, Luciana realized that there was still some left in the pot so naturally, without asking, she dumped it into my bowl, making it the largest bowl of pasta I think I have ever seen).

Once we had all finished off every last bit of spaghetti (which took a bit since my bowl was about 1/3 of a pound of pasta...) we were presented with the most amazing veal I have ever had (although I have only had veal once or twice.... but non importa!).

Then came the salad and the eggplant - both very amazing, but really...... at that point, even iceberg lettuce was pushing my limit. Regardless, once we took our desired portions of eggplant there was, again, some leftover and, again, it was piled high on my plate.

To top it all off, we had not only fruit salad, but fruit salad and gelato.... Oddio!!!!

Anyway, back to my main point. Italians must eat their veggies after their pasta because the pasta is the heaviest, followed by white meats and fish and then the vegetables. Then usually there is a small break before i dolci (dessert) but for some reason it appears that we skip that much-needed break in this house....

.......

On a different note, tomorrow is the first day of orientation! We have Italian, conversation time with some young Italiani, history and cooking class at Giovanna's apartamento!

Fino a domani!! Baci e abbracci!

I foto!

New pics up on Facebook!!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=8894813&l=8d908272a4&id=500755531

First night out on the town....

Ciao a tutti!

Last night we ALL went out. It was a bit chaotic!! We couldn't decide where to go, what to do, what to drink, etc., etc.! We finally decided to get a glass of vino at a little restaurant by the Duomo... it's hard to escape the tourist traps at this point because we have no knowledge of the city and the best places to go out without other American students.... Had to take a taxi home since it was after midnight and some Italian men were following us and telling us they wanted us..... So taxi it was!

Before we went out, Ali and Julie and I were again faced with the endless task of dinner! Penne with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella, veal or pork (still undecided...) with fresh lemon, eggplant with parmesan and then an AMAZING fruit salad! This was all after Ali and I explored our neighborhood, found the train station (where it is evident how it could not be so safe at night.... un po' sketchy!!), found a cheap yet beautiful shoe store, a perfect supermercato and some sweet little bars and restaurants! Perfetto!

Overall, yesterday was un giorno bellisimo!

In a few minutes, I am going to head to il centro and meet Breana and Alayna and others and go to the Boboli Gardens which are supposed to be incredibile!! Pictures later!!!

Ciao! Baci e abbracci!!

Un giorno perfetto!

Ciao a tutti!

Things just keep getting better and better! Last night Luciana made such an amazing dinner - fusilli bolognese (I think...) made without oil or butter, followed by thinly pounded chicken in an amazing light lemon sauce (again no oil or butter!), and then - the best part by far - homemade torta di zucchini which was like an exceptionally delicious quiche with a light, fluffy crust. Just when we all thought we were going to burst with joyful fullness, Luciana brought out a homemade panacotta - an Italian custard of sorts - with a blueberry sauce on top. Incredibile!

After dinner, Ali, Julie and I sat down to watch TV with Luciana - who knew that Criminal Minds in Italiano would be so good!!

Jet lag kept me up until about 1:30am which was unfortunate given that I was aiming to get up at 7:45 this morning (which I did not succeed in!)

This morning I woke up to breakfast, a nice simple Italian breakfast - pane tostato (toast!) with cherry marmalade and nutella, and some black tea - it was perfetto! Now I am about to commence my day, shower, wander to il centro to meet Alayna and everyone else, perhaps buy some fruit and chocolate and biscotti for snacks, as well as some postcards to send a casa mia in the U.S. and then we are meeting Giovanna for a lunch of cheese, bread and fruit (pardon me if I already explained this yesterday!) After that we are meeting some younger Italiani to talk with them and get to know the city more. Hopefully I can make my way home to take a nap before our 8pm (sharp!!) dinner, and ideally, I would love to go out after that! Unfortunately, the area where I live is near the train station which doesn't have the best nighttime reputation. I can get to il centro without directly passing the station so it should be okay, but when it gets late, I have to take a taxi home.... and no walking around at night alone - EVER - according to my dear nonna Luciana!

Più tarde!

Sono arrivata! I have arrived!

Yesterday, I arrived in Florence at 2pm (10am @ home) to spend 9 months living here.

I cannot express how thrilled I am to actually be living in this city for an extended period of time.

When I arrived (with Alayna and 4 other Smith ladi

es), we wandered around Florence and found some dinner at a touristy place by the Duoma but our Smith program director, Giovanna, talked the owner into not charging us the cover fee (instead of a tip, there is a cover fee for most ristoranti!) After dinner, we walked to the Ponte Vecchio and along the Arno River, then stopped for gelato on the way home. I had a delicious combination of fragola (strawberry) and bacio (chocolate and hazelnut, like those little Bacio truffles sold in the U.S.).

Jet lag was pretty rotten.... Fell asleep at 10pm Italy time, woke up at 2am and was up until 3.30am and then woke up at 7.30am still fairly sleepy. That being said, I am ecstatic right now because at 2pm I hopped in a taxi with

my 80kg (over 100lbs....) of belongings and met my host mamma (Signora Luciana Dionisi - age 70). She is INCREDIBILE. Our apartment is stunning - marble floors, two stories, we (Ali, Julie and I) each have our own room, all of which are amazing. I have a dresser, armoire, couch, chair, desk and adorable bed. Lucian

a is the sweetest woman and she speaks at just the right speed and bears with us as we give her blank stares after asking us a question. She is said to be the best cuoca (cook) that the Smith program has ever seen and therefore I am rather psyched for tonight's big cena (dinner).

Tomorrow we meet lots of Italians our age who hopefully will help us learn to communicate a bit better, but only after meeting for a delicious pranzo (lu

nch) of foccacia and cheese and fruit with Giovanna and Monica (the program director in Firenze). Perhaps tomorrow night will be our first night going out in the città!

Baci e abbracci!

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