I arrived in Italy on Wednesday, January 13th with Allyce, a friend from home. After a long day of traveling from Chicago to Zurich and Zurich to Florence, I arrived at the airport to find one of my suitcases was lost along the way. It ended up taking a few hours to wait in line to report the bag lost since almost everyone on the flight had lost luggage. Luckily my bag was delivered to me safely the next day.
Once we got to our apartment in the center of Florence, Allyce and I were surprised to meet our 6 other roommates. The apartment is huge! It is 2 stories with 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 kitchens and 3 living spaces for the 8 of us girls. The apartment is always freezing because the energy use is government regulated. We only get heat for 6 hours a day. Our apartment is in a great location: about 5 minutes from the Duomo and about 10 from the river. There are tons of restaurants and shops all around us.
So far most of our time has been spent exploring Florence. A lot of that time has included us getting lost and finding our way back home again. The walk to school is about 15 minutes and I cross over the Ponte Vecchio, a beautiful, old bridge.
I started classes last week and I'm looking forward to them. I have Italian everyday for 2 hours which is necessary since I do not know any Italian. I also have painting, photography, history of fashion and Renaissance art history. I'm really excited about Renaissance art history because we go to museums and places around Florence every class. I already learned so much on the first day of class about the places that I walk by everyday.
Last Sunday our school took us on a trip to the Tuscan countryside. We stopped in 3 cute little towns. Unfortunately I cannot remember the names of any of them. The countryside is beautiful! We had coffee in one of the towns and then went to a vineyard for lunch and wine tasting in another town. We got a tour of a castle on the estate and saw the wine cellar in the basement. I was exhausted after a long day but I loved seeing more of Tuscany.
My roommates and I also went to a soccer game in Florence. It was only 6 Euro to see the Fiorentina Futbol team and the game was so much fun. The Florentines are very passionate about soccer! There was purple everywhere and the crowds were crazy. The entire game people waved flags, chanted and sang songs. I'm going to have to learn the words before the next game. I even bought one of the cool soccer scarfs! It was a fun game, especially when Fiorentina won!
I love living in Florence. The city is small enough that I can walk everywhere. Most of the people that I met have been really nice. It's been a little difficult to communicate but almost everyone speaks English. When people don't speak English I can usually get by combining the few Italian words I know, French, English and a lot of hand gestures.
The food here is amazing. Don't be surprised when I come back 30 pounds heavier because the bread, oil, pizza and pasta are delicious. My roommates and I accidentally ordered a 40 Euro steak one of our first nights out. We are learning that some food is priced by the milligram and hopefully that won't happen again. The gelato is also so good and is a great energy booster when I'm tired of walking by the end of the day.
I'm adjusting very well and I can't wait to see more of Italy and Florence. I miss home but I'm so happy to be here. I'll write more soon!
Once we got to our apartment in the center of Florence, Allyce and I were surprised to meet our 6 other roommates. The apartment is huge! It is 2 stories with 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 kitchens and 3 living spaces for the 8 of us girls. The apartment is always freezing because the energy use is government regulated. We only get heat for 6 hours a day. Our apartment is in a great location: about 5 minutes from the Duomo and about 10 from the river. There are tons of restaurants and shops all around us.
So far most of our time has been spent exploring Florence. A lot of that time has included us getting lost and finding our way back home again. The walk to school is about 15 minutes and I cross over the Ponte Vecchio, a beautiful, old bridge.
I started classes last week and I'm looking forward to them. I have Italian everyday for 2 hours which is necessary since I do not know any Italian. I also have painting, photography, history of fashion and Renaissance art history. I'm really excited about Renaissance art history because we go to museums and places around Florence every class. I already learned so much on the first day of class about the places that I walk by everyday.
Last Sunday our school took us on a trip to the Tuscan countryside. We stopped in 3 cute little towns. Unfortunately I cannot remember the names of any of them. The countryside is beautiful! We had coffee in one of the towns and then went to a vineyard for lunch and wine tasting in another town. We got a tour of a castle on the estate and saw the wine cellar in the basement. I was exhausted after a long day but I loved seeing more of Tuscany.
My roommates and I also went to a soccer game in Florence. It was only 6 Euro to see the Fiorentina Futbol team and the game was so much fun. The Florentines are very passionate about soccer! There was purple everywhere and the crowds were crazy. The entire game people waved flags, chanted and sang songs. I'm going to have to learn the words before the next game. I even bought one of the cool soccer scarfs! It was a fun game, especially when Fiorentina won!
I love living in Florence. The city is small enough that I can walk everywhere. Most of the people that I met have been really nice. It's been a little difficult to communicate but almost everyone speaks English. When people don't speak English I can usually get by combining the few Italian words I know, French, English and a lot of hand gestures.
The food here is amazing. Don't be surprised when I come back 30 pounds heavier because the bread, oil, pizza and pasta are delicious. My roommates and I accidentally ordered a 40 Euro steak one of our first nights out. We are learning that some food is priced by the milligram and hopefully that won't happen again. The gelato is also so good and is a great energy booster when I'm tired of walking by the end of the day.
I'm adjusting very well and I can't wait to see more of Italy and Florence. I miss home but I'm so happy to be here. I'll write more soon!
Colleen, thank you for sharing your experiences in Florence. You are bringing back a lot of good memories from trips Bob and I have made there.
ReplyDeleteYour comment about only having heat six hours a day reminded me of our last trip. We were there at the end of June, which was unbelievably hot. Unbeknownst to us, the hotel we stayed at had a policy of shutting off the air conditioning at 2 in the morning. Bob and I both woke up at 3 soaked in sweat. We opened the windows to the room, only to be attacked by swarms of mosquitos (no screens on the windows). The combination of the heat, the mosquitos and the food poisoning from the previous day's lunch containing unfrigerated mayonnaise made for an interesting night. Travel is so broadening.
Cioa, Bella!
Aunt Sue