Hey readers! Sorry I’ve been bad I just went to my first discoteque last night and I didn’t get in til 4am so I didn’t have time to post…
Anyway, yesterday our program provided a practical walking tour of Florence, so we went around with one of our teachers and saw a little bit of everything. She apologized at the beginning for her accent, and told us that she is originally from Austria but has lived in Florence for the past 9 years as an art historian. It’s so cool how many ex-pats are living here - most of our professors and program administrators were actually not born in Italy, but like me, it was love at first sight…
After the tour we found this great little hole-in-the-wall pizza place - even smaller than La Creperie if you can imagine that, PC readers - and I had my first Italian pizza. It was absolutely divine, and needless to say my mouth is watering as I type this. The crust is so thin and can barely hold all the juice from the sauce and the fresh tomatoes - the cheese tastes like it was just delivered from the farm, and I’ve never tasted anything like it. It’s just so different from what we’re used to in the U.S. After the pizza shop my roommate had the brilliant idea to climb this hill nearby in the hopes that we’d have a great view of the city. Although we wanted to kill her on the way because all our calves were on fire, the climb was WELL worth it. We ended up walking through this enchanted fortress-like place will family villas passed down through the centuries and their private gardens. As we came down the hill we journeyed thru winding streets and alleyways with spectacular views of the Duomo and the Arno River.
I went to mass at the Duomo at 5 and was a little disappointed that it was in English (but it turned out to be the American mass) and the artwork inside the church was breathtaking. We were shuffled out quickly after mass as the church was closing, but I’m definitely going back soon!
As we waited for dinner we shopped on what I like to call “Pinocchio Row” - a little street where everything is all about the Italian tale, which is similar to Disney but not cartoon of course. We ate dinner at a Trattoria called “Cinque Amici” (5 friends) which happened to be across the street from the Jersey Shore pizza shop. The rambunctious crew wasn’t working that night, however. I was the only one who ordered the 3 course meal option, but go big or go home, seriously.
I also went to my first discoteque! Unfortunately the rumors are true; the Italian men were quite aggressive and had no problem walking up and touching your face and some other places :( But overall it was a great experience and Italians are obsessed with American music so we actually knew the words! There was also this techno version of Rolling in the Deep which I have to find b/c it was surprisingly really good.
Easy Sunday today - slept in, went to the market for some spaghetti & wine, and came home and had a traditional Italian family meal. It was nice to just have a chill day! Well, first day of classes tomorrow so wish me luck!
Buona notte,
Flo
