What next?! Who knows! But the fun just doesn’t ever seem to end! 9/04/08 - 9/09/08

Since arriving in Florence a week ago, these past few days have been truly amazing. After moving into my apartment, getting to know my roommates better, and taking a few days to explore the city, I can truly say that I am settled. Every morning we would wake up, meet up with friends, and go see so much that Florence has to offer. From walking through the Piaza Di San Giovanni where the famous “Golden Doors” are, the magnificent Del Duomo, walking along the river and on the Ponte Vecchio (famous bridge in Florence), the Mercato Centrale (market), Piaza Santa Croce, etc. There are just simply too many unbelievable places to name. The statues, the buildings, the fountains, the markets…taking it all in just makes you truly appreciate life. And at night?!!! All of these places, especially the Duomo and along the river by the Ponte Vecchio bridge, take on a whole new look and feeling. The streets are filled with culture and diversity from all around the world. Street vendors and foreigners from all across the globe doing whatever they can just to try to make a living. On a given day, I would say that I probably walk a least 5 miles just to explore the city. My feet hurt, my muscles are sore, but by the end of the day….its all worth it!!! Next morning…time to do it all over again!
The first few days I thought that our school only had around 30 students…I was wrong! At orientation, which was held in a church originally owned my the Nights Templars, I found out that there were over 200 students (probably more) from all over the U.S. studying at Lorenzo De Medici (school I go to). There are also over 100 students from all over the world, including Mexico, Japan, China, South America, and all over Europe. Its truly a mix of students from all over! Classes started yesterday and I have already been to my “Beginner Italian” and “Wine Tasting” class. Classes are small but its nice because you really get to know all the other kids in your class and the teacher can really help you if you need it. My wine tasting class was at night and it is one of the coolest classes I have ever signed up for. My teacher, Marco, is head of the food department and is a well respected chef here in Florence. He is very nice, very smart, and extremely passionate about food , wine, and Italian culture. At our first class, we already learned so much about wine, proper drinking etiquette, and had the chance to taste 5 glasses of different fine Italian wines (red, white, sparkling, etc). I couldn’t believe how much there is to wine and I cant wait for our next class! Other then that, all the kids I have met in all my classes and just in general here in Florence are truly amazing people. I have made more friends in a week then I have ever made in the entire 4 years of high school and 4 years of college! Its absolutely great.
The nightlife in Florence is something that I couldn’t even begin to describe. Bars, clubs, pubs, restaurants, discotecas….everything and anything you could ever want or need! My roommates and I spent the first five nights going out with friends from our program and a lot of really cool people that we have met along the way….nights I will never forget! From dancing our asses off in the club to just sitting around in one of the local piazzas enjoying a nice glass of wine, to watching locals performing amazing concerts, artwork, and shows in the street. The fun just never ends!!!
Everyday, around 5 or 6 PM, we all get together in our apartment after having just bought fresh ingredients from the market or stores and we cook up a nice “family style” dinner together. And everyone gets involved in the action. One person chops the tomatoes/onions/garlic, etc, one person cooks the meat and pasta, another person cuts the bread, someone sets the table, others light candles/turn on classical music, and finally someone opens the wine. I cant even begin to describe how amazing it is to have everyone pitch in and contribute to such a wonderful dinner every night. So far we have had amazing pasta, fresh mussels from the market, an assortment of meats, cheeses, etc….the list goes on and on.
Two days ago a few of us woke up a little late in the day from a night of crazy partying and decided, “ what the heck, lets just jump on the train and go to Piza to see the famous Leaning Tower!” I never knew how easy it is to travel in Europe. We simply packed up our backpacks, walked three blocks over to the train station, bought our tickets, and we were on our way. All together, there were six of us. Bill, one my roommates, invited two of his good girlfriends to come along and we all spent an amazing day together. The train ride was very scenic and enjoyable. We went through the Italian countryside and got to see vineyards, mountains and a lot of amazing little towns. The view of the mountains was absolutely gorgeous! After an 1 hr ½, we arrived in Piza!
After getting off at the train station, we bought bus tickets and within 20 minutes we had arrived at the main square where you could see the famous Leaning Tower of Piza. What a site!!! I never knew that it leaned so much or even that it was located in a square surrounded by such beautiful and historic architecture. After taking the time to take some great pictures, including some that made us look like we were holding up the tower, haha, we headed over to small restaurant that overlooked the square and the tower for a nice little dinner together. The food was delicious and we finished just in time to watch the sunset together and take a few more pictures. Tired and full, our day in Piza finally came to an end and we hopped on the train heading back to Florence (Firenze!). After getting off the train, we walked back to our apartment but decided to stop at a local pizza place for a slice of pizza with french fries on top of it, haha….it was good! Arriving back at the apartment, we were all ready for bed when the guys living next door to us said, “lets go to the crazy festival going on 4 to 5 blocks from here!”…ummm, WOW, are you kidding me?!!! The fun just never ends I guess!
So these 7 guys living next door to us, are all studying abroad in Florence for a year to become COOKS…I know, right?!…took us over to a part of the city that we hadn’t even explored yet. As we arrived to the festival, all you see is a big “fortress-looking building” that has a street that horseshoes around it. As we got closer and closer, right away you could hear music, people laughing, singing, etc. Walking in, all I thought was HOOO-LY CRAP!!!! This was one of the craziest things I had ever seen! There were people everywhere!!! There were outdoor dance floors, techno parties with crazy bumping music, people dancing and drinking in the street…it was INSANE! And the Brazilian girls!!! Damn they can dance!!! I never knew people could move that way. After a long and crazy night of meeting people from around the world, dancing, singing songs with local Italian girls, etc, we all headed back to our place and called it a night. What next?! Who knows! But the fun just doesn’t ever seem to end!
(To be continued…)
Other things I didn’t really get a chance to talk about:
- Gelato: Tried it for the first time at a place called “Very Goo”…it used to be called “Very Good” but someone spray painted the “D” off. Tried “Tiramisu” and it was amazing!
- Mike Jones concert in Central Park Night Club - absolutely crazy! This is one of those stories I would rather tell in person then write about in my blog.
- Street performance by a local: My roommate Bill got chosen to be part of the act and the performer took off his shirt and made him stand half naked in front of 200 people. Hilarious and so much fun!
Things to come:
- I’m going hiking in the Alps and to Garda Lake this weekend!
* I just want to apologize if any of what I am writing doesn’t make sense or seems grammatically correct. I am trying to write as much as I can in the little time I have and sometimes my thoughts and memories of what I have done or experienced are all over the place so its hard to write about, especially if a few days have passed. I’m going to try to get internet in my apartment sometime this week so hopefully Ill be able to upload my blog everyday or every other day.
And a special THANKS to everyone who has been writing me, sending me emails/messages, etc. You don’t even know how much that means to me and it’s really been helping me from not getting too homesick. Miss you all! Ciao!!!