I'm trying desperately not to give up on this blog, so alas, I will write.
WEDNESDAY: The usual classes, nothing spectacular. We did, however, take a field trip in Simon's class to Florence's English cemetery, where we were greeted by perhaps the cutest nun ever, Sister Julia. She was soft-spoken and dramatic with her stories of the individuals buried in the yard. It was actually a really beautiful place. Later that night, Kristie, Ari and I went out for gelato. The typical after-dinner treat.
THURSDAY: I had my dreaded Italian exam, which kind of kicked my butt. I knew it would, but oh well. Afterwards, my wifey Diana and I decided to catch some rayz in the Boboli Gardens with Julie. We headed over and - thanks for our student museum cards - went in FO FREE. Sweet! We sat in the grass and people watched for awhile. Eventually Kaila met up with us and we just relaxed and talked under the Tuscan sun. Love. After a few hours, we headed for home.
I guess I underestimated the power of April sun or maybe overestimated the tan-ness of my skin, but when I got home I realized I was a pomodoro (tomato)! My first burn of the season and in Italy. I'll take it. After some dinner and getting ready, I headed out with the girls to meet up with everyone at Naima. Wow! Haven't been there in forever. It was good to be back and just in time for their "Spring Party." It was fun hanging out with the Gino Caponi girls and my own apartment. When's the last time that happened? It was nice. Kaila even brought her whole fam to the bar to mingle with us. How thoughtful!
FRIDAY: I woke up at 10am to Diana calling me about a change of plans and eventually I fell back to sleep until 2pm. It was my first weekend staying in Florence since the first weekend here, so it was nice to hit the snooze and relax. I got up in the afternoon and it was too nice outside to be productive with work. Instead, I decided it necessary to get some things checked off of the Firenze List. All of my roomies were gone, so what else to do? EAT.
I found an item on the list and headed out. About twenty minutes later, I was in Piazza San Marco looking for Pugli's. Found it! I went in and drooled through the display case at the various type of schiacatta (a bread). I decided on three different types to try (hey! that's what it says on the list) and surprised Diana with some lunch. I didn't really want to eat all of it - or by myself for that matter. We munched on the bread and I promised myself that I'll make a solid effort to go back for more before I leave.
After lunch, I grabbed an iced coffee from Astor's and sat on the steps of the Duomo for an hour just to people watch. It was weird not having a single thing to do. It was kind of overwhelming since I've been going, going, going non-stop on the weekends. A man sat down next to me and tried to make conversation. Unfortunately, my macaroni-Italian wasn't cutting it, so instead after an awkward 20-minute silence, he got up and simply said "Ciao."
After the Duomo, I grabbed a few things at Conad and headed home. As soon as I got home, I realized we needed some paper towels and trash bags, so I went back to the market. Once I got back, the roomies returned shortly after. Talking about the beach day for Saturday, I realized I should try to use some sunscreen for my pale self. Rachael and I headed out to find some sunscreen. My third time out to the market in under two hours...crazy! We successfully found some in the pharmacy. Guess how much ONE tube of sunscreen costs? TWENTY EUROS! That equals THIRTY DOLLARS. Reluctantly, we bought it. Better safe than burnt, right?
SATURDAY: We slept in a bit and then got ready for a day at Viareggio, the beach town about an hour and a half away from Florence (past Pisa). Jess, Rachael and I got the train station and waited in the most ridiculously slowest line to purchase our tickets. With two minutes to spare, the tickets printed and we sprinted to our track. Just as we were rounding the corner to board the train, the doors shut and left us cold. ARE YOU SERIOUS!? Oh they were.
We waited another hour and got the next train to the beach. It was mostly sunny out and perfect weather for the beach. The three of us got some kebobs and found a spot with Jess's friends on the sand. I LOVE THE BEACH. I was happy. We sunned for a few hours - with sunscreen this time - until the weather got a little cooler and windy. We called it quits and got the 5:11pm train home to Florence. Exhausted from the sun, it was an early night for all of us.
SUNDAY: Another lazy day with no plans whatsoever, I slept in. I was semi-productive until noon when I ventured out with Ari for some lunch and the sun. We went to Mesopotamia and chatted with Bilal. Ate our kebobs in the sunshine and I was happy. We wandered around through the areas where we haven't ever explored. We walked past Vivoli, another faous gelateria, and decided to try it. This place has the weirdest hours and has never been open when I've walked past. YES. So we went in, ordered, and tried our first Vivoli. Mmmm Mmm. It was much creamier than the other places' gelato. It's definitely one of my new favorites. We walked past La Carraia 2 and thought, "I wonder which is better, La Carraia or La Carraia 2." So why not taste test? Who cares that we literally just ate gelato? So we got another helping of gelato and taste-tested. This was a difficult decision to make. They are both equally delicious but I'll vote La Carraia 2 for better presentation points considering they put a chocolate stick into your gelato. Definite bonus.
Eventually, we crossed the Ponte Vecchio, grabbed some blood oranges, and headed up to Piazza Pitti and the Boboli Gardens. WHAT A LINE! Unfortunately for us Florentine "natives," all of the museums are free to the public for this entire week. The line to enter the Gardens was absurdly long and we turned around. I don't like all of these tourists crowding my city!
Instead, we headed back home to pick up Kristie and meet up with Ari's Greek friend who's studying in Bologna. We found him and his three Greek friends at the Duomo. The first thing I said to them? "S'AGAPO!" (I love you! - in Greek). Thanks Leanna & Mama U, you've taught me well! They loved it. We walked around with them for a bit and grabbed from coffee with them. Eventually, I left in search of a purple Firenze shirt. Found it! I headed home to get ready for the soccer game.
Around 7:00pm, I met up with Kaila, Julie, and Ali. We all grabbed our beer/wine and walked with Jack to the soccer stadium. Fiorentina was playing AC Milan, so it was sure to be a good game. We waited in line for tickets (despite rude Italians who don't understand the concept of a line) and got our tickets. The game was great. We were in the somewhat rowdy section so it was interesting to hear all of the cheers, even if I don't understand them! At the halftime, we found Joe and roomies and sat with them. Unfortunately, Fiorentina lost. They'll always be #1 in my heart.
TODAY! Lazy morning until Soc. I have no idea what we're doing in the class now and I'm positive all of my peers don't either. Our teacher continues to talk in circles and confuse himself, plus us. Afterwards, I grabbed a panino with turkey, pesto, & asiago cheese from the panino man. Delicious! Italian class went fast. Then I took a quick power nap and was off for the elementary school. On my way over, I stopped and treated myself to gelato at La Carraia 2. Strawberry is the perfect flavor for a hot day.
I got to the school around 3:30. The kids were working on seasons today, so I went around and helped them with the seasons in Italian and English. Wow, I didn't even know I knew them in Italian! (They're actually really similar in English so...). After some arts & crafts, we sang the Finger Family song and then it was time to go home. Marta, the teacher, informed me that the class would be on a field trip next Monday so I'd only be coming once more before I returned to America. That made me really sad. So, we're going to have a huge party for my last day there! I can't wait. One of the girls asked to bring in decorations for the classroom. So cute.
After the school, I wandered around past Santa Croce a little more. I was on a mission to cross another thing off of my List. I walked down Via de Macci and found just what I was looking for: La Bottega del Cioccolato! This is one of Florence's revoluationary chocolatiers. I bought olive oil chocolates and a chocoalte bar with chili peppers. Afterwards, I stopped for a snack at Antico Noi, a place also on my list. BAM! BAM! Take that List! It was delicious (although, I still like Oil Shoppe better).
I stopped home real fast and then the roomies and I went to cooking lesson #4 with Mrs. F. We made: Pane Toscano (No salt Tuscan bread), Torta di Ricotta e Spinaci (Spinach & ricotta pie), Spaghetti alla Carrettiera (Spaghetti with spicy tomato), Involtini al Carciofo (Artichoke beef rolls), Fagioli Toscanelli (Tuscan white beans), Biscotti di Prato (Almond cookies). It was delicious! I literally still have food babiez running around on a playground in my stomach. (Mommy, I know you're proud!).
So after stuffing myself silly, I'm here. Hopefully I'll get to Skype into the last SES meeting of th semester! What! So weird! Anyways...this week should be a busy week. I can't believe it's mid-April and I'm leaving in less than a month. It's crazy. Where did my semester go? It still hasn't hit me that I'm living in Italy! It's crunch-time now! Upcoming travels: Amalfi Coast this weekend, Greece for Easter. I'm excited. So much to do, so little time. One thing I am looking forward to: SEEING EVERYONE I LOVE! I miss you all dreadfully. Just come to Italy and life would be perfect.
Updates to come...eventually. Buonanotte!
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