'Seaside' of Italy

Our first weekend in Florence proved to be one of many different kinds of experiences, including amazing food and not so amazing Italian men... but I will put that story on hold at first.

On Saturday night, after a long day of relaxation (and laziness) we trekked out of our apartment and headed to a restaurant called Osteria il Gatto e la Volpe. This place was recommended to us twice, by Alexa Asmar and Jen McAndrew, so we figured it had to be good. They could not have been more right....

My apartment ended up going with a few girls in the apartments next door, and 3 of the 5 boys that are on this trip, Spencer, Ben, and Jordan. The menu was a novel, with every choice of chicken, pasta, and salads that were impossible to choose from, not only because of the amount of selections but also because of the language. Luckily, Jen told us about one of the waiters, Fabio, who we sought out and was extremely helpful and friendly throughout our meal.
I was having a hard time deciding what to get (what else is new), and ended up taking a suggestion from Fabio, Penne il Gatto e la Volpe. It ended up being this spicy pasta dish that was out of this world, one of the best pasta dishes I have ever had (Sorry, Nonno!). I couldn't even finish it because before this dish, I overindulged on bread with the BEST balsamic vinegar on earth (It wasn't liquidy like in the states, but thick and just excellent) and bruchetta that was to die for. I ended up taking my pasta home to eat for leftovers (probably a very American thing to do, but oh well, I couldn't waste it!) Fabio then gave us limoncello shots after dinner, but after Friday night the thought of it made my stomach do flips. Besides the shots, the dinner was what I expected Italian restaurants to be like, and I am sure we will be frequenting this restaurant pretty often in our three month stay.

On Sunday, we woke up early and took an hour and 40 minute train ride to a beach called Viareggio, a beach town on the Mediterranean filled with private beaches, tourist shops, and restaurants. My first European train experience was better than I had expected. The trains weren't quite as nice as the double-decker New Jersey Transit trains that consumed my summer, but they were still very comfortable. We made the trip with the entire apartment next door (Adrienne, Leah, Danielle, Kaitlyn, and Laura), our apartment, and Spencer (because he is the only guy that could brave the 8am wake up call.)

We ended up wandering along the beach trying to find the free beach, but gave up after the long hour of walking and deciding to pay the 18 euro for an umbrella and 2 beach chairs. With our good luck, we were placed next to adolescent Italian boys without any manners. The minute we stepped on the beach, we were being heckled by the group of about eight boys in the seats right by us. Since the umbrella was assigned to us, we were forced to sit there. When the first comment out of their mouths were "Hey, Blonde girls, show us your chest!" we knew we were in for it. Unfortunately, the harassment didn't stop there. The boys (who were about 15) started saying anything they knew in English, including, "What is your name?" This is the first time when I was thankful for not knowing Italian, because most of the time they were singing songs and probably screaming profanities at us, but we didn't know any better. Ignorance is bliss. After about an hour of this (you would think they would get tired of this at some point, but nope), we asked to move umbrellas and we spent the rest of our beach day in peace, besides a few mishaps, like the man who touched Emily's boobs while he was underwater. Since we were traveling in a group of 10 American girls and 1 American boy, we were drawing a lot of attention to ourselves and we have since vowed to make trips in smaller groups. Of course, on the return train home we saw the boys from the beach who thought they were big shots; however, in public they were much more reserved and quiet than at the beach. Hmmm...


This beach was not quite what I was expecting from beaches in Italy. I imagined blue waters and empty beaches. This beach, which reminded me of the classy town of Seaside, New Jersey, has dirty brown water (Chelsea claimed to see a baby wipe!), and sand that was packed with people, just like the Jersey shore. While the day was an experience for sure, I do not see us frequenting this beach any time soon.

That night, Spencer, Jordan, and Ben invited us over to their apartment, which is across from the Arno River, and made us pasta. It was surprisingly good, a nice gesture, and a lot of fun. After dinner, the boys took us on a hike to the highest point of the city wall. While the hike was not easy, it was so worth it in the end. At the top of the hike, we could see the entire city lit up at night. It was one of the most beautiful sites I had ever seen in my life. All the famous sights, like the Duomo, and Palazzo Vecchio, were lit up and could be seen perfectly from where we were standing. It was truly a moment I will remember for the rest of my life, and I can't wait until we make the trip again in the day time.


For our first weekend, we definitely made the best of it with the knowledge we have.
One weekend down, about 13 to go.

First night in Florence!

My first night in Florence proved to be an interesting

experien ce, just as I had expected. It was really the first time that we were going out with local Italians.

We started off the night in the apartment and drank wine and ate cheese we bought at the grocery store around the corner. This probably was not the best idea since cheese is not a dinner substitute, which we discovered this morning. We then went to Red Garter as a group. This bar is right around the corner from our apartment and it only took a minute to get there. The bar was very large, with a bar in the front and karaoke in the back (thankfully, I used my better judgment and did not sing, cause we all know what that sounds like. There were a lot of young people there, including Italians and Americans. We all bought Red Bulls and Vodka (apparently Red Bull is extremely popular over here), which cost us 6.50 euros. There was a lot more vodka then Red Bull, however. Overall, it was a very fun night and a great way to start off the trip! Orientation this morning was not easy to get to, and it seemed like everyone there was lagging.

PS. As I was writing this, "What I've Been Looking For" from High School Musical was playing in the restaurant downstairs.

Apartment Pictures!

This is my room that I share with Chelsea. We have a desk, shelves, and a huge closet.

This is the kitchen area that has everything we need, including a dishwasher and a washing machine. It also came with plates and utensils.


Our hallway when walking into our apartment (with Allaire walking)

The door to our apartment from our hallway. We are on the second floor.


The door from the street of Borgo Santa Croce.

Benvenuto a Firenza!

Ciao!

So it was a long trip but I am finally here in Florence! My trip started off with 3 flights, 3 airports, and about 20 hours of traveling with minimum sleep. However, now that I am here it is all worth it.

My apartment is so much nicer than I ever thought it would be. It is on Borgo Santa Croce, which is literally a few steps away from the church and square of Santa Croce. It has a lot of foot traffic of people making their way to Piazza Santa Croce. Also, it is very close to the river that runs through the city. I am living with 5 girls (Chelsea, Emily, Carolyn, and Allaire). We have 2 bedrooms, a kitchen/living room, 3 bathrooms and 2 showers and its off a long hallway. The only thing it lacks is air conditioning! The ceilings are really high which makes everything seems so much bigger and the windows are big and beautiful. We got here around 5:30pm and unpacked a little and took freezing cold showers because it is extremely hot here. It was about 100 degrees, or 40 degrees celsius. After that we headed off to dinner with our group. We went to a pizzeria called 'I Tarocehi' over the bridge, and we passed by the Ponte Vecchio on the way. It made everything so surreal.


My first meal was very cliche, margherita pizza and some white wine, even though we were very jet-lagged. It was very delicious and even more necessary since I hadn't had anything to eat in a long time. The restaurant also didn't have air conditioning so we were sweating bullets. I think this is how I will not gain too much weight from all the pizza and pasta this semester! After dinner we got gelato which was SOO good. I got dark chocolate. SO much better than ice cream. We were so exhausted that we went to bed after that for the night.



This morning we woke up to the sound of horses walking down our street. We then got up, and got some caffelatte and a sandwich. Emily accidently just ordered a latte and got hot milk. That is something to remember for the future! I had a tomoto and mozzerella sandwich which I can tell is going to be something I eat very often.

After that we just wandered through the city and came across the Duomo which is absoutely amazing in person. There are a lot of tourists in the city now so the streets are really crowded. The streets are also very narrow and many people ride through at crazy speeds on their vespas. We then discovered that our school is only a street over from the Duomo. The school is very pretty and is in a building on the top two floors.

We definitely look like 'foreigners' because people immediately talk to us in English. But it is still unreal that I am here, though! Also, the only thing in our fridge right now is wine!

We are about to meet our class for orientation and a tour of the school. Write more later!

Ciao!