So I seem to be updating this a lot, maybe it’s because I am sitting in my hotel room exhausted from a full day of lectures on safety, security, rules, regulations and guidelines. Also, it might be due to the fact that I don’t have internet yet and this blog is tricking my mind into thinking I’m updating you all at home- but I’m not… yet.
So, as I said, today we spent all our time in the hotel conference room, finalizing paperwork and listening to a MILLION lectures and presentations.
I did get to meet my other two apartment mates! They’re both from Muhlenberg College (in PA), whose students actually compose the majority of Fairfield in Florence (well, maybe not the majority but it seems like every time I talk to someone new, they’re from Muhlenberg). Anyways, their names are Shira and Stephanie and they both seem really nice. Weirdly enough, Rachel and I actually met and spoke with them twice before we realized we were all roommates! We took the elevator down with them to the lobby this morning and we chatted with them while signing up for Italian phones! Oh, before I forgot- I got an Italian cell phone today. It’s wicked small (even smaller than yours, Dad) and is totally a throwback to the old, rectangular Nokias. I got it mostly to use for calling, since the Blackberry charges me $1 per minute to call. My Italian phone actually allows me to receive calls for FREE and make calls for less than 50 cents a minute. Sooo everybody (do this right now, maybe simultaneously while you’re reading this) I want you to find out how much it costs for you to make international phone calls from your cell phone. I’m pretty sure Verizon and AT&T offer free international calling or maybe even cheap calling and if they doooo, call me ANYTIME at +39 3771682444! Make sure you dial the +39 because that’s the Italian country code.
Let’s see, what else, what else? The weather isn’t as nice today, it’s raining. But I’m hoping it stops in the next hour or so, so I can walk around my new neighborhood! We’re on our own (FINALLY) for dinner tonight and it just so happens that my Muhlenberg roommates are friends with Meg Whyland and Natalie Coughlin’s roommates so we’re going to try to all go out to dinner/drinks tonight!
At lunch, I was talking to one of the Italian students who are in the program to help facilitate our assimilation into Italian culture and city living. She told me about all the great shopping only a few blocks from my apt. There’s apparently a HUGE H&M and a Zara only five minutes away, along with a ton of smaller boutique-like shops. I was so grateful to hear this because I think I might be the only person in my program that only brought one suitcase of clothing (everyone else brought at least two bags!) so I definitely need to go clothing shopping ASAP. And I would love to see what Italian H&M offers because their stock varies so much depending on location and I want to start dressing like an Italian. The Italian student, Irene, is getting her Art History Masters and wants to move to New York after to work in a gallery. It was really fun to be able to tell her about NYC since she’s never been there before. She’s also hosting a walking Art History tour tomorrow that Rachel and I signed up for immediately.
Hmm, I guess that’s all for now. Hopefully I can actually post this soon so you can all read it but I’m not sure what the internet situation in my apartment is yet. In the meantime I hope you all keep bbm-img and whatsapp-ing me (that’s for you, Bren). I miss you alllll, xoxo.
Part Due: il pomeriggio e l’apartemento
It’s 12:04 AM and I just returned to my very own FIRENZE APARTEMENTO! This afternoon was a complete whirlwind of excitement. We left the hotel in a shuttle with our new roomies and drove through many a’ small, twisty street until we reached Via Ghibellina 113. We were welcomed by a dark green, tall, double door with gold knobs and we were home! We walked into a stone hallway and even though we were told we were living on the first floor, we had to lug our suitcases up two flights of stairs until we reached our apartment. Our ADORABLE older, Italian landlord and his wife greeted us and showed us our room (and were very excited when I attempted to speak Italian to them).
Our room is... molto bello!! It looks like it was last decorated in the Italian 70s, with mismatched patterns and brightly colored artwork- but it’s incredibly spacious and very accommodating. Rachel and I flipped a coin with our apartment mates and somehow got the bigger room (which has an awkward painting of a naked woman’s behind- Botticelli style) above our beds. There’s a decently sized bathroom with a bath and a bidet. In our retro kitchen we have a bright red table and a mini washing machine. Since we do not have a dryer, our kitchen opens up to a small, gated patio complete with a retractable clothesline (exactly what you’d expect from an Italian apartment) that hangs over the alleyway besides our building.
The view from our kitchen into the sitting room.
Our landlord will be providing us with Internet but we have to wait until tomorrow to get it activated (sorrrrry). We also heard that he’s the best ever because his family will often invite us over for dinner. We haven’t gotten the invitation yet, but we’re hoping it comes soon (mostly because I blow at cooking, although the previous residents left behind two Rachel Ray cookbooks which I plan on referencing every time I try to boil water).
After we unpacked, we met up with Meg, Natalie and their roommates, Maya and Carla and went down the block to a restaurant named Gatto e Volpe (or something like that). Natalie and I both ordered Margherita pizzas, which were (sorry PC) 100 times better than 412 could ever dream of. We also decided to all split two bottles of their house wine. It was red wine, which I normally can’t handle but it was incredibly light and tasty!
We then decided to try and find a bar to get a drink at but ended up wandering around Florence for about an hour. We saw the Duomo, which was UNreal. It was so enormous that it looked like a backdrop of a movie setting. I can’t wait to go back in the daylight and take pictures! As we were walking we saw that ALL the stores had “Saldi 50-70%” posted on their windows. We quickly came to find out, being the shopaholics that we are; that the next two weeks are the Firenze sales and every store is having blowouts. Aka shopping tomorrow.
Daytime view of the Duomo.
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