Yes, so I landed in Florence and hopped on a bus that dropped me off at the main bus station. Instead of rushing off to find my hostel, I decided to sit on the nice grass, eat my sandwich, and absorb the fact I am in Italy. I quickly learned not to smile and act friendly towards Italian men, well at least not some of them. There I was happily sitting and enjoying my sandwich, when this late 40s Italian man stopped and said, "Ciao!" to me. Being the friendly person that I am I waved, smiled and said "Ciao!" as well. Before I knew what was happening, the man bent down to where I was sitting and starting touching my arm while talking to me. I politely told him "No, I'm not interested in pizza" and "No, we can't communicate again." Somehow he still managed to give me kisses on my cheeks. haha. Welcome to Italy!
I checked into my hostel, threw my stuff on my bunk and went exploring the city. I grabbed the nearest gelato I found and sat out on one of the "pontes"or bridges soaking up the beautiful and breathtaking city of Florence. Shortly afterwards, I met up with my friends Sarah and Lindsey from TCU who are studying abroad in Florence. They gave me a small tour of the area and then we sat outside and ate DELICIOUS Italian food. My lasagna was soo lekker! (I keep wanting to use Dutch words when speaking.) Walking back to our beds that night felt magical. I'm in ITALY!
DAY 2
I stepped out of the hostel this morning to the sound of scooters and people. Florence is definitely an extremely busy city. I began my day by walking along the Arno river and admiring the morning sun. Then, I headed to the Duomo church and took plenty of pictures for Brett Peters to enjoy later. :) Thanks to my friend Alison, (who studied abroad here a year ago and gave me a list of to-dos,) instead of waiting in the longest line ever to climb to the top of the Duomo, I walked up the 417 steps of the camponello tower to get a better view of the church and the gorgeous landscape of the city. I spent some good time on the tower, because the views were just so spectacular. Then, I visited the Bargello museum which was neat to see the ancient artwork and Donatello's David, but you can only look at pretty vases for so long before you start skimming through some of the exhibits. Mostly, I've enjoyed just walking around and sitting in random places, admiring the beautiful architecture. People watching is also, fun. I noticed that some people seem to only visit museums or spectacular buildings in order to get a picture. I watched people walk up take a picture then quickly walk away. It made me sad that they didn't sit and really take in what they are observing.
For lunch I met up with Lindsey and Sarah's roomie, as well as, Denisa, a girl studying here from the Czech Republic. I enjoyed walking around with two new friends getting to know them, while observing some great sites. Of course, we had to get gelato, too.
For diner, Rachel cooked hamburgers. It's been over two month since I've had a real hamburger and it tasted like home. Dutchies have "hamburgers" but it's Dutch meat on a bun only labeled a hamburger. After an exhausting day, it was nice to be in apartment full of good company.
Ciao!
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