My First Days In Italia

Ciao! I may be a few days late but I have decided to write a blog in order to keep track of my first trip to Europe and my time in Italia not only for others but for myself as well. I'm new at this so bear with me.

I arrived here in Florence, Italy on Sunday, June 3. I will have to say that I am not a fan of that 9 hour flight over the Atlantic Ocean. I'm usually a good flyer but when it comes to being over a giant, freaky body of water, I was definitely on the edge of my seat. Luckily I had this girl, Bryn, with me to calm my nerves. Purchasing a neck pillow in the Atlanta airport was definitely a smart decision.

Bryn ready for flight

After having not slept a wink on the plane from Atlanta to Rome, we hopped onto a short flight from Rome to Florence. Arriving in Florence felt like a giant weight had been lifted off my shoulders. After having waited so long, I couldn't believe I was finally here.

First Pizza In Italia

The organization we came through picked us up at the airport and drove us to our apartment through town. If you have never ridden in the car with an Italian, I would say to keep it that way. These people are insane drivers, not really caring much about the people around them. If you are a pedestrian, you better hope you don't get in the way of a car because they will not stop for you. After that interesting car ride, we finally arrived at our home for the next six weeks. It is a quaint apartment with three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a small living area, and a small kitchen. Bryn and I were the first of our five roommates to get there so we chose a room, unpacked, and decided to take a short power nap until our roommates arrived. We went to eat lunch at a small pizzeria about two blocks away from our apartment. Now I usually laugh at those people who take pictures of there food, but since I'm here in a different country I'm gonna be that person. After a long day of unpacking, travelling, and serious jet-lag, we called it a night around 8:00 and slept for a good 15 hours.

The next day, luckily our roommate woke Bryn and I up at 11:30 when orientation was at 12:00. Leave it to me to wake up late on my first day in Italy and be in a panicked rush to get ready on time. All of our roommates went to orientation for Study Abroad Italy, went to lunch by the Duomo, went to orientation for our school, Apicius International School of Hospitality, then went back to the apartment to get our internet set up. I don't want to bore y'all with the details of this day, but it was very informative for me and an overall great first day in Italy.

Around 7:00 that night, the twenty or so girls that came through the Study Abroad Italy organization went out for aperitivo (which means a pre-dinner drink and appetizers) on the other side of the river at a small, swanky place, where we had sparkling white wine and appetizers which were pretty American, like mac and cheese, french fries, and then some Italian staples like divine fried mozzarella balls and different pasta salads.


I luckily have a good friend, Isabelle, who has already been in Italy for three weeks who my roommates and I went out with that night. We went to a bar called the Lion's Den, which was pretty much an American bar. We then went to my first "club" to go to ever. It was an interesting experience to say the least. We met a few new friends and had an overall great time. I have some fun pictures from that night but I don't think they are blog-worthy haha!

My sweet friend Isabelle

All the the roommates, From left: Kelsie, Kimberly, Bryn, Me, and Valerie

Yesterday morning, I woke up at 10:30 for my first class. The class I am taking for the first three weeks is...don't laugh... "Pairing Food & Wine." The class is two and a half hours each day of the week. We took notes for the first half and for the second half we had lasagna and two glasses of wine. This is by far the best class I have ever taken.

Lasagna and wine

On the way home from class, I just roamed around the city. I love to be by myself sometimes and just as gooby as it sounds take in everything around me. The wonderful thing about Italy is that every corner you take, there will be some beautiful building or sight in front of you. Here are a few random pictures from my stroll after class yesterday.

Beautiful Santa Croce

I see the Duomo

This was actually one of the prettier pigeons that I have seen, but I had to take it for my friend Maggie who loves birds. 

That night, Bryn, Kelsie, Kimberly, and I decided to walk to the other side of the river for dinner. It was about sunset when we decided to go. The river at sunset is one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. I could probably sit on the bridge and look over the Ponte Vecchio all day if I could.

Isn't this gorgeous?

After walking for, oh, two or three miles, we stumbled into a small pizzeria that was actually very delicious. We order a pitcher of their house red wine and I ordered a calzone vegetariano. We ate and drank every bit and still had room to get gelato in a cone while walking across the Ponte Vecchio.

Looks a little funky, but was absolutely delicious

Yum

Sweet Kimberly and tiramisu gelato

I have to say that Florence is absolutely beautiful at night. There is little traffic, not many people out and about, and the city itself is so romantic.

Walking through the Piazza Della Signoria

This is Dave who stands where the original David stood

We took our time getting back to our apartment where we just hopped into bed and went to sleep. Now I am sitting on campus waiting to go into class. I miss everyone at home but I am falling more and more in love with the city of Firenze. I'll be back to tell you more in the next few days. Arrivederci!