Alarm clock sounds at 7:30 a.m. so Jessie, my roommate, and I can head out early to find a good caffè place before our orientation begins at the Accademia Italiana. Our goal is to find a good place close to our apartment that we can frequent on a daily basis. We want to make friends with some Italians. The barista behind the counter greets us with a Buon Giorno (I know what that one means) and we stand back a bit to see how the others are ordering. We go with un cappuccino e un cremini della crema, a pastry. Great choice. While we are eating, Italians start flooding the caffè wearing these extremely stylish outfits and speaking incredibly fast. I can’t help but stop eating to watch everything that is happening around me. Wow! I am in Italy, in a caffè, hanging out with the locals. This is crazy! When I finally decided to snap out of my stare and pick my jaw up off the ground, Jessie and I headed off to the school, which is directly across from the Pitti Palace. I took a pretty difficult Italian placement test, listened to a few lectures about safety and class procedures, and took a tour of the school. One balcony on the third floor has probably one of the best views in all of Florence. I think I will spend a lot of time sitting there. Maybe even sketching a little? We will see. Our school advisors then prepared an authentic Italian lunch with 6 different kinds of pastas, homemade pizza, and deserts. I was in awe of the food and think I may take an Italian cooking class. Mom, Grammy, and Amy Jo would be so proud. We took a little walking tour after lunch with my Michelangelo professor and visited some of the main Florence attractions – The David, inside the Duomo, the Gates of Paradise, the Piazza della Republica, and the Santa Maria Novella. He also pointed out Vodaphone where I will be purchasing an international cellular device, tomorrow. The best part of the day was a free dinner on a Tuscan hillside provided by the Accademia Italiana. The entire school squeezed, shoved, and pushed their way on to a single bus that took us near Fiesole outside Florence. Traveling with that many hot, sticky, smelly people was not pleasant. I did, however, have my first blonde moment of the trip during the bus ride. An Italian woman was sitting in front of me reading a book and I thought to myself, they print books in Italian? It’s going to be a long 6 weeks. Anyway, the restaurant was absolutely gorgeous and very swanky with a 4 course meal and a bottle of Chianti. We started with two different pastas that were too good for words and then moved on to a, what is the word, interesting meat dish. I thought it was just a very rare-looking steak, but turns out they cooked us wild boar. Never in my wildest dreams…The boys in the group had just a tad too much Chianti and on the way back started playing with the bus doors and yelling for people to hop on. Oh boy. The streets here are just as beautiful at night with live music playing everywhere and Italians out enjoying cool air. A crowd was gathered on the Ponte Vecchio to listen to a singer/guitar player, so we thought we would gather too. I love Florence.
The mosquitoes have finally arrived at apartment 2 and the never ending sounds of mopeds are getting louder. Tomorrow I am investigating a pair of Italian boots I saw in a shop window and starting my classes.
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