YAB-you are beautiful

No, these are not the words some gorgeous Italian man spoke to me. I'm still waiting for the men to catch on to all that I have to offer. You'll find out where those words come into play later. 


So my first weekend in Firenze was a blast. Yesterday, I woke up and went to get breakfast with Amanda, Becca (my roommate), other Becca, Lizzie, Katie, and Lauren. We wanted to go to a place next to the duomo so we could just stare at it in all of it's glory. After that, the girls and I went wandering all over the streets of Florence to see what the city has to offer. What does it have to offer, you ask? SHOPPING. Everywhere. Stores. Shops. All. Over. I honestly don't know how all of them can stay in business because there are so many. Luckily for me, I've got enough will power to restrain myself from buying anything and everything. I'm trying really hard to spend money solely on food and traveling, so we'll see how long it takes before that one flies out the window. At one point we got gelato from Grom. It was my second time at Grom, and I think I can officially say that I'm really not that impressed and probably will not be going back (sorry, Philly). My dinner was one of the cutest experiences of my life thus far (big statement, I know). We all decided to stay in for dinner, so we went back to Amanda's apartment and everyone contributed to our cute family-style dinner. I brought some ravioli with ricotta cheese, but I didn't actually cook it myself. Lizzie cooked it while I drank some white wine...I think I like that arrangement best. The dinner was delicious and the company sweet. We plan to make it a weekly tradition, so we'll see if that plays out. After dinner we planned on going to this place called Space, but ended up going somewhere different to meet up with other girls from the program. The club: YAB. My "How to Meet European Men" book said that YAB was the place to go if you wanted to meet rich Italian men. Needless to say, it was first on my list. Rich Italian men? Ummmmmm, yeah. Not so much. We go in (after getting to skip the long line because we're American-nice!), and the place was PACKED. The money and older Italian men with their ritzy drinks weren't flowing as I had expected. It was more along the lines of lots and lots of young Italians from the ages of about 16-26. Of course there were some Americans and some old people thrown in the mix, but for the majority it was a pretty poppin' place. We had to pay an 11 euro cover charge, but at least it included a free drink? So we danced, met up with the other girls, and had a good time. Then we decided to go to a different club. Along the way we ran into several groups of Italians because the city really comes alive Saturday nights when the Italian stallions are on the prowl. And lemme say, once the Italian started flowing out of my mouth, it would NOT STOP. I was just spittin' out rhymes like it was nobody's business. Even when I would speak English my r's were rolled. Some Italian guy came up to us while we were walking and said something I couldn't understand. I retorted with, "Sei pazzo! Sei pazzo!" (you're crazy!) to which he replied, "Di te." (for you.) Ho detto, "No. No di me!" (i said, no. not for me!) as I walked away and left him in the dust. Can I consider that my first time to be an Italian heartbreaker? I knew those stallions would have to be careful with me. I ended the night at a discotheque called Full Up with some different girls from my program. I danced with a really cute guy....from California. Of course. The first guy to ask me to dance in Italy wouldn't be Italian. Oooof course. He kept trying to speak with an Italian accent, though. Finally I was just like, "Dude. I already know you're not Italian, so you can stop trying now." My sweet friend Nicole tried to do me a favor by asking the DJ to play my jam (Katy Perry-Teenage Dream, duh.), but he didn't speak any English so he ended up playing "California Gurls". Close, but no cigar, Leonardo. Best part about Italian discotheques? They close at 2am like on 6th street 4 AM BABY. That's what I'm talkin' about. Full Up-I'll be seeing you on Mercoledi (Wednesday...don't judge me.). So, the night ended at 6am. Quite a good night, if I do say so myself.


Today? Pretty uneventful, but still. An uneventful day in Florence is better than most eventful days in America. Suck it, Americans. First day of school tomorrow. Schedule? 9am-6pm, including Photographing Florence, Italian, and Italian Cinema. Sweet. 


"Yesterday's history. Tomorrow's a mystery. Today is a gift-that's why they call it the present."


Ciao, i miei amici.

This Semester is Officially a Success

....Heard my first Katy Perry song in Italy at a restaurant. I now give my full stamp of approval to this country.








PS. More things to add to the +/- lists:


+ : they keep this city so clean!


- : dogs have to learn to poop on stone streets because there's no grass anywhere in this city...cani poveri :(
           (hey, like I said, at least they keep this city clean!)

Awful picture of me, but you gotta see that piece o' steak!

Us and the owner

Il Duomo

Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise

When In Florence, Do as the Florentines Do

Ciao ciao! So I've been here for a couple of days now, and I already know that I'll never want to leave. Lemme just list off a few of my favorite things about Italy so far:


-THE FOOD.
-the wine.
-the buildings
-the fact that you have to walk everywhere/up a million stairs everyday = me having buns of steel by the time I    
       leave
-the timed lights in all the hallways (hey, I'm into conserving energy just like the rest of the Italians)
-il DUOMO
-the history
-the views
-how friendly everyone is
-the fact that everyone around me is speaking Italian
-my future Italian boyfriend (more details to come later)
-no Friday classes


Things that I would like to put into the Italian suggestion box which need to be taken care of:
-No take out food/to go boxes anywhere. I mean seriously, you gotta work on that, Italia.
-regulated heat. Non mi piace
-using the Euro-too confusing


So anyway, let's take it back a couple of days. Wednesday during the day the group split up with different Accademia (my school) staff members to do walking tours of the city. I went with my History of Tuscany professor Nicola who is by far the coolest professor EVER. He's an older man who speaks with a British accent and smokes a pipe. Oh yeah, he's also a COUNT. Yes, you read that correctly, a count. His family is apparently pretty important in Florence, and he's got a ton of archives at his palace or villa or whatever it is. Supposedly, if you're in his class you get to do a few of the sessions at his house while he cooks you dinner or something. I'm pretty pumped for that. Wednesday night me and a few of the girls went out to dinner. Most embarrassing moment of Italy so far? Asking a waitress, "Qual'e' migliore? Questo o Questo?" (which is better? this or this?-happy ariel?), only to hear her say "Uhhhh, parlo solo italiano..." UMMM. Excuseeee me, lady? What do you think I was  speaking to you in, Giapponese?? RUDE. Anyway, needless to say, that discouraged my Italian usage quite a bit. Don't worry, I've since regained my confidence and have been understood by all I speak to. Speaking of Japanese. I was walking by the duomo yesterday, and some street vendor said, "Are you Japanese?? Are you Japanese??" What the inferno, dude? Do I look Japanese to you? Think about that, then get back to me. Speaking of my speaking of-I had NO idea there were so many Asian Italians. Everyone who's been to Florence before failed to tell me that. Thanks. SO bizarre seeing perfect Italian coming out of Asian mouths. But hey, it's pretty cool. Moving on to Thursday- had to be at school at 10am to take the Italian placement test. I think I did decently. Everyone had to talk to the professor when we turned our test in and ho-ly cow. That woman was talking to me so quickly and so quietly that if I have to try and understand that all semester it's gonna be a looooong semester. I caught the general idea of what she was saying and just nodded my head and said "Va bene" (okay) a lot. Then me and a couple girls went to lunch and went a got cell phones/explored the city. By the way, Italian bonus points for me: Me and my girl Amanda had walked around so much, and we were pretty far from where we live so we decided to venture into the world of the Italian bus system. Needless to say, it was a flawless experience, and we did it like pros. Go us! Then for dinner that night, me and a group of girls went to one of the most famous restaurants in Florence called Il Latini. What are they known for? Their giant steaks. It was a group of  7 of us, we got there and popped open the bottle of red wine-delizioso! Then we ordered the meal. We got 2 of the 1.1 kilo steaks and split them between 6 people. MIO DIO! Litcherally the best steak I've ever had. Bigger than my face, yeah, but that didn't deter me. After a few cups of wine, I decided I wanted our group to take a picture with the owner. I said "Possiamo fare una foto con te?" (can we take a photo with you?) He said, "Ohhh you wouldn't like that! Beauty and the Beast. Ha ha ha (in a hearty Italian laugh) We will later!" And oh what a picture it was. He loved us so much that he gave us a complimentary bottle of something delicious AND took 37 euro off of our bill. GRAZIE! I will definitely be getting in good with you to the point where you just comp the whole meal. Then we came back to my apartment, drank a little, then went to this pub that was offering a free shot and a free glass of champagne to every student. The pub was eh, all Americans. Which is no good for me, how am I supposed to meet my Italian boyfriend there? Ah yes, my future Italian boyfriend. I know you're dying to know about that one. Well, his name is Paulo. Not really, but that's what I'm calling him for now until I find out his real name. He's a student at my school, and I first encountered him while I was waiting in line at the secretary desk. Amore at first sight. I then saw him again outside the building when I left and debated purposely tripping in front of him. Other than that, I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little disappointed in the Italian men. Besides a "Hey, girl!" I have yet to be swarmed by them. Maybe I'm just so Italian looking that I don't have American appeal? I mean, I know it probably gets annoying after a while, but a girl likes to be flattered every now and then. But I'm not too concerned, once one catches the LJ fever, there's gonna be an epidemic in Firenze. WATCH OUT! Hopefully that first one is Paulo-I'll have to keep you updated on that. Then today I went on the optional tour to Fiesole. Fiesole is a small hilly town on the outskirts of Italy. You take the bus there, and then you climb the hill where you can look out over all over Florence. It was kinda late by the time we got there, and it was pretty foggy so the view wasn't the best it could be, but still stunning. Came home, went to dinner with Amanda at the restaurant right next door, then came home. IL FINE.


And now it's almost 4am, but tomorrow is Sabato, and I plan on using the day to spend hours in a cute cafe' and look around the bajillion stores that are in Florence. And with that I leave you all. Buona notte.

The view of the Swiss Alps from the plane

In the Piazza della Signoria on the way home

And So It Begins...

In the wise words of Katy (my lady, yeah!), "You. Make. Me. Feel like I'm living a. Teen. Age. Dream." Except this time the "you" isn't a boy, it's something even better. FIRENZE. As I  finally lay in bed after the longest (think being awake for 33 hours) day of traveling ever, it still hasn't hit me that this is where I'll be living for the next 4 months. Pure craziness. There are so many expectations I have for this semester, and I'm sure all of them will be not just met, but surpassed. Even the drive from the Aeroporto di Firenze to my apartment was stunning. Especially that part when we passed the duomo, battistero, and the campanile. You know, the usual-no big deal. Second best part of the ride: me mustering up the courage to speak my first whole Italian sentence to an actual Italian. After our van driver dropped us off and helped us unload our luggage I said, "Non sappiamo il tuo nome. Come ti chiami?" To which he ran to his front seat and handed me his card. "Dimitri. Any time you go out for a drink and need a ride home, you call me and I take you for free." Grazie, Dimitri. I think I just might take you up on that offer (for very rare occasions, Mom and Dad.) My two roommates, Becca and Lindsay, and I headed upstairs only to have more of the amazingness of Italia come flying at us full speed. Our apartment is incredible. HUGE. Huge as in, meant for 6 people but there's only 3 of us with 2 living rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 couches, a kitchen, a flat screen tv, and a view of Italian negozi and ristoranti outside our window. Could life get any better than this?? I think not. We took in our surroundings then quickly got ready for dinner with the group at a place called Trattoria 4 Leoni. The food and red wine were, of course, to die for. Even celebrities like Goldie Hawn and Anthony Hopkins have eaten there. Pretty cool stuff. After dinner, some of the girls headed back to our apartment to check it out. Side note: I lead the whole way to our school to meet up with the group AND all the way back from dinner to our apartment. BOOyakasha, Firenze! And in yo face to some of those family members who think I'm directionally impaired. After talking of going out on the town and then immediately getting tired after sitting down on the couch, everyone was too exhausted to go out exploring tonight. So, all went home, and now it's time for bed. I hope you all enjoy reading my blog, and I promise to try making it as entertaining as possible. Even though I have some pretty big blog shoes to fill (I'm looking at you, Aftyn!!). And if you get bored of it, stop reading. As for now, buona notte, tutti. Buona notte.