snow :)

^ View from the top of the tower! One of the many Chirstmas markets in Brugge. 
^ Cherry Beer!
^ Chocolate Beer!!!
^ Haha, the only place you would ever see a kid at a bar, EUROPE!
^ me :)
^ A boat ride that we took.
^ All the houses looked like this! They look like gingerbread houses!

December 17 marks the first snowfall of the year. It was amazing. You could definitely tell that we are all from California by the way we were jumping around in the snow, trying to touch every snowflake. It snowed pretty much the entire day. There was so much of it that they had to close down the Florence airport, the train station, and all buses. It hasn't snowed since then, but there is still snow everywhere. I am really hoping it snows Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. 

2 nights ago, my roomies and I all made home-made lasagna. It was so much fun making the noodles and the recipe was surprisingly not that hard. 

Last weekend I was in Belgium, which was amazing!!!! I loved Brugge. I love how I am falling in love with pretty much every European city I have been to so far. We were only there Friday-Sunday, but the city is so small that that amount of time was just right. I fell in love with the Belgium flavored beers! I had cherry, which was my favorite. And then I had Chocolate beer, which was so cool!!! The best thing was to have a sip of chocolate beer, hold it in your mouth and take a sip of raspberry beer, then the flavors mix together and it tasted soooo good. I had lots of waffles with chocolate sauce and I had a Belgium hamburger, which is quite different from an American hanburger, but of course still good.

It is almost Christmas!!! I can't believe how fast these 4 months have flown by!

its beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Florence is completely decked out in Christmas decorations! All the streets have Christmas lights and there is even a big Christmas tree in front of the Duomo. It is beautiful and definitely makes it feel like the Christmas season. We got a small Christmas tree for our living room and we are planning to do a little secret santa between my close friends. There is also a German Christmas market going which is really cute and they have hot apple cider which is perfect since it's so cold here! 

I have a new favorite type of tea now. Twinings English Breakfast. It is delicious, especially with a lemon slice in it. I usually have tea now, instead of coffee since I figure it is much easier on my stomach. 

Tomorrow I am headed to Belgium! We are going to see Brussels and Bruges. I am really excited to eat a real Belgium waffle. I know a couple people who have been there already and they have all loved it. I think it might be snowing there (or at least snow on the ground). I am just really excited to find a cute, warm cafe and hang out. I figure this will be a good trip to get caught up on reading. 

CIAO !!!!!!!!!!

a taste of home!

Walking along the water in Sliema, Malta ^
a great view in the citadel of Gozo, Malta ^
Red sand beach in Gozo, Malta ^
Calypso's cave in Gozo, Malta ^
21st birthday drink ^ Gozo, Malta
St. Peters, Vatican, Rome, Italy
Trevi Fountain. Rome, Italy. Liz, Michelle, Devon, Me ^
Colosseum. Rome, Italy. ^ 

I just received a care package from my mom! Yes I know that I am in italy with the best food imaginable, yet I do miss some of my American junk food. Here's what i got:

sunflower seeds

trader joes creamy tomato soup

hot cheetos 

dried mangoes

trail mix

fun dip

skittles

sour skittles

starbucks ready brew iced coffee

hot cocoa

crystal light 

boston baked beans

oatmeal

sudafed medicine

gel pens 

skippy peanut butter

campbells chicken noodle soup 

crest toothpaste 

taco seasoning

HOME BAKED CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!!!!!!!!!!

most of these things you cannot find in italy. They have oatmeal, peanut butter, and taco seasoning, but it is ridiculously expensive!!!! So, thanks mom!!!!!!! 

anyway,

I went to Rome 2 weeks ago and loved it! it was extremely different from Florence. For starters it's a huge city and you have to take the metro everywhere. I went to all the sights in ancient rome and everything was extremely interesting. Then we went to the vatican. It was pouring, but we got in right away because we were on a school field trip and had reservations. The Sistine chapel was beautiful. I was so happy I took an Art History class back at sonoma, because I actually knew what I was looking at on the ceiling. By far, my favorite part about rome was the Trevi Fountain. It was huge!!!! I didn't expect it to be that big, so it pretty much blew my mind! My school organized everything for us and we all stayed at a 4 star hotel!!! We all felt like royalty compared to all the hostels we stay at when traveling on our own. We all definitely took advantage of the heater, and long hot showers. 

The weekend before Rome, I went to Malta! I fell head over heels in love with Malta. I want to go back sooooo bad! The weather was beautiful (in the high 70s) and I was wearing flip flops for the first time in a long time! I spent my 21st birthday there, and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Devon and I went to a small island off malta (called Gozo) and roamed around it all day. My first "legal by USA standards" drink was a sex on the beach. My second was  a bloody mary and my third was a kamakazee. It was definitely a great and relaxing day. Malta is my second favorite country, because of course Italy is number 1 :)

This weekend, we are going on another school field trip to Ravenna. This trip is from Friday-Sunday. I'm hoping we stay in a nice hotel again!

It is getting REALLY REALLY COLD HERE!!!!! My daily outfits include many layers, gloves, a scarf, and a hat. And its not even December yet!!!!!

Ali, my friend/roomate from sonoma is coming to italy in less than a month! She gets here December 27th. maaaan am I excited! We are planning on traveling to France and meeting up with Cathy, my friend since kindergarten, since she will be there on vacation! 

On yet another brighter note, I found the most adorable coffee shop! In most coffee shops here, you order your coffee and usually drink it standing at the bar, because they charge you extra to sit down. But, this place I found doesn't do that! It is two stories and it is loft style. All the furniture is mix matched, and there are book shelves everywhere filled with a million books. You can sit in there as long as you would like, and they are always playing jazz music. My new favorite thing  is to go there and order coffee or hot chocolate, and read for hours. It kind of reminds me of the coffee shop in the TV show, Friends, yet waaaaay cuter!!! 

getting into a routine

Real school started last Tuesday. By real school, I mean our fall semester. The first two months I have been here, my classes were considered summer school classes. Those classes were Beginning Italian 2 and Italian Culture. Grades were posted and I got A's in both. My schedule is as follows for fall semester:

Monday: Italian Literature + Film: 11:30am-12:50pm

Italian reading and conversation: 6:30pm-8:20pm

Tuesday: Italian Literature: 10:00am- 12:45pm

Intermediate Italian 1: 1:30pm-3:30pm

Italian Opera: 5:30pm-8:15pm

Wednesday: Italian Literature + Film: 11:30am- 12:50pm

Italian reading and conversation: 6:30pm-8:20pm

Thursday: Intermediate Italian 1: 1:30pm-3:30pm

Friday: No class!

I like my schedule, but Tuesday is definitely a rough day. I like all my teachers, especially my Italian reading and conversation teacher, Carlo. He is really funny!! I am really glad that now I have a routine because I felt like I was still in summer mode up until last week.

I just bought some yarn today, and my roommate Liz is going to teach me how to knit and crochet. I am really excited to make some scarves, especially since it is getting so cold here!!! I have been wearing many layers when I go outside now. It is especially cold after my night classes. It's been pouring day and night and lots of thunder! It is only November, so I can't imagine how cold it will get in December and January! On a warmer note, I am going to Malta this weekend!!!!! I am going there for my 21st birthday with my roommate Devon. It is going to be a lot warmer there compared to Italy. I absolutely cannot wait!!! 

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and I am really sad that I am going to miss it. It is my favorite holiday. I am not sure if my roomies and I are going to try to make a make-shift thanksgiving dinner or go travel instead. We will see. 

Ciaooooo

Barcelona and Milan

                                              Just a few hours after Lauren got here! ^
                                              Yes, the stairs really were that steep!!! ^
                   Lauren and I climbing 400-something steps to the top of Florence's Duomo ^
                                             Beach in Barcelona at night ^
                                            Boat tour on the coast of Barcelona ^
                                            Sangria in Barcelona with our hostel roommates ^
                                                 Milan's Duomo ^
                                                 Panzorotto in Milan ^
                                            Gelato in Florence ^

                                                          Barbie doll gelato cones ^
                                            Standing in front of the carousel in Florence on a rainy day^

My cousin Lauren came to visit me!!! It was amazing to see her! We spent the first two days catching up and I gave her a tour all around Florence. Then, we were off to Barcelona, Spain! Our hostel was sooo cute and the staff were so friendly. We stayed in a room with 6 other people. In Barcelona we saw the beach, took a bus tour, and a boat tour. The weather was really nice in the day but at night it was pretty chilly. Unfortunately, both of us did not enjoy the food. All we could find was Paella (Which is rice and sea food). But both don't like seafood. And the other food were Tapas(Which are appetizers). They grossed us out though because they are all just sitting at the bar for who knows how long and they pretty much all had ham in them. It was so funny because the Spanish really like their ham. They even had ham flavored chips! Milan was cool. We stayed at a hotel and it was just us 2 in the room. The owner was so impressed that we were from San Francisco! He was so cute. We shopped pretty much our entire time in Milan. Our feet hurt pretty bad after all that walking. We ate the most delicious bread, tomato sauce, and cheese thing. It was fried and it was soooo good. It was called a Panzorotto. It looked really small but it filled us up! We were happy to come back to Florence to eat some good food. Lauren ate pizza almost everyday!! I introduced her to Grom (My favorite gelato place). I discovered my new favorite kind-- Egg Nogg and Vanilla! They taste amazing together.  I was really sad to see her leave, but I am so glad that we had such a great time together. I think we laughed the entire week :)

OKTOBERFEST!

Oktoberfest was craaaaaazy! There were so many people there and it was a lot of fun. I actually really liked the beer! I was very surprised! My favorite was the one in a liter because it had lemonade in it, it was soooo good. The bratwurst was really good too. I also had a pretzel. So basically I feel like I have gained 10 pounds this weekend. German is such a hard language!!! I kept speaking to them in Italian on accident, I just couldn't remember any of the German words I learned before going there.  I am definitely glad I went because it was a great experience.

Sorrento, Capri, & Napoli

                                              ^Our Pizzas in Napoli
                                             ^ The beautiful Australian as we ate our paninis 
                                                       ^The amazing Blue Grotto
                                                 ^ Coming back from a swim in the Green Grotto
                                              ^katie, michelle, erica, me, wayne(the australian), travis, & jake
                                                        ^ On our private boat in Capri

My trip this weekend was amazing! It was the best vacation I have ever been on. On friday, we left Firenze at 1:15pm. We had to switch a bunch of trains, as that was the cheapest way, and finally got to Sorrento at 11pm! When we got to our hostel, we found out that our roommate was a gorgeous Australian. He was sooo nice and soo cute. We immediately got some limoncello, since that is what Sorrento is famous for. We went to sleep after that and woke up early to catch a boat tour of Capri. But we missed the boat by about 2 minutes. So we decided to take a ferry to Capri and just go from there. When we got to Capri, we found out that we could actually take a private boat around the whole island! So we jumped on and saw the whole island for about 2 and a half hours. It was beautiful! It was very warm out, but not too hot. We saw the white grotto first, then the green grotto, where we jumped of the boat for a swim in the Mediterranean ocean. The water felt so nice and was extremely salty. After our swim, we lounged around on the boat until we got to the Blue grotto. To get inside we had to get into a tiny 3 person boat, because there is a tiny little cove that you have to go under to get there. It was scary because we went straight into darkness. But once we were in there, the water was SOOO blue, it was like aquamarine color. Everything was dark, except for the illumination of this water. There was singing from the men paddling the boats and it was absolutely amazing. I have never seen anything like it before. I actually got pretty emotional since this was the place my Dad said was his favorite in Italy. It was as if going into this grotto gave me some closure. It made me feel more connected to him, which made me feel very happy. I am very fortunate that I got to experience this.  After we got back on land, we ate at a panini place. Then we walked up to the main square, which was quite a hike, but definitely worth it for the great views. Later we went back to sorrento and went to an outdoor bar/club, where we became friends with some Canadians. It was absolutely amazing hanging out with an Australian and Canadians the whole weekend. It is actually funny because hearing their accents all the time made me aware of my own American accent. I've never noticed my own accent before, but hearing theirs made me hear my own. On sunday, we went to Napoli because we wanted to eat at the place in Eat, Pray, Love. When we got there, it was closed!!! But the pizzeria across the street from it is owned by the same family so we went there. The pizza was delicious!!!! But Napoli is not a place I would ever want to visit again. It is such a sketchy place. I had to hold onto my bags really tight because there are creepy people everywhere. It is not a very pretty place. There is lots of litter that no one bothers to clean up. But I am glad that I experienced going there. At 2pm we boarded the train and took only one straight back to Firenze. We got back at 8pm and I was exhausted! I came back with lots of great memories and a souvenir bottle of limoncello. This was definitely my favorite trip and I want to go back very, very badly!!! I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to visit Italy. 

Taco Tuesday

nothing too excited has been going on here. School is going good. I got an A on my last test, only missed one question :) I am trying to plan a trip for this weekend. Tomorrow I am thinking of going to Pisa. This weekend I wanted to go to Naples, Sorrento, and Capri, but I don't think that is going to work out. Today my Culture teacher, Marcello, told us that Lasagna originated in Bologna, so I definitely gotta make a trip there to try some. For my birthday in November, I am thinking of going to London to go on a Harry Potter tour! But the new Harry Potter movie comes out at the end of November, so I don't know which one I should go for. 

Tonight the roomies and I all made tacos!!! It was delicious!!! We mixed beef and chicken and bell peppers and onions and spices and tomatoes and lettuce. It was a nice change from pasta, not that I am getting tired of it or anything. 

Weekend

So the field trip was amazing! We first went to Volterra (yes, like the Volturi in Twilight). I didn't care too much for Volterra. It was filled with lots of history, but I did not really find it interesting to me. But our next stop was San Gimignano, which I loved!!! It was absolutely beautiful and had great views of all the vineyards. I bought a bottle of white wine with 4 other people and enjoyed the view. After that, we went to Casa Machiavelli for dinner. It was a traditional Tuscan 3hr dinner. The food was great! We had bruschetta, minestrone soup, ribs, chicken, potatoes, salad, and red wine. The minestrone soup did not look appetizing when they served it to us. It was really thick and looked kind of like mush. I was anticipating if I should eat it or not, but I knew it would be rude if I didn't. So I tried it and it was delicious!!! It was sooo good. I actually did not care too much for the wine though. For desert we had biscotti with a dessert wine. You are supposed to dip the biscotti in the wine, but I also didn't care for that either. So I just ate the biscotti by itself and it was delicious. We got back from our field trip at 11pm and then I had to go straight to bed because I had to be up on Saturday morning at 6am, since we were going wine tasting at 7:30am. We took a bus to Chianti with a tour group. Our tour guide's name was Luca, who was absolutely gorgeous! Chianti was awesome right from when we got there. We took a 2 hour hike through all the vineyards and took lots of pictures. The hike was a lot of fun, but it was pretty intense at times, because Chianti is pretty hilly. Then after our hike, we went to an old family owned villa for lunch and wine tasting. The lunch lasted for about 3hours. We first had bread, salami, prosciutto and white wine. Then we had toasted bread with garlic olive oil on it. It was amazing! I think this is now my favorite thing to eat. After that we had 2 types of pasta, pesto and tomato. They were both really, really good. We had red wine with the pasta. I loved the red wine! It was chianti classico. I even bought a bottle of it before leaving. So we got back to Florence at 6pm and I was exhausted! So I decided to play it cool for the night and just go to sleep instead of going out. I'm glad I did that because this morning I woke up very refreshed! So I went out by myself and got a cappuccino, then explored a little to see what kinds of shops are close to my apartment. Then I was craving these little salty bread rolls from my favorite bakery, which is about a 10 minute walk. But when I got there, it was closed! So I got a panino right across from my apartment, which was very very good. The top picture is of me in Chianti. The next picture of of Erica, Katie, and I at San Gimignano. 

ciao ciao

The inside of the Duomo is open everyday to the public for the cost of 8 Euro. But once a year, they open the terrace free of cost. Yesterday was the day, September 8th. We had to see the terrace, as it was a once in a lifetime chance. It was raining and we had to wait in line, but it was all worth it. The view was amazing and you could even see my apartment's terrace which was really cool. Tomorrow is my first field trip! We leave at 9am and we are going to visit 3 places. It is an all day trip, so we won't get back to Florence till midnight! We are going to Volterra, San Gimignano, and Casa Machiavelli. I am very, very excited! Then on Saturday, we are going wine tasting in Chianti. We are doing a 2 hour hike to the vineyard. It is going to be an intense weekend, but it will be so much fun. Last night, my roommates and I made a huge feast! We made pasta primavera (with zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, and chicken) and garlic bread, and salad, and red wine. It was great! Then after, some people came over and we all hung out and studied for our test that we took today. School is going great. I love how my teacher speaks in only italian in class. I am really benefitting from it. He also doesn't let us talk to our friends in english in class. If we speak italian then he is totally fine with it. It is great! One bummer is that I think I am starting to get a cold :(  My nose is a little stuffy and I woke up this morning with a sore throat. I hope it goes away! 

Pizza and Gelato

I just had pizza at a small pizzeria around the corner from me. It was a giant piece of pepperoni and it was delicious. All the tourists were staring at us gulping down our pizza, while standing in front of our apartment. Then after that, we went to get gelato! I got caffe and it even had some coffee beans in it. Sooooooo good. This was my first time having pizza and gelato in italy! But I'm sure my lactose intolerance will get back at me sometime soon. But o well, it was definitely worth it. This morning class was great, my teacher took us outside to a piazza. On our walk there, Devon and I had a full on conversation in Italian with our teacher. We were very proud of ourselves. So I found out today that my school is offering volunteer opportunities to get acquainted with italian culture. I am seriously thinking about signing up for a couple of them. I need any way possible to learn more italian! Also I am thinking of getting a meal card at the local university so that I can go eat there. 

Piazza di Michelangelo

Today, we hiked up to the Piazza Michelangelo. I went with Devon, Liz, Kelsey, Michelle, Lauren, Bruce, Sam, and Rudy. It was pretty much all uphill and it was very, very, hot. First, we went to the grocery store to buy food for the hike. We bought tomatoes, basil, bread, cheese, olive oil, salami, and red wine. Once we hiked up to the top, we sat down and enjoyed the amazing, breathtaking view. Then we all ate our delicious lunch. I've found out that when in Italy, all you need to have a good time is an amazing view, flavorful food, great friends, and some deep conversation. There is no need to rush anything. I plan on doing things like this a lot more. Today I also realized how close my apartment is to the Ponte Vecchio. If you walk right from my apartment you will hit the Duomo, and if you go left, you will hit the Ponte Vecchio. I am so excited to sit on the bridge and write, with the water as my inspiration. I think that's why I am so excited to go to the coast, because anything by water makes me happy. Italians culture is extremely relaxed, but I have found 2 exceptions- the grocery store, and driving. At the grocery store, they ring you up so fast! And they make you bag your own groceries, while they are moving on to ring up the next person. It is pretty stressful! Drivers here are insane! The cars get sooo close to the pedestrians! They seem to be in such a rush. They don't pay attention to the lane lines. They just drive right in the middle at high speed. No one in their right mind would even think about crossing the street without looking the entire way across. I swear the cars and vespas come flying around the corner at of no where! Tomorrow is back to school. I am so tired from the hike, that I am sure I will pass out early tonight.

Ciao

Ciao

yesterday I got to skype with my mom and Gianni, which was great. Then after, we invited a bunch of people from school over to our place for wine. So many people came, our apartment was completely full. After that we all went out and had a great time. Everyone went to Cinque Terre this morning, but I decided to wait for that. I need to get some priorities straight before going on any trips. So today we are going to Ikea to get some apartment essentials, then after that I am going to go grocery shopping. I think I am going to go to the outdoor market to get all the fruits and veggies. I can't wait to cook! I want to make bruschetta, yuuummm. I also need to see if they have soymilk here. I will update later.

Hello September

Ciao,

Last night we went to a club opening called "21" which was really fun, but waaaaay too many Americans, then today when we went to school, my teacher took us to the bookstore to buy our books and then instead of taking us back to class, he took us to a cafe for coffee and pastries. What a great teacher :) Today we are going to take it easy and relax. We have been on the go so much that we just want to catch our breath. We are finally in our apartment and it is great! The pic is of my new room!  We have a huge flat screen tv, but ALL the channels are in Italian! So I have a plan. I want to buy 2 of the same books (novels), one in italian and one in english and then read them at the same time to see how they translate. I love everything about Italy so far, but I only have one complaint. Everyone smokes here. The smell of it burns my nose, so I just have a constant burning sensation, pretty much every minute of each day. So that is that only thing that I wish was different here. We went to a great panini place today. It is literally a hole in the wall under a tunnel right down my street. I had a panini with mortabelli (I have no idea what that is, but I wanted to be adventurous and try something new) and ricotta cheese. It was delicious!!! I think I will probably try every panini they have there in these next nine months. So I think I need to invest in some good walking shoes. These cobblestone streets are definitely tearing up my American shoes.  So when we were touring this apartment, the Duomo bells were not loud at all. But this morning the loud ringing bells woke me up at 6am! and 7am! and 8am! till I finally got out of bed. They are a lot louder early in the morning when everyone is asleep. So I think I might buy some earplugs. Either that or wake up everyday at 6am, get an espresso and get the day started. Ha, we will see. 

Ciao Ciao

Shot Bar

So our favorite hot spot to go to is Shot Bar (Actually called Shot Cafe, but for some reason we call it Shot Bar). The bartender is awesome, his name is Armando!  The drinks there are delicious. He always gives us some for free haha. It is funny because all my friends here call me Mom, since I am the responsible one. So the other day we saw a poster for a Reggae concert, so when we got back to the hotel, we started telling everyone about it. Later we heard everyone talking about it! But the only thing was that we didn't read what street it was going to be on. So everyone knew about it, but no one knew how to get there. As it turned out, we google mapped it and it wasn't even in Florence! It was sooooo funny, but we felt kind of bad that we had everyone arrange their night around the so-called reggae concert. Today, I bought a cell phone! I can't use it to talk to anyone at home, but I can use it to keep in contact with everyone in italy. We move into our apartment tomorrow! I am so excited to stop living in a hotel and to actually put my clothes in a closet! A great aspect we found here, is the 1 Euro store! It is great! Everyone flocks there to buy cheap things. Well I am very excited to move into our apartment, and then I will be able to update this blog a lot more!  

Ciao!

Apartamento!

We found our apartment! It is the best apartment in all of Florence in my opinion. It is in the heart of the city, overlooking the famous Duomo. Within our apartment, there is 3 floors. On the first floor there is a double bedroom, the second floor is the bathroom and the kitchen, the third floor is a huge living room/dinning room, and the another twin bedroom with 2 nooks for the beds (one of which is mine), and then there are more stairs that lead up to our terrace/patio/balcony. It is basically on the roof and you can see the entire Duomo. It is simply perfect! The picture was taken on our terrace.

The nightlife here is amazing. We went bar hopping last night to 3 different bars. It is crazy how late these Italians stay up partying, it never seems to stop! Dancing to Italian music is so cool. We have been meeting so many students from all over the U.S, mostly from the East Coast. We have been also meeting some cool italians. I am really picking up a lot of Italian. Last night I was speaking it constantly, it was awesome. Also, someone asked us for directions last night, which shows that we probably are starting to not look like tourists anymore. 

I still have yet to try gelato, I need to soon! Everyone keeps saying how delicious it is, so I am very excited! All the street signs are in italian, but the STOP signs are in English. Very funny. I currently have 2 mosquito bites. one on my arm, one on my leg. They are huge! I thought I would gain weight once moving to Italy, but I found out that I am actually losing it. We walk so much, so I am definitely getting in shape. I also found out that we eat less because we only eat at mealtimes and it is much smaller portions that in the U.S. I really need to invest in good walking shoes because I am getting blisters! So it is considered rude in you walk into  a store/shop/bar/anywhere without saying Bongiorno or  bona sera. I really need to start learning how to order food in italian. Today is a lazy day, we are just relaxing and hanging out. 

First successful day in Florence

So today we walked all around Florence, and then we went out to eat for lunch where I ordered my first legal glass of wine! It was great ordering a real drink without being 21. I was surprised that I actually enjoyed it! I ordered bruschetta and it was so refreshing with all the yummy tomatoes. It was sooo flavorful. After that we walked by an outdoor market. We passed a bag/purse stand and the guy working there said that since we are Americans, we get half off. I wasn't looking to buy anything, but I asked him how he knew we were Americans. His response was, "Because of the beauty." Haha typical Italian man. We went back to our hotel for the ciesta, where I took a nice, long nap. Then we ate dinner with all the CSU students and now we are going out for the night! Ciao!

Hello Firenze

I am here! It is sooo hot. I am trying to get on Italy time, but no such luck, I slept all day. First meal I had here was penne al pesto and sparkling mineral water. We learned our first cultural lesson after eating. Apparently it is rude to ask to bring home your leftovers. When one of the girls asked out waiter, he rolled his eyes and did not look happy. We haven't ventured too far from our hostel, since we might get lost. But hopefully tomorrow we can go explore a little more. I am glad a brought a Klean Kanteen with me because it is an absolute necessity when walking around in the burning heat. So I won't be able to post any pictures any time soon because I forgot my camera's USB cord at home! I'm going to have my mom send it to me and then I will post a million pictures. What they say about vespas and Italy is completely true! There are so many! They are everywhere and they go so fast! The pedestrian definitely does not have the right of way in this city. I am so excited to learn my way around and meet the locals that live here. I wonder how long it will take me to get used to this time change. Going apartment hunting in a few days, wish me luck!

1 day left!

So, tomorrow is the big day. I leave for the airport around 11:30am to make my flight at 2:15pm. I am currently in the process of shoving everything into my suitcase. I can only bring one suitcase that can weigh 50lbs! I am also bringing a backpacking backpack and a purse. Everything is completely filled, yet I am still trying to fit in a little more. I am excited- yet at the same time, it still doesn't feel real. I think that it will feel real when I wake up tomorrow morning. I have a layover in Frankfort, Germany and then we fly to Florence. When we land, we have to take a taxi to our hostel. I am really curious to see how jet-lagged I will be. While I am there, I plan on writing in this blog to keep everyone at home updated on my life in Europe. I also plan on writing in a journal so that later in life, I will have something to look back on. I am keeping my mind open to all new experiences and my goal is to come back to the states completely fluent in Italian. This is going to be the adventure of a lifetime. My next post will be in Italy! Ciao!