Sunday, January 29, 2012

it may be hard to believe, but the cats in florence aren't even the best part. here are some highlights from the past couple days...

on friday night, caroline and i stopped into the liquor store around the corner to buy a bottle of wine for dinner.  should have been easy, right?  wrong.  first, we got harassed by an old man beggar who came in and had a laughing fit when he saw the cashier's baby (did i mention the cashier had her little baby girl in a crib next the to the cash register?) anyway, as soon as he left, the woman ran outside, looked both ways, yelled something to us in italian, and then ran off with our money.  caroline and i just stood in the liquor store wondering if we'd just paid 50 euros for this woman's baby... we were pretty relieved when she came back five minutes later with change for the wine.

other than that, we've mostly been wandering around, enjoying gelato and the scenery.  today, we spent the day in pisa and i captured some precious poses in front of the leaning tower.  enjoy!


Friday, January 27, 2012

Thursday, January 26, 2012

our apartment on via verrazzano
hey everyone, it's almost the end of my first week and i'm finally settled into my apartment.  we moved in on tuesday, and all the apartments for students are really close together and near the school.  i live on a tiny street called via verrazzano with five other girls all from the new england area.  our apartment is small, but really cozy and cute--it has green shutters, a big brown front door, and palm trees in the backyard (which i still don't understand since it's been almost as cold as boston).  the best part, though, is that our street comes out into a piazza with a beautiful view of la basilica di santa croce.

piazza di santa croce, the view from our street
this week has been very busy with orientation events, but i still found time to explore the city yesterday with caroline, a good friend from bc.  we walked all over the southern part of the city, wandering over il ponte vecchio, tasting our first italian gelato, and eventually making our way back to il duomo.  everything here is so beautiful, it's unreal.

despite our free time, i'm really excited to start school.  right now, it almost feels like we're all stuck in limbo--i don't ever have a clue what time it is, or even the day of the week, and it feels like i've been here a month already.  i can't wait to get into the swing of things, practicing italian, starting classes, my internship, traveling around to other parts of italy and europe.  there are just so many things to do, it's overwhelming. time to get started!

p.s. these are just a couple of the pictures i've taken in the past couple days.  more to come...i promise!

Saturday, January 21, 2012

arrivederci!

hey guys!  well, i've got my bags almost packed and will be heading off to firenze tomorrow for my semester abroad.  as you may know, i will be studying at florence university of the arts and living right in the heart of the city.  i'll be interning at the florentine --an english-speaking newspaper in florence--and taking classes in writing, photography, etc. (hopefully i'll be able to share some of my work here with you all once i get started).  i have to admit i'm pretty nervous and will definitely miss my family, friends, and of course bc, but i can't wait to get over to italy.  i've been craving a change of scenery for awhile now, and i think the italian lifestyle will be perfect for me.  the italians have an old expression that kind of explains their way of life: "il dolce far niente,"  literally meaning "the sweetness of doing nothing" or "delicious idleness."  it is the absence of chaos and busy work; it is being still long enough for life to refuel you and show you what is important.  if you know me well, you know i am the best at doing nothing, and  even though i won't be doing nothing these next few months, i'm excited to finally get the chance to be still and indulge in everything that makes me happy.


i'm not sure if the internet access in florence will quite measure up to america's, but i'll try to get on here to update you all of my travels as often as i can.  arrivederci, america, see you later!