Buon Giorno! It has been an exciting and eventful first week in Florence. I had an 8 hour flight from NYC to Rome on Wednesday evening and arrived in Florence Thursday around noon Italy time. I didn't sleep very much on the plane, but I figured it was a good idea to stay awake until later that night so I could try and get on a normal sleep schedule. We stayed in a hotel the first night and did a lot of sightseeing and walking around the city. Florence is absolutely, positively GORGEOUS! I dont know a lot about architecture, but the buildings here are just so beautiful. Very old world I would say.
The next day we went to the campus, which is called the Villa Rossa, and got acquainted with our professors and the facilities. Then our host mamas came to pick us up at the school to take us back to our new homes for the next 6 weeks. My Mama's name is Vanna and she has three adult-aged children that have children of their own. Vanna's children dont live with her, but they are over a lot and we have already gotten to spend lots of time with them. Vanna also has a dog, Liloni (I think), a cat Biancana, a turtle and several birds. Her apartment is very nice and she has a beautiful garden in the back. Overall, I am VERY pleased with my host family and the experience we have had so far. She makes us dinner every night and I am usually pretty excited for it lol. She doesn't speak any english, which is kind of a bummer but since I am taking an Italian class it will improve my speaking skills a lot.
On Saturday, the school took us on a trip to the Chianti region which is just south of Florence. Chianti is known for it's many vineyards and quaint hilltowns. We took a bus up vary narrow, winding roads and arrived first at the town of Greve in Chianti. Greve was very cute and had lots of shops to wander around in. Next we traveled farther up the hill and arrived at the villa where they told us we were going to taste wine, and have lunch. They also had a pool where we could go swimming and lay out. But they ended up giving us as much wine as we wanted, so we just drank wine and ate LOTS of pasta. Pasta with pesto, pasta with meat sauce, proscuitto, pancetta, bread, everything you would expect to find in a traditional tuscan meal. The view by the way was also amazing. I think you can find the picture in my facebook posts and it's breathtaking.
The trip to Chianti has by far been the highlight of my time here. But I have also had a great time going out with friends and spending time with Vanna and her family. Even though I cant understand a lot of what they are saying, they are very nice and seem pretty funny. I can't wait to learn more Italian so I can converse with them more. Also, I had my first Mediterranean Diet class this morning and it is my dream class. We get to travel to the Emileo-Reggio region and see where parmagiano reggiano is made. We also get to cook and eat a lot, so it's perfect!
Well I guess that's all for now, but I will update this soon once I do some more fun stuff. check out my pictures on facebook =) Ciao!
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