No class on Fridays!

Today I had academic orientation which was pretty much all information I already know since I've been going to this school for three years.  I did get my schedule thought which was nice.  As promised I have Fridays off which is wonderful and will make traveling on the weekends so much easier.  

This afternoon Robin and I got our keys and moved into our apartment.  I am staying at the hostel one last night since it is right next to where we have orientation in the morning.  I left somethings at the hostel including my camera so that is why there are no pictures of my apartment yet.  

The landlord Anna Rosa is the cutest old women and her family has owned/lived the building for generations.  The building is considered a historic part of Florence so I have to sign a paper at the apartment agency saying that I understand and that I won't damage it in any way.  Overall the apartment is amazing and I'm so excited to live there.  

Twice in one day...only so you are a more informed voter

To help you vote appropriately on the quiz I thought I should include the places I definitely plan on going.  

These are in no particular order, not ranked by importance.

 1.  Munich- probably for Oktoberfest

 2. Athens/Grecian Islands - spring break

 3. Budapest

 4. Cairo 

 5. Morocco - not sure what city, also taking suggestions on that

 6. Spain- just not sure where, it depends on Amelia, my amigo studying there

Also I will be traveling to Milan and Paris on school trips.  I really like London but it is so expensive and I was recently there in the Spring of 07 to see Weegie so I feel like it I can take it out of the running.  

Please let me know your thoughts by voting in the quiz.  Thanks

And I would walk 500 miles...

  Honestly in the last couple days I feel like I have walked 500 miles.  The benefit of walking this much is that today I rewarded myself with a gelato.  I went to this wonderful place that comes highly recommended by everyone, and now I know why.  I definitely want to take my Mom and Charlie when they come visit.

  Last night we went to this amazing hole in the wall pizzeria.  I think they appreciated that we tried to speak Italian because they gave us free shots before we left!  

  Tomorrow I get to move into my apartment which is very exciting.  It will be nice to be able to unpack and get settled.  I also can't wait to put pictures up so everyone can see it, especially the amazing terrace.  

  I included some pictures that I'm actually in today in case you already forgot what I look like, or haven't seen my new haircut.  

Map

The blue dot is where my apartment is.  Today I only had Italian class which was a good refresher.  My professor is really nice and super helpful.  This afternoon was relaxing, me and a bunch of other girls ate a delicious lunch outside of bread, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and fruit.  

Tomorrow I have to drop of my Permesso di Soggiorno (PDS) which registers me with the Italian police so I can be living here legally.  I also have Italian again tomorrow since we only had it today for 2 hours.  

Sweet Victory!

On the left is our school Polimoda where we had orientation today.  It is at the Villa Strozzi, which used to be the country home of the Strozzi family who were rivals to the Medicis.  It is on the top of a hill and it has beautiful views of the city.  On the right is the sun setting over the Arno river.  

Today Robin and I found the perfect apartment.  It is in San Lorenzo which is a really cute neighborhood in the city.  Our apartment in on the top floor and has a terrace! I really wanted an apartment with a terrace so I'm so excited to move in.  From the terrace you can see the Chapelle de Medici.  I'll post pictures later in the week.

  Tomorrow I have my first Italian class which makes me a little nervous because I feel like I can't remember anything from last semester.  I signed up for two field trips with the school, this weekend I am going to Cinque Terre which is five small villages along the coast line.  Next weekend I'm going to Siena which is another city in Tuscany.  I went there on my last trip to Italy and I'm very excited to go back, especially with the prospect of finding spicy olive oil as I did four years ago since I still remember how delicious it was.  

A domani!

I made it

I left my house around 10am on Friday morning.  Most of my traveling went smoothly, but I did miss my connecting flight in Rome to Florence so I had to wait around to get the next one.  I ran into Robin (my awesome friend and future roommate who I will be mentioning a lot) at the airport and we took a cab to the hostel together.  All the FIT girls are staying at the same hostel for this week until we get apartments.  The hostel is small but nice and clean.  I'm rooming with four other girls and we have our own bathroom.  Yesterday Robin and I spent most of the day walking around the city, it was the perfect summer day.  We went out to eat and enjoyed delicious italian food and being able to order wine.  We didn't sleep all day so be the time we got home last night around 10pm the jet lag had caught up with us and we crashed.  I slept for 14 hours and hopefully now I'll be able to be on Italy time.  Today we just have a short city tour with the program director and one of the professors.  

Getting ready to leave

  I'm leaving on Friday the 22nd from Pittsburgh.  First I fly to Newark, then Rome, then Florence.  I'm getting very excited about leaving.  I'm spending my last few days in Indiana hanging out with family and friends.  Nothing too exciting to report now, the posts will be better once I'm actually in Italy.