finally a taste of italy.

I experienced a bit of a detour during my travels today.  Although the views were beautiful from the plane from Frankfurt to Florence, we never actually landed in Florence due to a thunderstorm.  We casually landed in Pisa and took a bus to Florence, arriving with barely enough time to make the shuttle window to my new Italian home! (By the way... The "Leaning" Tower of Pisa doesn't look like it is leaning all that much anymore. Just saying).  I was seven when I last visited Italy, and I held that tower up with my bare hands!

The view of Pisa from the plane

Once I reached my adorable apartment on the second floor, overlooking a beautiful piazza, I went on the search for some authentic gelato.  I chose a gelateria right around the corner and was immediately flabbergasted by ALL the options.  I don't know about anyone else, but when I face choices, especially when dealing with food, I just have a real hard time making decisions.  But I ended up accepting the cassier's suggestion by getting the most perfect concoction of hazelnut chocolate, cookie gelato, and limone!  It was delicious and the perfect welcome to Florence. Benvenuto!
   
When I returned to the apartment, I started to unpack when my SEVEN OTHER roommates arrived back from their dinner.  I was more than surprised to realize again at how small the world can be when one of my roommates happened to be someone I knew from home.  It is amazing how you can finally get to know someone when forced into small quarters thousands of miles from home.  I cannot believe that I went from my own bedroom and bath to a four people in one bedroom to a bath.  Talk about a reality check.  The space is small, but hopefully over the next six weeks I will be exploring Italy, rather than the inside of the flat.

What a wonderful place to be during the summer! Although it is very hot and humid, I can already tell after a brief walk through the the city that it is beautiful!  From the French windows we could see the sunset and its reflection on the buildings and I can't wait until tomorrow's sunrise and a full day out in the city!  It is great to be alive "under the Tuscan sun."  And how could I forget our welcome dinner that Florence University of the Arts is hosting for us tomorrow night!

Today's weather wasn't the greatest upon my arrival (fa brutto!), hence the delay into Florence and the re-routing via Pisa, but I heard that the next couple of days should be sunny here in paradise! I haven't quite gotten my feet wet (besides from the rainy weather) on the Italian experience, but I know it truly hasn't even gotten started yet.  So... today is Day Zero and tomorrow will be Day One!

Buonanotte!