Firenze - Inizio a Fine!

My relaxing day yesterday was certainly countered well with a trip to Viareggio today! My university here in Florence planned a trip to Viareggio's infamous Carnevale, for which most of my friends successful signed up; I, however, was not so punctual. Too stubborn to miss this opportunity, I decided to make this my very first train ride! After stumbling around at the train station, with the ticket machine being finicky, only some of the stamp machines working, and the platform number being changed, I very much enjoyed my tour through more of Tuscany.

This was my favorite float! It was so beautiful!

Viareggio, although cold and rainy, was wonderful! And the weather certainly didn't stop any of the Italians from dressing in their extravagant customs a top of the unbelievable floats. This parade did not continue after its first full circle, but I think might have become even more energized as the day went on. After the first presentation/round the floats made, it seemed the locals just joined in, dancing and singing right with them, becoming more like a big party than a parade.

My host university FUA has a program called the family club, which pairs families in the Florence area with students who want to experience a different aspect of Italian society. I met my family on Monday evening at the dinner organized by the club. They are absolutely wonderful! The minute they came into the restaurant they introduced Isabella directly as mia mamma and Fabio as mio padre The 2 girls Emma and Bianca are 7 and 12 respectively and absolutely precious. Isabella and Fabio are both fluent in English and the girl are learning. Hopefully we'll have quite a language exchange along with our cultural exchange. They had me for dinner on Wednesday, my first home cooked Italian meal! I just love everything about this family, and they are very adamant that I practice my Italian, which is so good for me!

Today ISA took us students on our first excursion to Arezzo and Cortona, both beautiful Tuscan towns. Arezzo was a quaint town with the most beautiful cathedral (outside of St. Peters) that I've seen. We had a delicious lunch at a small local restaurant accompanied by wonderful local wine. We only spent an hour in Cortona, but it was just long enough to make me fall in love. This hillside city with cobbled streets has the most incredible views I have ever seen. Truly I've never seen anything like it. As much as I have been enjoying my experience in Florence, I've been feeling as if something is missing: the beauty of God's country sides. I suppose it's true what they say, "you can take the girl out of the country but never the county out of the girl."

The view from Cortona: absolutely breath taking!

This cathedral (in Arezzo) was so peaceful and beautiful. The gothic style stain glass was amazing!

Those of you who have ever listened to music with know that I LOVE to dance, whether it be salsa, swing, or just groovin! But the way I dance is nothing like how Italians can dance! My roommates and I have gotten to know the bartenders at the Old Stove fairly well recently (a pub almost right under our apartment: it's basically our Cheers/ Central Perk/ McClaren's). Wednesday night, after all the Americans had cleared out, the bartenders switched off the pop/hip hop and put on some salsa, and man can they move! We had such a great time just trying to keep up It has been quite a challenge to find areas, restaurants, etc. that aren't targeted only for tourists, but I think we're starting to find our niche.

Today, ISA hosted a guided tour of the Academia Gallery a.k.a DAVID! The iconic reputation of Michelangelo's David is completely justified. The word masterpiece does not even begin to truly describe this sculpture. Not to mention he's just gorgeous! Possibly just as monumental, this afternoon we finally found the gelato place that said to be the best and most local in Florence. I have never tasted anything like it, and like the chocolate festival, it is dangerously close to my apartment!

This past weekend, ISA (the study abroad program I'm with) organized a guided tour of the Uffizi gallery, which holds many famous Renaissance masterpieces, including Botticelli's! It was quite incredible to see these paintings that I've studied time and time again in a class room; there's just no comparison. Saturday we went to the chocolate fair Some 20 to 30 booths were set up with every kind of chocolate you can think of in every kind of design. My favorite were the shoes, but that's really no surprise

We are still struggling to get some decent internet access in our apartment, which has been very frustrating. Apparently our beautiful view comes with a price!
Now I've moved on to the daunting task of trying to navigate the trains and train ticket buying in Italy! There are so many options with the rail passes and reservation fees; I'm just trying to sift through it all!
I finally got back in my running shoes today after 2 months being off for the Plantar Fasciitis. I am very happy to have my feet back but am sorely missing Ramsey! (our gym at UGA). The saying that everything is smaller in Italy could not apply any more to this "palestra." I suppose the beauty of this Renaissance preserved city has its drawbacks, one of which being a lack of AC in a tiny room of sweating people. I never realized how much I took for granted back home!

I've officially made it through my first week of classes in Florence, and the differences continue! My first class on Monday consisted of only 6 people! At a school of 25,000 undergraduates, I have never experienced something that intense at UGA, and I'll admit, I was a good bit intimidated. I had that class again on Wednesday, and things felt a little more comfortable. The teacher is tough though; whoever said classes abroad were a breeze must have been a genius (or taking all easy classes I suppose). My class Tuesday, Contemporary Italian Literature taught in Italian, was less stressful but still will be a lot of work. I couldn't get my schedule changed to include one of the business course I needed so I was forced to take a "Tuscany and Its Wines" course and for shame! Nine o'clock this morning we were sipping wine! I think that class might just go well My final class is a Human Resources Management course. The material actually seems pretty interesting, but my professor is having some trouble with the language barrier, making lectures a little slow. My biggest struggle right now with the language is having the confidence to say what I know. It's interesting how that really seems like something most people speaking not in their native tongue can empathize with. This professor is obviously very well versed in her subject, but the nerves that come with trying to communicate with us kept many of the students from recognizing her intelligence. I can totally relate! So often, even as a society, I think we evaluate a person's level of education based on their eloquence in speaking. I'm starting to realize how inaccurate that tool of measurement really is.

Oh and it's freezing! All my research said we were supposed to be having temperatures in the 50s! And it has snowed the last 2 days!! (if there were a shivering icon it would be much more appropriate!)

Lock away your love and throw away the key into the Arno River so cute!