Firenze is here!!!

We finally made it to Firenze and I am already in love with this town! Our apartment is beyond amazing. I don't think I could even describe in words what it's like. We all expected to be separated and placed in these small apartments, only containing the necessities. But no, all 10 of us are in one apartment. Sounds crazy right? But I love it. And the place is huge! Rylie and I both were reminded of the Real World because 10 strangers are coming together in this amazing house, in a foreign place! There are 4 double bedrooms and 2 singles. Rylie and I are sharing a room and lucky for us we were one of the first to arrive so we got the best room. We are the only ones with a balcony in our room! Can you believe I have a balcony in my room? And not just any balcony, but the kind with the tall skinny doors like you see in Italian movies. We wake up in the morning and just want to open up the doors in a drastic motion and shout, "Bonjourno Frienze!" and start singing in Italian! Actually, that's what we did this morning!! 

Rylie, Lexi, Alicia, and I were the first to arrive and with the others not coming until later, we set out to find some food and water. We wondered the town and found a cute little sandwhich shop to satisfy our hunger. This of course was after we bought huge water bottles to rehydrate our bodies! I'm pretty sure it reached close to 40 degrees Celsius, if not more, so we were sweating like crazy! We wondered to the market where we found many purses, jewelry and clothes, just waiting to be bought and eventually started to head back to our apartment where we ran into Chef. While outside talking, the rest of the group showed up and we all settled into our apartment, wiping the sweat off our face before dinner. 

The walk to the restaurant was incredible! Seeing all the old buildings put me in awe but when we walked by the ponte vecchio I could not believe my eyes. The water was as still as could be, which created an amazing cast of shadows. The scenery is something you cannot even describe because with the bridges crossing over the water, and the historical buildings in the background, it is something you just need to see for yourself! After stopping and taking numerous photographs, we continued on our way to the restaurant.

Chef took us out to a gorgeous pizzeria, he "treated", and we enjoyed a nice two in a half hour dinner getting to know one another! The appetizers, pizza and wine was delicious, and once we finished our meal we walked to find some gelato! My first experience having gelato was a success and I am pretty sure I will eat it everyday while I am here! While eating, we stopped to enjoy the cool breeze with the sound of opera in the background. A nearby theatre performance was going on and as the crowd was gathered together, I could not help but to people watch and get a taste of the Italian people (okay so maybe some were tourists). 

The night was perfect and I am so excited for what is to come! Watching for crazy cops to fly by though without even thinking twice if some one is in the road, the never ending dirty feet, or having a line of people try to sell you illegal purses on the corner and then watch them run to a nearby alley if a cop comes by, are all things I will have to get use to! But I think I will be able to handle the small price for living such an incredible summer!

Ciao!