dove il sentiero?

I know it’s been a little while but nothing was tooooo overly exciting to make individual post so instead you’re getting a week plus of my day to day life in Firenze.

Another week down.  I have officially been in Florence a whole month and I’m already stressing about not having enough time here.  Not enough time to explore Florence, let alone other cities in Europe.  Time is just flying. 

Tuesday, after my wine tasting class the guys cooked dinner for all of the girls and it was so good, especially the chocolate crepes with strawberries and whipped cream!  We went to a new pub after for a drink and had a delicious English beer called Dragoon. 

I went on little runs Wednesday and Thursday along the Arno.  It was beautiful but a little chilly, especially after leaving Rome’s nice war weather.  We have had quite a bit of trouble this week with our internet and our water, which likes to shut off conveniently right when you want to shower.   But Wednesday night, I was able to catch up on some homework and our internet worked long enough to watch Grey’s, which was a nice little piece of home. 

Thursday we went to a few different bars and a club before ending the night with a trip to the Secret Bakery, of course.  Nothing like a chocolate crescent and a piece of pizza to put you to bed.  And my internet apparently has a better connection at 4 a.m. so I was actually able to see James instead of just hear his voice!

I have two projects due in the next weekish- yes, I do actually have to do a liiiiiiittle bit of work while I’m here- so I spent my Friday doing some work for those because I know I’m not going to want to next weekend while Kathryn is here and while I’m in Venice.  After working on my Mafia heroin trafficking project, I went to get a glass of wine and some tiramisu at a restaurant on our street with Anna, Ashton, Courtney, and Randi.    

Taylor and I woke up early Saturday morning to go hiking in Fiesole, a little town 20 minutes away by bus.  Just our luck, Taylor and I forgot to validate our bus tickets anddddd received a 55 euro fine.  Lesson learned the hard way I guess.  The hike and the view of Florence were perfect regardless of our slow and tragic start.  We also couldn’t find the hiking trail so we now know how to say “dove il sentiero?” (where is the trail?) very well.  And we were very grateful for the little Italian woman walking home with her groceries behind us because whenever we reached an intersection we would look back and she would nod to the right direction.  She even waited to go inside her house because she knew we were going to ask her one last time which way to go.  Taylor and I got some coffee after and did a little shopping at the leather markets.  I’m so glad we took advantage of such a beautiful day because it is going to be rainy and chilly the rest of this week.

We didn’t have hot water or water pressure for that matter, so I showered in my friend’s room before going to the Lion’s Fountain for a drink.  We made another trip to the secret bakery before calling it a night.

Since it was gross out Sunday, I stayed curled up in my bed reading one of the books for my literature class, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, and I could not put it down!

Mom’s package finally came, in a month later!  I loved her cute little Valentine’s Day goodies.  It’s suppose to rain everyday this week so any moment that it isn’t raining I made sure to get a run in.  I had good, short runs Monday and Tuesday.  I’m crossing my fingers than the rain will hold off and my lungs will let me get a good long run in before I go to Venice this weekend because I signed up for the Florence half marathon!

I gave a presentation of the murals of in Santa Croce on Tuesday for my history of Florence class.  The church is so beautiful, and I had no idea that Galileo Galilei, Machiavelli, and Michelangelo are all buried inside.  And as always, wine tasting is the best way to end the day.  We tasted the Chianti Classico, along with others, and learned how to properly open a wine bottle.

Salute!