Just some random thoughts

I just wanted to share some random thoughts on things I've noticed :)

1. First of all, I'm moving in with an Italian family! I'm kind of excited for this, as I think it will be a great chance to improve my Italian/cooking as well as learn more about the culture. Their apartment is awesome! It's decked out with all this art that he paints, and it's just really cool!

2. While my cooking abilities are still quite low, I have noticed that even the sauce at the grocery store is so much better than anything in the USA, haha, really it is so good!

3. While I'm not a big coffee person, the coffee here is phenomenal: the cappuccino is perfect temperature..I may become slightly addicted, then return to the low class stuff in the USA..luckily I have Caribou to fall back on :p

4. Gelato (ice cream) ..wow..first, they have an amaretto flavor..which is good..second, cuz i go to this one place all the time, I get free gelato there now! :)

5. The guys here: haha enough said. I've never thought I'd say this, but getting hit on here is a little overwhelming! At first, it was very flattering, but I'm getting good at showing un-interest, unless I am really interested,,haha hasn't happened yet!

6. Going to church is something I really look forward to! I used to go to Santa Croce, which was all in Italian, but it was still cool. Now I'm going to go to the Duomo, which is an English mass, but I'll continue to expand my horizons. All of the churches are so magnificent, it's really like a museum..which is why there are so many museums right by!

7. Just hanging out in Florence is really cool. There is so much to see. This weekend I went to the Palazzo Medici..just plain amazing!

8. The drinking laws are so much more lenient, but don't worry, I've been very responsible! :) All of the wines here are great, plus they are not too expensive. It's kind of nice to be able to carry a beer in the street and not need to show any i.d. for purchasing too.

9. I like going to the markets for shopping..makes me feel more Italian :)

10. Nutella is God's gift to me! Haha, really, I have never had it til I've been here, but it is delicious.

11. I feel that no matter where I would live in the city, there is always something to see. The other week, I saw a free outdoor concert, Bandabardo, in the piazza of Santa Croce. It was so cool to see how many people were there! Now living near Piazza Republicca is really cool too. That's the fancy part of town: I'm right by Gucci, Dolce and Gabana, Prada, Armani, Lacoste, all of those cool places.

12. Some things I miss: Of course I miss everyone at home, but some things I miss are Chipotle, Caribou, texting (very expensive here), dryers (like for clothes), Lund, the gym here is very limited.. i don't know..other things like that. And I really really miss American breakfasts! Breakfast being my favorite meal is definitely not the same here. (When I come back, I plan on having bacon every day for at least a week, as I thought I bought bacon, but it was really pork chops or something :p)

13. I like traveling..and it's cool to walk everywhere (my only form of exercise! :p) However, crossing the streets is not fun..but I've learned to be quick to avoid colliding with cars!