Onward and Upward (Literally!)

It was a bittersweet day today. We left Roma behind and drove to Florence – I was sad to leave the beauty of Rome but really excited to see Florence and the Tuscan countryside.

We got up early, ate breakfast, and got on the bus. I was very excited to take pictures of the Tuscan countryside. My sister is a big oil painter and she did two beautiful paintings of Tuscan landscapes and I wanted to get some pictures of that beauty. I pulled out my camera, curled up in my seat and waited for the countryside. Well all those adventures in Rome must have caught up with me because before I knew it, I was pulling up to a rest-stop, which did not look like either of my sister’s paintings.

We stopped at the rest-stop for lunch and a bathroom break and this is where I learned why Europeans are so thin. The restaurant area was up four flights of stairs. So you worked off your pizza before you eat it. It is a quite genius idea. I was standing in front of a modern 40-foot tall StairMaster. Very exciting. So I hiked up the stairs, went to the bathroom, and decided that I wasn’t really hungry. The stairs do work! I ended up getting the Italian version of party mix – chopping on rye cracker bits and pretzels. But of course the snacking stopped when we got back on the bus and I promptly fell asleep again. I need to be checked for bus narcolepsy.

So I slept through an additional two hours of beautiful Tuscan countryside and woke up as we hit the cobblestoned streets of Florence (or Firenze). Then we unloaded the bus and I brought my bags to my apartment building which was a short walk from where the bus dropped us off. The one thing I forgot is that we have no elevator and we live on the top floor. Needless to say, I dragged my suitcases up four flights of stairs (hooray for semi-large victories). Check back in December when I let you know how it was pulling them down the stairs.

Our apartment is beautiful. It is a converted loft studio with tons of light and fully remodeled and modern. It is going to be an interesting semester cooking for myself so be prepared for pictures of my many creations!

We walked around, got some groceries and loaded up the kitchen cabinets. I have pasta, a two pound jar of peanut butter (which I brought with me), a large jar of nutella, and four 1-pound bags of pasta. The tasty addition is a piece of bread (one etto or 100 grams) from a local favorite, Forno.

My dinner was bruschetta that I add some tomato too (bruschetta in Florence is just bread with olive oil and garlic rubbed on it) and mozzarella cheese and baked – so I basically made pizza. Simple, yummy, and totally easy. Pretty soon I’ll have to start cooking real food and not so much pizza.

A low-key night ensued, filled with unpacking and wrapping my head around the fact that I am actually living in a foreign country, by myself. It is scary, amazing, and sobering all at the same time. It is going to be an amazing semester.

Ciao!