The First Tale

Well, I made it. And now, I live in Italy! The trip here had a few ups and downs, but overall was successful and not too difficult. I think the best part of it was when I woke up from a short nap on the flight from Munich to Pisa and right below me were the snow-covered Alps. Absolutely gorgeous and seeming close enough to touch. In between the mountains were little villages, with white houses with red roofs, just like you see in movies. That made me feel so excited to be in Europe and to know that I will be here for 10 months.

After arriving, I settled in with my roommates Heather, Jessica, and Sarah, my awesome friends from Southern. We have a big room together and have been having so much fun. We don't get much sleep because we end up spending so much time talking and laughing. The campus is absolutely beautiful; so old, with so much history. It overlooks the city and sits on a slight hill, but is only a 15 minute bus ride away from the center of town. In the center of Florence is the Duomo, which is the main cathedral of the city. It is amazing and surreal to look at. I'll try to post photos later!

In the last few days, we've seen a lot of Florence: the River Arno, with the Ponte Vecchio, Santa Croce, Piazza della Signoria, Orsanmichele, the Palazzo Pitti, San Lorenzo, and many other beautiful buildings, and there is still so many more things to see. I love this city! I am so excited that it is going to be my home for the next few months.

We also found the best gelato in the city (so the guidebooks say, and after having been there twice, I believe it!). I can see I will have to exercise some self-restraint in the next few months!

Classes begin tomorrow, which will change a lot, I'm sure. But I'm excited to begin learning the beautiful language that is spoken here, for multiple reasons (but the main one is that it's frustrating to not always be able to communicate!)
Wish me luck in class!

Love, Jen