So rather than recapping my entire days minute by minute (which would literally take forever) I’m going to highlight some of the great places, people and experiences so far:
-Our day trip to Prato on Sunday, a small town about 20 minutes outside of Florence. We all went by train and were given a tour of the churches by an art historian. We also got to tour a famous biscotti shop.
-The amazing “Welcome Dinner” that CEA provided for us at a lovely little trattoria near our apartment. It was the real deal: 4 courses: a delicious bruschetta appetizer, yummy rigatoni bolognese, sliced turkey with flavorful gravy-like sauce and a small salad, gelato, and espresso to end the meal. Molto delizioso!
-Our first night out on the town. Jenn and I had a blast, went to a bar (Moyo) just a couple blocks from our apartment where there were 4 really cute bartenders who we chatted with and who hooked us up with some yummy drinks.
-Jenn and my spontaneous night-walk which ended up taking us all around the city and to the river! Bellisimo. We ended the night with a drink at a red tinted bar next to Moyo, where we finally could take a seat at the bar. We didn’t even have to pay for the drinks because the charming bartender said he “took too long.” We didn’t argue 
. We also met a really sweet girl from S. Africa who was also studying here and had traveled everywhere.
-The INCREDIBLE voice of this woman singing in the Palazzo. We thought it must have been a radio or something, her voice was incredible. Just her and this guy playing the accordian. Bellisima.
-The gelateria down the street from our apartment. Enough said.
-The discovery that the Arno river is literally 2 blocks from our apartment! We just stumbled upon it yesterday after our walk all over the city. It was at dusk, breathtaking.
-The location of our school! On the third floor of this beautiful old building in the Palazzo della Repubblica, this beautiful plaza in the center of the city.
-The marketplace with countless stands selling everything from keychains, to Pashmina scarves, to leather jackets. They are all trying to sell their stuff “Special price for the bella americana.”
-The 1.90 euro bottle of red wine that we bought.
-The beautiful polizia men. I think it’s a requirement to be good looking to be a police here…
-The cappuccino bars where you go, pay 1.20 euro, and stand at the bar to drink it. Delizioso.
-The little panini stand on our way to school. A big delicious proscuitto e formaggio panini for 2.80! The bread is so fresh and salty. And the man is so friendly.
-The Duomo.
