things work differently out here

      So another observation post is in order. And this time it's about how Italians do business. I know I haven't seen too much of it, but what I have seen is interesting. And I have been around my family down south to see how it works.... sort of. So first I'll start with my friends. I have become friends with some club promoters and they do business in such a weird way. Well to me it is. They're young and they're here for fun so it's ok, but jeez I don't know how they do it. They hand out flyers for clubs and then get paid according to that. And in order to get paid they have to wait for whoever it was that hired them to meet. And usually that's a local and jeez do Italians take their sweet time. I waited with them once and the person was a good half hour late. That would so not happen in the US and if it did, it would be a one time thing and not happen again. It's just so much more lax out here. And then when the person finally got there it took another 40 minutes for anything to get done because they like to have a cappuccino and then have a smoke and then another shot of espresso. It's nuts to watch.
     Then there's the business that I'm in. I am doing my internship with an event planning company that specializes in weddings, private parties and congresses (big meetings) and the office is very lax. Most days I'm only there 3 hours and then go home. Granted it is their slow season. And again with taking their sweet time. Yesterday my boss brought me and the other intern to a planning meeting for a wedding expo they're participating in in November and we got there at the start time. The meeting didn't actually start til 40 minutes later and it was sporadic at best. Very very strange to me. It would make me crazy to work like this. But of course it's all what you're used to and adaptation is all part of working with different countries. That is, after all, what I am here to do. To get international experience.
      Well that's my piece for today. The weather is getting hotter and therefore making everyone very tired. Ahhh italia =)

The Hidden City

     So since I've been here around 4 or 5 weeks (I've lost track) I have made some other observations about Florence. I know my last post was supposed to be about my "observations" but something struck me today. Florence is a BIG little city. By that I mean that the actual land size of it is not very large but there is just so, so much packed into it. And it works so well. From the street, all you see are little shops. However, once inside you see that they go on forever and many of the larger stores are multi level. H&M for example (what, a girl's gotta shop) doesn't look like a big store from the front but then it goes back and down. The main floor is below street level. All of them are like that. Take one of the pubs I went to a few weeks ago. From the front, it looks like a rinky-dink pub (and yes I did just use those words in an actual sentence). Then we went inside, up stairs and into this HUGE open upstairs room. It was amazing. It's the outside of the buildings that gets you. You don't realize it but many of them are complete squares so they have a lot of room inside. And the buildings are TALL. Shops are always on the first floor and here and there are scattered doors into the apartments. There are no apartments on first floors. Anywhere. Which is why the "first floor" here is actually the second level of the building. So when I go to my friend's place on the 4th floor...it's really the 5th. Oof. And I wonder why my legs are looking so great. Last time they looked this good was when I was at water polo camp like my sophomore summer and had to climb a staircase of 115 stairs up and down 3 times a day...before and after workout. Whew. And my clothes fit better. And I'm more confident. I love it.
    I feel more free here. Maybe it's the spirit of summer and the little to no responsibility that I have right now. Sure I'm going to be stressed about money when I get back home but I will deal with that when I get home. Although I do have to start sending out my resume soon...I want a better job when I get home. More like need a better job. It's a necessity. Especially if I want to move back here with a sufficient savings account. I know it's a funny thing to say I want to move here after only being here for a few weeks but it really feels good. I love walking around here. And being here. I want to be able to experience it in the winter too. I think it would be just as beautiful in the winter as it is in the summer. Of course different styles but... I don't know I just really like the thought of it. And I will. I may not be able to get back here for a year or two but it will happen. And my friends will be here. The group(s)  of people that I've been hanging out with are people who repeatedly come back here. Go home and work their butts off for a few months and then move back and live freely.
    So I guess this was more of a two part post. My love for the big little city and why I love it so much. It kind of reminds me of San Jose State (go with me here....) in that it's a BIG place but in a small space. SJSU is crowded but comfortable. It's a set block. Like Florence, which once had city walls (they all did). Of course those walls only remain as the "doors" and it has overflowed but not by much. Sorry I get a little carried away with all the history of this place. It's so freaking fascinating to me. If I did live here, I would be sorely tempted to take an Italian "history of Florence" class. Maybe even in Italian. Probably not though. There are plenty of university satellite campuses here, including NYU =). Oh yes that dream is still alive and well. And since they have a campus here, I could literally have the best of both worlds. And I think I will. Ok well, we're going out for the night....a post will follow on that subject soon. Like I said, I just feel more free when I'm here. =).

Vita in Firenze

      So I have come to realize that I haven't written a whole bunch on my observations of daily life in Florence. Of course, you can't really characterize everyone's days as the same; this city is just filled with too many diverse people. I can tell you about it from my point of view though. For me, this week so far, life has been a little slower than the first 3 weeks, mainly because I am done with my language class and this past weekend I was in Amalfi and then Monday had literally nothing to do. I ran some errands, found a new friend and acted as tour guide all day. For the last two mornings, I've gotten up, showered and hustled over to the train station to catch bus 17 to my internship. On my first day yesterday, I was here for a total of 2.5 hours. Not too shabby eh? Especially since some of my classmates are already working 9 hour days. In a way, I'm envious. There isn't much for me to do just yet and I'm trying to make the most of it and going above and beyond. My assignment is slightly narrow though. Obviously, since I'm blogging from the office. Thank goodness I got my laptop back. It makes life so much easier.
     What I've observed of daily life around here is simple. The workers of the city get up in the morning and make their way to work, either by car, train, bus or their trusty feet. When I leave around 9:30 in the morning, there are people everywhere. And you can tell who the locals are. They are walking with determination and know how to best use the side streets. The tourists are the ones who look completely lost and are wandering around with a map. I try to help give directions if I can manage it but usually just let them fend for themselves. The best way to learn your way around a city is to get lost in it. That's what I did. I still do =). Oh and breakfast over here is a huge part of the morning routine. It is very rare that an Italian eats breakfast at home. Usually it's a shot of espresso or cappuccino or some other coffee drink and a pastry whilst standing at the bar at the local pasticceria. That's what I did this morning when my bosses got in and said "ok we go to eat!" then around the evening when everyone is off of work, everyone just walks around. It truly is a walking city. I mean yes, there are those who get around by other modes of transportation but the streets are so small and crowded that it's just easier to walk. And if you walk fast and know where you're going, it doesn't take long to get anywhere. I believe I made it home in like 20 minutes last night because I FINALLY figured out the most direct route from one of our favorite hangouts back to my place. Thank goodness too... I was dead tired.
    Ok that wasn't much of an observation buuut it's all I've got. Sheesh I need to sleep more. Yes Mommy you're right.... =)

The Amalfi Coast

     This past weekend I had the absolute pleasure of traveling down to the Amalfi Coast with Ali, Yaires, Cassandra and the rest of the Florence For Fun crew. It was SO much fun. We took the bus down to Sorrento Thursday night and got the hotel around 2 in the morning. Got up early the next day to catch the ferry over to the island of Capri, one of the most beautiful spots in the world. Seriously. We took a boat tou around the island and took a dip into the Blue Grotto. For those of you who haven't had the opportunity to do this, i INSIST that you do. It's not a very long trip in there, takes more time to get there and wait outside than you are inside, but it is seriously one of the most breathtaking sights you will ever see. It's a little cave that is accessible only by a small entrance, and that's only if the ocean isn't too choppy. But once you're inside, it's simply gorgeous. The light from outside reflects off the bottom of the ocean to make it took like the clearest blue you will ever see. Check out my facebook if you want to see. Or google it. It's amazing. It's SO peaceful. You can venture into the water if you want but the coastlines of Capri are infested with Jellyfish. Tons of baby ones everywhere. And they still pack a serious punch. Ahh so beautiful. I envy people who get to live there. 

     So after we went around the island and Cassandra pointed out all the famous people's villas and palaces (yes, the Gerber family has a palazzo on Capri...I know it's redic), we ventured over to Marina Picola for lunch and lying on the beach. Swam in crystal clear water and got all salty. Seriously, I could have licked the salt off of me. Accidentally did when I put my finger in my mouth. Haha. Such a relaxing day. Got back to the marina and took the ferry back to Sorrento for the night. Had dinner at the Hotel Cavour (where we were staying...such a cute little hotel and the staff there was so nice and so patient with all 71 of us crazy American tourists/students...we were trouble!) and then headed down to the English Inn in downtown Sorrento. I know English Inn?? Buuut Cassandra's been there a million times and they love her there. I love that place. It's my favorite out of all the places I've been as far as pubs. Mainly because it's a pub downstairs and then an outdoor club upstairs. So if you want to dance and have some fun go upstairs. But if you need a break just head back down the stairs and people watch on the street. People watching in Italy is so so entertaining. Mainly because of the variety of people and states of dress. Seriously, sometimes we wonder if some of these people have a mirror in their house. Or they just don't like looking in it because they know how ridiculous they'll look. 

     So the next morning, we got on the bus again and headed about a half hour away to Positano. Such a relaxing day. Literally layed on the beach all day and had the most delicious lunch with complimentary wine because I ate with Cassandra and Jenn (the two tour guides) and again, they go quite often and always eat at the same place. So nice to know people =). The weather was alternately sunny and hot and overcast and warm, so it was a good day. Went back to the hotel, had dinner and went back to the English Inn. Unfortunately, I got another case of Bronchitis this weekend (found out yesterday and don't worry I am on meds already. thank god) So I really wasn't feeling well. Walked home with Jenn, Cassandra and Brendan. And thank goodness. One of the coolest lightning storms was happening across the bay over Vesuvius and it just lit up the entire sky. Absolutely gorgeous. I loved it. I love thunder and lightning (I'm a little strange what can I say) and then right when we got back to the hotel, it started pouring. Like torrential down pour. LOVED it. haha. 

     Oh another little note about Sorrento. To get down to the beach from where our bus dropped us off, we had to walk down 801 steps. Yes 801. Thank god we ponied up a little money and got a bus back to the top at the end of the day. That was ridiculous. My legs were jello by the time we got to the bottom. And that's why Italians are so damn thin over here. They have to walk up and down mountains just to do their daily business. Absolutely ridiculous. But the beach felt oh so wonderful after. And even though the water wasn't nearly as clear as on Capri, it was still fantastic. I love the Mediterranean Sea. I could seriously live by it the rest of of my life. 

     So after enduring the lightning and thunder storm Saturday night, Sunday morning found us bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready for Pompei. Took us about an hour and a half to get there and we immediately went into the ruins for a tour. Well Mother Nature must have been having some personal issues because she made it POUR on us the first 5 minutes which were of course uncovered. And most of us were in shorts and tank tops with no umbrellas to speak of. Oh well it felt nice and the sun came back shortly after. Now, I was in Pompei last when I was 9 years old. All I remember are the plaster casts of the people, dogs roaming everywhere and how damn hot it was. The cool weather was not unappreciated by me. I loved it. And now that I am older and was armed with a camera I will remember even more. It's just so crazy to think of how old that place is. The tour guide was spouting off years that were BC, acting like they were just in the late '80s. Nuts. And to think that these buildings, although completely ruined and still not completely excavated, are original just blows my mind. So so much history in this gorgeous country. I find European history so much more fascinating than American history at times, mainly cuz there is sooo much more to learn about.  

    The tour of Pompei took around an hour and a half then we had about an hour before heading off to wherever we were going next (more on that in a second). Jenn suggested Hotel Suiss to us and thank goodness. I LOVE pizza here. And since we were down there, people were talking to us asking how we liked southern Italy. I mentioned that had family down in San Giusseppe and omgoodness the guy that was helping us got SO excited, that he dragged 3 pour male waiters over to introduce to me during our lunch because they're from there. They were so confused and I couldn't really explain because A) i was stuffing my face with delicious pizza and B) i didn't know quite exactly how to explain haha. But sheesh they were cute. I like Southern Italian men. 

    So after lunch the original plan was for us to take the bus up to Vesuvius and hike to the crater. Unfortunately that little storm from the night before was still brewing and if we had gotten stuck in the rain up there, it would have quickly turned into a not so fun trip for all of us. So instead we jumped back on the bus and headed home about 3 hours earlier. Thank god because we got back to Florence at 10 pm as it was. By this point, I figured I had Bronchitis again ( I swear I can self diagnose by now...when I get home I'm going to a specialist and telling them to fix me...3 times in a year is a little ridiculous), and I just wanted to get home and sleep. 

    All in all it was a wonderful weekend. Met some new friends, some of which I've already run into around Florence. It's always nice to make new friends. We're all here together but when we get back to the States, it's just another friend to visit =). 

And Just Like That

     Another week gone by. This one was crazy busy and saw me go out almost every night of the week, which most of you know that I do NOT normally do. However, Florence makes me feel free and I'm not worried about being home at a certain time or worried about work the next day. I am here for my summer, my last college summer. And I am going to enjoy it to the best of my ability! And oooh we are. Yaires, Ali and I have been basically inseparable since last Thursday and I love it. We all get along so so well and it's not like it's just us three. Well during the day it is but at night we go somewhere together, meet with some people we know and proceed to make about 20 more new friends. It's amazing. Last night I went on my first ever Pub Crawl, organized by some of our awesome British friends. Quite the experience if I may say so myself.
     But I digress. If you're also looking at my Facebook pictures, you will see a lot of pictures from our evening adventures. But I swear I'm also going to class haha. And learning so much, so fast. We learned the past tense this past week and now I know more italian than my dad. Well grammatically speaking. Which is huge and fun =). OH and good news for me. I got my computer fixed and for super cheap (well sort of). I get to pick it up on Monday and then I will be able to resume daily posts of these. It's a very exciting thing.
     Oh and World Cup has begun. It's going to get a little crazy. Italy is defending and tonight USA plays England...which should be fun. More on that later =). Off for now. More later. Later loves

One Week

     It's been exactly one week since I've ben in Florence and like I said in my last post, I LOVE it here. Seriously. I love the sights, I love the people and I love the people that I'm with. To recap the week, here we go: Monday was the first day of school and wandering through the mercat (biiig street vendor market that goes on forever). Made new friends and was out til 1 because I could (nothing crazy). Tuesday, more school, went to dinner at a darling enoteca right near the Palazzo Pitti (huge castle that the Pittis and the Medicis lived in way back when). Tuesday night had my first ever club experience at a place called Twice. SO much fun. Stayed out til 5 in the morning (and now know that I am so not cut out for that on a regular basis haha). Wednesday: woke up at Jasmines and spent the day wandering in the rain and just relaxing. It was a national holiday so school was closed, along with a lot of other businesses. Thankfully, it's a big city and it's summer so most of the things we wanted to do were still open. But it rained allll day. Thursday, more school. More wandering. Bought a purse (thank you Nani...silly me left my big one at home thinking I'd be ok with a little one) and now I have a genuine leather Italian purse. Had a homecooked meal at Robyn's. Walked home and finally all the walking I've been doing caught up with my poor foot and a nasty blister formed. Friday, wore tennis shoes (real ones) to try to alleviate the damn blister. Walked around so much that it burst (gross I know but it's important lol). Spent the night wandering with Ali and Yaires and made dinner at Ali's. Saturday, finally slept in a little bit and met up with Ali, Yaires, Adrienne, Sara and Chantall for a tour of the city with a tour guide that told us some really fun facts about the mnuments of Florence and why they are the way they are.
     Fun Fact #1: Cosimo Medici's wife was of noble Spanish birth and decided that the palace that the Republic was housed in and where they were living was "too small" (it's monstrous) so she bought the Palazzo Pitti across the river with her own money. Plus it has it's own gardens.
     Fun Fact #2: Cosimo built the Uffizzi for offices for his cabinet after taking over Florence officially.
     Fun Fact #3: He also built the passageway aboe the Ponte Veccho that connected to the Uffizzi because he was afraid of getting attacked by one of his many enemies while walking from the Palazzo Pitti to the Republic. Also the windows are small and high so that on one could see him walking.
     Fun Fact #4: The passageway in the middle of the Ponte Vecchio has large and lower windows becuase when Mussolini was in control of Italy, he wanted his good friend Adolf Hitler to enjoy the view from the Ponte Vecchio from up above. Also, no one but noble Italians had ever been allowed up there until Hitler.
     Fun Fact #5: The fact that Mussolini built those windows FOR Hitler is the reason that the Germans didn't bomb it when retreating from the Americans. They bombed every single other bridge in Florence so that the Americans wouldn't be able to cross. Instead they destroyed all the houses on either end of the bridge to block it. Didn't matter the American troops has floating bridges.
     Those are just a few fun facts from Louise, our Danish-Italian tour guide. Oh and the Feragammo family still owns the building that the store is in. It looks like a fortress. 
     To continue with Saturday, or back track, we had lunch at this restaurant that Ali loves and has been to so much that the owner and staff love her and call themselves her big brothers and treat us like family. So much fun. Also met some guys from Indiana University who just graduated and are on a EuroTrip in celebration. They were fun. Also met Jez (met him Monday through Bri, adorable British guy) and his equally adorable looking British friend Neil. They helped direct us to where we were meeting the tour guide. After the tour, we wandered through the gold shops on the Ponte Vecchio (dangerous waters my friends...dangerous) and had a bit of gelato because well you just need to. Delicious. Then we wandered back to Ali's to rest for a few minutes before heading out again. This time we headed to the Fish Pub, a mainly American style pub with cheap drinks but good. Stayed there for a bit and met a group of recent grads from San Deigo State and chatted with them for a while. Ali made friends siwth some Italian guys who gave her 3 roses just cuz she's so pretty haha. She swears it's because of her hair. After we went back to the family restuarant and drank some amazing wine after hours and just goofed around. Then I went home and talked with my roommated for around 3 and a half hours, finding songs for him to play on his guitar and talking about life in general. Couldn't ask for a better roommate and a better week. I live a good life. And I know it and I appreciate it. Amo Firenze. That's all for now. oh and a quick computer update...it's getting fixed. Turns out I need my own laptop for a possible internship position (haven't interviewed yet but my advisor doesn't see why they wouldn't take me on) SO just being safe and getting my sanity back on that little note. Ok more in a few days. I miss you all so much and wish you were here to experience it all with me.

oh and HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDY TO MY BABY SISTER!!! ahhh how did that happen already?!

Amo Firenze

     I love Firenze. No way around it. It amazes me at how comfortable I already feel here and walking around. It's not that hard to get around. You walk everywhere and use the Fiume Arno (River Arno) as a guide and you just need to know where the Ponte Vecchio (sooo amazing) is. I wanted to write about Monday afternoon but now after being out and about I know that I can't, because then I would be gushing about every afternoon in every post. No, here it is. I walk past the Uffizzi, the Duomo, over the Ponte Vecchio on a regular basis. I live in a city that has more culture and history than the whole United States smashed together. I live here. Some of my friends have already decided to extend their stays and see where they end up. I wish I could do that. But I do want my degree, so have no fear, I will be back in August. But I may leave again. Already we have friends who are locals. It's amazing.
     I love my school. Again, I will state that the teaching style here is superb. And I am SO excited to explore even further. But for now, the rain is keeping us indoors. Yes, it rains in Florence, and thunders too. But it's still gorgeous. ok I just wanted to throw that out there. Being in this wonderful city has made me not want to sleep. Unfortunately my body disagrees. Time for an early evening nap. Ciao a tutti e bacci