Finally a Blogger

So. Here it is. After years of following various blogs by various people whom I usually don't know, the time has finally come for me to start my very own. Surprisingly, I actually considered not starting one, hence the two week delay. But, after many FaceTime sessions where it really is hard to put into words how amazing this experience is, I knew where to go. Blogger, of course.

Now that the trivialities are out of the way, let's play catch-up. I've been in the unbelievable city of Florence, or Firenze for you Italiani out there, for exactly two weeks. It's been a time of adjustment, pinching myself because this-just-can't-be-real, and lots of gelato, pizza, and bread. Us UNC kids arrived two weeks before the rest of the students at our school, Lorenzo de'Medici, for a presession that included a "Survival" Italian class and daily cultural activities which have included a trip to a town with the most unbelievable view of Florence, Fiesole, a cooking class and a wine tasting with our new Italian friend, Marco, and a visit to a mosaic artisan workshop where it takes close to a year to finish a 4x6 piece of art.

The view of Florence from Fiesole

These two weeks have also given us a chance to  repeatedly get lost in explore this city I will call home for the next 4 months. We've already discovered some of the best gelaterias and tried our hand at being locals by buying groceries in the Mercato Centrale. We also made it up to Piazzale Michaelangelo for another stunning view of the Florence skyline.

No matter how much exploring I do, though, I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing this outside my window. 

More to come soon.

Sidenote: Shout out to my roommate, Mary, for the blog title. She came up with it after she saw me wear the same shirt 3 times this week. With one 50lb bag, what's a girl to do?