Free Hugs

     A couple weeks ago I had searched on Couchsurfing for any events coming up in Florence that sounded cool and I saw one called "Free Hugs" so I signed up and brought Lizzy along! We met at Piazza Signoria, and got acquainted while waiting for everyone to show up. We were so excited to spread some love, we couldn't start soon enough! The woman heading the event finally showed with loads of "Free Hugs" and "Abbracci Gratis" written on pieces of cardboard.  After passing them out to those of us who came without signs, we all just started wandering around the piazza, big smiles plastered on our faces. A few people weren't too excited about the idea and totally shut us down, but that number of people doesn't even come close to the amount of people whose days we made at least a bit brighter :) I did have to spend alot of time taking pictures with guys who thought that getting free hugs from random girls was nearly the best thing possible :p Eventually it started to rain a bit so we walked to the train station, I didn't bring a jacket so it was pretty chilly, but you know what they say, love will keep you warm :D The train station was a blast! Some of us stood in front of the entrance and bombarded people as they came in, but Lizzy and Monique and I walked back and forth through the station hugging hundreds of people. Within the first few minutes of this event, I was ecstatic! The feeling is undescribeable. None of us could stop smiling then or for hours after the event ended. Some specific hugs that stuck in my mind: As this older woman was walking into the station she came up to me and said, "che cosa vuol dire?" (What does it mean?) and I told her "Abbracci Gratis!" (Free Hugs!) she asked, "Dove?" or where? and I just said "Qui!" Here! and gave her a big hug :) One guy saw me from like 20 feet away and he started running towards me with his arms wide open so I ran too and when we reached each other he gave me a bug hug and lifted me up in the air! Lizzy and I went into the waiting area and started hugging all the workers in their uniforms and they were so happy, one lady said that we should come every day. A really small boy came up quietly and just gave me a hug and walked away, he was adorable! Each and every hug made our moods get better and better and I never wanted it to end! I've never in my life hugged so many people in such a short time or made so many people smile and that made me feel on top of the world! Before we left, we made promises to do it again soon so in just a couple weeks time we're going to do another one with Santa hats and Christmas cheer :) Love on someone today!!

Cookies, Markets and Monster Fish

     One evening last week, Lizzy and I decided to make cookies! Real, good, American cookies :) The way my mama makes em! We made chocolate chip and also peanut butter. I taught her how to make the fork prints on the top for classic cookies! We had so many cookies that I took some with me to my language class. They were gone immediately with plenty of compliments on how good they were. I was even asked to bring the recipe, to which I told them that I found a simple recipe on Foodnetwork.com which is what I use for any and all recipes I need to find!

     The other day, we went to a big lunch get together with many people, all elderly except for us. It was very traditional and nice, the grounds were beautiful. Giova and Luca set up traps for robins, after we ate we went to collect the traps, and to mine and Mavi's dismay almost every trap had an adorable little birdy in it that was now dead. They took them home and after they were cleaned and cooked, Luca and Giova ate them. Whole. Head. Beak. Feet. EVERYTHING. He kept trying to get me to try it but there was no way I was gonna take a bite into one of those little birdies. In a completely opposite direction, from little birds I feel the need to tell about the MASSIVE fish Lizzy and I stumbled upon. One day we went and sat out on this concrete slab in the river, water only runs down half of it and the other half is used for tanning in the summer, and fishermen and couples in the winter. It was a beautiful day so we went down and sat for awhile. Eventually we saw a guy hook something, he was pulling and reeling for a few minutes and I was confused, it either had to be a huge fish or his line was caught on something. Other fishermen started to move closer to this guy so so did we. At last he pulls it close, another man grabs the pole so he can reach in the water and pull it out as I think the pole would have broken if he had tried to get it all the way out that way. Never in my life have I seen anything like it! I was so shocked and luckily for you, I had my camera and got some pretty great shots of this fish. He was so very proud of this fish, posing with it for all who wanted to come and snap a photo. Later we figured out that the name of the fish is a siluro d'Europa. 

One thing that I love so much about Florence is the random markets that you stumble upon. On any given day in random piazzas you can find food markets full of fresh foods and homemade crafts. Anything from olive oil, wine, honey, peppers, pork, sausage, pastries, bread, chocolate and cheese. These markets are always crowded with locals and tourists alike, sampling the small pieces offered at some of the stands. I love everything about these markets, each stand does a great job of making their products look exceptional and they're all incredibly authentic. Some of the signs on the olive oil said it was pressed just two days previous. Some of the stands are so colorful and being here just makes you feel rich, in culture, but not in money when you're finished there! Luckily, there are enough samples to keep my money in my wallet, Costco samples don't even come close :p It's so interesting and fun just to wander around and take it all in. 

     As it should be, art is a topic in Florence I could talk about forever, but unfortunately talking about it is nothing like seeing it in person. Recently, they put huge stone boulders with random metal objects in Piazza Santa Croce, definitely modern are but still pretty cool. And around the duomo they put potted olive trees that were fun to weave in and out of. And on the Ponte Vecchio they hung bright pink butterflies up on string and they looked like they were flying. All of these came and went together so they must have been from some sort of project but I love to see all the interesting things that they add in randomly around the city. It's always fascinating to see what new things are around and makes me feel giddy whenever I stumble upon something new. 

Finally Feelin Like Fall

     It is FINALLY getting cooler here in Florence! 80 degrees one week and 40 and rainy the next. But I'm not complaining I'm pretty happy with the change, although I could really use some rain boots, or "wellies" as all my english friends call them. I think my favorite way to see Florence is at dusk on a gloomy day, when the buildings are lit up and for some reason, they just look even more spectacular. Evenings are also a wonderful time just to roam the streets or along the Arno river, head phones in and breathing it all in. Can't be in a bad mood after seeing a view like this.

      
     The other day, I went with a group of people from my Italian school to a Fiorentina soccer game, they played Rome. We had a long walk to the stadium in the rain and of course our seats were quite wet also, but the game was a success! We won. 2-0 being the final score, both goals were scored in the last minute of each half. We were on the edge of our seats the whole time! At half time some of the girls had to buy hot chocolate, more so to keep their hands warm then the need of the drink itself. The group went to eat after but I decided to try to find my way back home as I was drenched and could no longer feel my toes. Not sure if trying to get back from somewhere I've never been when it's dark outside and rainy is a good idea, but eventually it did work out! After a few nice people pointed me in the right direction..
     

     In preperation for Halloween, before the family left for a week, we did a few things to get into the spirit of the holiday! Made Halloween cookies with Jess, we carved a pumpkin, I cooked the pumpkin seeds, and we made a monster pizza! Reminds me a bit of home :) I love doing all of these things!

     Halloween was the most un-Halloween Halloween ever but was still pretty fun! Since the choice of costumes is quite slim in a country that doesn't celebrate the holiday, you kinda have to try to put things together. Surprisingly, all the 99 cent stores here in Florence had a selection of Halloween items- mostly decorations. After days of contemplating and trying and failing to think of a clever costume, on the 30th I went to one of the stores and told myself I wouldn't leave the shop till I had it all figured out. I walked around and around the crowded aisles filled with other procrastinating people. Asked my friend Jess for wisdom as we were supposed to match. I came upon some pretty great sunglasses and we decided we could pop out the lenses, and that is the start of our nerd costume. I went to a few different shops trying to find suspenders to make our outfits complete, eventually a lady helped me out and showed me where to go. The woman in the shop was really friendly and gave me a discount on the suspenders when I finally found them. They are great! The box says they are from 1973, Jess's have little ice cream cones and mine have little soccer players. The next day I found a thrift store and got a plaid button up shirt, went home and sewed on two buttons!! I won't lie, I'm pattin myself on the back for that :p Then all you need is a side pony, some crazy socks and high waters and voila! But I am quite disappointed to say I didn't get a single piece of Halloween candy :(

Bodil, Lizzy, Jess, and me!

     Perugia Chocolate Festival. What a day this was! Went with a group of girls by train to the town of Perugia. Disneyland isn't even as crowded as this was. I have never seen so many people pushing and shoving with the EuroChocolate Card to get their free little chocolates! At the start, you can buy a card for 5 euros and with it comes a little brochure that you take around and it lists booths you can find and get a free chocolate from their company. Oh. My. Gosh. It was a pretty warm day and at every moment you are squished between multiple people. But I will say, the smell all around you was a sweet chocolate aroma that enticed you to eat more chocolate and drive half the women there mad! Each brand of chocolate was represented with one or many little stands, selling every chocolate thing you can think of: truffles, wrenches, keys, pasta, kebabs, orange slices, Apple App cakes, merchandise, pumpkins, soccer balls, etc. A giant purple cow, five or six large gold gummy bears, hundreds of stands selling chocolate in every shape and size, and quite a few chocolate carvers made up the majority of the festival. The chocolate carvers were these guys on platforms chipping away at big blocks of chocolate. At first you notice these men because of the large crowds around them, then you notice they could really care less about the carving as all their eyes are diverted towards the girl filling up plastic bags with the shavings and handing them out. We waited around till we all got bags, and it was tasty but by every stand we walked past of these carvers, not a single one's block of chocolate looked like anything but a big ol block of chocolate. As the sun was out, some of the shavings on the floor all around were melted and when the men moved, they had to try hard to pick up their feet and globs of melted chocolate would fall and stick to the ground. The last thing we got from our chocolate card was hot chocolate. If you can call it that. I'd heard rumors that it is so thick the spoon will stick straight up.. the rumors are truth!! It really worked :D You couldn't really drink it, had to use the spoon so it was more like hot pudding but quite delicious even on a hot day. The amount of chocolate at this festival is incredible, it is really interesting to see, and chocolate maniacs like my ma will have a hay day if they ever get to see it! The festival is definitely worth it to see once, but for me not necessary ever again, the crowds of people were just a bit overwhelming.

App cakes

IT WORKS!!!! :D

October is meant for scares! But not of this kind..

We had a pretend restaurant

at the Garden

A drawing we spent days working on

Giova's 6th birthday

Giovanni's road

At the International Market

October is the acclaimed month of Halloween where we dress in costumes and get candy by saying the phrase Trick or Treat! Or atleast that's how it works at home. Here I'm told its much different. But I've already had my first big fright and we haven't even gotten to Halloween night. About a week ago, Giova started complaining of stomach aches, but they were nothing major and so sporadic we thought nothing of it. In the middle of the night on Monday the 15th, he started crying and complaining more and more and was up all night. The next morning we took him to a doctors for an ultrasound, they found nothing but air. The next few days were a mass of confusion, phone calls to doctors, screams of pain from Giovanni, and loss of sleep. He went into the hospital Wednesday and had to stay two nights there. We've been worried and at wits end being with him while he whines and cries saying how he is dying and his stomach hurts so bad. A phrase I picked up quick, mal di pancia! The hospital was doing all that they could, the doctors said the problem was only an infection in his stomach and the way to make it better is if he can get it all out in the bathroom. This became the problem, he couldn't go. None of the suppositories or laxatives were helping. Eventually Thursday evening they performed something that I'd rather not describe, that was the last thing they could think to do. And he went a little, but not like he was supposed to. And again and again he complained of this horrible pain. It hurt to listen to him and to see him hurting so much. Later on Friday he was finally able to go more and the amount of pain he was feeling decreased monumentally. I was interrupted writing this by his arrival! We were so happy that he could be home. It is a wonderful thing. I am so thankful that he is alright. Now he is relaxing watching a movie and still complains every once in awhile but altogether he is much much better. Now that this is practically over with, we can get on to Halloween and all its wonderful festivities! In the next week we will get pumpkins and carve them, but I'll letcha know how that goes when it happens. Enjoy all the pics of Giova and I so far!!

September. the beginning of school, fall, leaves, and football games. wait..

September brought the start of routine, but not the same routine that I know and love at home, it brought on a whole new routine and way of life. As I start to get into the swing of things, and understand each day a little more of the way of life of Italians, I find myself feeling more and more comfortable and at home in a whole new world.
     Transportation: Unfortunately riding bikes in the city is the one thing I may never get used to, with the honking horns, loads of tourists, and every other Italian trying to hurry for the only time in their life whether by car or moped. It is so hectic and I breathe a sigh of relief every time I get back home and can hop off that bike. Almost every day I have to take Giova to school and pick him up by bike, a bike that when sitting I can just barely get the end of my tip toes to touch the ground. I much prefer walking. You can't view enough of Florence by bike, you go too fast and are too busy making sure you don't collide with every moving or stationary object. I love to walk down a street looking up, with many buildings the top half is cooler than what you can see at eye level. For example, the other day when I was walking (looking up) there was a row of windows on a building, all identical, except for one. One was painted onto the wall, it looked almost exactly like the others and if you don't look closely, you'll never notice. I put the pic below so you can see for yourselves :)

     School? Although I had planned on taking and picking up Giova from school, I hadn't planned to go myself, but by the end of September that's where I found myself to be. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I spend two hours in the morning at La Parola where I hope to learn Italian. I'm getting better and I try to listen to the conversations going on in the streets to see how much of it I can put together, is it considered eavesdropping if I can only make out a third of their words? Soon I'll be having my own conversations in Italian! The girls in my Italian class are fantastic, they're almost all au pairs as well. Some from America, one from Holland, one from Ireland, and a few from Germany. We're almost all at the beginners level so it makes the atmosphere fun and inviting. A few are in the class just to help with their grammar and that's not so helpful for the rest of us but it's no big deal. Our teacher Maria, is incredibly nice and a great teacher! I'm back to saying ughhhh I have to do my homework! Words I thought I wouldn't hear outta my mouth for quite some time but there they are. Sometimes when Giova has homework, we'll sit down together with Mavi and do it all together. 

     Work: This part has become very routine for the most part. Mondays are school and tutor, Tuesdays are school then free, Wednesdays are half days at school then tutor and horse riding, thursdays are school and swimming and fridays are free, saturdays are morning soccer and the rest of the weekend is the biggest alteration in our weekly schedule. I quite like routine, it makes things simple but man does it make time fly! September came and went before I knew it. Giova is so exhausted by the end of the school days that after dinner at 7:30, he's asleep watching a movie by 9. Some nights I have to babysit and others I don't, so some nights I have to stay in, and some I can go out and roam the streets like the rest of Florence's inhabitants. I also recently became a Bus2Alps ambassador meaning I have a code, ASHLEYP and anyone who signs up for a tour using my code will get 5% off and I make 5%. So I'll be passin word along to try to earn a little extra money. In a recent "tip of the week" email I recieved from them it had a quote that brings me to my next point.. 

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do" - Mark Twain.        Well now I'm glad to be done talking about school and work and I can get to the fun part!! I have done some great things since I have been here and met some even greater peeople! I went paragliding, which was quite a rush. Especially when he asked if I preferred the hard ride or easy and I told him hard of course. So we spun in circles till we were parallel with the ground. My friend Jess went next and she asked him not to do the hard ride, he said to her, "What? You're not a hero like Ashley!" haha.

      I recently ran the Corri La Vita, to support cancer. I finished the 5k in the top few people and the clock said 17:15 when I finished and I think somehow there was a glitch but if not dang that was fast! :) I did it for you Grandma Ruth. That night, I went with two friends to an American Diner outside of Florence. As you can tell from the background it was pretty legit, although the menus came only in Italian, and as you can see from me in the foreground, I am quite enjoying my BBQ burger :D The friends I went with are from England and gawked at the sight of a burger so large and a person who would pick it up and eat it, no utensils needed! One morning Jess and I had planned to go to Pisa, she texted me and said she didn't wanna go because of the rain, I told her that we were still going and the rain would make it a even more unforgettable trip! Little did she know I was absolutely right. It POURED the whole time we were there but that left the leaning tower pretty unoccupied. When we were walkin down the street towards it I asked, I wonder if when we see it it's just gonna be like incredible, or, OH MY GOSH!!! THERE IT IS!!! AHHH!!! I jumped in the barren street and yelled and pulled my camera out like a good ol' tourist should do. At the tower, we took every classic Leaning Tower pose you can think of. We even laid on the puddle-filled ground and pretended to prop it up with our feet. We. Were. Soaked. But it didn't matter to either of us when were having such a great time. Luca randomly said that that Sunday I wasn't needed so I booked a trip to FINALLY go to Cinque Terre and I'm glad I did. Unfortunately every hiking trail was closed except for one, the "expert" trail. While some girls were deciding whether or not they thought they could handle the told 2 hours of uphill walking, I was already anxious to get started! It was hot no doubt, as fall has still yet to start here in Italy, and the first 40 minutes was constantly walking up stairs built on the trail. The guide who had never done this trail either, had the right idea. He went hard and fast for that first section because he knew that was the best way to get through it, ya just gotta do it! Fortunately for us, we had a couple loud mouth barbies who had decided they could do it, who complained that entire amount of time. Ah what I woulda given for headphones! But all that aside, the view from the top was breathtaking, stunning, incredible, you know when you see something that just can't be described by words? This was one of those times. All our hard work paid off when all you can see is blue skies, blue seas, and small colorful little villages. The buildings were great in each town that we got to visit, I can't wait to go back again! Excuse my sweatyness in the below photos :p

 Even in Florence there are so many incredible sights to see, I especially loved the Boboli Gardens and the San Miniato church. A little history lesson, it is said the the Saint San Miniato was ordered to be beheaded in Piazza Signoria and once he was beheaded, he picked up his head and started off through the trees, the place he fell and finally died is where they built the church. By the way, Piazza Signoria and this church are on opposite sides of the river, and quite far away from each other. The below picture is me, Gem and Jess and Boboli Gardens with the Pitti Palace behind us.

Switzerland

Has been so long since I've written on here, I need to remember to do it more often!
     In the second week of July I went to Switzerland for a few days and stayed with a friend and his family. Switzerland was a breath of fresh air- literally! It was much cooler and and the lush green forests everywhere reminded me so much of home and was nothing at all like the dry hot land Italy becomes in the summer. It blows my mind that in a flight that only lasts an hour you can find yourself in a totally new and different land- a land similiar to Oregon besides the fact that they use Swiss Franks, speak Swiss-German, and have really neat houses that you don't find inside the U.S. Anyways, we visited the largest waterfall in Europe, the Rheinfall, and I personally expected it to be a bit larger! From a distance it is not that impressive as it is much wider than it is tall, but they allow you (for a fee of course) to take a ferry to a large rock in the middle of the falls and all the water gushing at incredible speeds on either side of you as you climb the steep steps to the top is quite incredible. I loved it to say the least. The rest of the day was spent visiting an old fort and eating a currywurst at the top, going to a little traditional village, and enjoying the waves in a small boat on the Rhein river. The buildings in the little village were hard to peel your eyes away from, each one had beautiful intricate paintings on them. When we went out on the boat, the boys let me drive so it was pretty fun! :) that night we had a typical Swiss dinner called raclette, each person has a little mini pan and you stick a piece of cheese in it and add a combination of toppings, anything from pickles, tomatoes, onions, baby corn, sardines, mushrooms, and even bananas, once youve put all you want inside you stick it into a heater on the table that melts the cheese. While your waiting for it to melt, you peel and cut a potato and once the cheese is melted you put it on top and prepare your next toppings. This meal was great and my favorite combination was corn and banana! as odd as that sounds I promise it tastes AMAZING.
      Day 2 we took the train to Zurich, walked around plenty and window shopped, the only place we actually went in was the grocery store for some water because the streets here are lined with designer shops that don't exactly fit in my price range. We took a ferry boat that went all along the river for an hour and a half. It was pretty but I'd have to say pretty boring. Afterwards we went back to the train station to take a train up to the top of a hill that overlooks the city. Raphi (my friend) jumped onto a train he thought was the right one, well it wasn't. It goes about halfway there and turns around, we were confused but ast the first stop in its way back down we jumped off and ran up to where we had been since that is where the train we wanted to go on was to leave from. Just like in the movies, we were running to it and got there right as it was pulling away.. so we sat and waited till the next train arrived. from the top of the hill you can hike up a bit more and then climb a huge metal tower, the view from the top was just beyond incredible. Zurich is breathtaking. I never wanted to climb back down. Instead of taking the train back down, we decided to take the trail, took a few wrong turns but eventually we made it back to town. While walking back to the train station we saw a man who used to be like a president of Switzerland! Back at Raphi's house we had roesti, its very similar to hasbrowns but better.
     The next day was my last full day in Switzerland. In the morning we took Raphi's brothers car to the Alps since that's what I really wanted to see. The trailhead said we could hike up it but we kept getting lost, eventually Raphi asked someone and she said that there's still snow and its pretty dangerous since I only had my nike shoes. I was maybe a little stubborn and incredibly disappointed because I so badly wanted to hike it! Whatta bummer. Instead we took the lift to the top and it was SO windy, our steps were staggered while we walked around outside, Raphi had a cold so he kept wanting to go inside but I wanted to stay out and enjoy it! We were literally in the clouds and it was amazing but I did realize that it would have been very difficult to hike it with my nikes and each of us only had one jacket and it was suuuper cold. But I have vowed to go back, better prepared, and hike it at some point in my life! Later, we walked around his hometown, not much of anything there but a beautiful church. Dinner was raclette again, Raphi's mom made it a second time since I liked it so much the first time. We all stayed up and chatted till we were half asleep, I really love Raphi's parents. They were so hospitable and friendly to me, I couldn't have asked for better hosts. Oh and they gave me a box of 50 Swiss chocolate sticks ;)

independence day

we are now in Maremma for the summer, Saturday Giova had his big birthday party- hundreds of people! They had a mini petting zoo with animals from their farm and surrounding ones, two huge blow up bouncy slides one with water, a pool, a caterer, someone who brought mini gelatos a whip cream machine and a ice cream cake. This party was insane! Everywhere you turn there was wild children. Some of the presents he received were incredible like one family gave him a tackle box with lures as well as a new reel and two new fishing poles, one that is probably 12 feet long and collapsible. I was awed at the obvious expense these guests spent on presents.
     The next few days were full of more bouncy house and pool and a friend Carlo's pool. One day at Carlo's, the other two little boys (Giova and Cesaere) turned against Carlo and Ceseare was in a fist fight in the pool with Carlo- the punishment? a few moments time out. The next day at Carlo's pool he decided it would be funny to pull down my swim bottoms in the water, totally unacceptable! his punishment? none of course. I know its not my place to say but these kids would be so much better behaved if they knew that they couldn't get away with what they are doing!
     I bought my plane ticket to Switzerland!! I will be there from July 14-18. My friend Raphi from Switzerland will pick me up at the airport and I'll stay with his family for my time there. I'm suuper excited! and the weather is not so hot there.
     Today is the 4th of July, America's day to celebrate its independence, so I did a little of my own too! First I painted my nails red white and blue to support :) and then I left Maremma early in the morning with nona (grandma) and went to Firenze to get some clothes that'd be better to take to Switzerland. In Florence I packed my bag and was ready to catch the Rama bus to Grosetto (close to Maremma). I vaguely knew where the train station was and I knew the bus area was nearby so off I went. Past the Duomo, which I use as a reference to everything, if you can find the Duomo you can get anywhere in Florence! and from there on, it was much closer to Santa Maria Novella then I had thought! So i walked around and eventually found the bus station and bought my ticket, then I walked around some more till it was time to board the bus! 2 hours later I was in Grosetto and on my way back to the house. For dinner we "barbequed" in celebration of the 4th of July! we had burgers (just the patty because hamburger buns are hard to find), mashed potatoes ( turned into soup and was potato soup but tasted really yummy), cooked zucchini, and some small steaks from the barby! Finished off with a fruit salad, homemade gelato (AMAZING) and some white wine! made for a great independence day even if I couldn't celebrate it at home on a tube in Devils Lake!

two weeks in

Well, leaving my family and Sydney at the airport was much more difficult then I had expected, I definitely hadn't planned on crying and all of a sudden I was blubbering like a baby. Eventually I made it through security and put everything back on, took a couple deep breaths, and started out on my own. Each step felt stronger and stronger and a huge smile spread across my face, MY ADVENTURE BEGINS! :D getting into Italy was a pain though, they took us above Florence, said the air was too rough to land so we were flown to Bologna and had to get our bags and take a bus ride to Florence. When we got there, I had no way to contact anyone, I searched the airport but couldn't find the woman I came to meet. With the extreme help of my mom she was able to let me know to sit tight and she'd be there soon. After her arrival and our happy first meeting we started on our way into town, she hits another car. I sit in the car and wait quite awhile while that all gets sorted out. Eventually we get to the house and I meet Giova, the little boy I will be taking care of. He is shy at first but soon I will learn that he is anything but. The first night I was here, I slept for 15 hours! woke up at 2:30 in the afternoon.. terrible. Since then I have done so much and seen even more. We went to the country house and the Mediterranean sea, both are breathtaking. the country house has tons of cows and chickens as the family runs a brand of milk and eggs called Latte Maremma. The sea is beautiful and crystal clear, I did learn that large people feel perfectly comfortable being here in the nude though!

     Anyways, the gelato is way better then any ice cream we have in the states, it has a much lighter feeling when you eat it and the flavors are great, riso(rice) is a very popular flavor. If you go to Florence the streets are lined with gelato shops but the one you want is Vivoli! older and better then any other I've tried. The mosquitos here are rather insane, I get a few new bites every day- my legs look like they're polka-dotted. I've climbed the tower in Palazzo Vechio and the views from there are great- unfortunately they have about a 3 foot border around the edges inside the tower lookout so you cant get nearly close to the edge. The heat here is never ending, I'm hoping for a day of rain! On average it's about 95 degrees every day and that's just too hot! When you got out you've got to stay in the shade. The markets in Florence are full of leather products, t-shirts, trinkets, and scarves. I'm trying not to buy much until closer to when I will be leaving but it's so hard! 

     Many differences between here and home, here they don't eat peanut butter or salad dressing. Italian salad dressing at home is all commercial marketing because Italian's don't use dressing, they use olive oil and balsamic vinegar along with salt and pepper. Yes, we eat a lot of pasta but also plenty of fruits and vegetables! Breakfast is not big here, it's a time for mainly coffee but we do also have cereals and things to eat like that. Cars here are crazy! I'm so surprised I haven't seen tons of accidents, cars don't use turn signals and they drive half way in between lanes and don't seem to be paying too much attention to what they're doing but somehow it works for them! Many many Italian's are quite ehh lazy, they close their shops mid day to have naps, being on time is unimportant, and many raise their children to be very spoiled. But Italian's are also great workers and have made such beautiful art in many forms that they deserve massive credit. 

     Oh! Vespa means wasp in Italian, so the scooter Vespa was named by its sound, like a wasp!

Ciao!!