I am very excited because I woke up this morning to sunshine! Now I can say c'è sole instead of c'è nevica! I am currently enjoying a leisurely breakfast of cappuccino and kiwi as I look out onto our sunlit terrace. My plan for the day, because I don't have class until 3, is to go on a little solo adventure. I think I might make my way over to the Ponte Vecchio and walk until I find a lovely place to sit down with my sketchbook! For my Florence Sketchbook class I am required to have several pages in my sketchbook filled with direct observation drawings from the city. For my other drawing class I must have 5 sketchbook pages done with regard to facial expression/proportion. All in all I have a lot of drawing to do, but I am certainly not complaining!
Before I take off on my Monday adventure, I must fill you in on my very exciting week/end. It all began on Wednesday afternoon, while I was wandering the streets aimlessly between my very inconvenient 8AM and 3PM classes. I bumped into some friends, and we went to get lunch with some other friends. during this trip, one of the girls from a different school mentioned something about seeing a ballet later that night. Naturally I pinned her to a wall and demanded she give me her tickets immediately. No, just kidding, I actually went to the library to try and look up more information online. It turned out to be very mysterious and only certain students in one program were given free tickets (those bitches!). I went to class that afternoon very sad that there didn't seem to be a way for me to get to the ballet, as I've been experiencing some pretty severe dance withdrawal. Later, I arrived home to find that my friend, Riley, had somehow bought three tickets online for me, her and Sheila. I had very little time to throw on a nice outfit, grab some dinner and hop in a cab to get to the ballet. It was Swan Lake, and I'm still not even sure what dance company it was, but it was absolutely breathtaking. I was beyond giddy, because most of you know how I am about dance! I'm still not sure if it made my dance withdrawal worse or better, but it was a bittersweet fix to be sure.
Best Bruschetta in the world>
I got another surprise this weekend when my good friends Kelly and Colleen came to visit me from Rome! The three of us studied Italian for three semesters together back at SLU, and Kelly and I have been partners in crime since freshman year. Needless to say, I was pretty ecstatic about their impromptu trip to Florence! We spent the weekend walking around the city being very cold but very happy. We even accidentally stumbled upon a chocolate festival in one of the Piazzas. I have been there five times in three days...
Other highlights of the evening...
Kelly and Colleen stayed at an amazing hostel! For anyone that comes to visit Florence, I highly recommend it! I slept in their room on Friday and Saturday night, and it was a cozy place indeed. Everything was very clean and high-quality. There was a TV, computer with internet access, extra blankets and a functioning heater! This was all quite luxurious, and I didn't even mind sleeping in the crack between the two beds.
Cuddling on the very very cold and windy bridge!
We also discovered the true meaning of the Don Giovanni-esque stereotype among Italian men. On Saturday night I went to a bar with Sheila, Kelly and Colleen. We arrived somewhat early, and sat at a table, and had a very animated conversation while enjoying our cocktails. Eventually we were approached by some Italian guys, who did not speak a word of English. They sat down and we all struggled to communicate. As the night wore on they got more more pushy and inappropriate, and were also clearly lying about their age. They insisted that they were 20-22, but I would have put them in the 18ish age bracket. The guy that latched on to me was named Deivid (haha), and he kept calling me his girlfriend, and telling me he loved me. When I would brush these comments off, he would look like a hurt puppy and ask me why I didn't like him. At some point it became a bit of an emergency that we leave, because nobody was enjoying this heightened state of attention. On the way out, we had to squeeze through a throng of men, and I have never felt so objectified in my entire life. They will just grab you, or touch your face and make gross noises at you. The moral of the story here is that for anyone back home who thinks I will be bringing home a man, think again!
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