First Days in Florence

Ciao a tutti!

I have finally made it to Florence, and it has been nothing short of exciting since I have been here. Upon arrival I quickly realized that my neon green suitcase was no where to be found, and after checking with the lost luggage people, we had determined that it was somewhere in Amsterdam. Lovely. However, I had a toothbrush and warm clothes on, so I was good to go. I got a taxi to the hostel, and I checked into a room. After wondering around the hostel for a while in search of my room, I finally found it. It was a room with five beds and one bathroom. My bed had a set of sheets, a blanket, and a pillow, and I was all set. After having only slept a couple hours on the plane, this girl was tired. I pathetically made my bed, brushed my teeth and totally crashed. Meanwhile my 4 other roommates were in the room, but after saying the initial ciao when I came in, I couldn't muster the energy to hold a broken conversation with 4 South Korean girls. So, I put my eye-mask on, like a diva, and I was out.

The next morning I woke up around 4:00, no idea why because the U.S. is 6 hours behind Italy, and I waited until 8 until I actually got out of bed. Since I slept in the only clothes I had, I just got up and went right down to breakfast. There I met a nice Brazilian guy who was traveling before he started his masters. He was of course wearing flip-flops. Let me remind you that the high here has been around 40 haha. Anyhoo, after breakfast I went on the walking tour with the hostel. The lady who gave the tour was wearing a purple rhinestone hat and a pink scarf, a girl after my own heart. We toured the city center, and she told us all about the rich history that it holds. It blows my mind how EVERY part of this city has some historical significance, it's awesome.

Afterwards, I just took to the city in my own. For lunch I got some pizza, and then I had to go pick up my cell phone. After getting my new phone I immediately called the airport to see if my luggage came, and after about 3 different calls they said they had found it! So I headed over to the bus station and tried to figure out which bus went to the airport. This was probably the hardest thing I've had to do here because it involved asking people directions...in Italian. No easy task my friends. After wandering around the station for about 30 minutes I finally figured out where the bus was! Six euros later I was on my way to fetch my luggage and all was good in the world.

Yesterday I met 2 more friends on the walking tour! One was an Australian and was Mexican. They were both traveling alone, and they were so nice! Daniel, the Australian, was a chemistry teacher, and Caesar, the Mexican, was a student. They were really fun, and we talked all about their adventures all over the world. Right after the tour Caesar was heading to Pisa, so we didn't get to spend much time together, but Daniel and I climbed all 416 steps of the Duomo! The view was spectacular, and Daniel was hilarious while he was talking in his Australian accent.

Today, I have spent the day getting lost in Florence, and discovering the parts of the city I haven't seen yet. I actually went to go find the place where I will be living this semester, and it is so cute! It's a yellow building on a little backstreet right near a mini supermercado and a bunch of little cafès.

Tonight I am heading to Interlaken for my first trip with Bus2alps, a student travel group here. I'm so excited to glide my skis atop of the fresh Swiss power, and to make some more friends!

Keep me I your prayers, you are all in mine. I love you, and I miss you all!

Ciao,

Mason

Pictures coming soon...