So I keep forgetting about this, my b. Now it’s a little hard to catch up since a lot has happened/I forgot.
To sum up the past week, I’ve seen Fiesole, Pitti Palace, Boboli Garden, and Volterra. Fiesole is not that far- just a 20 min bus ride away. It’s a super small and cute town located on a hill overlooking Florence. The Palazzo Pitti and Giardino di Boboli are in Florence and they are huuge. We only got to see the Palatina Gallery inside, which is 1 out of the 6 (I think) museums inside the palace. I have a museum pass, which basically lets me in any of the state museums for free, so I will def go back and check out the others, maybe take a “paseggiata” around the garden?
My favorite trip so far has been Volterra, which is about 1.5 hours away from Florence. (To all you Twilight freaks: yes, this is where The Volturi are supposedly from, but they actually filmed in Montepulciano- another town in Italy) Anyway, I got my first taste of Tuscany and I loved it. We took a private bus and drove through the Tuscan hills and everyone was literally flying off their seats because it was so bumpy. I got so carsick, but thank goodness I didn’t vom. Those were some intense hills though.. Everywhere you look, it was filled with lush green hills and mountains. If you know me, I’m all about the hills and the mountains. So it was pretty much the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Volterra was such a cute little town with the some pretty spectacular views of Tuscany!
I can’t wait for the weeks and months to come because I’ll be going on many more trips! I really really wanna go to Switzerland and gaze at the Alps, but too bad I’m not rolling in Euros! And the food here is not helping me at all with my budget. There’s so much temptation to buy anything and everything every time I go out.. especially at the grocery store and markets. Sigh. But I’ll really try to see as many things I can in this short amount of time I’m here!
Some notes on Italian culture:
- You have to pay for plastic bags at the grocery store, which usually costs around €0,10.
- Whether male or female, close friends greet each other with 2 kisses, one on each cheek.
- Staring is normal here and Italian guys are very outspoken. There’s not a day where you won’t get a “Ciao bella” or get asked for a dance in the middle of the street.
- You sing “Tanti Auguri” for birthdays, even though the literal translation for Happy Birthday is “Buon compleanno”
- Lunch is around 1-3pm and dinner is around 8-10pm.
- Hot chocolate here is super thick (but yummy!), almost like melted chocolate.
- When answering the phone, you don’t say Ciao, but “Pronto?”
- They have American Eskimos here!! It made me miss my Milo & Missy </3
K that is all. Arrivederci!
Ps. Apparently, I’m supa retarded and can’t write/proofread, so pardon my illeteracy!
