Day 28!

It's so hard to believe I've only been here for 28 days. Less than a month! So much has happened, it's a little crazy.
Our "gastronomical tour" on Thursday went well. We all met in the Piazza Maggiore and then walked around that area getting a little history of that part of the city. We stopped in a pasticceria and learned about/sampled some different kinds of breads, cakes, and pastas. It was interesting, as well as delicious! We then moved on, finally ending up at Tamburini, a restaurant that we have all eaten at already--it's so good! There we had red wine, bread, six different types of coldcuts, and parmigiano reggiano. After the tour, Anne and I wandered around the city looking for rain boots. We found some inexpensive ones at Upim, a department store. Maria had me over for dinner that night. We made this really delicious casserole type dish with rice, chicken, prosciutto, tomato sauce, garlic, onions, basil, and brie and mozzarella cheeses melted on top. We can actually make a tasty meal! Later that night, we met up with everyone in Piazza Maggiore. We were planning on going to this little osteria where you just buy wine but can bring in your own food, but it was closed by the time we found it. So instead we just got gelato (of course!) and sat in the Piazza. It was a really beautiful night!
Friday we had class in the morning. It was actually sunny again, not raining! So of course I laid out on my terrace after class. I'm afraid I won't have many more days nice enough to do that. Then in the afternoon, we all had to go out to the immigration office and file our requests for our living permits. I hate bureaucracy! We were at the office for at least two hours, wasting a beautiful day. Oh well. Friday night, everyone came over to my place again, then we went out to the Celtic Druid, then Irish, both Irish pubs haha. It was a good night, although pretty relaxed.
Saturday morning we all had to be at the medieval museum at 10:30 for another culture lesson. It was pretty interesting, and thankfully not too early! Right after it was over at 12, Erin, Rodolfo, Allegra, and I left for Florence! The train ride there was only about an hour long. We spent all day there walking around and seeing the sights. We saw Santa Maria Novella, the Duomo, the Uffizi, some leather markets, the Ponte Vecchio, the Palazzo Pitti, and the Giardino di Boboli. Florence is a beautiful city, but I am glad I'm studying in Bologna instead. Florence is soooo touristy! We literally saw more Americans than Italians there. Michelle met up with us after the Giardino and we got gelato and walked around some more. We had a really nice dinner together. I forgot to take pix of my food, so sorry! But it was delicious. I had spaghetti with seafood and mushrooms in a cream sauce, and I had panna cotta with chocolate for dessert. We walked around some more, killing time till the nightlife started. We walked by the Uffizi again, and there was this guy, Ken Mercer, playing music to a crowd of people. He was really good, so we sat and listened to him. He was playing covers of Simon and Garfunkle, U2, things like that. It was so perfect to sit there in the twilight in Florence and listen to beautiful music. I even bought his CD at the end of his set. After that, we met up with some friends of Erin's who are studying in Florence. We all went to the opening of this club called Space. Which was interesting. None of us really got into it or partied because we were all too disgusted by the behavior of our fellow Americans. We have been here less than a month, and we are already such Eurosnobs! But seriously, Americans are gross. No offense to any of you! It was just so easy to see why the rest of the world hates us so much. Americans are rude, self-important, and obnoxious, and they drink way too much. This club was almost entirely Americans. Another reason I am glad I'm in Bologna. We actually get to experience the real Italian nightlife here, instead of the American nightlife transplanted to Italy. We stayed at Space until about 2 am, then headed toward the trainstation. Our train for Bologna didn't leave until 4:30, so we hung out at McDonalds (the only place that was open) for a couple hours. The train ride back was the looongest hour and a half of my life! But we finally made it back home at around 6 this morning. Everyone promptly parted ways for home and bed! The only reason I am awake right now is because I haven't written my composition for tomorrow yet! Then I'll probably go right back to bed! It was a crazy, whirlwind day/night in Florence! It was a great experience, and I'm so glad we did it, although it certainly took a toll on everyone. Well, you only live once!
xoxo

ps. more pix & a new album!