Day 2 in Firenze

Ciao!! Come va??

Ok, so day #2 already-- time is going to fly I can just tell!



I think I have conquered the jet-lag and seem to be doing ok. So far so good.



Today started off with bang.....or should I say...screech? or...... scream? Yes- my first morning in the new apartment, new city, new country and I woke up to the sound of a strange screeching noise, that sounded only persistent and loud enough to be one thing-- yes a fire alarm. Now why is it that by nature we now always assume when we hear this noise that it is just a drill? Even from my sleepy-stupar I remember convincing myself that it was just a drill and would turn off. (Can we say TOO MANY FIRE DRILLS?!). Anyhow, after a solid 5 mins of this shrill, awful beeping I acknowledged that this was not just going to stop and stuck my head out the door to investigate (keep in mind at this point I have just woken from a dead sleep and am a MESS). To my delight the hall way actually looks smokey. YAY!



So here I am dressed in some combinatin of clothing I threw on, armed with a US cell phone that doesn't work and my trusty Italian phrase books heading down the stairs to get out of the building (which, please note: I fully believed was on fire at this point). Anyhow I decided-- since I don't speak Italian to ask anyone around here what the hell was going on-- that I could find a pay phone to call Michelle. After walking a couple of blocks and finding no phone I hear sirens coming down our street. Here they come, I think, heading to my on-fire apartment on my first day in Italy-- what are the chances!? You can only imagine my surprise when that fire truck went right on by!



As I am sure you have concluded at this point, my buildng was not on fire. It WAS indeed an alarm. As near as I can figure someone burnt a meal in their apartment in a BIG way- but this has not been confirmed. Mallisimo!

Annnnyway ok, enough about that! Today was actually pretty quiet (good-quiet!). Michelle picked me up after the apartment chaos and we went grocery shopped. My fridge is now stocked :) In my journeys thus far I really think North America can learn a great deal from it's EU counterparts-- why haven't we thought of this stuff?!- for example...at the grocery store when you want to take a cart to use for shopping you need to put $2 in a machine (b/c the carts are all locked together) and then you can take it. THEN, when you come back and plug it back into the little lock thing- you get your $2 back!

Now see-- something that simple could make our parking lots a whole lot less -cart-over-run!

Hmm now after this we went to Michelle's where Simone made a full fledged Italian lunch. I thought I was going to have to roll out of there...the amount of pasta, wine and apperitif's consumed was not what I am used to (but FABULOUS...haha!). I would try to explain to you the foods we ate but Lord know's I would butcher the names so there's no use. (side note: I REALLY need to start carrying a note pad so I can record this stuff as it's happening and not have these issues)

After lunch we walked with Simone and the baby from Michelle's to my house- which is incredibly close- so now at least I can find my way there! They also showed me where another couple of shops, grocery stores, markets and places to buy bus tickets were. Now I just need t become brave enough to go and buy one...LOL

The rest of the night was spent at the apartment working-- wa hoo! No need to write about that huh??

Ciao Ciao!

xoxo