AHHHHHHHH I cannot believe it’s been a full week! I feel like I have been here forever. I have been journaling about my experience every night before bed but realized that it would be easier to write blog post recaps by the week so here it goes…
Getting Here
I haven’t been so nervous to travel since I was sixteen heading on a camping trip for two weeks with strangers. This trip abroad generated similar feelings of anxiety about loneliness, uncertainty, and stress about logistics. All of the COVID restrictions certainly didn’t help.
I flew from Columbus to Atlanta, then to Amsterdam and to Florence. Amsterdam was a bit of a nightmare with a long customs line and a short connection and busses that took you to your plane rather than normal gates. It was probably the worst part of my travel experience.
Once I got to Florence though, I was able to really breathe and calm down. The hard part was over.
Orientation Sessions
I didn’t have school my first week here. Instead, I had several orientation sessions. These consisted of a basic introduction of the API program, rules and policies, housing information, and signing up for excursions. API also organized several dinners, a walking tour, a cooking class, and a tour of the essentials such as post office and grocery stores around the city. I’m super grateful for all that they had organized because it really eased my transition into study abroad.
Activities I’ve Done In Florence
Florence Town Biking Tour
My roommates and I talked about some of our bucket list items to do here and Clare had suggested biking. We scheduled a 2.5 hour biking tour with Florence Town for $40 euro and it was worth every penny. It was an intimate group size, much more engaging than the walking tours, and we got to see so much more of the city. Our guide pointed out not only generic facts but little details about the history, art and significance of the city that was genuinely interesting. I would recommend this bike tour with Florence Town to everyone.
Cooking Class
API organized a cooking class with In Tavola and it was so much fun. We made gnocchi with both pomodoro and pesto sauce, bruschetta with the freshest tomatoes I’ve ever had, and panna cotta for dessert. After making the meal we got to dine in this beautiful wine cellar below the kitchen.
Spend Time At The Arno River With My Roommates
The Arno River is right outside our apartment so we can easily admire the views. It has been a great spot for us to take pictures and get to know each other.
Where I’ve Eaten in Florence
Munaciello Pizza
This is a casual sit down pizza restaurant across the river. The margarita pizza was fantastic! I wasn’t super interested in the dough balls that they for the appetizer.
Venchi Gelato
I love this place! It reminds me of Ghirardelli chocolate. They hand dip the cones in chocolate fudge in front of you and give you two scoops of gelato with the small cone! They even top it with a cute little piece of chocolate. It is a chain within Italy, but to be honest it’s so good that I don’t care that much.
Gelateria Della Passera
We have been recommended this gelateria by two tour guides as the most authentic place in the city. I can see why, as the gelato flavors are very rich and simplistic rather than showy.
Bar Giudici
I ordered a very yummy juice here because it is just around the corner from my apartment with a view of the river. I’m not sure exactly how fresh or local it is but it definitely hit the spot. I want to try the food here soon.
Central Market
The Central Market is SO COOL. On the first floor you will find butchers, bakeries, and fresh vegetable and fruit stands. On the second floor you will find food booths selling meals you can eat there ranging from sandwiches, appetizers, fresh pasta, smoothie bowls, pizzas, sushi and even fried chicken. For my Columbus people, it is like a North Market but better.
Corte dei Pazzia
A tour guide recommended this place to us and I’m not sure I would support that recommendation. It had a great environment with beautiful outdoor seating and fun walls you can sign. The food and drinks were pretty good, I enjoyed my beef and potatoes. However, the service wasn’t great. Our waiter was rude, got our order wrong, and had accidentally delivered me the wrong drink that I took a sip out of, and aggressively took it away when I explained this to him. In the United States, if they give you the wrong drink but you already tried it, they typically leave it and you basically get a free drink because of their error. I guess it is not that way here.
Bars I’ve Been To So Far
The Lion Fountain
This is an iconic study abroad bar with college t-shirts hanging up all over the ceiling, shots named after universities, and american classics playing through the bar. It’s cool, but definitely not a unique experience, it just feels like Five Points bars in South Carolina.
Kikuyu
Kikuyu is still very popular among study abroad students but feels more sophisticated and local. The bar wasn’t too expensive and played much better music in my opinion. They have a loyalty card if you plan on going there a lot.
Takeaways From This Week
Everything is slower here. Wifi, people walking, table service, etc.
Speaking of walking, Italians do not care to walk on the right side. It is absolute chaos of everyone walking different directions. They will cut you off with no hesitation.
Pedestrians do not have the right away. Cars will not stop for you. In fact, they will get so close to you that you will completely panic and jump out of the way.
Air conditioning is limited. We are only able to use our air conditioning at night because we have to be conservative of energy. The government even instated a law that you cannot have the air conditioning below 75 degrees.
Clothing washers are super small, take hours to complete, and use up a ton of energy. You can’t have any large devices plugged in like a laptop or hair dryer while running the washer which drives me crazy. There is no dryer either. It is just very inconvenient.
Their cars are really small. I mean really really small. Like one seat in the front and one in the back. It looks hilarious.
Everyone speaks English. I have only experienced a language barrier twice.
Fashion observations: No one wears athleisure here, you dress up to go everywhere. Italians also never leave the house with wet hair which I literally always do. They don’t really wear bright colors, but there are so many tourists so if you do, you won’t stick out. I personally think colors look great here.
There are a ton of mosquitos, so be prepared for that.
It is crazy how much I have done and learned in just one week. Since I had so much to write about, I decided that I will share about our Venice and Verona weekend trip in a separate post!
