what would i miss

woman in Chianti • overlooking the hillside in Fiesole (but I took it backwards so we didn't point a camera in his face) • nuns at San Miniato • people at a market
A friend from back in St. Augustine asked me recently what is my most favorite thing about living in Italy. It took me off guard because I opened my mouth to answer since I felt like I, of course, had lots of answers in my head - but when I actually went to say something, nothing came out. I couldn't really narrow it down. So he then asked me to think of the thing I would miss most if I wasn't living here. I know this is about the same question, but just asked to make me think of the first question a little differently. The only lame answer I could give was..."Um, I really don't know - the language maybe?!"

*crickets* *crickets*

The language?! The thing that makes me want to scribble uncontrollably all over my textbook? The thing that makes my head swell each day? Or the tape that glues my lips closed when I want to ask a salesperson for the most simple thing and can't think of how to do it? Maybe it's the endless prepositions that keep me up at night. I don't know - but in some way I think this is the right answer for me. It's just not a complete answer. I still don't know what it is about being here that draws me in so much. Why here? Why Italy? I'm not completely sure what it is - and Chris and I talk about this a lot together and still can't figure it out. I'm glad we both feel it though, and it's a wonderful journey just trying to define this question each day.

A little bit of light was shed on this answer last Thursday night when we went with a group of friends up to the neighboring hill town of Fiesole to celebrate our friend, M's birthday at a wonderful Indian restaurant. When we all finally got settled in around 10:30, introductions were complete amongst several new faces, and the meals were ordered...I looked around and counted. Twelve people. Eight countries represented. (Italy, US, Scotland, Ireland, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Sweden). Seven languages spoken. Yet we all enjoyed telling stories, eating, drinking, and laughing together.

This is one of the reasons I like living here - and partly this does include the language...being around others who are different but have a common thread of language, and put value on learning more about other cultures and other tongues. As an American, I was not required to learn a secondary language in school, and wasn't even offered this as an optional class until 8th grade. In high-school I attended a special performing arts school, so all my elective courses were music related. In college I studied French and was very dedicated to the assimilation - but then it was dropped from the curriculum and so what I knew went by the wayside. I've always had the desire to learn another language fluently and after learning about the art, history, and lifestyle of Italy and finally visiting and loving it - Italian became the language I naturally wanted to learn. And now that we're so invested in learning it and want to make it part of our lives - the language is something that I would miss if I left. Because I'm not fluent yet and I'd feel like I'd lose what I've learned if I stepped away from it now.

Besides this answer is the feeling I can't quite put in to words as well, which was embodied in last week's dinner. The occurrence that happens much more naturally in Europe (partially because of the geographic proximity) - where different cultures, different languages, and different traditions melt together. Even through our classes at school we've probably had over 15 countries represented in the last 2 months. Being here - a fact magnified by living in Florence, which is a town full of stranieri (foreigners) (more so than most cities in Italy) allows me to be more aware on a daily basis of the different types of people around the world.

And so, yes, the language is one of the things I like about living here.

finding myself in strange places

the market • more of the lovely market • the changing room
So Chris and I went to our favorite market on the outskirts of the center on Saturday and found a couple of bargains at a clothing stall. I was holding a pair of jeans but couldn't decide if they would fit - and we assumed that we would just have to make the best guess on the size, since we were in an outdoor market. The vendor looked over and asked, "Vorrebbe li provare?" (Would you like to try them?). I was puzzled, but curious and responded with a quick "Certo! Si!". He motioned for me to follow him and we headed toward a big dented, white van which he yanked open the squeaky sliding door and gave me a smile and slight wave as to say "viola!" I looked over at Chris with wide eyes and almost laughed as I climbed in, shoved the door closed and struggled to undress, dress, undress again, and redress amongst boxes and merchandise while I was bent over in the 4ft-high space. I really didn't want to try them on that bad - but it was worth it for the experience!...and a good thing becasue the jeans were a little too snug, so I instead left with a couple shirts.

>still water on the high side • look closely for the people and scooters • view at water level
On Sunday afternoon we took a long walk around town and ended up in the north part of the center along the Arno. We stopped in the Ognissanti church because I wanted to show Chris the beautiful ceiling painting. After milling around for about 5 minutes inside, we headed back into the beautiful evening of super clear skies. The bridge directly in front of this church is just past a sort of dam which I've noticed several times on the way to Cascine Park for pilates. It was surprising to see that during the evening, the water level was lower and a handful of people were walking along the edge of the dam. From down the sidewalk on the high side of the river, it looked like people were walking on water, but when we walked to the north side, it was easy to see how everyone made it down. Even a couple of motorini (scooters) were on the dry embankment. We had brought our text books on our walk in case we found a nice place to study - so we figured that the middle of the river was just as a good place as any - and probably much quieter than the bustling streets. We crossed to the other side of the river on the bridge and then hopped over a wall and climbed down. It was strange being able to look straight up the river from the center of it (at water level) and not be on a boat. We studied for about 30 minutes and then left as the sun went down. We walked back up the more gradual ascent of a small path that the scooters take which leads back to the street a little further up river. When we reached the street level again and looked down, we saw the water just begin to spill over the middle section.

getting things done

On Monday this week we actually got several things done in one day - unheard of for our life so far in Italy. But that was Monday...getting to Monday is an entirely different story:

Last week I had been to a couple of banks deciding which one would work best for us to open an account with. Originally this was not in our plans to do while we were here because it was just one more thing to deal with and even though the exchange rate wasn't great - it didn't seem worth the effort. But now that the dollar seems to be going to hell in a Prada leather bag (a fact that I don't like to even talk about because it stresses me out), we figured that it was now worth the effort since we are rapidly loosing money everyday as our savings sit in the States as USD when are life continues here in Euros.

After finally deciding on a bank, and meeting with a very nice account manager on Wednesday afternoon - it seemed quite painless. He told me the paperwork I needed to bring in with me and explained the structure of this specific account type. I told him that I would return the next day after our classes to formally open the conto (account). I made sure to ask him what their opening hours were - since offices here have strange, mostly inconsistent, hours - I knew better than to assume the basic 9-5. I said that I could only come in the afternoons since we had classes in the mornings. He told me that they were open for another hour. I quickly confirmed, "So it's 3:30 now. That means that you're open until 4:30 everyday. Monday - Friday?!". He said yes, and if I needed to come in later that I could give him a call and he'd wait on me. I thanked him and told him "a domani" (until tomorrow).

So Thursday afternoon rolled around and I showed up to the bank at 3:47 to see that the revolving glass door had a red light on the "open" button. I looked at the hours sign to see 15:45 hand-written on a small piece of paper taped over their closing time. I missed it by 2 minutes. I was not happy.

So then it was Friday. Once again I took the walk downtown and made sure to get there right after we had lunch. I left our apartment at 2:00 and was at the bank door at 2:10...this time to notice that the afternoon hours aren't hourS at all. Just ONE hour between 2:45 and 3:45 (still with the hand-written note). I guess my fault for not seeing this the day before. So I strolled the streets for 35 minutes and tried again. This time I met another account rep who copied my documents sat me down and began processing my application on the computer. After about 30 minutes, he told me that they could not find my codice fiscale (government tax code ID which I already received from the Italian consulate) in their computer system and that I would need to go to the Agenzia Entrate (the Italian issuer of these codes) for another one. Oh, and that office is only open in the morning so I'd have to wait until Monday...and miss class to do so.

Fast forward to Monday. We got up early, gathered any and all paperwork that may be needed for the day of Italian government and business offices, and headed for the treck across town to arrive as close to opening time as we could. It was a refreshing morning and very nice to have a change in the routine on a weekday morning. We walked right in to the agency and were given quick forms to fill out and a number to wait for the next available agent. After about 3 minutes, we sat down at a very nice lady's desk and explained our situation - that the Italian embassy issued our number, but the bank could not find us in the government records. She looked us up on the computer and sure enough - we were already in there! But she did give us official printouts from this Italian office as well in case the bank gave us anymore issues. We walked back across town to the bank and waited 30 minutes to talk with the man from Friday, who asked if I got my number. I quickly stated, "Si! E c'e' uguale!" (YES! And it's the same!) He was just entering something wrong on their computer on Friday. *sigh*

About 15 minutes later we walked out with a newly opened account and made a quick stop in a bar for a morning brioche and cappuccino. The mid-class break was just ending as we made it back to school, so we were able to attend the entire conversation lesson - which was a very productive class. After lunch I began the process of wiring money from our US bank, finished quite a bit of work, ran some shopping errands - and even had about an hour to visit my girlfriends, all 3 of us under a down comforter on the bed, eating chocolate and watching TV.

...even though I'm still working on completing the entire banking transaction, Monday was a very productive day in Italian standards.

meeting the neighbors

On our Tuesday evening passeggiata (stroll) we stopped at a new gelateria that we weren't too trilled with - so since Chris ordered first, I decided to hold out and instead head to one of our favorite places several blocks away. We have decided that the best way to test the overall goodness of a geleteria is to taste the caffe' flavor. (Also we peek to see if the pistachio is bright green, which is a sign of fake coloring, or a more murky olive-brownish, which means it's fresh and, more than likely, very tasty). So at least we did get to sample the caffe' flavor at this new-found spot - but still nothing compares to our favorite (2) places that we frequent every week. On our way back home, we heard live piano music coming out of our neighbors' doors, and noticed there were a lovely display of welcoming plants in the entrance as well as an exhibit poster announcing an open house!


But these aren't just any neighbors - and unfortunately the neighbors weren't even home...or in that case, even alive to show us around. We find that living in such a historic city full of art, stories, and intrigue lends itself to funny little facts that we try to take in each day...because we live just several doors down from the famous Palazzo Medici Riccardi and last night happened to be some sort of open house, with free admission into the palace and gardens. There were only about 12 or so other people milling around the courtyard, but we headed on in as I took the last bite of my sugar cone. It was a lovely, yet chilly evening, and the pianist filled the foyer with an arrangement of Debussy's Clair de Lune as we started up the staircase to view the famous works of art housed in this palace that was built for the powerful, Florentine Medici family in 1445. We viewed a work by Filippo Lippi, visited the Chapel of the Magi which contains in a fresco one of the most famous images of a member of the Medici family, and also took in the Galleria of the Riccardi with the magnificent ceiling paintings.


We strolled through the manicured gardens, and went through a couple rooms displaying jeweled head pieces and golden ornaments....then walked back into the street, down several doors, and into our building, up the stairs, and in our door.

...It was a lovely night at the neighbors' - I should have thought to bring a plate of cookies.

chocolate weekend

choco cup • chocolate hotdogs in croissant buns • impromptu crowd gathered to sing a chocolate song
We woke up early Saturday morning, which wasn't the easiest task as we were out late after a dinner together with friends on Friday night. When the alarm went off at 6:45 it took a bit of effort to get out of bed on the very chilly morning...but the thought of warm hot chocolate gave me the needed nudge. We had planned to make it to Perugia for the famous Eurochocolate Festival, and even after seeing that the weather in Umbria (Tuscany's neighboring region where Perugia is located) predicted possible rain and for sure held close to freezing temperatures for the weekend - we decided to go anyway, since it was the last weekend of the 10-day festival. We boarded the train in Florence around 8am and napped during the 2 hour ride. We had heard that the crowds at this event are enormous, but nothing quite prepared me for the rock concert-like mob that we would be a part of all day. When we exited the train station, it was apparent that most people were headed to the historical center for the festival as well, so we just began to follow the crowd as we all boarded buses for the uphill treck into town.

Perugia sits on a hill which is surrounded by valleys on all sides and then other hills past the valleys - so it lends itself to some of the most beautiful scenery, as found by the outlooks on the edges on all sides of the walled city center. It is hard to explain the layout of the city, as some streets are actually underground, while others are painted along a labyrinth of stairways, stone arches, and winding cobblestone alleys - none of which we could tell were straight in any form except the main street through town.

We literally shuffled our feet to move with the blob of a crowd through the underground alleyways from the bus stop to the center of town. There were several chocolate companies with displays and exhibits in this area. We stopped at a counter to try several liquour-filled chocolate balls from Vanini chocolate company. There were some with Grappa, Limoncello, and Mandarinetto; but the white chocolate ball with Sambuca in the middle was my most favorite candy of the entire day. We also walked through a mostra (exhibit) hosted by Fair Trade Italia which talked of the economic effect of cocao production in countries around the world.

Finally we emerged back up on the street level - and into the freezing temperatures. Quickly we wrapped up our faces in our scarves and I slipped on my gloves as we took a deep breath and plunged back into the dense crowd and headed straight for the ciccolato caldo (hot chocolate) stand. The hot chocolate here in Italy for the most part is much thicker than in the States - so thick that every cup comes with a spoon! We then spent the next couple of hours we just took in the scene: thousands of people, balloon artists, costumed brand mascots, a merry-go-round, street musicians, and LOTS of chocolate. Chocolate popcorn, chocolate pasta with chocolate pasta sauce, chocolate liquor, chocolate cakes, chocolate bars, chocolate cotton candy, chocolate dipped bananas, chocolate drinks, and even the (Guiness Book certified) World's Largest Chocolate Bar. We made several stops to sample the goods - and tasted a honey-flavored grappa in a small chocolate tasting cup (which we ate afterwards). This helped to warm up our insides well! (That stuff is so strong)!

Chris caught me sipping my Sambuca hot chocolate....• as I spotted that he was spilling his cup as he took the photo • a view from afar of the crowd (look IN the street)
For lunch we veered off the main roads and walked the winding alleys and stopped at cheap pizzeria, then stopped to buy a pair of gloves for Chris and wandered a small market. Once again we dove into the sea of people for the last walk through town and a last hit of hot chocolate so thick it sticks to the roof of your mouth. I choose the Sambuca flavor and Chris had pepperocino. They were AMAZING. I told Chris that it felt like we were in a slumber party all day long b/c we were still sleepy but determined to stay up and have fun, and all we ate all day was chocolate and pizza!


Another entire post could be written on this beautiful town, but we'll leave you with these photos...and I'll write more when we go back (sooner rather than later).

10 things :: amusements

funny face - aqueduct of sorts in Boboli Gardens • funny ducks for sale at a market • come on, this is just plain funny
10. There are so many stairs we have to walk everyday...our apartment is on the 4th floor, our class is on the 3rd floor, etc. But yet the only time I ever fell was in our apartment on our 2 stairs in the entry hall - flat on my butt while cleaning the house last weekend.
9. In conversation class one day, we were doing a "roll play" exercise about food/cooking and another student asked Chris if he would make her "torta della nonna" (literally: the cake of the grandmother / Grandma's Cake). Because we didn't know that this was the name of a famous dessert in Italy, he didn't know what to say for a second, and then answered. "No...perche' io non sono tua nonna" (No, because I'm not your grandmother). The teacher looked puzzled for a second and then everyone burst out laughing.
8. The way you introduce yourself on the phone in Italian is "Sono Erin (your name)", which literally translates to "I am Erin". Our Italian friends use this same phrase in English when they talk to us on the phone...they'll say (in English) "Hello. I am _____". It's so funny to us, because we are like, "Well of course you are! Who else would you be!?" But it does make you think of the English "THIS is ____" a little differently, because to Italians it sounds like we're saying "This voice (the man behind the curtain) is _____"...languages are quite amusing.
7. There is a pull-cord in our shower that rings this bell in the house. We were told that it's required under the new safety building code, and used in case someone slips in the shower...so far, we've used it for those bathroom emergencies such as "Can you get me another roll of TP?", "I left my towel hanging outside on the clothes line", and "We just ran out of shampoo"!
6. Our refrigerator coo's like a pigeon. We have no idea why, but thought for days that we constantly heard pigeons outside, but then figured out it was the machinery of our refrigerator.
5. One of Chris' most favorite gelato to get is the caffe' at Gelateria dei Neri. One day I mentioned that he try it with panna montana (a type of fresh whipped cream) on top, which he was excited to do. As soon as he was handed the lovely cone and he went to take the first mouth-watering bite -- the entire scoop of panna montana fell to the floor. He was so mad.
4. One night we were walking home with a friend and as we turned down a side street before the main road where our apartment is, we heard a girl screaming at the top of her lungs and just then she threw her pair of high-heeled shoes across the road at us. The girl was with 2 other people and was acting like she was tripping on drugs or something...then we started to listen to what she was saying (in English). It went something like this: "AAAAUUUUGHHHH! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. Myyyy face was PEEERRRfect! I MEAN AAAUUUGHHH! (then her friends: "Calm Down. You'll be okay!") SHUT UP *@#$&@# - Get out of my FAAACE!....(then the winner of all phrases!....) MY MILLION DOLLAR SMILE is RUUUUIINNED!"
Yes, you heard right...."My Million Dollar Smile" folks! So Chris walked over to see if we could help with anything, and her friends informed us that she was drunk, fell down and chipped a tooth. But all in all, she would survive. Whew!
3. Most Italians automatically think that we are brother and sister. Two reasons: 1. We have the same last name - which isn't normal here. They always ask, "But how will the government know who you are?" as if we get lost somewhere without our maiden names. 2. We are young compared to the average age that people marry here in Europe (if they marry at all). The first question people ask (a little passively) is, "Oh, how long have you been married?"...then, with wide eyes they exclaim "How old are you?"
2. My immediate thought when I hear little kids speaking Italian is, "What?! You're not that smart". Like because I'm older and just learning it, that no kid can know something more than me.
1. I'm writing this post rather than studying for tomorrow's language quiz. :)

parks & the countryside

Saturday morning I went to Pilates in the Park for the first time. I've been wanting to attend this class, led by Emily, for a while now, but finally was able to make it this weekend. It is held in Cascine Park on the outskirts of the center - and in an area that is further than I've walked in that direction before. I left our apartment 30 minutes before class and enjoyed zig-zagging my way in between the little alley streets on the way to the river - trying hard to avoid the tourist laden streets. Sometimes I make a game up in my mind when I walk by myself, like "how many strides can I take completely unbroken while power-walking in a crowd" - it spices up the walk a little as I plan my route several paces ahead of time to cross the street without waiting, dodge the trashcan just before a dog tags it, or just barely sneak between the 2 tourists walking in opposite directions who are determined to look backwards, take a photo, and eat a gelato all at the same time.

I arrived to the park with 3 minutes to spare and settled in for a lovely morning wake up in the lawn of Florence's largest park. It was great being able to attend a pilates class again, since I haven't been since we left St. Augustine. I walked along the river on my way home and smiled most of the way. It really is a wonderful city.

sculpture in Boboli Gardens • back of Pitti Palace• look closely for the face • outside of the Grotto
When I got back home, Chris and I packed a picnic and headed across the river for an afternoon in the Boboli Gardens. Sitting behind the Palazzo Pitti, the Giardino di Boboli is a beautiful layout of some of the most formal displays of Renaissance landscape architecture in Florence. It was a tranquil, green space to relax for lunch, while we enjoyed the sculptures, fountains, and foliage, while we people-watched. There was a big group of kids there that day - and they played this game of putting their hands in this sculpture of a monster mouth while yelling coccodrillo! (crocodile!).

enjoying the gardens
On Sunday we went out to take a walk and try to find some places to shop for a couple more articles of clothing that we didn't bring with us. Unfortunately, the day we normally think to do this is on Sunday afternoons - which is the day that most shops are closed. So, once again we came back empty handed. But then we got a call from M & J, just as we were walking home with an invitation to drive out to the countryside in Chianti. Thirty minutes later, we were in the car headed out of town with a couple layers of coats - the temperature was cooler that day, and we could almost feel every degree drop during each five minute interval. It was a scenic drive over the curvy country roads lined with stone walls that are only wide enough for one line of cars at a time. As we passed vineyards and olive groves, M started to get car sick and hung her head out the window as she yelled for J to slow down! We made it past Greve and then to a smaller town with just enough time before M lost it. I'm surprised that I made it completely without feeling sick - even in the backseat! We ate a couple pieces of pizza and then headed to the church on the top of the hill. For the rest of the afternoon, we chatted on the terrace of an enoteca (wine bar) that overlooked the entire countryside with the varying greens of different vineyards.

the small town in Chianti • street at sunset • view from the enoteca terrace
On the way back to Florence, we decided to make dinner together - and they called a couple other friends to join us. Around midnight we were driven home by a new friend we met at dinner in his Fiat 500 (it looks exactly like the car in the photo of the link). We've always wanted to ride in one of these miniature machines which I like to call Italian clown cars. Four of us squished into it, and as we drove quickly around a 'round-about', Chris' door flew open and he (literally) almost fell out! We laughed all the way home.

10 things :: domestic life

This is my second post on the new post theme of "10 Things". These are 10 thoughts on our domestic life here in Italy.

10. I actually don't mind having to wait a 1/2 day for our clothes to dry - and leaning out of our kitchen window to hang the clothes on the line feels very homey and relaxing in a strange way.
9. Having no oven is putting a serious cramp in my 4x/week at least baking sessions - but just another excuse to visit the yummy bakery near school!
8. The only thing I've used the bidet for so far is to shave my legs, which I found to be a very convenient place to do this!
7. We are lucky to have windows on 3 sides of our apartment - and I love being able to open them up each day (hopefully it won't get too cold for a while more).
6. I really like our bed - it is bigger than we're used to, and filled with 7 fluffy pillows and 2 down comforters - I never want to get up in the morning.
5. The hard water here is super hard, and thus, super horrible for my hair. After getting used to our wonderful water softener in St. Augustine - I can really tell a difference here and have to do a deep conditioner AND hair masque almost everyday.
4. At 7:15 the sun has gone below the rooflines, the San Lorenzo church bells ring, the bats come out, and the mosquitoes come in...so this is also the time we shut our windows.
3 We create a lot less trash here...but I still haven't figured out why. We normally would fill a tall kitchen bag every 2 days, but here we only use a small trash bag every 4 days.
2. We have a neighbor who has a cell phone ring tone that sounds just like an ice cream truck. It goes off every afternoon and makes me want to buy a Screwball like old times.
1. At our house in St. Augustine we didn't have a dishwasher for years, then finally bought one but it sat for a year before we finally had it hooked up. Heaven. Then we'd only had it less than a year before we moved. Now all we have is a sink, sponge, and drying rack. Oh well, small price to pay.

a weekend of music

Recapping our weekends is becoming a recurring theme in my posts. It's just that we normally have very eventful weekends (so I don't have time to write) or we have such relaxing weekends (so I'm too lazy to write). This weekend was a mix of the two.

I've never been a person to sleep in too long, even if I stay out late the night before. I just can't seem to sleep past 10am no matter how hard I try because my body somehow knows that I'm "wasting the day" and there are things to do! I blame that on my busy, type-A personality. But something has clicked since we've been in Florence and I sleep sleep sleep. I can't remember a time ever that I've slept past 10 or 10:30am (unless it was a case of jet lag readjustment during the first day somewhere) and this was very late for me...but on the weekends here I tend to be woken up by Chris (for the 3rd time) at 11-11:30am. I think my mind is so tired from school and work, and my body is so tired from the walking everywhere everyday - that I revel in the chance to sleep in. Plus our house has shutters that we close at night so it stays nice and dark!

world market at Santa Croce • walking towards San Miniato (look closely for the church on the hill) • "Italian garage sale" in San Niccolo
So anyway, this about sums up Saturday morning :) That afternoon we took a walk around town to check out a special market at Santa Croce which had many different countries represented with booths of typical crafts, food, toys, and clothing. It wasn't as eventful or large as I'd hoped, so we looked around quite quickly and then headed to the Sant' Ambrogio market for our second time. This is by far our most favorite market, and although we didn't buy anything on Saturday, it was lovely walking around as the vendors packed up for the day.

Later that evening we went out for a late dinner with friends to an "invitation-only" dinner at a popular chic club in town. A friend of M & G is friends will the club's owner, so he invited us along with several other people to fill the VIP table for eight. These dinners are held only so often with a set menu of four courses plus wine. We arrived around 9:30 and were let in through the velvet ropes, checked coats, and were led downstairs to the maze of rooms filled with atmospheric club lighting, fashionably dressed patrons, and a DJ spinning lounge beats. Although it was not a very usual evening for us, we had a great time and it was interesting to be able to dress up and experience a new type of place like this - while speaking more Italian and meeting some new people. We were also going to stay around for dancing later when the club opens to the public, but decided against it in the end and choose rather a quick stop at another place down the block.


Sunday was filled with a variety of musical encounters. Around 4:30 in the afternoon we headed up for our second visit to San Miniato al Monte to watch the sunset over the city and also hear the musical evening vesper of the Gregorian chants performed by the monks. This is our favorite view of the city and such a lovely place to visit. We sat around with other people for about 30 minutes looking at the scenery, watching a bride and groom take photos, and visited the monk shop to buy some herbal candies. There was an amusing scene between a middle-aged Italian man and his father, who seemed quite senile - and kept yelling over and over about different things. The son tried to walk him inside for the service, but then they quickly were brought outside again because the older dad could not keep quiet. He'd say things like "AIUTO" (help me) and other things I couldn't make out...but when he'd start to throw a fit, the son would pop him on the nose or forehead to which the dad would yell something about taking his hands off him! When the son would leave, the dad just sat there watching people and struck up a conversation with the man trying to read who was next to him. The entire scene made us laugh several times.

San Miniato with clergyman • amusing scene with crazy old man • Tuscan hills
It was very serene to sit inside the ancient building while the service was conducted while the voices carried beautifully over the stone walls. The chants do sound like they come from somewhere else, rather than the mouths of the men at the front of the chapel. Here is a really bad, short video I tried to take at least to hear a small piece of the chants.

view at sunset from San Miniato
We left as the clouds were glowing orange and the sky had turned purple and walked through the San Niccolo neighborhood which was having an outdoor festival with a band, clowns, and used items for sale on the sidewalks. (another short video). We made it back to the center in time to arrive at the church service we've attended, for a special performance by a gospel choir group. It was a very diverse group of about 12 people who filled up the room with so much sound that you couldn't help but stand, sway, and clap along with them!

A musical weekend indeed.

you just have to laugh

So now that we're heading into our 2nd month here in Italy...so hard to believe that that much time has gone by already...we are learning to slow down and expect set-backs to occur in everyday situations. Even simple tasks that we are used to being a blink in a day and not even having to think about how much time it will take to complete, become an all day event here. Of course, I've already written about the days dealing with the government offices and phone company, etc. (which we had very mild problems compared with others) - but even going to the grocery store can become a story good enough to post about.

Yesterday was such a day.

After returning from school, we had lunch and got to work---Let me back up one day...This is the week that everyday has been major work because we've been finishing up a large project, which was late getting to me and so I was working fast and hard to get the graphics to the printer on Tuesday. I was up until about 1am our time on Tuesday night, and then after school on Wednesday I finally was ready to upload the entire project. Luckily we did get our Internet hooked up 4 days prior just in time for this upload. I just had pushed the button for the first pages to upload to the printer's website and our Internet speed went from faster than we even have in Florida to a snail speed where it was questionable if it was even working. OF ALL THE DAYS! We called our friends who live not far away for an emergency Internet session at their house. They said to come right over and EIGHT HOURS later, we walked back home through the empty streets of Florence. This upload normally takes about 4-6 hours, plus there is the proofing and revisions!

It's worth mentioning that we've learned, by necessity of staying sane, to look for the good things in a situation. The following are good things from Wednesday:
1. We have good friends here already who let us crash at their house for eight hours mooching off their Internet connection.
2. We took a dinner break and visited the great Kebab place that we went to last Sunday evening for a tasty vegetarian falafel wrap.
3. We caught up and talked alot with M & G - and exchanged photos from home.
4. I was able to experience the wonderful invention of a bicycle in the city (because I forgot our plug adapter and had to go home to get this in the middle of an upload and M let me borrow her bike). We HAVE to get some of our own. It was great passing all the pedestrians!
5. We got to borrow several newer movies to watch so we can finally catch up on American films.

Ok, back to yesterday...So after this late night and an early morning at school, we were already very tired but had more work to finish up on. We'd planned to have M & G over for dinner (our first dinner party at our apartment) but had to go shopping for all of the food and several kitchenware items that we were missing. I took off on my own while Chris was working and walked all around the center picking up random items (since you have to go to many specialty shops for each type of item rather than going to a one-stop mega store like back home). I do like this about Italy, but it takes getting used to and isn't always easy on a rushed day. A couple hours later I returned home and we both took off for our "grocery store adventure". Since all of the stores in the center (and within walking distance) are very expensive with little selection - we knew that we needed to go out further for all of the ingredients we needed for dinner. We loaded up our shopping bags in Chris bookbag and walked a couple blocks to buy tickets and wait for the bus that goes closest to the larger Coop grocery store just outside the center. The bus we needed is scheduled every 6-7 minutes at each stop, so after a couple of minutes we stepped on and held on for the ride. It only took about 10 minutes to arrive at our stop and we only had to walk about one more block to the store. Since I'd been to one of these larger stores last week with M, it was Chris' turn to have an initial sigh of relief when we walked in and viewed the aisles and aisles of food at reasonable prices!

After we returned to the bus stop (which remember has the arrival schedule as every 6-7 minutes) we waited over 20 minutes with no signs of the bus. We were loaded with 3 heavy bags along with Chris bag and my purse full of food, and the crowd waiting was getting larger by the minute. Finally after about 25 minutes, a bus arrived and by the time the doors closed we were pressed on all sides by 4 bus loads of people squished into one. We rode for 2 stops (which go away from our apartment b/c the route goes farther north, then heads back to our home stop), at this second stop the driver announced that they were not going back in the center because some stops were closed. We reluctantly got off, now further away than the grocery store, and started on our trek back home on foot.

So, once again, we didn't get mad but just had to hold our tongues and laugh a little at this crazy system. The following are good things about our grocery adventure:
1. We still got to go and get a lot of fresh food and spent about 40% less than in town.
2. We were able to see a new section of town that we really like since it felt more like a regular Italian neighborhood and not tourist central.
3. It was a beautiful day outside
4. We got to see a police escort of 4 huge tour buses filled with the Groningen calcio (soccer) team heading to the stadio (stadium) for last nights' game against Fiorentina (Florence's own team). There were people with jerseys on the side of the street waving, hollering, and waving scarfs around while the players were hanging out of the buses doing the same!
5. As we entered the center, we were a little higher in elevation and got to see the beautiful tops of the Duomo and Synagouge during sunset.
6. We got a good exercise in and made it home just in time to set the table and make a very tasty meal that reminded us of St. Augustine...homemade peppered curry chickpea veggie burgers, Chris' homemade fries, Spinach salad with homemade dijon vinaigrette, and a cappuccino layered truffle dessert!

With everyday comes new challenges, adventures, and things to get used to - but it's part of the experience ...and worth it to us.