Day 4: Adoption

So it seems that I've been pretty much adopted by a group of University of Hawaii kids. This is the group I've been hanging out with since I've been here, and we've become pretty good friends. Tonight I even got to have dinner with their resident adviser at her really cool apartment in the west part of the city. I've just been having a blast with this group of kids.

This afternoon we walked around the city for a bit. We were going to go to the Duomo but because half of our group was in shorts/bare shoulders, we didn't get to go in. Lesson learned. We did, however, run into the men that we met last night and exchanged awkward waves.

We then walked around the Uffizi area for a little bit, and watched this really amazing mime do a street show.

Sundays in Florence are a little bid weird— half of the touristy places are open, most of the touristy shops are open, and half of the restaurants are open. We would have gone to more museums today, but decided to do things that would be free until everyone in our group had purchased their museum card.

We wound up heading across the Arno to the Piazza Michelangelo. It's on top of a hill and has amazing views of Florence.

Amazing views!!!

Zoomed on the Duomo.

The cooler find though was the rose gardens beneath the Piazza. We walked around there for a solid half an hour and just appreciated the flowers and the sculptures by Jean-Michel Folon. It was great to just absorb the views, fragrance of the flowers and the amazing artwork.

Today was pretty cool. I feel like I'm writing that every day, but I'm really just having a blast here. It's been great to have friends to do things with.

Tomorrow we start classes. Fingers crossed that they aren't boring! I'm taking an introduction to Italian Philosophy class from 9-11:30 am, and a Renaissance Civilization and Culture class from 1:15-3:45.  2 1/2 hours is a lot to sit through, but we only have 16 class days total. I'm really hoping that we get to explore the city as part of the coursework.

Tomorrow I'll also need to plan out my schedule for the next four weeks! I have so many places I'd like to see and tourist spots to hit up. I'd really like to have some flexibility with time, but I do want to fit a lot in. I keep reminding myself, though, that I can always come visit Europe again. It's not going anywhere. Unless economic crises tear it apart.

I'm actually tired now, at 12:19 our time, so maybe I'm getting used to the schedule.

Night for now!

E