I have a perfect jacket for you, just you...not Lady Gaga!

Yesterday was my day off so I planned to run errands with Anna in the morning and then go shopping and cook dinner at night.  The day got off to a late start when I didn't wake up until 11:20am!  Our room is so dark that when you wake up it looks like its the dead of the night when it's really almost noon!  Anna and I got ready then walked down to the ISA office so we could sign up for all the trips we want to go on with the program.  The office is adorable with modern art on all the walls, pamphlets and fliers for activities on all the shelves, and welcoming smiles on all the directors.

After leaving the ISA office, we walked along the Arno River. Seeing the Ponte Vecchio in the sunshine is beautiful!  We easily found our way to Ganzo, the restaurant that we both have meal vouchers with through our program.  Ganzo was crowded with students and customers but we were helped right away to pick up our vouchers and then sat down for lunch.  The menu choice is to get soup and pasta, a make your own salad, or a sandwich with a side.  I choose a ciabatta con roast beef e peccorino e roast potatos. I was nervous for the cheese since I had never heard of it but it was delicious!  The ciabatta was fresh, the cheese tasted similar to asiago cheese, and the potatos were roasted perfectly!  I am so glad that I have the meal vouchers and I'm also joining a wine club through Ganzo that meets weekly to taste and discuss food pairings with different wines.

After a stuffing lunch, Anna and I got lost looking for a building were we are supposed to have class.  Luckily while wandering we found girls who are in the same program as us and were able to point us in the right direction. I dropped Anna off at her class and then went back to the apartment to OOVOO for a little with Mom.  Shortly after getting home, the other roommates called me to join them for some shopping and gelato.  I didn't end up making any purchases but a friend in the program, Luke, introduced us to some of the best gelato available in Florence.  We walked into the shop and immediately it smelt like heaven, there were pastries and chocolate covering every available spot in this tiny shop.  The gelato is made fresh in the back so I played it safe and ordered vanilla which I have no other words except, utterly. amazing.  It was beyond creamy but not runny, and the favor was what vanilla should actually taste like.  We took our gelato outside and sat at the Piazza de Republica in front of the merry-go-round, it was simply blissful.

Unfortunately the teeny cup of gelato ended so we went up to Luke's apartment to make comparisons to ours.  The location was right on the piazza but was also down a sketchy ally and up 2 very steep flights of stairs.  The apartment was pretty ordinary except they had art on the walls and a toaster oven!  We were so jealous because we don't have a microwave OR a toaster oven.  After the brief tour we headed back to our apartment to begin cooking dinner for the night.  On the way home, I stopped to pick up a notebook for class and of course they are all overpriced so I ended up buying one large notebook for 5.50 euro and a folder for 1 euro.

For dinner, April cooked for the roommates an alfredo sauce with angel hair pasta.  While April created her own alfredo sauce, I prepared a light salad, and Anna cut up some bread to dip in olive oil and balsamic.  The dish ended up being delicious and we bought proper wine so the meal was a success to say the least.

Today before class, Anna and I walked around San Lorenzo which is a road dedicated to tiny shops selling everything from jackets to watches, face masks to sweat shirts.  As we were walking all the vendors come up to you and are like "HI! CIAO! BUONGIORNO! LEATHER!"  We learned to ignore them and keep walking until one vendor runs up to Anna and exclaims, "I have a perfect jacket for you, its perfect! It's just for you, not Lady Gaga!"  We both burst out laughing and but kept walking....was I seriously called Lady Gaga this morning?!  We walked for a while and I ended up buying a pair of authentic italian leather gloves with a cashmere lining for warmth.

After becoming a celebrity for a brief moment, I headed to my first class!  I had World Religion and was able to find it no problem so I was about 10 minutes early and one of the first ones to class.  My instructor seems like she knows what shes talking about and is dedicated to the subject.  The class is going to be a decent amount of work since I have readings and homework assignments due each class along with a midterm, a 5 page paper, and a final.  After class I headed home and made myself a fresh salami and mozzarella sandwich accompanied by some tomatoes while OOVOOing with Uncle Marty and Aunt Lisa.  I just finished cleaning up the kitchen and am ready to head to my Italian class and then meet Anna for our Cultural Anthropology class together.

Miss everyone! xo