One more month and one less...

10/07/08
Today I went to class and then afterwards went to the San Lorenzo market. As you can tell I am getting really familiar with this place. Today I learned about why people are healthier here to a certain extent and why food tastes so much better.
So with this new knowledge I went on a splurge and bought 3 apples, 2 pounds of bananas, 3 tomatoes, 1 lemon, a bunch of super sweet grapes, and a thing of basil. All for 6.65 Euros or 9 dollars. I don't know if that's a good deal compared to the US but I then bought a panini for 5 Euros and knew that the produce I bought was a good deal when you put things into perspective.
I came home and had some grapes and then took care of business.
I had dinner with my roommates who made some awesome pasta sauce with sausage it was restaurant grade food.

I am happy to be able to dedicate time to this blog and be able to share my experience with others. It makes me happy to share: time, experiences, food, and in general thoughts with others.

10/06/08
Today I woke up late again, but I was more productive. I went to the San Lorenzo Market and got some fresh pasta and fruits. I then went to school took care of some business then came home and cooked a meal for some friends. All improvised, I just invited them over and I made it happen. It was funny because my engineer roommate was all worried because I didn't "plan" it out. I told him to relax and just go with the flow and sure enough everything turned out okay.
It was funny because the meat was pork with a lot of fat and we couldn't cut it. So that was funny, but other than that it was a success we ended up not doing a thing in the recipe book and did our own thing which was really cool. We had a good/decent meal and then just socialized and talked about random stuff and watched deal or deal in Italian.

I am thankful to have been able to cook for others and be able to give this gift of life...food. I enjoyed the company and the ability to bring people together.

10/05/08
Oh yeah today I just lazied around all day and barely got out of bed. I wasn't feeling too good and I needed rest. I got out of bed made some food and then went to walk around. At Santa Croce there was a mini Oktoberfest with many beers and a lot of food. I came back home and cooked something here and then just stayed in.

10/04/08
Today we got up early and went to Pisa and Lucca as part of our program trips. I slept on the bus ride there cuz I was tired from the night before so I missed out on the scenery but I think I have seen a lot of it as it is. We got into Pisa and went into the Campo Santo and the Baptistry. I had already been there so I wasn't all into it plus I was feeling a little ill. I just went out on the lawn and just relaxed under the sun and it felt so delicious.
We then went to Lucca and this was a really cool town because it is fully enclosed by the original city walls that are huge!

We were given bikes and we rode on the wall.
I then went around on my own and stumbled across an old Roman Amphitheather that was converted to a Piazza and covered up by houses and restaurants.

Then later that evening I went back to Pisa to go to a fair with a friend and it was really cool to be able to socialize with Italians. It was a lot of fun and I had a burger Italian fair style and it was actually very tasty as you can read in my food blog.

Today I was happy to have been able to do so much and have seen so much. I am very fortunate and thankful for this great opportunity.

10/03/08
So today we got up early to go to a day trip with our Leonardo Da Vinci class. We went to Pistoia and Vinci. Pistoia was such a cute little town nothing big just picturesque. We went into some churches to see some pieces of art that relate indirectly to the studies of Leonardo.
Then we went to Vinci and got to see the some of the models of his machines and his house where supposedly he was raised. It was really cool to get to see the countryside. The bus driver had a GPS I am serious for shear looks because he didn't use it. The thing said turn left and he would turn right it said turn here and he would go straight. I was at the front so I go to see all this and my teacher was so frustrated because the driver didn't know where to go.
I was enjoying the views they were pretty.
After we got back to Florence I had dinner at one of the girl's house. We had chicken with rice and it was pretty bomb! We then watched: "When Harry met Sally" I had never seen the movie and it was really funny I enjoyed it a lot. It was a really cool relaxing evening.

I was happy to have established great friendships that are sincere and can share a meal at someone's house in comfort.

10/02/08
Today after class practically everyone from my program went out. All to different places but none the less out. I went with some people to watch a soccer game for my school. I was so antsy about playing that I jumped in on the game with my Sketchers, wife beater undershirt, and jeans. I didn't care how I looked I just wanted to help anyway that I could and I made some good plays and people were all impressed with my skills. Then afterwards some of us went to a girls house for dinner and we had a big meal and then went out to a karaoke bar Irish Pub. It was really boring at first but then later I sung a spice girls song with a friend. I didn't have anything to drink I didn't feel like drinking beer. It just doesn't appeal to me over here for some reason. It was really cool to just be able to hang out with people and have a good time getting to know others.

I was thankful for having the drive to just get out there and do something and go with the flow and spend some quality time with some cool people.

10/01/08
Today my brother came to class with me and it was really cool because we had an awesome lecture that was really informative and I know my brother learned a lot. After that we went on a mission to search for Enoteca or a wine bar. We found it after a great while of searching an had each two different kind of wine with some different cheeses. We had some deep conversations and delved into the psyche of all of us. I think the wine helped to open us up a bit.
We then went to this restaurant called La Sostansa it was oh wow so so so good. Again the chicken was amazing and the Florentine Steak was really so amazingly tender and good and juicy. We then call it a night and I take them to the station so that they could leave for Paris.
I come home really happy to have gotten to see them.