My First Couple Days in Florence, Italy

I’ve officially been here for 2 full days! While I haven’t done too much yet, I am super excited to share with you all the food I’ve eaten and activities I’ve done. 

Day 1: 

I arrived at the Florence airport at 11:30 on Tuesday. After grabbing my checked bag (which thankfully survived the Paris airport layover), I headed to check in with my program, SAI. They gave me my keys and sent me on a bus to my new apartment! First obstacle in Italy: the doors are old and hard to open! After some struggles and calling my program, I was able to get in! I waited for the rest of my roommates to get here, and we went to get dinner! We walked past the Palazzo Vecchio on our way to dinner, which was so beautiful at night. I got a yummy margherita pizza and some bruschetta and then we went home for an early night to catch up on sleep! 

Day 2: 

We woke up bright and early to conquer a full day of SAI orientation! We learned about safety in Italy from the Chief of Police, cultural differences, logistical housing and academic information, and the many activities my program offers. I am excited to start participating in those, specifically the cooking classes and the day trips! During our lunch break, a few friends and I walked to get paninis at Pino’s! I got the Springfield sandwich, which had warm prosciutto, pesto, mozzarella, and tomatoes on it. It was so good! 

Later in the day, we stopped by Caddy’s, which is a cosmetics store to find toiletries! Tip if you are studying abroad in Florence, download Google Translate with the camera option. My roommates and I spent way too long figuring out which bottle was shampoo and which was conditioner! However, if you are reading this and thinking about studying abroad, just get that stuff here. They have limited options but you can find everything you need at Caddy’s or the Farmacia (the pharmacy). We walked across Ponte Vecchio, which has a beautiful view of the Arno river! 

After a short break at our apartment, we headed to our welcome dinner, which was hosted at Palazzo Borghese, the most beautiful venue I have ever seen! We had a buffet style dinner, which was delicious (the risotto with pumpkin was the most popular among my group!). We got gelato afterwards and it tasted like I was eating frozen hot fudge (if that makes sense)! We headed home and had a chill night in, discussing our future travel plans! I am so excited for what the rest of this semester has to bring!

Day 3: 

Today is day 3, and we haven’t done too much yet. We went to Gusto Pizza which was super yummy, then headed back to the apartment to wait for our housing meeting. Later today, I think we are going to try the grocery store for the first time (I’ve heard Conad’s is the big chain), and check out some of the shops nearby! I want to try to find a colorful fluffy scarf, they are super popular here! Classes also start on Tuesday, so I want to try to find my classroom!

Thanks for keeping up on my journey, I am so excited to continue sharing this adventure with you guys!