Getting Comfortable

La dolce vita! 

Buongiorno from beautiful Florence! I've finally settled in and I'm beginning to feel as though I'm part of this incredible place. I'm also getting harassed less at the leather market so I must be looking more like an Italian each day! I didn't think that I could love a city as much as I loved New York but I have to say that Firenze is a very close second. After walking along the Arno River with the sun shining this weekend I truly began to appreciate what will be my home for the next three months.

My roommates and I are beginning to discover all of our favorite restaurants and coffee shops. We're becoming regulars at last, which is a great feeling. Mia (my roommate) and I don't even have to say our order anymore. The barista knows that it's "Due cappuccini" for us, something that we look forward to every morning.

Chocolate disks filled with nuts

Chocolate "tools", so cool!

We spent this weekend walking around Florence, visiting the local markets and shopping at some fabulous vintage stores that were recommended to me by my good friends. I made one of my final (hopefully!) purchases of the trip, a vintage Chanel tote bag, which I absolutely adore. To make the day even better, following my purchase we stumbled upon a chocolate festival that's taking place in one of the Piazzas not far from our apartment. We ate and photographed our way through the event, it was my idea of the perfect day!

Sunset at the NYU campus

The view from one of my classroom windows

I guess I should put in at least one paragraph about school since that's what I'm here for after all! I still can not get over my amazing campus, I have to pinch myself every time that I walk to class. We've finally figured out the bus system here and have found it to be pretty reliable, despite what other students have told us. Our apartment is only two blocks from the bus stop and it's about a 20 minute ride to our campus, which is right outside of the city. This week for my Italian class we went on a field trip to see an exhibition of a local artist who specializes in scagliola. Scagliola is a technique that's used to make art that resembles marble. The artist's name was Bianco Bianchi and his work was beautiful, you can visit his website here. There was one piece at the exhibition that had seashells and sea creatures that I wanted to buy for the shore house but I think it was a little bit out of my price range. Alessandro, Bianco's son, told us that their family's artwork was used as inspiration for some of Gianni Versaci's menswear ties.  

One of the best views of The Duomo

After the field trip we stopped by a local public library that used to be an old cloister. This is the view of The Duomo from the top floor of the building, one of the prettiest views that I have seen thus far.

Dried fruit at the Mercato Centrale 

Dried raspberries, blackberries and blueberries at the Mercato Centrale

One of my favorite discoveries thus far has been the Mercato Centrale, which is a big farmer's market that's held in a warehouse in Florence. The market is open every day of the week except Sunday and it closes at 2:00PM so you have to be sure to go early! It's absolute heaven. Imagine any kind of meat, homemade pasta or vegetable you could imagine, all in one place. My favorite vendor is the guy in the back who sells dried fruit. He has everything from dried mangoes to dried dates and bananas. I'm slowly becoming a regular here as well. 

Piazza San Marco lit up for Venice Carnevale

My roommates and I spent last weekend in Venice for Carnevale. We took a bus to the city, which was about a 3 hour drive, and arrived from Florence at 1:00PM. We then took a water taxi to the islands of Murano and Burano (Burano is one of my favorites! The island is famous for its colorful and picturesque houses). Finally, we headed back to the main part of Venice to experience Carnevale, which I must say is not all that it's cracked up to be. Venice was, as expected, insanely crowded and touristy. It was difficult to walk anywhere and to make matters worse it was snowing. We made a quick stop at Piazza San Marco where the main celebrations are held and then made our way to a restaurant to get warm. I was so glad to have visited Venice before because this trip would have tainted the city otherwise. It was a great experience to see Carnevale but next time I go back to Venice it will be in May when the weather is warm and the streets are less crowded! To learn more about this beautiful city visit my previous blog post, A Customized Italy. 

On another note, my roommates and I have planned all of our weekend trips and once the weather gets warm we're off to the French Riviera, Croatia and the Almafi Coast! We're also going to visit Cinque Terre in April to go hiking for the day. In March I'll be visiting London for the first time to stay with my best friend, Ryan. I can't wait! And this weekend my parents will be visiting me in Italy. We're going to spend three days in Tuscany seeing the countryside, eating and drinking wine! My roommates will be coming along as well. We're then going to head back to Florence for two days so that I can show my Mom and Dad all that I've discovered since living in the city! 

Stay tuned for updates from my time spent in Tuscany! I'll also be posting soon about today's trip to Pisa (it was great!).

Thank you all for following. Ciao for now!