My flight to Florence was surprisingly stress free and even—dare I say it—enjoyable? Props to Lufthansa for having a very impressive selection of films, good meals and an extremely efficient flight attendant staff. I arrived at the Florence airport on time and with all of my baggage (this was a huge relief because several of my friends had their bags lost). As I left the baggage claim area, the CEA staff greeted me immediately with warm enthusiasm. They handed me my keys and an information packet and then herded me to a bus, along with several other eager students. I was surprised that I didn’t even have to go through customs or have my passport stamped, perhaps that comes later.
It was drizzling during my drive away from the airport but the air temperature was approx 50 degrees, so I couldn’t complain. The bus was to stop at each student’s apartment individually, so, I wasn’t quite sure when or where I would be disembarking. After about 20 minutes the bus slowed in front of a pharmacy which was across from a small wine bar. I prayed that this would be my apartment (I love wine). Once the bus pulled over a young woman knocked on the door and upon opening it announced, “I’m looking for Nell Gable?” I gathered my carry-on bags and got off the bus. The woman, who was another representative from CEA, helped me to my apartment door and showed me how to use the keys. It finally began to feel real.
Soon my other roommates arrived and we all began to carry our luggage up to our second (or third, we’re not sure) floor flat. Jules and I share a room, Teague and Nikki share another and there is also a single room. The flat is relatively large, and even has a full size dining room table. I made my bed then left to explore with my roommates.
Naturally our first stop was the small wine bar directly below my bedroom. We sat down and ordered two bottles of wine and secured access to the delicious buffet. The wine was delightful and cheap, as were the appetizers on the buffet. As a vegetarian I soon realized that my lifestyle would be difficult to maintain in Italy. I have decided that though meat really isn’t appetizing to me anymore, I will not stop myself from eating it if I really want to, or if it happens to be mixed into a food that I really want to try.
So, my roommates: Jules, Teague, Nikki and I sat in the wine bar/bistro and enjoyed our new neighborhood and got to know each other for several hours before venturing out into the rain to buy some necessary household items and returning to our flat. After two years of living 1.1 miles away from campus and the nearest store, having all of life’s necessitates (wine, toilet paper, soap and candy…) within a one block radius of my apartment is a much welcomed change.
More soon!
-Nell
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