Viarregio!

The girls wanted to feel the sun on their skin today, so we headed out to the seaside town of Viareggio. A fairly harmless hour and a half train ride from Florence, we made it there with very little problem. We even gave ourselves enough time to get McDonalds...(eep, we've been very good about not being americanas up till now!). It was J's first train trip, so she was startled by the trains whizzing by SOCLOSE to each other - enough to give you a heart attack.

We arrived in Viareggio, hopped out of the train station, and headed straight towards the sea. We arrived to a soft expanse of "real sand" and dozens of brightly colored chairs and umbrellas. Now, all of us were pretty sure that payment would be required for this visit to the seaside, but for the life of us we could not find any direction on the subject. So we unanimously decided to set up shop at our preferred group of chairs until someone yelled at us. Plopping down on some blue loungers, we proceeded to make ourselves comfortable, despite the herd of noisy german adolescents behind us. (As far as I could tell, the only english words they knew consisted of four letters). Lotioned up (though really, only ginger me used the sunscreen) and stripped down to our suits, we put our feet up to relax...and then an Italian lifeguard appeared and told us that we needed to pay at a building and then he would "open the umbrella for us".

So we redressed, packed up our stuff, and walked the fifty feet to the cabana area? We bought our tickets (5 euro each - better than we were expecting) and that gave us free access to the bathrooms, changing rooms, water, and three beach chairs and umbrella. Not so bad. Basically all the beaches in Viarregio are private, and buildings like the one we visited dot every few meters up and down the beach. After we had paid for our plot of sand, the same lifeguard as before came over, took our ticket, and then sprinted back to the exact spot we were at before. And no, he did not open our umbrella for us because it was already open. So we set up shop again, and proceeded to have one of the most wonderful and relaxing afternoons. EXCEPT for the bazillions of vendors who were walking around selling stuff. All kinds of stuff: sunglasses, silver jewelry, puffy coats, books, kites, etc. That was annoying -- they would just stand there and harass you even after you told them no. We finally resorted to pretending to sleep when the vendors came by; that is until we actually fell asleep.

After that it was pretty much smooth sailing (speaking of sailing, there were so many sailboats out and I was jealous!). Kisses belle!

This and That

The past couple of days have been a sort of montage of Florence events; I will highlight a couple.

We climbed up to the Piazzale Michelangelo again to both get some exercise and visit the cemetery behind the Basilica di San Miniato al Monte. I have a not-so-secret love for cemeteries; I enjoy the peace and general ambiance. Plus, graves are often just crazy intricate and beautiful. This cemetery was no different; in fact, due to the opulent Italian funereal traditions it was more grandiose than I was expecting. Some of the tombs were seriously the size of small chapels, forming "streets" of small, overly embellished "buildings". I was astonished that anyone would put that much thought into a memorial for the dead; however I was more impressed by the individual graves. Some of the statuary was just beautiful. I think this one was my favorite:

I mean, look at the artistry in the draping of the dress! The statue was made by a man for his "lost love".

I also liked that a lot of the graves had lanterns on them. I don't know why, but I like the idea of someone going around to all the graves at night, igniting the lanterns and leaving the graveyard a sea of glowing lights. It's comforting for some reason.

After we were done roaming around the bone yard, we made our way over the basilica. I had gleaned from internet research that if you stayed until 5:30 pm (4:30 in the winter) you might get the chance to listen to the monks sing their evening chants. We were just so lucky that we caught the monks starting their hymns down in the crypt. Jennie and I found a "comfortable seat" (slabs of marble, but it was actually cool and nice) and listened to the surprisingly good voices. You know, now that I think of it, I have never heard a bad group of monks singing...why is that? Do they only choose the good voices to sing? Or since they do it every day, does practice make perfect?

It was extremely soothing to sit and listen to those guys sing. In fact, after about a half hour we had to leave because we were falling asleep!! It was like sitting in a dark womb-like place listening to lullabies. It is an experience I hope to do numerous times in the future.


The next day we were jonesing for some green, so we headed right outside of town to locate the Ciscine Park. One of the less fantastic things about Florence is that they charge for basically all the gardens and parks. And we aren't talking like a few Euro - usually around 10. So, for a girl that likes to be out in nature and idle around, it has been very challenging. But, the Ciscine park is free!! AND it is closer to "our" side of the river. AND, on Tuesdays it houses one of the biggest flea markets I've ever been to. I mean seriously, Jenn and our friend J went with, and we were not sure if it was ever going to end! We didn't purchase anything, but I will be going back and I probs will!

I miss everyone very much and hope you are doing well!

A beautiful day in Fiesole

Hello lovies!

Today is the day we will talk about Fiesole. Ole!

Uh, okay.

Dammit, can't stop rhyming! Anyway (ack!), yesterday I visited the adorable village of Fiesole. Set in the hills about 30 minutes outside Florence, it is the perfect (and cheap!) day trip. Apparently native Firenzians jet up to Fiesole quite often in the summer to get away from the oppressive heat, mosquitos, and tourists (not necessarily in that order). I can completely understand why; it is the type of darling town I could definitely see myself inhabiting.

I started the expedition by trooping over the bridge and up to my new friend's (K&J) apartment. Jennie decided to take a day for herself, so it was just me and the girls! They led me to the bus area; we thought we needed to buy tickets at the ticket pagoda, but no, you bought them at the Pasticceria across the street. Duh, who wouldn't know that. So we bought tickets for both there and back (apparently it is hard to find a place to buy tickets in Fiesole - probs cause they are hidden in a pizzeria or gelatteria or something), and hopped on the number 7 bus. 30 minutes and we were there (minus a brief rest stop for the driver to read his newspaper)!

Fiesole is darling and small. There was a craft fair set up in the center of town so we browsed around. We sampled some excellent wine from a local vineyard which we ended up buying later - 3 bottles for 15 euro! An investment for weekly group dinners! But, I will get back to that later.

Female J has the best travel guide book ever - the DK Eyewitness Guide to Florence and Tuscany - and it was a two hour walking tour around Fiesole! We didn't end up doing the whole walk because you know, being a hill town Fiesole is...hilly. Go figure. But we started our tour with a viewing of the requisite town Duomo. Due to a bare shoulder issue I was unable to actually go in the Duomo, but the girls assured me it was nice. Looked a little like San Minitao, they said. I can tell you from the outside though, considering the church had been around for hundreds of years it looked remarkably new. Perhaps Mr. Duomo had a little work done?

We did combat my intensifying dislike for hiking up steep hills to reach the "scenic viewpoint", and were rewarded with a glorious view of Florence and Tuscany. Afterwards we headed towards the Monastery of San Francesco. This is a darling monastery, still in use, located at the top of yet another hill. We tiptoed into the chapel and listened to a monk practicing on the pipe organ, and then wandered out into the courtyard. The building was deceptively large; after viewing the tiny courtyard, we somehow found ourselves in a gallery holding all sorts of chinese and egyptian relics. Apparently the monks had been sending over missionaries for a very long time, and in return for saving a few souls they got all sorts of cool stuff! There were silk robes, giant jade basins, gold buddhas, and a real (live?) Egyptian mummy!

After viewing the treasure troves from the Orient, we moved on to the austere quarters of the monks of yore. The rooms were SO TINY. Like, barely enough room for a wooden plank bed, and a small desk with chair. I am not sure how the monks live now; the currently living quarters were blocked off from the public.

Pooped, we wandered back into the main piazza and hopped on the bus back to Firenze. We ended the night with a wonderful home cooked meal, courtesy of J & K (Jennie came and joined us for that part!). The first of many! Don't be jealous:

And now I must go because I am being eaten alive. WHEN WILL THEY DIE??!!

I adore Tenuti Torciano

Hello my long lost pals. Sorry I have been so delinquent in my blogging of late -- I have no excuse and humbly offer you my head. But if you take it, then you will certainly not get any more blog posts. So I suggest you graciously decline.

Today Jenn and I ventured off the reservation again to visit a winery that she had previously attended. The name: Tenuti Torciano. The destination: San Gimignano (Jim-in-ya-no). Getting there was yet another adventure and lesson in Italian traveling. We bought our train ticket in what we thought was the correct direction (turns out it was). But we were running late and the line to purchase the ticket was really long, so we ended up sprinting to the train. We got there just in time...only to realize we hadn't validated our ticket. For all those that don't know (I didn't) you HAVE to get your tickets validated when traveling in Italy, especially if you are a foreigner. If you get caught with an invalidated ticket they officials are liable to charge you FIFTY EURO. So Jennie jumped off the train and ran to validate it - leaving me with her purse and no ticket, and two minutes to spare. I was in a complete panic until she reappeared a few minutes later, panting with our ticket stamped. Whew, crisis averted.

Then the conductor shouted that we the train was to be delayed for 10 minutes. Swell - we giggled at this, and settled in to wait and for the ride. However, the delay proved not only eye-rollingly annoying considering our pre-boarding flutter, but significantly more detrimental to our second train connection. We looked up our connection in Empoli, ran to the platform...and watched our train pull away. Now, our original plan was to take a train to San Barbarino and then walk the 40 minutes to the winery, so we had allowed plenty of time to get to our destination. However, due to the unexpected hour long layover, we were now only going to have 20 mins max to get to the winery. There was no way we could get there on foot, so we decided we were going to have to cab it upon arrival in Barbarino.

But, of course, Barbarino was no man's land. Like straight up boonies. Not a cab insight. We had no choice but to hoof it...and so we set off. Originally, we had imagined an idyllic walk through wine country. This fantasy was ruined by two things: the necessity for hustle and a lack of path and/or sidewalks. We had to resort to walking on the shoulder of the main road, tripping over weeds and brush when forced off the road by vehicles. It was less than romantic, we'll just say.

However, we finally arrived and I can say the effort was worth it. After a few awkward moments, one of the sons ushered us in with the declaration, "I love girls from Washington DC!". They set us up like princesses (which is what they called us all afternoon) at a table for two overlooking the various other groups. They taught us the "correct" way to taste and smell wine, how to hold the glass, proper table deportment (put both hands on the table so you don't look drunk), etc. They walked us through the tasting, illuminating us on the proper foods with what "weight" of wine, where the grapes were grown, percentages, SO MUCH INFO! But they stressed that even for all this talk, there was only one rule and that one rule was that there are no rules!! It's all personal taste.

It was extremely entertaining watching the family at Tenuti Torciano whirl around like some sort of play/italian sitcom. They would come inside, yell at each other, gesticulate wildly, and then compose themselves right before exiting to entertain their tasting groups. Jennie and I had the time of our lives watching the crazy activity while enjoying our vino e food. And the wine...and the food...SO GOOD. The first plate was cheese, salami, bread soaked in olive oil, and salad with hands down the BEST balsamico I've ever had. I, along with my mother, am a balsamic connoisseur and this was exquisite. (Unfortunately the price matched the quality - 50 euro! eep - to rich for this girl). This plate was specifically for tasting, matching each glass with each food to feel out the various combinations. We were then given Peirluigi's (our wily and gracious host) Mama's lasagna, which has officially become the best thing I've eaten in Italy thus far. To top it off, they liberally doused it in truffle oil - heaven.

The wines were excellent, and I discovered I quite like chianti. Jenn asked to try the Spumante and they willingly obliged; it was super yummy. They chatted with us and when the realized that we had walked from the train station they were shocked. "Are you crazy??!!" they yelled and then demanded to know why we hadn't called them. We explained that we wanted to walk, but they would have none of it. One of the brothers offered to drive us to the Poggibonsi (sidenote - I decided if Tigger was Italian he would live in Poggibonsi) but Pierluigi said it was too "dangerous" to leave us alone with either of the brothers (haha) so he insisted he take us personally. He also would not let us pay for the tastings AND gave us 3 free bottles of wine. Ridiculous hospitality!

He first had to drop his son off at the "scooter doctor" and then safely deposited us at the Poggibonsi station, even going in to make sure we could get tickets. He bid us adieu, but not before exchanging cards with Jenn, a possible job offering looming (social media marketing). The train ride home was relatively uneventful, if slightly stressful at points when we didn't recognize where we were. We arrived late, around 9 and immediately retired to bed, sated and stuffed. All was well in Italia (minus the need for a few antacids later in the evening).

Buona Sera!

Lazy Daze

As I mentioned in the previous post, Jennie and I were not in the best of shape Saturday morning. And/or afternoon. So, it was well into the day before we rolled out. I wanted to see the Pitti Palace gardens; it was such a perfect day for it - autumn may actually be coming!!

The Pitti Palace was the final escalation of the rediculousness that were the Medici. The extremely weathly family ruled Florence for a good 400 years before eventually falling into decline. Though "humble" bankers and not nobles, they managed to produce several popes and eventually were given titles. There are various Medici residences scattered throughout the city, but the Pitti Palace was the culmination of Florentine opulence. The Boboli "gardens" are actually several "axis" spanning eleven acres. I thought that we could just go there and roam around like in the US - usually you don't have to pay for the gardens of a manor. I was wrong - it was 10 euro alone for gardens and a few of the smaller museums!! You have to pay another 10 euro to enter the palace itself. I was very spoiled in DC; this paying for museums/gardens/etc is a drain on my wallet.

One note about the Gardin Boboli -- it ain't no easy stroll through the flowers. It was work honey. Jen and I thought it was the perfect way to get back into the day -- so we were unprepared for the hike in front of us. Not only is it multiple acres, it is multiple acres uphill. This is a trend I am noticing in Florence; a trend bathed in sweat, and accompanied by aching lungs and shredded feet. But we did it, we made it, and I enjoyed myself. I especially enjoyed this guy:

Don't hate cause I get all the hotties.

Post Boboli, Jennie and I decided to go have our first real dinner in Italia. We decided just to visit our neighborhood Trattoria. We sat outside, enjoyed some very good red wine, and ordered our meals. I ordered the pasta a la caza (fresh linguini with porcini mushrooms) and it was delish! Jennie learned an important lesson however - she ordered the chicken...and that is what she got. Nothing else. So, they apparently observe the classic Italian dining structure -- multiple courses. But all was well -- they wouldn't let us leave! They ended up giving us free dessert and another free after dinner drink (sambuca - blech!!). What was supposed to be a normal weekday dinner ended up a two and a half hour affair. It was a good way to end the day.

Sunday I rousted Jenn and headed out to hike up to the Piazzale Michelangelo. It is reputed to have the best view of Florence. Jen had been there prevously, but had arrived by bus. We found out that walking it is an entirely different thing. Again much steepness, much uphillness. But Jen and I agreed that if we did this three times a week we'd be in SUPER good shape. So, we panted and groaned and heaved our way to the top, and the view was as promised. The Piazzale is dedicated to Michelangelo and there are copies of his works scattered around the piazza. There are also two churches, the Basilica of San Minitao and the Church of San Salvatore, and a beautiful graveyard. Unfortuntely we were were just a half hour too late on Sunday to go into the cemetary -- we will have to do that again in the future. But we did go and explore the two churches; I personally think that the Basilica had one of the most arresting mosaics I'd ever seen. (Random sidenote: I love gold leaf. Love. It. Please bury me in a dress made entirely of gold leaf.) There was a bride and groom taking pictures in front of the basilica and in front of city overlook - I bet they turned out awesome.

The Church of San Salvatore was plainer and simpler. In fact, apparently Michelangelo reffered to it as the "comely peasant girl". It was nice but not really notable; the best thing about it was when Jen thought that the bible was open to the book of "salami" (it said Salmi).

And then we went to the market and bought salami.

Well, we did more than that, but it was pretty boring and housework related. I am indoctrinating Jenn into the cult of clean sheets. Not that she is dirty...she just isn't fanatical like me. The rest of the house can go to hell but god forbid you put your feet on the bed. We ended the night by sitting on a bridge and watched the sun set over the river.

Tutti bene.

We went to Siena!

Buona Sera! Come, sit, and listen to my story of Siena. Er, or just read it.

Jenn and Courtney's tour o' Italy continues! We got up quite early (and boy, was it a struggle) and headed over to the train station. We weren't really sure how to get to Siena -- you can take a train to the Siena train station, which is located 3 km outside of the city center, where there is a reputed mini-bus which would take us into town. You can also take a bus from Florence right into the center of Siena, but we decided we would take the train, mainly because we didn't know where to catch the bus! The train trip went well, only about an hour and a half...and then the trouble began. We could not for the life of us figure out how the "mini-buses" worked, but we bought a ticket and hopped on one we thought was heading to a Piazza in the center of town. We were wrong; the bus was going on a loop to the hospital. So, after that waste of a half hour, we got off back at the train station again. Jennie was not doing too well at this point, so we bought her a snack and headed for a cab.

After we finally arrived in Siena, things started to look up. We went to Piazza del Campo, the unique seashell shaped Piazza, bordered on one side by the beautiful Palazzo Pubblico/Torre di Mangia. (I bought a seashell shaped patch as a souvenir). Also in the Piazza is the Gaia Fountain; the fountain was pretty, but relatively unimpressive. We chilled in the square, got our bearings and headed towards the Duomo.

If the Gaia Fountain was less than awe-inspiring, the Duomo was more than I was expecting. The outside looked traditionally Gothic, but the inside was astounding. Extremely ornate, every surface showed some mark of a craftsman. We lucked out also, in that the main floor is apparently covered up for most of the year, only exposed from Sept-Oct. One of my favorite parts of the Duomo was a room displaying giant illuminated (manuscript) hymnals. I love those things!

After leaving the Duomo we set out to find the Enoteca Italiana. A hybrid between a warehouse and a museum, the Enoteca houses 400-500 different wines, representing the wide variety of Italian vini. It was fun to see the hundreds of bottles, but even more fun was the scanner they gave me! Every bottle had a bar code attached to it, and once scanned, a description was read out by an annoying british "woman". I had way too much fun with that piece of equipment, and then we headed up to the bar area to try some excellent prosecco. The day was beautiful, mild and sunny; Jenn and I relaxed on the patio drinking our cheap and wonderful wine, while communing with the cooing pigeons.

We wandered around the surrounding park and took some pictures of the city, and then decided it was time to head back. Hoping to avoid the fiasco that was our trip to Siena, we actually asked a person at the transportation station and figured out the bus situation. We bought our tix, wandered around the city a little more, and then headed out. We were pooped and slept the whole way back (mouth open, with minimal drool).

We had promised our new friend from the Lyons Fountain that we would stop by -- it was supposed to be an early night. However, again we partied too hard (but made more friends!) and were paying for it this morning. But that one of the pluses in living somewhere versus visiting -- you have the luxury of time!

I have now joined the 1990's.

Because I swear that is when my new-to-me-Italian-phone was made. 1998 to be precise. In fact, let me locate an image of this beauty (see below and to the left).

Except mine has been "improved" with brilliant blue hard shell. I hope I can get a Backstreet Boys ring tone. Or N'Sync...(no joshing, "Digital Get Down" just came on my iTunes. Tooo cool for school.)

N-E-Ways (who remembers that little tiding? Who can still probably fold a note at least 10 different ways?!?), let's get back to Italy. Yesterday -- I got my phone, but that has been established. Then, we went to the train station...uninteresting...Oh, Oh!! I remember!! We went to Santa Croce.

According to my good pal Wicki, Santa Croce is the largest Franciscan church in Florence and THE WORLD, and a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church. Legend even says that it was founded by St. Francis himself. Basically anyone who was worth anything in Italian history is buried there. Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Dante, even our good friend Galileo who, you know, wasn't the church's favorite son for a while. Honored folks that they are, the memorials are against the wall, each bigger than the last. We are talking 3D projections, complete with giant female angels holding tokens representing the trades that made each dignitary famous. The floor is covered in worn carvings commemorating either rich or important folks, names lost to memory and images not long from oblivion as well. It was terribly interesting, but looking back I probably should have rented an audio guide. Please remember that if you visit -- there was probably a lot that I missed!

On the way out to the garden area, we came upon the Museo d'Opera. Once again ignoring Jennie's looks of desperation, I dived in. I will say, however, this was one museum I could have done without. For an Opera museum, there was suprisingly little about...the Opera. In fact, none as far as I could tell. There were randomly scattered pieces of Renaissance art, which maybe would have told a story if I had paid closer attention, but really I did not feel compelled to.

On the way home we stopped in front of the Pitti Palace and just lounged for a while, taking in the sun and the breeze. It had been a pleasant day, but we were hungry! So we headed back to our apt for a homemade din-din. Jennie had pretty much cooked all "meals" (I am counting cappucini and banana's as a meal) up to this point, so it was my turn! Inspired by my surroundings, I decided to take a stab at making tomato sauce from scratch. Lacking a wise Italian Nonna to teach me such things, I have always been intimidated by the prospect of making tomato sauce. That, and I never liked it. But, not to be deterred by the lack of such a small thing as knowledge, I tried and it turned out pretty darn well! At least, Jenn said she liked it...I lack the skills (for now) to serve as a human lie detector, so I am forced to take it as truth. I wasn't entirely without help either, I used this recipe from the Smitten Kitchen for my base.

In other news, I was bit by a mosquito on my FACE last night, and have consequently declared all out war. I have killed six while writing this post (Jennie gags every time). I might be the only person to contract malaria while in Italy.

Peace.

We made friends!!!

Yayayayay! On a reference from one Jenn's friends, we went to a pub called "The Lions Fountain". We were told to ask for two people who were not working at that time, but the bartender coincidentally had dated said friend of Jenn's! (Apparently he wasn't working at that bar when she knew him.) He was very fun and friendly and held Jen's credit card hostage so we wouldn't leave! He also introduced us to two other Americans that were just starting their stay in Florence -- one is studying art restoration at the University here and the other is her cousin who came to "chaperone" (re: have a good time). So -- instafriends! Jenn and I and the other girls all stayed at the pub WAY too late and ended up going with J (first bartender) and the other bartenders (all super nice) to a "secret" bar after they closed up shop. It was fun but we didn't stay for very long...we were very tired, as such a late night was not expected.

Other than that, our day was pretty uneventful. We woke up late again (this pattern has to stop sometime). And then it rained. So, we got ready and sat out on our balcony and watched the rain until it stopped. We headed out to the city center to try and find some markets and the elusive hotel where Jen and her Mom had stayed previously. We found a market, and it made me laugh because the stuff being sold is almost identical to the fare sold at Eastern Market back home, possibly with a greater emphasis on "leather" goods. We then stumbled into a large square with a basilica against one side. We tried to check out inside of the basilica, but a service was going on and neither of us wanted to interrupt that! (Though that didn't deter many people).

Things started to look familiar to Jenn and she realized that we finally had found the area where she had stayed before! That mystery solved, we set out to find a phone store but ran into the Archeology Museum of Florence. I dragged Jenn in and made her look at all the relics of the bygone Italian ages. I learned about the various groups who had roamed through Italy, from the Etruscans to the Greeks to the Italic tribes (not in that order). The museum also had an impressive collection of Egyptian artifacts, though the room with the mummies and sarcophagi freaked Jenn out. It was a titch creepy - there were exposed skulls/bones, open caskets, and the lights were dimmed so everything was bathed in an eery half-light.

After I decided I had tortured Jenn enough, we left to go in search of a place to have a glass or two of wine. We found a darling wine bar across the square from the Lion's Fountain and had some wine, and an antipasti plate. We met some nice Canadian women who were toward the end of a European tour, and chatted with them for a bit. And then it was off to the Lion's Fountain, shenanigans outlined above.

Ciao Belli!

We overslept by, oh, 12 hours..

on Tuesday morning. Well not overslept by 12 hours, but we did sleep for 12 hours straight. I guess not sleeping for almost 24 hours the day(s) before will do that to a person! So our dreams for a morning spent sipping cappucino in a piazza were dashed. BUT, we consoled ourselves with the promise of a pizza lunch and set out for the day.

Since the day looked vaguely ominous, we both opted for jeans. Big mistake -- though not terribly hot, it was humid. Luckily we are from DC and are used to humid weather! Jennie took the lead and we launched our sweaty selves onto the city of Florence. Our apartment is located on the other side, the non-touristy side, of the river Arno, which is perfect because it means that we do not have to deal with the craziness of the city center but we are only a 10 min walk away! So we crossed over the bridge, and took a moment to look at the Pontevecchio. A brief history of the Pontevecchio: it's a bridge that has been around since the 13th century. Originally it housed exclusively butcher shops; you can still see the hooks for hanging animal carcasses. It was a carnivorous paradise until the 15th century when the Medici's changed it over to gold and silver shops. Apparently they were offended by the smell of the animal pelts, which were soaked in vats of urine (when reading this Jennie goes, "how did they even get vats of urine?") to cure the hides. And jewelry shops, selling gold and silver, still line the bridge today!

Jenn gave me the basic tour -- Pontevecchio, the city center, the Duomo. We both decided however, that we will have to wait to do the touristy things until probably the end of the month. It is still just too crazy with touristas here right now. Instead we tried to find the square where Jenn and her Mom stayed the last time they came to Florence; it proved a futile effort, but we did end up coming upon the Church of Santa Maria Novella. We paid the entrance fee (3.50) and entered into the Church. It was founded by the "Preaching Friars" in the 13th century, and had undergone three different renovations. It was very pretty and...church-like. Apparently, though we only found this out later, we saw the pulpit from which Galileo was denounced for heresy. I would love to tell you the impression this made on me, but unfortunately all the enclaves and such blur into one big mural of people in robes adorned with halos, and differentiation is difficult. By this time Jennie's blood sugar had begun to dip and was fading (we realized that we hadn't eaten in 21 hours!), so we went searching for that promised pizza.

The rest of the day was spent running errands and catching up on the internet (it had been two whole days and we were beginning to twitch). At night we went to find a trattoria serving aperitivo. This is traditionally a precursor to the dinner meal; you pay for the drinks and then there is usually a buffet which is free. However, we found this ADORABLE place where they do an aperitivo semi-untraditionally; the drinks are cocktails not wine, and they serve you your "meal" individually. We were planning on using the aperitivo as an appetizer to our meal we were going to make at home, but it was plentiful and DELICIOUS. On one plate contained some sort of green pea mousse, a fagioli type substance, brie, hot dogs and peas (strange), and fresh pasta with tomato sauce. We were smitten. The place is also super cute, with an almost American coffee shop type vibe; local art on the walls, books everywhere, mod type furniture. We decided that we will be visiting Cuculia on the regular.

Arrivederci babies! See you tomorrow, if I haven't been devoured by the mosquitos!

We have finally arrived...

after two plane flights, two train trips, and countless hours sent lolli-gagging around airports and train stations. All I can say is, if you can spare the money to commute directly to Florence, DO IT! But if you don't...it's not so bad? And, I should not complain -- both me and Jen wore good luck talismans, and they worked! Not a single leg of the trip gave us any problems, it was just quite the expedition. It also afforded me the opportunity to people watch, which I always enjoy. Two things I noted: 1) much like Puerto Rico, many italian grandma's dress like their teenage daughters, and 2) italian babies are freakin adorable. Also, I watched a beggar beg for money...to buy a cappucino. Classic.

After 21 hours spent in transit, two very weary girls arrived at the doorstep of our Florence apartment. The apartment itself is teensy, but very cute. A glorified studio really, with one open room (more or less) serving as the bedroom, kitchen, dinning room, and living area. The bathroom is separate and surprising large, with a toilet and bidet...should I want to pee like a parisian. AND, we have a balcony, which I suspect will become the most popular place in our abode.

We live rather close to a church with REAL BELLS apparently, not just a recording (Meag, I know you will be gratified to hear that). I enjoy the ringing of the hours as it reminds me of the grandfather clock my parents own, which I grew up listening to. However, what I DON'T like is when the bells peele like mad at 7:15 am. Not 7, not 8, not even 7:30, but 7:15! And it was not musical or charming in the least; it was as if Igor Stravinsky had gotten really drunk and decided to play with the bells for a while. Fingers crossed it was some mad hunchback let loose in the bell-tower, and not an everyday thing.

If any of you darlings out there want a postcard, please send me an email with addy! Kisses!

Resignation Letter:

Dear EVERYONE!!

I just wanted to send a little note thanking you all for making my time at The Endocrine Society so enjoyable. I started out as a little baby temp, unsure about the mission of the Society, or frankly even how to pronounce the name (En-doh-crin). Over the past three years however, I have had the pleasure of learning about the Society, Staff, and internal secretions of all types. It was an education I will always value.

Everyone has been unfailingly kind and generous with their time, and I will miss you all thoroughly. I realize that parting with me may be unendurably painful for many of you, but do not despair, I am only an email away. If you wish to contact me to chit chat, dispute a rubber band ball claim, find a file, order a bottle of wine, etc., please write me atcourtney.singer@gmail.com.

Arrivederci!

Courtney

Courtney Singer

Wanderer Extordinaire

Italy

The World

e-mail: csinger@endo-society.org

P please consider the environment before printing this email

It's official! Going to Italia for 3 whole months! Wish me luck with learning italiano! I really need to stop speaking with a spanish accent...