Things have been going well. Florence is, as usual, really nice weather wise-- except for last night and today, which was miserably cold and rainy. Andof course, today we had our first site visit for my Villa and Gardens class. We went up to Fiesole by bus. To mom, dad and the mac manus clan -- it'sdefinitely a gorgeous place to stay. Everyone here, natives and tourists alike, always talk about it. It's on a hill outside of the valley so the views are spectacular. So I wake up this morning, and manage to eat breakfast and shower. It was cloudy, and my room gets not-so-much natural light, as our only window is frosted and looks out into the pigeon-poop toilet of our lightwell. (Not that I am complaining, they make nice cooey noises ALL THE TIME. Bryan and I have listened, and have come to the scientifically-based conclusion that they are definitely doin it. They just coo and poop all over the place, but again, they are part of city life, and that goes for europe too. Regardless,I managed to get up dispite the lack of natural light. My body kept saying, don't get up you silly girl, it's only 5:30. Nikki, Alyssa, Mayo and I (my roommates) trudged in the rain to the train station. I made the excellent decision to wear flip flops, as I did not want to wreck my leather moccassins any more, and I think my running sneakers are only made to run. I feel super touristy when I wear them with jeans. Well, my flip-flops slopped all over the place. I nearly slid into some lady on the slick stone cobbles, had some italian lady pop an umbrella in my face, and of course, I had to do battle with all the Florentines for some sidewalk. As much as I love italy and the italians (don't be fooled by my griping) Florentines think they own the 2 ftwide sidewalks, and you frequently have to dip into the streets (where buses come zooming around corners and will take you out if you're not wary) to avoid smashing into them and getting those really stoney glares. We've gotten quite a few, I assure you. So Nikki and I fell behind the other two, because she was being nice and going slow with me as I tried not to fall on my face. We lost them. At the Duomo,I tried calling Bryan to find the train station, and Nikki ran in to ask apharmacist. Well we found out where we had to go, and booked it just in time to get the number 7 bus to fiesole. As I gave my ticket to the little machine, I realized I had taken a small chunk out of my finger along the way. I have no idea how. My white sweater, which is already gray with graphite stains from studio, and black streaks of charcoal, was now smeared with a little red. It may be a little much for our Italiano washing machine to handle. We rode the bus, got there ok, and met our professor. It wasn't long beforemy naked toes went numb, and I started shivering. My teacher felt bad and offered me her gloves, but I was the idiot who wore sneakers, so I gave them back. The garden was gorgeous -- it is realtively new, started in the early1900s, but really lush, verdant and beautiful, even in January. The walls are covered with green creeping roses, there are topiaries carved into green cubes that you can stand under, and citrus trees everywhere. The views were great too, and I would have appreciated them more, if I my teeth were not chattering. I think this has been my most moronic move in Florence to date. On the bus ride home, Alyssa was nice and tried to warm up my feet, which I had wrapped in my white wool newsboy cap. We ate our peanut butter and jelly on cracker sandwiches, and griped the whole way. We love to gripe, and everyone knows I am the Countess of Complaining. We got back in time for a quick cappucino 'take-away', and had our Italian class, and now studio has just just ended. We had presentations and got out early, and Im about to head home, go to the Fabo Magi Mart and get some stuff to make sauce. Weirdly enough, I've only had pasta twice while here. Alyssa bought these weird nipple-like pastas that are good, and we're going to eatthose tonight. They are a popular shape here.

Now to dinner, I'll write later in the week.