So it has only been a few days in the city and already I feel very comfortable.  Here, with so many helpful landmarks at one's disposal, it seems impossible to be lost.  Every couple of streets I run into something that looks familiar whether it is a street I have walked down before or one of the many sights I have seen in my art history books.

My first full day was spent meeting other students from my school.  We met the president and the founder and went through what to expect from Florence.  After that, one of my roommates and I wandered the streets looking for a better view of the city.  jokingly we pointed to one of the hills that surrounds the city and said we would go there.  After crossing the Arno via the Ponte Vecchio, and meandering through the winding streets (avoiding the speeding mopeds that seem determined to strike us down hah), we stopped.  It was not until we turned to look in the direction from which we came, that we found we had climbed the very hill we had pointed to from across the river.   We reached the top (near the Boboli gardens) when the sun was low in the sky and casting dramatic shadows over the river and houses.  From there, the whole city lay before  us and it was beautiful.  We had a perfect view of the skyline; the Duomo, the towers, and the buildings that trimmed the Arno.  The river was a greenish color,close to the shade of the statue of liberty.  Of course, we paused here to take many pictures before we descended.

On Friday, we toured the city with a professor.  She briefly showed us the museums , the churches, and Dante's residence (there you go, aunt Joan!).   We did other errands that days including grocery shopping, phone shopping, and registering with the police.  Florence has some interesting laws they've recently passed! For example, it is illegal to feed the pigeons, eat on a stoop, and you can be fined 10,00 euros if you are caught buying fake designer handbags and such!

Saturday was an adventure! Because it was the first warm and clear day, it was the day I climbed to the top of the Duomo!  It was a long and dizzying ascent, but well worth the 8 euros and panting! Here again, we took many pictures and remained there for about forty minutes just absorbing the scene.  I will definitely be doing that again before I leave!  After that, I had my first real Italian pizza, prosciutto e ananas (ham and pineapple)! Delicious...  Later on that night we went out to a club.  The Italians were all quite stylish! That is, except for the one man where a "Duff" sweatshirt from the Simpsons...those seem to be popular here? 

Ah, well that is all for now! I must go to class! I bid you farewell! :)