Firenze

On Saturday, I went to Florence with a few girls in my program (Katya, Amy, Mary, Florence, Marissa, and Jillian). We just went for the day, which was really nice. We didn't have to pack a bag or worry about hostels. We mainly went shopping because we will be going to Florence later on in the semester with our art history class and seeing all the sights then. We made our way to the market and probably walked around it for a good 2 hours. Each stall/tent that was set up would have someone talking to you as you walked by trying to get you interested and come over. Some of the things they said were completely ridiculous and veered us away instead of luring us in. The main thing you have to know when going to the market is that you have to barter with the owners and not settle for the price they give you. And if you tell them what you're willing to pay and they don't like it, just walk away. Sometimes, they will yell after you saying "Ok. I'll take it." Other times, they don't. My main purchase of the day was my leather jacket. I went to Florence knowing that that was what I really wanted and I was determined to find one. I found one I liked and went into the shop to try it on. The really nice thing about this particular shop was that the owner wasn't haggling me to get me into the store and wasn't being over zealous on the selling of the jacket. He told me what kind of leather it was and had me feel other types of leather to compare. He also showed me that the jacket basically fitted me perfectly and how it should fit for future reference. He was super nice and helpful and didn't pressure me at all to buy it. After I got it, I was extremely happy for the rest of the day and didn't need to get anything else. There was also a food market behind the market which was insane. I walked around in awe, wishing that we had a food market like it in Siena. We left the market and just wandered around a bit and found a Zara store. I love Zara! It's probably one of my new favorite stores. I found out that there is a Zara in Boston - even more of a reason to go to grad school there! I ended up getting a pair of jeans from there because I needed a new pair. They fit great, except for the length, but I am willing to put up with rolling them up until I get home. We did a bit more shopping and eventually got gelato on our way back to the market. As I was eating my gelato, a couple of girls obviously from America saw me and Marissa eating it. No joke they said to us "OMG ice cream! Where did you get it?" Seriously? 1) Nobody calls it "ice cream" here in Italy. It's gelato. Come on. 2) Congratulations. You figured out what I was eating. 3) There are billions of gelaterias in any city in Italy, especially in Florence. Just walk down a street and walk into one that looks good. I know, it might seem a bit harsh to say that, but I guess it was also the way she said it. I just needed to get that off my chest. Anyways, it ended up being a really good day and a pretty awesome weekend. It was nice to chill at home and get a bit of R&R after traveling for the past 2 weekends. I also had the apartment to myself which was great! I could wake up whenever I wanted and not worry about making too much noise. I played my music and danced my heart out. What a weekend! Sleep, music, friends, sun = awesome!