Wednesday, March 12, 2003

Seeing more and more tourists come here, it makes me appreciate more and more the fact that I am living here, that I know this city and am not just walking around with a map in one hand and a camera in the other for two days.

Had a relaxing but eventful weekend. On Friday we invited everyone who took us out to dinner a few weeks ago to a dinner at my apartment, and it's surprising how many people a little studio room can hold. I made fettuchine alfredo, which luckily everyone enjoyed. Saturday morning we met Eve, Stephanie, and Diana to finalize our spring break plans. The day before we realized that going to Nice, France on Friday and then to Paris on Tuesday was going to be entirely too expensive ($800), so we instead decided to leave on Monday or Tuesday. In the end, the three girls are going to Brussels on Monday and then heading to Paris on Wednesday, while me and Leanne are going to London (!) on Tuesday morning and leaving for Paris on Thursday afternoon. The flight prices are amazing here. In total our travel costs will be around $150, because the flight from Pisa (right near Florence) to London was $22, and the flight from London to Paris was $35. Incredible. On Sunday we are taking the train to Brussels and then flying home from there.

It still hasn't hit that I'm going to be visiting two of Europe's most famous cities. One of the most staggering thoughts though is that I'm going to be in a city where everyone speaks English. That alone makes me anxious to visit London. Leanne took French for two years, so that might help us a bit in Paris. Our plans our pretty much up in the air for both places, so if you have any suggestions feel free to let me know! The only definite thing is we will not be visiting the Louve, because Leanne thinks the Mona Lisa is overrated.

After all those plans were settled, me and Leanne went out to dinner with a few people from our cooking class. Then on Sunday we bought some bread and cheese and headed to Fiesole with some friends. Fiesole is a small hill town about fifteen minutes away that gives you one of the best top-down views of Florence you could ask for. The day was a bit hazy, so I'm planning on heading up there again on a clearer day, but aside from that the weather was wonderful.

And for a last bit of news, I am proud to say that I now own a leather coat. It's funny because I always wanted one, but never seriously considered buying one. Me and Leanne went to look at them on Saturday. We talked the person down from $500 each to $175 each (saying that you only have a certain amount of money on you at the time works well), but I wanted some time to think it over. So we sat in a piazza for about an hour and a half while I tried to decide whether to spend on the money or not. Eventually I thought it was worth it; aside from the coat itself looking great and feeling great, it would be one of the best memoirs of Florence.
posted by Jon at 11:20 AM
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