Day One

It was pleasant to wake up in Florence, to open the eyes upon a bright bare room, with a floor of red tiles which look clean though they are not; with a painted ceiling whereon pink griffins  and blue amorini sport in a forest of yellow violins and bassoons.  It was pleasant, too, to fling wide the windows, pinching the fingers in unfamiliar fastenings, to lean out into the sunshine with beautiful hills and trees and marble churches opposite, and close below, the Arno, gurgling  against the embankment of the road." 

Room With a View

It indeed was pleasant to wake up in Florence, but sans pink griffins and blue amorini (that's okay).  We did fling open the windows and viewed, not the Arno, but our lovely courtyard with a plum tree,  small decks covered with greenery and laundry hanging below our neighbors' windows.  

Made espresso - we actually have three espresso makers - one so tiny that the burner won't hold it.  It was a bit muddy, but flavor was good; hey, it's only day one.

Bought yogurt and croissants on the way to school.  When we arrived at the Piazza, the clothing and food stalls were just setting up.  Temptation to spend is everywhere.  We ate our food sitting on a stone step while drinking in the activity around us.

In the school, they gave us a placement test to determine our class level.  We will have the results tomorrow.   It seems that no matter our placement, we will get credit for Italian 2.  After a brief orientation in which they touted all the other extra classes we could take, we went for a walking tour of Firenze - in italian.  This was something of a challenge, but we have a written guide in English.

After a lunch of panini (fromaggio e prosciutto) and gelato, we came home to load photos onto the computer and nap.  It's now about 6:00 p.m. and it's raining with occasional loud claps of thunder.  When the rain stops, we will venture out to the supermarket.

Ciao.