Come on. Do I look like I speak German?!/ Salve Italia!!

1.28.09
After what actually turned out to be a fairly quick 8-hour flight, we arrived safely in Frankfurt, Germany. Already a little tired from the lack of sleep, we were irritated to enter the terminal near gate A61….because we wanted gate A1. It was a long trek through the airport, but we all made it. (Emily wanted a piggy-back ride, but was, of course, simply out of the question.

We made it through Frankfurt security without any major drama, except for the creepy security flirt, aka Emily’s new bf. I mean, seriously- do I look like I speak German?



After arriving at gate A1 with plenty of time to spare, some of us were in desperate need of an energy boost. Lucky for us, Lufthansa is kind enough to offer its customers complementary coffee in the waiting area. After Emily and I nearly broke the machine, Sam discovered a new coffee additive. Lemon juice, Sam? Interesting choice.

Time came to board our plane to Florence. We checked in with our boarding passes, but instead of walking onto an airplane, we were met by a bus instead. Hmmm… So after about 50 fake outs of passing plane after plane, we finally arrived at our little puddle jumper. I tried to get a picture to show you how small it was, but it didn’t really work out.

Boarding the plane, I was excited to figure out that I had a window seat, as it would be getting light out and we would be flying over the (MOUNTAINS). However, my luck with plane seating worked just as usual. Yup, that WOULD be my window seat on the plane. Haha.



Still, I was able to get some pretty good pictures in the air and on our descent into Florence.

I had begun to get nervous about the weather in Florence, as I had seen snow covering much of the area during our flight, but I was relieved to arrive in Florence and find B-E-A-Utiful weather. Unfortunately, we spent a good part of our morning waiting in line for housing check in. Needless to say, this put quite a damper on our spirits, which had been quite high when we arrived. However, our excitement was reinstated when we arrived at the door to our apartment.



I absolutely love everything about our apartment right down to the skeleton key that opens my door. By no means is it the nicest apartment I’ve ever seen, but it has a certain charm. Personally, I don’t think the pictures I took do it justice, but perhaps I’m biased. My absolute favorite part of the whole place is the window in my bedroom. Honestly, the pictures really don't so it justice. It's certainly not the nicest apartment I've ever seen, but it's just so charming that I absolutely love it!

After unpacking a bit, we decided to venture out to find an internet café. We wandered down the streets stunned by our surroundings. The scenery in Florence is so incredible it’s hard to imagine it as an everyday setting, as it is for some people. The picture below is the view down our street.



Unfortunately, our search for an internet café was unsuccessful, accounting for the delayed appearance of these posts. Later that evening, after a much needed nap, we went out for dinner at a cute restaurant, and I had the best tortellini of my life. haha. and a glass of the house vino, which was a little dry for my taste. :) So, to appease my sweet tooth, we went out for gelato, which was nothing short of SINFULLY good. :)

Stay tuned for more pictures and commentary. For the rest of the pictures from my first day in Florence, see my picasa web album.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lrowley88

Ciao for now!