Week 3: Florence Discoveries!

Ciao! I am a few weeks behind on posting just because of all the busy traveling I have been up to! But here is the week of January 18-24: 

This week marked the first normal week of classes aside from syllabus week at ISI! While everything is still very new to me, I do feel like I am getting a hang of the land and the language here in Florence! Its been a rainy week with drizzles and chilly weather all throughout, but none of it detracts from the beauty of the city itself. If anything, it feels very European and cozy inside the classroom and the appartment. Italian as a language has been tricky to learn as someone who has only taken latin their whole life, but I am getting decently good at ordering at restaurants and cafes in attempt to show respect to local shop owners. After returning from Rome on Sunday, Diana, Coco, and I found this adorable bookstore/cafe in Santo Spirito where we did some organizing for the week and I tried my first macchiato! I am still adjusting to such strong coffee, but it truly does make me feel Italian. Many Italians refer to cafes as bars, hence my confusion the first few weeks when people told me they were going to the bar at 9 am (though I wouldn't be too surprised in Florence). Sunday night we tried frozen pizza from Conad, and just because its from Italy, we concluded it does not make frozen pizza any better. It tasted like a lunchable, and it's safe to say we will just go out for pizza from here on out! 

The week of classes itself was pretty standard with a few notable new discoveries! I painted my first still life in oil and am getting the hang of oil painting. It's quite different from acrylic and I haven't decided which I like better. But, it has been refreshing to find time for my art again! Next discovery was the pesto roso sauce from Conad. We have been on a sauce tour of Florence to find the best, and I have to say this sundried tomato pesto takes the lead. However, Coco had an allergic reaction to the pine nuts about 5 minutes after eating it which detracted from the lure of the moment (shes fine, just was itchy for a few days and sad she could never indulge herself int he best canned sauce again). Third discovery was Amici's at Ponte Vecchio, our new go to schiacciata place by the Ponte Vecchio. Stefano, the owner, is the actual GOAT and has so many good flavors hes been curating for over 20 years! Safe to say we go every tuesday thursday now. I also discovered Giunti Odeon, the once cinema-converted bookstore that serves as a wonderful place for students and aritsans to gather in the afternoon! I also had my first Florentine steak of abroad at Trattoria 13Gobi, and it did not dissapoint one bit. Diana and Coco and I sat there for hours just talking in a restaurant with no service practicing the true Italian art of slowing down!

Wednesday was the first day I had my internship and WOW am I excited! For context, this semester I have the privilege of interning at Made in Sipario, a human rights initiative aimed at employing individuals with intellectual disabilities in an art studio where they sell their work and earn a living wage. It is an incredible mission and I am so excited (their products are in the pictures below)! I walked 45 minutes across the city to map my route and stopped in to introduce myself! They all were so excited that they had an American volunteer and where whispering "lei americano!" with huge smiles on their faces. Thursday was eventful with the great chai latte spill of 2026 (ask Grace and Coco if you want the story behind that, I cannot speak on it). And then... to Lisbon we go! (continued in the next post!)