Florence!

Last weekend (Oct. 8) we went to visit one of my 3 roommates and BEST FRIENDS from Le Moyne, Kat Gallagher, in Florence. I have already been to this city in high school, and I loved it, so I was happy to be going back. We took a bus from Nice to Florence and it left at 2am and arrived at 9am. I would say this wasn't the funnest ride of my life, and kind of reminded me of driving to South Carolina every year with my 6 person family in a CAR. I didn't really sleep too much on the bus, but at least it was nice and sunny when we arrived in Italy. Unfortunately, we couldn't check in to our hostel until 3 pm so we had to do stuff all day with no sleep. The hostel had a luggage room (thank goodness) so I didn't have to walk around with my stuff all day. We went to the market and I bought a new purse, naturally, as well as some gifts for my American people. I also got a pair of leather boots which was the best thing in the whole world because I have been looking for some in France since I got here and then I found the perfect ones in Florence!
Once we were able to check in to the hostel and get ready, we walked about 45 minutes to Kat's apartment, which is on the other side of the river. Then we had some wine and chatted with Kat and her roommates until dinner. They have "aperitivos" in Italy which are chic restaurant/bars that serve you a cocktail of your choice and then a small buffet...all for 8 euros! That is super cheap because in Nice we are used to spending 15 or 20 euros everytime we go out to eat. Kat and her roommates took us out to some bars and we met their other friends who are in the same program from the U.S.
Unfortunately, Kat had a little TOO much fun showing us around and ended up going home early due to a stomach problem, and therefore was down and out the rest of the night and the following afternoon. The next day we went and saw some sights like the Duomo and the Ponte Vecchio (may have spelled that wrong). We went out for lunch, but it was kind of cold and we were dressed for Florida weather, like idiots, so we had to head back to the hostel kind of early. We met Kat and her friends out for dinner and then we went out for a little with them. We took it easy the second night because we had to check out by 10 am Sunday, and that is seriously a struggle for us. We sat at breakfast for many hours Sunday morning because I kept saying "blankie, couch, watch tv,  milk NOW" in my head, but Italy doesn't know that trick. After we regrouped we walked to Kat's apartment and hung out with them for a little/said goodbye before doing a little more shopping. We went out to lunch at a random Italian place where they spoke ZERO English; the food didn't impress me too much in Florence, and I was happy to be back in Nice where I can gain several lbs a week and not really care. The trip was a lot of fun, and I was SO happy to catch up with Kat! I think we recruited them to come visit us in a few  weekends. The clubs and bars are not quite at their level here, but we do have a beach and nicer restaurants. :)