Monday, September 13, 2004
at 6:00 p.m.
Those in the States, how was September 11th? I was in Florence, where there was no (that I could see) public acknowledgment of the date. I'm sure it was mentioned in the newspapers, but I was actually busy retrieving my things from Caldine, outside of the city. Then we were just out and about and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, or somber. Was it different in America?
So yeah, I was in Florence for the weekend. Since I was supposed to be there this semester I, along with my friends, had stored all our possessions there, in order to have them readily available for us now, and out of the way while we traveled over the summer. Getting the things there was a huge HUGE stressful ordeal, not to mention an enormous expense. And all for nothing! Especially irritating since I had to repeat the process again last night, and due to the time of my flight and the weight of things I bore, it took me nearly ten hours to go from Florence to London. I will definitely spare you all the harrowing details, but it was extremely exhausting and stressful.
The stay itself, though, was really nice. I got to see my friends' apartment, which is one block from Il Ponte Vecchio, and has a large window looking down onto the street and a loft.Other than those features however it is very very hobbity-hole-esque, down to the type of door at the entrance (round, paneled wood, lol). We went out on Friday night and had adventures in an outdoor club near Il Arno. Yes, many an adventure, some of us more than others. . .with more boys than others. . .at the same time. . . coughSarahcough I was a bit tired because I'd gone out the night before (with hallmates to a club called Walkabout, near Picadilly--that was an interesting night) and then flown over with a 6:45 am flight, but I still enjoyed myself.
But anyway like I said, the next day we went up to Caldine to get our things from our classmate Erin's villa, and then we just hung about having cake and gelato for Alyssa's birthday, which was on September 11th.
Alyssa. . .
We parted on extremely bad terms but it was surprisingly easy this trip. She behaved herself. It's awkward because when you are acqaintances with someone, you are friendly and talk to them with the possibility of becoming friends, but when you treat a former friend like an acquaintance, it's a devolution that makes you wonder what is the point? But in orde to alleviate awkwardness and not put Mindy and Sarah in difficult positions, we behaved and were friendly. We had no conversations but we did exchange more-than-simply-civil words.
I did have a long talk with Sarah, while Mindy and Alyssa were out to eat. I wish I'd gotten to know her better during last year, because I think we have a lot of really similar feelings (about friends, dynamics, etc), and I'd be interested to learn more.
On Sunday I went out on my own to the huge market to the blocks right of Il D'Uomo (if facing away from Il Arno river) while the other 3 studied their Italian. It was a gorgeous sunny day when I embarked, but as I was in the middle of the market I felt a few precipitous drops before the sky completely broke open and dumped buckets and buckets down. Everyone ran to huddle under awnings and wait for it to pass, and it was actually quite a cozy feeling under there. It turned into a thunder storm (extremely close, I might add) and then abruptly stopped after 15 minutes, though by that time I was thoroughly soaked, and all I had on was a flimsy cotton tank top and skirt! I wasn't cold though; it was summer rain. I decided to head back to the apartment for us all to catch some lunch but I took a diversion and went through the Uffizzi. We later went to Piazza della Republica for pizza, and another giant storm came up. Luckily we were under an outside marquee and we could remain out of doors, but also not get wet. In another 20 minutes it was clear and sunny once more and we had gelato and leaned on the walls of Il Ponte Vecchio. It was a nice weekend.
What song is playing on my iTunes right now: What I'm reading: What I'm Wearing: Back to anecdotal journalism again! - Tuesday, May 1st, 2007
Plan? - Monday, Jun. 19, 2006
FINALLY things are going better!
(This month redefined my understanding of stress and 'hell') - Monday, April 24th, 2006
Just a few more days! - Monday, February 27th, 2006
Another one to chalk up to College Experiences - Sunday, February 12th, 2006