Newness

1/22/15

Day 6

I woke up for my last first day of classes and was starting to feel the exhaustion set in. I had a break in between the two classes but had to use it to do the homework I should've done last night (although I don't regret staying up to go to the secret bakery). I tried to use one of the computers in the computer lab, only to realize the italian keyboard is different.

Of course, it turns out we didn't have the password and I didn't know how to do the assignment because it was due next week and she hadn't given us all of the information yet. 

We wanted to try lampredotto (or "tripe"), which is apparently a Florence thing. It's the 4th stomach of a cow. It sounds gross and I've been assured that it is. But oh well because I think one of my classes requires it and I'm curious. I even found it in the grocery store and it looked terrifying. 

On our way to the lampredotto stand, one of our friends needed to go to the ATM because our funds are running low. We all brought a couple hundred Euros with us from the U.S. and I have no idea where mine went but it's gone too. We decided to take a quick detour to the bank so she could get cash. Apparently, Italian banks are closed at like 4pm on Thursdays though... We kept wandering further and further away from the lampredotto stand, yet we were getting hungry. We gave up all hope of finding a bank and turned back.

But on the way, we spotted a sandwich shop with a long line and people out front. My friend needed to go into a store next door so while we sat outside and waited, the line died down. I started thinking about how annoyed I would be after I bought a sandwich I didn't plan on finishing. Soon our curiosity got the best of us and we went in- just to see what kinds of sandwiches they had. And then we overheard someone saying it was the best in Florence and in summer it had an hour long line... So one of us ordered- just to see how good it was. She said it was, so someone else got one too- to make sure they were all that good. When it was, we quickly caved and ordered. As we ate, it was silent. It counts as a quality meal if no one wants to take a break from eating to communicate. 

It was cold out and now that we'd completely failed in our lampredotto quest, we just wanted to go home. On the way, we walked through Piazza della Signoria and found a small crowd and people rolling out a red carpet.

I remembered one of my professors saying the prime minister invited Angela Merkel to Florence this weekend. We managed to have another awkward Italian conversation but did succeed in finding out that she was coming at 8. It was 5. Both of my friends didn't care and wanted to go home but I figured I'd never see Angela Merkel in person again and I had a good view, so I stayed.

While I was standing there, a girl came up and asked me what was going on and for once I had the answer! She started talking to me and told me she was studying abroad in France but was originally from Brazil and decided to travel alone to Italy for her winter break. We waited in the cold until 8, and the whole event was entirely overrated. It lasted probably a total of 30 seconds that she walked from her car into the Palazzo Vecchio ("old palace")- although it was long enough for me to snapchat so I guess it was worth it! Afterwards, she was asking me about the night life in Florence and where the Ponte Vecchio ("old bridge") was and she was really interesting so I told her to come with me. First, I'd been meaning to walk down the Ponte Vecchio because it's so iconic and I'd heard it was still very medieval. Tonight seemed like the perfect time. And on the way we ran into these guys:

Second, we'd been out to our favorite bar, Bamboo (where we'd made friends with the bartenders so now it's sort of cheating if we go to another bar, but it's also pretty expensive= moral dilemma) plenty of times and it would be exciting to bring someone new.

This turned out to be a really good move. At the end of the night, we walked her back to the hostel which was a little out of the way and grilled her on how to book cheap trains, planes, and hostels. All in all, it was a lot of fun until we got lost on the way home. (We got unlost because of McDonald's- we asked for directions and were told to turn right after McDonald's.)