Crossing the Pond

I got to Florence safely this afternoon, landing slightly after 12pm. The flight (although mercilessly loooong) was rewarding. I hadn't anticipated that we would fly right up the U.S. coast and then cross toward Europe from Maine, but I preferred it to flying over wide expanses of water. We flew over the emerald green isles of Ireland and crossed the English Channel. I was even lucky enough to spot the Eiffel Tower from my plane window (it is much bigger than I had thought and quite an impressive sight to see!). As we flew to Italy, I snapped many shots of the Alps and made sure to focus on the tallest peaks.





Although all of these were breathtaking, none of these sights could even compare to the view of the starscape that I had Wednesday evening while on the plane and crossing over the Atlantic. One vocalist fell short when he described it as "a black canopy with hole punched in it." Unlike any I've seen before, these stars were numerous and had depth and shape (like oval and oblong, round and diamond) and it was difinitive which ones were closer and which farther away. Because of the sheer number of stars, it was impossible to determine their constallations, however I could make out the pale red of Mars and the second-sun like glow of Venus. Another positive to having a clear night is being able to see "through" the Milky Way to thousands of other galaxies, which appear as a thick cloud of stars across the sky. It was amazing to say the least.

Navigating airports was easy except for the one in Paris. If there had not been a whole group of people from FSU looking for that flight, it would've been a nightmare. But luckily we made it through OK.

Florence is beautiful and so is the amazing apartment we're living in. I plan on posting a video that I made of all the rooms and the fantastic views. I switched rooms though, because... you should never pass up the oppurtunity to have the Duomo right outside of your window. : )

I've already made a few runs through town. My first meal was a delicious "chicken and herb" panini sandwich and a drink for €4,50. We walked to the student center so that we would know how to get there and then I went off on my own in the evening to find a certain tea house. The tea house happened to have moved down the street a number of buildings, however it did not appear to be open after 5 p.m. I plan to make another run sometime... it's not too far away and so it would not be an inconvenience to try to go there again.

Sadly, I haven't found any wi-fi hotspots from which to connect to. I really want to get on the internet and post all of the new and wonderful things so that you all can see them, as well as let my dad and grandmother know that I made it here safe... but until then... it will just have to wait. Not too much of a loss, I can't believe it's only 4pm in the states, it's 10pm and sleepy-time here. I feel that I've already adjusted to the schedule thanks to the short night caused by the plane flight!