Classes!

It's Tuesday night, and I have now been to all my classes! I actually have a really great schedule. On Mondays and Wednesdays I don't start until 1:20, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays I start at 10:45! Only bad thing about that is I go until 7 on Mondays, and 6 the rest of the week.

I have my Italian Class everyday, at Palazzo Rucellai and my teacher is a lot of fun. She has a LOT of energy, and practically bounces around the classroom! I feel a little bit like i'm back in Junior High, learning Spanish again. I get to do matching excersises and crosswords! I'm having issues mixing up Spanish and Italian, but hopefully it will get easier as the months go on!

Monday I also have Architecture in Context (AIC) from 4-7. We have this class in Palazzo Alamanni, which is close to my apartment, I've tagged it on my Google Map. :) It sounds like a fun class, but also like it is going to be a lot of work....a second studio class? Ugh, hopefully not....

Today I had Architecture in Italy (AII), Italian again, and the my Studio class. I learned that in my AII class I'm going on an overnight trip to Venice, and in Studio i'm going on two overnight trips, one to Rome, and one to Milan!!! There are also a lot of day trips in and around Florence. I'm excited! I'll be working off all this pasta and Gelato after all!

I find it really funny that both the Palazzo Rucellai, and the Palazzo Alamanni were standing and occupied when Columbus was still working on discovering America. :) So much history! I love it!!!

Tomorrow we're walking up to San Miniato Hill, and the what remains of the old city walls. And, just because it's me, it's forcast to snow/rain. Haha, go figure.

Anyway! Here are some pictures from my first few days!

This is where my first day of orientation was held: Villa Montielli. Isn't it gorgeous?! Well...it was much prettier from the other sides. :) You'll have to check out my albums for more pictures though...We had to walk up a really steep, windy road to get here, so we were quite warm when we reached the top!

Standing with me is one of my roommates, Karen. She is studying architecture at Roger Williams Unversity in Rhode Island.

If you looked to my left in the picture above, this is the view that you would get, over looking Firenze. :) A little bit hazy, and definitely rather chilly, but still gorgeous.

There are multiple bridges that cross the River Arno. I am standing on one of them, looking across at the Ponte Vecchio, the only bridge to stay standing after the Germans bombed Florence during WWII. Apparently Hitler took a fancy to it, who knew? :)

We went back to the Ponte Vecchio at night, and took this picture. All the stalls are closed up, but during the day this bridge is packed with people, ooing and aaahing over sparkly things in windows. :) Lots of fun window shopping.

This....is an important government building that I can't remember the name of... :) I took a lot of pictures.....Arch students help me out!!! Phil taught us this one...I've got to break out my notes again! Anyway, there's a delicious gelateria around the corner from here, and that's what's really important. haha.

Anyway, well that gives you a teeensy taste of what i've been exploring! I'll put up more pictures soon. :)