After waking up early this morning and testing out our Italian showers, we walked the 10 minutes to the school for our orientation. LDM (Lorenzo de' Medici, my school) hosts a pre-session Italian course exclusively for UNC students so we are the only spring semester students here so far! The orientation consisted of lots of tips to help us adjust to the school, the city, and our apartments. I grabbed a quick lunch while my roommates took the Italian placement test. In Florence I've found there are lots of little open front shops that sell calzones and sandwiches that they heat up when you order for about 3 euro. It wasn't delicious but I was starving since our apartment lacked food this morning!
Our biggest adventure of the afternoon was going to the grocery store. "Billa" is larger than most of the mini markets you find in the city center and a little less expensive. I bought some essentials for our apartment such as toilet paper and laundry detergent, some breakfast foods, snacks, and of course, pasta. I was impressed to see many brands we see all the time in America, such as Dannon yogurt, ritz crackers, rice crispies, and oreos. What was also surprising was seeing pasta brands such as Barilla being sold in Italy! The advertisements don't lie-- apparently it really is authentically Italian?! My best deal was about 20 clementines for 2 euro!
LDM hosted a welcome dinner for us at a restaurant close to the water. It was three courses with a set menu and it was wonderful finally having a real Italian meal! My favorite dish was grilled chicken sliced over baby spinach and olive oil served with herb roasted potatoes... they were incredible! It was also nice to have a free meal after spending money at the grocery store.
Lastly, click the link for photos to Check out my Apartment!
No comments:
Post a Comment