Ain't no party like my nana's tea party

Tonight’s blog will be short because it is late and we have school tomorrow morning. But allow me to share a few fun stories of the day for all you followers. First off, it’s official, I either have giardia or a stomach bug or I just can’t handle the amount of food I’m eating. My stomach hurts like a biznatch. But then at dinner tonight, I became really hungry again and ate a whole bunch. She may be calming down with the food though. Last night’s fried goodness wasn’t so bad and tonight we had risotto (I’m sorry mom, but this risotto was ridiculous) and bread with different cheeses as well as potatoes and salad. My friends in town tonight were buying food from street vendors while I’m trying not to vomit on them. It’s pretty fun. But it really is pretty fun. I may also be dehydrated because of the ridiculous heat, but we may be getting cool temperatures this week.

Story # 1. Our host mom parked and took us on a small walk (about 30 minutes) to the piazza michaelangelo that overlooks the entire valley that is Florence and the surrounding area. Una donna vecchio (an old woman) spilled gelato on me and my camera miraculously started working again (not related thoughts, but they happened at the same place. It was impeccable timing. I got some beautiful photos. Giovanna then took us to a beautiful old church above piazza michaelangelo. I got some sweet photos there (still to come). There was a part of the church where the pillars were all different types because the church had been rebuilt so many times and they kept some of the pillars each time. There are about 25 pillars and there may be two or three pairs of duplicates. The rafters were made of painted pine. And there were gorgeous stain-glass windows made of alibastre (sp?). Amaaaaaaazing. We then went to the Sinagoga! Synogogue! Found a kosher vegetarian restaurant! Ha! There was a festival for some reason that Giovanna saw in the paper and decided we might like it. We listened to a wicked awesome klezmer band for about an hour before we went home. It was an exhausting day and I didn’t mention when she took us on a walk down the Arno river earlier in the day.

Tangent: People paddle kayaks and outrigger canoes down the Arno. I want to play! I’m working together with Giovanna to see if they rent kayaks. So beautiful!

Story 2. I went downtown after dinner to play with some friends. There was a big festival celebrating the birth of the Virgin Mary. Food, toys for the children, beer, cotton candy, fiery paper lanterns (you see, this is a tradition: Parents buy paper lanterns with a candle inside. They light the candle and swing the lantern around while the children shoot little clay pellets at it with what could be described as miniature blowguns. It’s over when the paper lantern catches fire and the children huddle around and blow it out. Bizarre! But kinda neat. After that when I was waiting for the bus to go home, a group of three middle-aged, Mediterranean folks asked in Italian if I was waiting for the 14 bus. I said yes I was, in Italian. They then said something else I couldn’t understand, to which I replied “no parla italiano.” They then said something about espagnol and then laughed at me. I walked away laughing and thought to myself, “Self, what an odd, exciting adventure you’ve somehow gotten yourself on. I’m proud of you. But also kind of disappointed in you because you’re dumb.” Something along those lines. Anywho, this is my story and this is me loving Italy. I also tricked a group of Americans into thinking I was Italian and were startled when I was helping them find their hotel in English. Many times today, people spoke Italian at me. I’m blending in.

At this point, I would like to thank my lovely mother who convinced me to buy a pair of skinny jeans. They really make me look European. The shirts I have, I can’t wear because it’s too warm, but the skinny jeans! Io piaccio! I look fab-u-lous! I’ll try to show you some pictures. Until later, mi amicci e familia, ciao!

AJC