So this day has felt very, very long. It may have a great deal to do with the fact that I barely got any sleep on that long plane ride over from Philly to Frankfurt, all thanks to the guy sitting besides me who apparently did not understand the meaning on personal space as he continually elbowed me every few minutes. The flight just lasted forever and not to mention I was literally right infront of the coffee maker..... the smell was horrid. The flight did give us food though, and it was pretty good for airplane food. I got a small salad (the leaves were a bit limp but not that bad), pasta with red sauce and a surprisingly good brownie. For breakfast, which was served an hour before we landed in Frankfurt, was a little less impressive, I didnt even bother eating the roll they had given to us, I went straight for the fresh fruit and granola and honey bar. The transfer to the next terminal went very smoothly, but I couldnt find an area to convert my cash to euros, so I figure I will just go to a bank if I need to and do it there. Also really random note but apparently Germany and Italy toilets are shaped differently than ours, they also have a fluch button for number one and a special one for number two..... its pretty interesting..... anyways. When I was boarding for my next flight there was a girl I got talking to who is studying abroad in Sienna for a month as an Italian minor, and she is from Ontario Canada (I cant remember the exact town that she said she was from but when I mentioned Thunder Bay she said that it was close to her just a little north). The actual getting to the airplane was interesting because they had us check ourselves is, they didnt even check passports, and then we all got into a bus and the bus drove us to some random location where our plane was parked. I did have a stroke of good luck that for whatever reason the seat next to me, which was supposed to have an occupant, was empty so I helped myself to a window seat for the ride. It went very fast, but I realized that my fear of flying really only works in smaller planes (this one had 27 rows) cause I felt fine all the way over to Frankfurt but as soon as we took off in this smaller one I started feeling sick. The airport in Florence was the easiest thing I have ever experienced, we literally got off the plane, got our bags and walked out the door, no security no nothing. Claudio found me pretty easily, Im guessing Illaria gave him a description. He took me first to where I am going to be sleeping for the next two nights before we leave for the beach, which is his mother-in-laws house (because they are re-doing their house they dont have the furniture to accomodate me). Then we went straight to his house where I met his wife Silvana, and the kids Andrea, Francescia, and Beatrice. They all loved their presents and are so excited for the beach since they saw my bags and bags of candy for the trip. I had roast beef with potatoes and string beans for lunch and they had fresh fruit and chocolate gellatto for an after lunch snack. I really seemed to have bonded with the youngest girl, Beatrice, even though we cant speak the same language, we played literally from 2-5:30pm. The other girl Francescia seems more reserved and soft spoken, even though she is older than Beatrice who is a super hyper active girl who just loves to have fun. And I havent gotten to spend much time with Andrea yet, he seems to be quite polite and soft spoken, but he kinda reminds me of earl, on video games all the time. So i am so worn out now, jetlag and playing with little girls can really do a number on you. Also it just doesnt seem like it has been two days since I left Philly, it feels like one really long day. I am currently sitting in the familys game room with little Beatrice sound asleep next to me, looks like im not the only one tired from all the fun and games. So I do have some pictures already (they are taken from the plane window of Germany and Florence, nothing that special but I will work on getting some more photos soon). I will probably add to this post when I get back to my actual computer because this is the familys computer and they were kind enough to let me use it. They also let me use their phone earlier to call mom and let her know I was here safe etc. That was about 8am their time and 14:00 my time. Also I just have to say mom that I am impressed that you did not cry at the airport, cause I almost burst into tears twice, although maybe you cried on the way back with Johnny.... I will have to ask him...... So I love you all and hopefully someone will read this. Also just a side note you can comment on my posts, yet another way of communicating with me :)
ok Love to all, I am signing off
skyline of firenze
