Buona Sera Florence

Hello Fans...

Well, I am officially moved into my new residence in Florence. I live with the lovely Mercuri family in a 3 bedroom apartment on the 6th and top floor of an apartment building on the outskirts of the city. I live with my friend from Ripon, Ben Yust, in a decent sized bedroom with a balcony that overlooks the city of Florence and the mountians in the background. We have Breakfast and Dinner prepared for us by Nadie Mercuri everyday. Food is a central component to family life in Florence and as result they are very particular about what they eat. Breakfast is always bread with jam, shortbread cookies, and Caffe con Latte (espresso with hot milk). Dinner is a spectacular event. It is always 3 courses. The first is a pasta dish. We have had home made pesto on penne, a spaghetti dish, and another more fresh tomato and cilantro dish; all were were very delicious. The second course is a vegetable (peas with ham in them, salad etc...) and some sort of protein (chicken with a basil and olive oil marinade, Chicken Parmesian, and Eggplant Parmesian). All of it is prepared from scratch and is served with a bottle of wine. In short...I can't believe I am going to be living here for the next 8 weeks. It is like realising you are going to live in a 4-star hotel for two months...amazing!

Florence is a beautiful city. There is so much culture and history that they don't know what to do with it all in such small area. It seems like they have as much history and culture as all of London and they are about a 10th the size. It should be an interesting time here...

Sorry for the short post but there is a 10 person line behind me to use the computer (probably for more important things) and I would use my computer but I am pretty sure that is has given up at life.

Much Love!

Lee