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Published: September 5th 2011
Buongiorno!!!!
Holy cow have the last few days been a crazy, long, exciting, exhausting BLUR. So….recap. Sorry about the delay in reports. I’m busy ok?! 😊 I just got internet at my apartment today (Monday) so things will be a bit quicker from now on.
On Wednesday, August 31st, I packed up ‘the essentials’, said good-bye to my sister, dog, and home, hopped in a car with my parental units, and headed for the cities. Commencing Operation Italia was something that I had been waiting and waiting and WAITING to do for months and months and MONTHS and yet it hardly seemed real. I was moving. I was living not only away from my home, but in an entirely different country on an entirely different continent. Insanity. The moment I got in the car and headed for MSP to catch my flight was the moment the entire vague idea slid into reality and consciousness. It was happening. Holy Bonanzaville.
Checking in at MSP was hectic, but it was made better by Papa Jim being his actively helpful self and chit-chatting with various classmates/parents/acquaintances. Saying good-bye to the ‘rents went by way too quickly and in a
blink I was meeting at the gate to board. (Love and miss you wholeheartedly Mom and Dad!!!! *hug*) Sitting around with everybody was both soothing and energizing. I felt better because everyone was freaking out, not just me. It revved me up for what we were all about to take on and what unknown obstacles we were all about to face. Flying and sitting for hours and hours with these crazy folks was a great way to bond and get to know them.
The flight from MSP to O’Hare was so incredibly fast. We were on and off the plane only to have to rush to another gate to wait around. Because of MSP check-in error, or airline confusion, or just good, old-fashioned stupidity I did not receive all of my tickets for the entire journey to Florence. Instead I had to go through check in again at O’Hare. Thankfully I was not the only one with this issue. Tori (a classmate) and I re-checked in at Chicago at the same time so we luckily got seated together on the 9 hour long haul across the Atlantic. I must say, if you are going to fly, Swiss Air
is definitely not a terrible option. The seats were small of course, but the most comfortable that I have experienced on a flight. The crew was incredibly accommodating and genuinely kind. The in-flight meal (beef with mashed potatoes, veggies, and gravy with a ciabatta roll and small salad with a brownie for dessert) was de-licious. Tori and I bonded over our deep-seeded love of mashed potatoes and cheeseburgers. Definitely a girl after my own heart. Things were comfortable enough for me to get a solid 3-4 hours of sleep which I was SOO thankful for after the hectic build-up to this trip. I even was lucky enough to watch in-flight episodes of FRIENDS and The Big Bang Theory. It was awesome, but made me feel a tish stupid laughing by myself in a relatively silent plane. Oh well.
Once we landed in Zurich, things got LONG. Everyone was exhausted. We went through most of the major stages of exhaustion with particular emphasis on the crabby, bleary-eyed, giggly, and blank stare stages. Our flight to firenze was unfortunately delayed and a bit confusing as there was a whole lot less English spoken in the airport. We had time to
sit around and kibitz and grab a number of stares from surrounding travelers before boarding Barbie and Ken’s private jet for the final leg of the triathelon. It was the least comfortable, but had the BEST views. Flying over the Alps was breathtaking. They looked especially impressive jutting through the big, fluffy clouds thousands of feet up. It looked like they were spitting smoke. A good, quiet, quick flight spent amongst mountains. It was something I was very glad that I did not sleep through.
Upon landing at the Firenze airport, I went through the INSANE baggage claim and left to meet my brother Phil at the exit. Instead of paying the crazy expensive taxi fees, Phil came and escorted myself and a few classmates to the school via the bus. We took a shuttle to the train station and then walked our baggage through a number of thoroughfares all the way back to the school. Keep in mind it was about 90-some-odd degrees F, we had ALL of our luggage, and had just landed after about 24 hours of car, bus, and plane travel. It did not help that the sidewalks here are mostly about the exact
same width as a piece of luggage. In a sort of sadistic way I thoroughly enjoyed it. Sweaty as hell, we got to the school, signed in, and headed our separate ways to our apartments.
I met up with two of my roommates and we departed, Phil and a guy named Dennis in tow. They helped us get our stuff up to our apartment and settled. Mind you, we are on the fourth floor and we have the narrowest, steepest stairs you’ve ever seen so it was really no easy task. We arrived at the door and basically it was love at first sight. Apart from the lack of air-conditioning (which we are dealing with quite gracefully I think…well as gracefully as four girls can) it is absolutely perfect. It is spacious without being excessive. We are up high enough to feel a bit safer and have some privacy; it’s the perfect vantage point for the streets down below. The floors are beautiful. Wood floors throughout except in the kitchen and bathrooms. They have a 'lived on' look, but that's just the way we like it. We were also surprised by how much was already provided. After poking
around a bit, we found four fans (FOUR!! Thank GOD.), plenty of converters, a blow-dryer and curling iron, plenty of TP, and whole bookshelves of books. There were many treasures hidden throughout the apartment, all of which we are endlessly grateful for.
My room is perfect. It's a great size, has adequate shelving and places to hang clothes, and has a big beautiful window to the street below. We (my roommate Alissa and I) do not have a latch door, but instead two big, beautiful pocket doors and curtains if we wish for more air flow. They are almost always open as it's so damn HOT. Oh my do we love a good breeze. 😊
We are located next to the big bathroom which is basically amazing. While the toilets are a tad weird and I believe the bedet is yet to be used, it's plenty big and also has a window which we can peek out of to see just who is buzzing our buzzer. It has come in handy already.
Our living area is enormous. The bookshelves are stocked and the couches can hold a whole lotta bums. Perfect for gathering. And
SHOCK! A window! The living area connects to our dining area which essentially adorable. We've aleady used the 6 person table for various sit-downs. The space is definitely going to come in handy.
The diningroom opens to our perfect, little, italian kitchen. The washing machine in right next to the expansive sink which is a change, but something we've quickly gotten used to. The kitchen is essentially fully stocked which I think we were all pretty surprised by. We even have a microwave! And a gas stove which I am really excited for. Can anybody say insta-S'mores?! We have yet to make a large sitdown meal, but it's still a well-used space. At the end of the kitchen there is an itsy-bitsy balcony that is open to the itsy-bitsy courtyard. The balcony is surrounded by clotheslines <-- our only source for drying clothes. Switching to the no-dryer lifestyle is going to be a challenge, but one I think that will be good. Definite potential for wardrobe issues. We shall see. Wait, did I mention the window in the kitchen??? Well there is one. Actually two.
Kelsey and Kendelle's (my other apartment mates) room is larger with
oodles of storage space and a window!! It's relatively similar to my room in decoration, but just bigger. Their bathroom is incredibly tiny, but still the builders managed to squeeze a window in there. Honestly I don't understand how, but they did.
After unpacking a bit we (being Kelsey, Kendelle and myself) decided to wander a bit whilst waiting for Alissa's arrival. We wandered long enough to find the 99cent Store (EXCELLENT find) before staggering back to the apartment and falling asleep just in time to miss Alissa's arrival. Through a series of slightly-unfortunate events she had to come back later for us to let her in and get her settled. I stayed behind to fully unpack while the rest of the roomies went for a stroll and then...uhh...I think we went to bed.
And THAT my friends, family, and strangers was Wednesday/Thursday. Holy cannoli it was long. I will be updating you on Friday/Saturday/Sunday, well, possibly later today. Now that I have the homebase described, I can move onto school and actually insanely awesome places. Ahh! There are so many!! Until later I suppose. Arrivederci!
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Michele Mogen
non-member comment
Sounds like the longest day ever, but what a great ending! The apartment pictures are awesome. Looks like a wonderful place to hang and gather. Can\'t wait to see more. Love ya, lots. Mom