il Dolce Far Niente

All I need to do in order to have a good day in Florence is to simply wake up. The rest just falls into place. It's a sort of ineffable joy, and i'm not sure how I will ever be able to leave. The weather was gorgeous this weekend, 65 and sunny. Perfect opportunity to walk around and take everything in. I went down to the Arno River and relaxed under the sun. People go down there just to chill by the water, i encountered several cute puppies and a crazy man from Barcelona. It was one of those super spontaneous things that you never ever ever ever imagine happening. Then it happens and you're like wow i'm not sure what just happened but i'm glad it did. This guy had long curly black hair and a puppet that he danced with. So many weird puppets and clowns and mimes and stuff...only in europe. After he did his little puppet show or what have you, we plugged our own music into his speaker and jammed out. Super chill moment in time. #memories. It's also really beautiful by the river at dusk; Colleen, Noreen and I have been going on runs down there. I'm gonna try to go for a jog everyday, or at least more than once a week. The scenery is so nice that I actually look forward to running (THAT NEVER HAPPENS)! On another note, gelato. I was reluctant to try the fragola gelato but thank goodness i did, new fav!! and i consumed the best pizza i've had so far in Italy at Gusto pizza. Notice the immediate transition from exercise to food, shows where my head's at lol. But something about the pizza just set it apart from all the others, not to mention the guys there were super friendly. Gotta love it! So many of the Italians here are happy and don't really give a funk about much of anything. Much like myself. I also indulged in a taste of shopping this weekend. The sales are irresistible at this time of year! I got a nice pair of combat boots for 15 euro, can't wait to sport those puppies. Also, I got a nice summery little orange shirt that will look great with a tan. Yes i am capable of tanning for the white girls who were confused. Greece, Amalfi, where u at?? The bad news is I realized i won't be able to perform my Flamenco dance at the annual art festival! It just so happens that the performance is also 30% of my grade #gagnation. Whatever, i obviously can't miss the Amalfi Coast and that dance is gonna suck without me anyway, you win some ya lose some. Totally kidding, i'm not that overtly obnoxious.
Today was an awesome monday, that's how you know i'm not in America. The weather was agreeable and sunny, and people were alive and vibrant around the city. When i was leaving class, some man walked out of a store with a case of beers and asked me (in very good english) if I wanted to join him for a cold one. I smiled and declined, mostly because I didn't really expect it to happen and wasn't conditioned to saying yes to strangers in passing. As soon as i got down the street I was already wishing i would have said yes. I don't even drink beer, but I'm sure he would have had some interesting conversation to offer! There's always next time. THEN as i passed by the duomo, some painter at his stand gestured me to come over to him. Again, i smiled, but didn't stop because I was on my way to the food store. To my surprise, the guy followed me down the street and around the corner, and when he caught up to me he asked if i would allow him to paint my face. He said he admired my smile, claiming he doesn't see enough happy people around anymore. So tomorrow i'm going back to the duomo at noon so he can paint me a complementary self portrait.. how cool?? I hope he does a good job! I'm looking forward to another good day tomorrow, the hardest part will be waking up for my 9 and the rest is cake. *FUNFACT* i got a 97 on my italian quiz! Last but not least, there are only 3 short, beautiful days between me and BARCELONA with some of my fav girls. Everyone says the crazzzziesst things about that city, I can't wait to see for myself! At any rate, it's way past bed time and this princess needs to retire to her feather bed, ciao<3