Saturday, March 31, 2012

Sleeping, shopping, and high school teachers

Not much to say for today; we had a free day, so it was nice to sleep in. I almost forgot what a Saturday was like; sitting around in pajamas and eating breakfast at 10am? Getting on Facebook and reading in bed? Even when we have free time it feels like you need to take up as much time as you can and just soak up the traveling. But today, I decided I would chill out, and that's what I did. I finished The Fault in our Stars a few days ago, and now I'm onto The Lucky One- I'm not sure why, but I'm in a nick sparks kind of mood, and I need a good junk food book. On the way to Germany on Monday I'll be moving onto the Virgin Suicides. Always looking for more suggestions from the peanut gallery- even though I'm enjoying all the sites, I'm also taking the opportunity to do more reading and having me time. This is one of the last times I will ever have a complete lack of obligations, so I need to take advantage of that, too.

After I got up I went shopping on my own, which is a liberating experience in itself. I used to hate it, but now I'm seriously loving the me time. I look at what I want, skip what I have no interest in, and just enjoy some Paige. I bought myself some leather boots for 75 euros- I got a deal for being a student, and then for buying shoes for my last day in Italy (I exaggerated) and then I bartered down some more for the final price. Originally it was 145, so I was pretty pleased. My father taught me well. Also, I used all the Italian I knew, which got me some bonus points. Parla englese?

I bought some presents for people back home, and got myself a really nice leather journal- Florence is to leather as Venice is to glasswork. I was feeling satisfied with my purchases, and I think I have everything I need before leaving Italy, but I got another gelato just to be certain. Then on my way back to the hostel, I stopped at my pastry shop, where the man asked me if I wanted a white eclair like yesterday. In less than a week I've managed to make myself a regular :) The man at the counter rang me up for 4.50, but then the guy I usually talk to said something to him in Italian, and he brought it down to 3. I love Florence.

After more lounging (I love free days, seriously) Meghan and I went out and about for an errand for her,and then stopped at a restaurant we liked, but it was closed. Everything here opens for lunch, and then closes usually between 2-6, and then reopens for dinner. Most retail stores close during lunch, then come back in about an hour. On our way back, we saw a very drunk man pushing around a woman. It was kind of scary, but other people got involved and we didn't feel like it was our place to do anything.

After we went back for pizza when it was open, we came back and had some journal time out on the patio. Now we're inside, drinking wine a high school math teacher brought with him. He's a little eager to hang out with the coeds, but he brought red wine and interesting stories. It makes for an interesting end of the Italy trip.

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