a long journey to italia

View of Amsterdam en route to Firenze, Italia.

Lufthansa has great snacks for only 2 hour plane rides and the Coca Cola light is small.

The Alps!

I just arrived last night, and it was the longest flight I have ever experienced.  I had many stops, and I just cannot believe I made all of them.  I left LAX around noon Friday, stopped by in Houston, Texas, go through customs in Amsterdam, pick up my bags and go to Lufthansa Airlines, which is across the other side of the airport.  The line for customs went fast, but it felt like an eternity since I had only 2 hours of transfer time.  I landed in Frankfurt, Germany and then finally Pertola Airport in Florence.  I arrived in my flat Saturday, 7pm and welcomed by my landlady, Sylvia. She is a nice, sweet typical Italian lady.  She gave me some bread, fruits, egg, and goat milk (she says it's the best milk) so I won't be hungry when I wake up.  The lady living with her, kinda like a daughter, named Rosey is very nice too.  I am so thankful for their genorosity because it made the transition of coming here much easier.  When you lack sleep and thrown into a different world, it can be shocking and lonely.  It takes a couple of days to get used to the situation and in the end it's all worth it.

Today, I oriented myself to the city, found my school for my language classes, and went to the Duomo, the city center.  I am only a 5 minute walk to Duomo, like I said, the city is small.  The Duomo is beautiful.  The facade has many intricate details with various stonework and religious figures.  I wish I could show you pics, but uploading pics takes a while, and I don't think I can upload on a public computer.  So far, just walking around and getting lost on purpose.  I haven't manage to enjoy a cup of coffee in a cafe because everything here is so darn expensive!  The dollar is weak compared to 3 years ago.  The cost of living is high here, unlike Madrid.  I expected Florence to be expensive, but in the back of my mind, I wanted to be wrong with my predictions.  I hope to read my Italy guide book more, and explore the city in the coming days.  I have no plans to travel  yet to other cities near by, I'm just getting used to Florence.  Ciao for now.