Day 1: Part 2 (Though it's technically day 2 but I haven't slept so whatever)

I'M IN MY APARTMENT IN ITALY AND IT'S PERFECT AND MY HEART FEELS SO FULL RIGHT NOW.

Our flight from Philly to Brussels was pretty okay. I went the whole flight without speaking to the guy sitting next to me, then in the final stretch I said, "Where are you from?" He was from Leon, France and he was flying home from Quebec City where he got married on Saturday to the woman he met 4 years ago in his hometown. They had only visited one another 6 times in those 4 years but they chatted on Skype every day and fell in love! So adorable. He spoke English very well so I didn't have to practice any of my broken French. In a weird way, I was flattered when he told me I "have the perfect American accent". Other than that small conversation with Xavier (pronounced zah-vee-aye), the flight was all right. I didn't sleep but I watched Silver Linings Playbook and enjoyed it thoroughly!

Once we arrived in Brussels we had to traverse the humongous airport to get to terminal A, though our gate was unclear at that point. We all got split up too so Emily and I walked back and forth waiting for our gate to be announced to find the others. I didn't get to eat any waffles but I had a Mars Bar from a vending machine. So like, that's chocolate IN Belgium. Does that count? Probably not. But anyway, my ticket said we were at A40, Emily's said A52, at 9:15 (boarding was at 9:30) we were directed to A59, then at 9:20 we were sent to A45. It was wild, but we eventually boarded our plane with a whole bunch of old French folks.

Once we landed in Florence (!!!) the plane landed on the tarmac and parked, only to be greeted by two stair cars. Everyone on the flight, maybe 80 people, were herded onto one bus. The bus then drove in a circle around the plane and dropped us at the doors to baggage claim 20 feet away. It was pretty funny. 9 of us girls were standing around waiting for the bags to show up, then the token guy of the trip, Geoff walked in! The excitement continued to build when we all successfully collected our luggage after 20 hours of travel and being warned we may not get our stuff so soon. The 10 of us then walked through the exit to find Dr. Zaho and Chelsea awaiting us!

After we were reunited and given the run down on what we were to do next, we all walked to the taxi area. Krista, Katia, and I got into the first taxi to take us home, to 8 Via dei Macci. That taxi ride was ridiculous. Like, there should be a ride in the Italy pavilion at Epcot to mimic that. At one point we were in an alleyway filled to the brim with pedestrians and the driver told us that space was "for pedestrians only...........and taxis." In that pause Katia and I burst out laughing. It was weirdly a lot of fun and we passed a lot of sites in a short amount of time.

Once we got to our home for the next 3 weeks, we walked in the front door of the building and up one flight of narrow, old stairs. We then turned the corner to find a flat area, a sharp turn, and the most daunting staircase I have ever seen. They're old gray stone, very narrow in all senses of the word. Mind you we had our luggage and carry-ons with us. As soon as we started the hike up, though, a man opened the door, ran down and grabbed our bags for us. We walked in and I can't even explain the sensation. I will absolutely post pictures later, or maybe even a video. For now, here is a picture of me and my roommate Krista in our room:

We have the windows open, a nice breeze, a view of the street, and a view of the dome. Oh, and did I mention our apartment is 2 stories with a small terrace at the top? Geoff's room is up there too and it looks like something straight off of Tumblr. I can't believe this and I haven't even walked out of the apartment again. I can hear people on the street below right now and feel the sun on my back as I write this. I'm kind of just rambling now, but, like, really. Katia just came into the doorway hopping and smiling and said, "We're in Italy!" and walked away. Suffice it to say, we're delirious and I'm gross so I'm going to go freshen up and change my clothes and unpack and freak out some more. Then go eat pizza and then come back here and pass out. I'M SO HAPPY.

Byyyeeee!!