Last night, I had gelato with a friend and later we went for late walk (no tourists) by the Duomo. As we chilled…it hit me…wow, I am in Florence!!  I am actually living in the cradle of the Renaissance…one of the most historic, artistic, and trendiest cities in the world.

Sono a Firenze, una citta bellisima!

Its been a rollercoaster since I arrived a little less than 2 weeks ago. Every weekend I go on a different trip with some of my new friends. On the first weekend, I went to Romagna and Rimini and upcoming (second) weekend I am going to Venice and Podova!!!

My fellow students at la scuola are way cool. Among their ethnicities: Denmark, Sweden, France, Brazil, Mexico, USA, Greece, Japan, Estonia, Romania, Spain, Australia, Canada, and the UK. This is the kind of multicultural fest I like to be in!  Some are barely 18 while others over 70. My housemate Rene, from Brazil is 68!  There are college students, IT geeks, lawyers, professors/teachers, Phd students, doctors, artists, entrepreneurs, musicians, grads (2 of them, plus me…hehe), and of course, retired folk. All beautiful and interesting!  The conversation, while in Italian, is rich with facts and stories that don’t seize to impress and make me smile!

A notable thing in Florence is that most (if not all) markets where one can find fresh fruits and veggies, milk and the like, are owned and managed by Indian folk!  For example, last night, I met Karim, who has been in Italy for 5 years (self-taught the language while in India) and owns both a market and a store which sells Indian/Byzantine Art. Karim said that when he turns 35, he will return to India, retire and live far above average with the money earned in Italy. And yes, this includes supporting all his family…Indian families are often huge!