I am thankful for wine, leather and italian boys...

So for all of you that don't already know, I am absolutely head over heels in love with Florence and Italy in general. I got to Florence on saturday and its been non-stop action since I stepped foot off the bus. I personally like Florence more than Rome because its a little smaller and easy to navigate. Everything is within walking distance and the feeling of the city is a lot safer than Rome. Since I've been here I've started my travel photography class and ventured around the city on my own which has taught me two things.  God gave me two left feet because I trip about every five feet (also has to do with the fact that I cant take my eyes off my surroundings for two seconds to watch where Im going) and I have NO sense of direction.  Which I really thought I did in the United States but maybe that has something to do with the fact that I'm "familiar" with everything there.
Yesterday I woke up around 7am and couldn't fall back asleep so I decided to make the most of my day and go to the fresh market for some groceries.  I started close to home in Piazza San Marco for some breakfast at a little cafe with yummy breakfast sandwiches and cappuccinos.  The man there told me I looked like an Italian Movie star haha I was so flattered! I actually have heard that I look Italian from a lot of Italians here. I definitely wouldn't mind being an Italian. On my way I passed a store that sold dance clothing and some pointe shoes. I had to walk in to look around since ballet has a near and dear place in my heart :).  I could speak a little broken english/italian with the shop owner and told her I used to dance.  I think its one of my goals to go see a ballet while Im here.  After I left there I walked further down the street and passed a pet store where the owner spoke ABSOLUTELY no english but told me I could come in.  I of course wanted to see if he had a peach faced love bird since my family used to have one.  My visit was quite short because I stepped in the pile where he was sweeping and then yelled at me in Italian. haha all I could do was shrug and run out of the store... of course this had both of us laughing afterwards.

My delicious breakfast :)

Pointe shoes in the little dance shop

A line of Vespa's on my way to the market

Once I got to the market, it was like nothing in the states, with bin after bin of fresh fruit and veggies.  Since I have been in Italy I have craved fresh fruit and water more than anything in my life! Something that I am learning to love about Italy is the prevalence of Marzipan. I of course had to buy some marzipan too! :) Every little stand within the market is specialized with either fruits and veggies or bread or meat and cheese and it is all fresh- simply amazing! I made friends with Paula a friendly Italian who sold me some gruyere cheese and prosciutto which is Italian ham.  She also taught me how to say I don't speak good Italian which will really come in handy.  After that I saw the leather market and other things that can be found from the vendors on the street.  I loved it. I could walk around and look at things here for foreverrrrr.

Yummy!! Fresh fruit, Marzipan and my new favorite- Blood Orange juice!

Cheese at the market sold by my new friend Paula

Bread at the market

Me in front of the Ponte Vecchio

I had my first Travel Photography class yesterday from 3-5:30 which actually went by a lot faster than I anticipated.  My professor is a really cute Italian man named Matteo, I kind of have a crush :).  I learned a lot about the aperture, iso and shutter speed when taking photos and how to catch the essence of your surroundings while traveling. I cant wait to see how my photos change from how I take them now! I was originally taking Fashion Design studio but I think switching to this class was a smart move for my travels in Italy as well as Bali when I go in the end of August. 

One of my favorite photos I've taken so far

The beautiful Duomo

For dinner we went to a place by the Duomo that had a dinner made with roast beef and baked potato.  The girls have been craving anything that isn't pasta or pizza so it was a good choice.  Just so happens that the waiter there, Daniele, was absolutely beautiful and he liked making little conversation with us and kept making playful eye contact and comments at me :).  The guys here are so complimenting and arent shy when it comes to telling you how they feel- soo different from the United States. After dinner we came home and drank a little wine which has been a regular thing for the roomies and I here.  Wine is cheaper than water and I have started to love it more than I ever have before... after all we are in the heart of Tuscany! Its perfect! Love, love, love everything about it here!! :)