la bella vita --> la buena vida

Of course three days after we laugh about successfully skipping over winter entirely, it snows in Florence! As we stood outside freeeezing during our Photography class, our teacher informed us that it was supposed to snow. A lot. & that this would essentially shut down the city - one that relies on walking everywhere, smart cars, & streets that are practically the width of my closet at home. We went home & immediately checked weather.com, seeing 100% chance of snow, almost 6-10 inches! Entertaining the thoughts of snow days for days, we were giddy when we saw the snow begin to fall. & here's where this entire story climaxes & quickly ends, because seeing it fall was the extent of our snow experience. It didn't even stick! & it's still really cold. The one upside: our History of 20th Century Fashion teacher had to cancel class because apparently she had heavy snow. We'll take it!


Last night, Caroline, Alyssa, & I went over to Molly & Cassie's apartment. This calls for a quick & complicated history lesson: Molly is Alyssa's best friend from home, Cassie is Caroline's best friend from home, Molly & Cassie are best friends at BC & are roommates here in Florence. If we've learned one thing, it's that it really isn't a small world, even in Italy. (De ja vu, I probably already mentioned that. Like I said, we've learned..) We ended up going to this bar near their apartment that is infamous for a certain beer - Dragoon. (The name alone..come on.) While it's rumored at 15-17% alcohol, Google research has told us it's only 10% & manufactured by Well's. I'm now laughing at myself saying 'only 10%'.. it was just perfect for our intended plans. It was such a fun night, sitting in a corner booth, talking & laughing at Caroline from the other end of the table.

will now apply this to more than Dragoon! 

pictures of us are coming later, I promise this hasn't turned into an alcohol log..

Caroline, Alyssa, & I made a small family dinner tonight; it was wonderful. We made bruschetta (our specialty) & pasta salad using everything we could find in our refrigerator. We banned ourselves from technology, even dimmed the lights, & had a relaxing dinner while we talked about our upcoming weekend. 

we have a newfound appreciation for self-made meals; can't wait to cook this summer!

Tomorrow (actually in 4 hours), we are going to Barcelona! While it seems like we just unwound & unpacked from Interlaken, we are packed up again & ready for our first RyanAir experience. Hopefully there won't be too much to tell from that, but there are guaranteed to be lots of other stories to share (or not share). Can't wait to be reunited with more friends from home & experience the sights & life of another city!