Firenze & Quidditch

Today is Sunday September 28th but I'm just now getting around to writing...

On Friday September 26th: Alisa and I took a high speed train to Firenze to visit Marina/Maureen Melita (my Italian 101 teacher and friend). The train went over 200km/hr! The view out the window was gorgeous because of all the pretty mountains and countryside. We arrived in Firenze, dropped our bags off at Marina's apartment, then set off for lunch! We ate at a fantastic sandwich shop where all the sandwiches are on baguettes and they were lovely and put only turkey (freshly sliced) and mozzarella (super fresh and delicious) on my sandwich instead of everything (like vegetables). Marina and Alisa's sandwiches were much more complex but all were equally tasty to each. I had a Fanta because yum, sugar, and it tastes better over here in Europe. Can sodas are way more common than fountain sodas. Probably not gonna drink too many more of them because they're usually 3 euros each. Water is also typically bottled because the water in the city is kinda bleh tasting though completely drinkable. The fountains are nice so I'll definitely have to get a re-usable water bottle. After lunch we saw Dante's church where his beloved Beatrice is buried and we saw "il duomo" which is actually named the Basilica of St Maria the flower but the dome is really pretty and easiest to see. It was super pretty inside and out. We also went and saw Michelangelo's David which is ginormous and awe inspiring. Marina was really happy because you are now allowed to take pictures of it. I'll get around to posting mine on facebook eventually...  Then we had a lovely dinner at Trattatoria Anita, where Marina has been a regular for years, and enjoyed some amazing food and chats with the waiters/owners. After a taxi ride back to her apartment we went to sleep then Alisa and I headed back to the train station in the morning so I could make it back to Milan in time for Quidditch.

Saturday September 27th: Quidditch!!! well, first we had lunch at an amazing pizza place (Brick Oven Pizza) with oval shaped super thin crust pizzas. Then I stopped by a grocery store to buy my own shampoo and things. Learned the word for conditioner in Italian, lol. Then we got ready and went to Quidditch! It happens in Parco Lambro not tooooo far from Alisa's house. We took the bus to the subway then got off after 2 stops. We then walked and found the entrance to the park but couldn't find the rugby fields. We found a bar (which in italian is often coffee and snacks, so more of a "snack bar" but they're just called bars) in the park and the owner gladly gave us directions from there. Alisa was going to stay and watch for a bit because she has never seen it but the MOSQUITOES. holy ****. I didn't know I could hate anything so much. You thought the mosquitoes were bad in North Carolina? think again. I only seem to have one bite though so perhaps they were more like gnats or either weren't hungry. However, I wore my sunglasses for the entire practice so I didn't end up with any in my eyes and I definitely ate a few. When you stopped moving your arm had  to continuously be waving around your face and body to keep them off. It makes playing quidditch extra difficult. Anyway, I was introduced as a player from the States and I don't know what else was said because it was definitely in Italian. Most of the team knows at least a little bit of English. We had a lot of fun doing drills, scrimmaging, and then playing ultimate quidditch (like ultimate frisbee, but with brooms and a quaffle instead of a frisbee). I learned all the terms in Italian for Quidditch and tried to help. I did keep mixing up everyone's names. Francesca was super nice and told me that she wasn't Clara...which is why she had never answered me when I was shouting for her when we were beating together. lol. I didn't feel like wearing my tall socks and wore normal socks with my cleats which was a mistake I won't be making again. I now have blisters because my socks were too thin. After practice we were going to go to an aperetivo but it was too late (aperetivo = buy a drink for like 8 or 9 euros and get loads of snacks/food to eat). We ended up going to a pizza place near Michele's apartment (where all the quidditch stuff was stored) where I tried gnocchi. I think either the gnocchi was not so good or either I don't like it. The pizza looked quite good. After pizza half of us went back to Michele's (where he stayed because he's old and pulled a muscle or something) to pick up our things and have some limoncello. Valeria and Gianluca helped me find my way back to Alisa's apartment and I slept for ages. Don't worry Mom & Dad, just because I'm in Italy doesn't mean I don't sleep in and watch video games :] Not sure what the plan is for the next few days yet but I'll post about it to be sure.