Capri and My Busy Life in Firenze

Well my time here has been flying by and much to my chagrin I have not been properly documenting my various experiences very well through photography or journal entries. I will try to make a quick recap of my adventures during my first month here. These are the things I have done: Spent an afternoon at Castello Del Trebbio, a vineyard in Chianti, I went to Viareggio two weekends in a row, Viareggio is one of the closest Tuscan beaches, I went to a Couchsurfing Meeting, went hiking in Chianti with some more Couchsurfers, most of them Italian, I just returned from Sorrento, Positano and Capri this past weekend and I am currently writing this blog during Wine Week.




So all these exciting things are happening to me and I will try to write about each one later but for now I want to sleep and maybe hit my Stumble button a few times. Here are pictures of my awesome time so far. Check Facebook if you want more....

The First Amazing Day/Night of Florence

Transatlantic flights are never a lot of fun but when you are heading to Florence, Italy with a group of exciting new strangers they can at least be interesting.
Arriving in Firenze was such a relief after hours of travel. Serena the coordinator managed to help us find our way to our respective apartments and as far as I can tell we have all been getting settled in admirably. I for one have four great roommates: Matt, Mike, Brendan, and Chris. We all went out for dinner tonight walked around, got gelato and are in the process of crashing into bed. Here is a picture I got some tourist to take of us with full bellies and gelato in hand.
























This girl ? is one of the art students who I flew over with and she is strapping a pretty sweet ukulele.

Tacos

For as long as I can remember Collinsville has had the same staples for eateries: Lasalle's Market and ABC Pizza. Husk New American Taco's opened yesterday right under my nose and across the street from Lasalle's. The food is tasty, the decoration is funky, and best of all the place is open till 10 pm everyday and even later on weekends. I went back today for another Chicken Empenada in an effort to try to get my fill before I leave for Firenze tonight. The menu offers a limited selection but the food is simple, flavorful and inexpensive. Husk seems to fill a hole left by the closing of Baja Cafe but also manages to fit naturally into Collinsville's unique atmosphere.

Monster Morning Glories

I built a greenhouse this spring. In doing so I planned to grow tomatoes, peppers and melons. I decided to spruce the place up by planting a couple of Morning Glories. Surveying my greenhouse for the last time this morning I was greeted by a barrage of flowers that proved to be the main attraction inside. I may not be able to eat them but they are a great subject to photograph.

What This Is

This is a way to process my new discoveries. Although I begin the day before my departure for Florence, Italy I am going to try to distance myself from a cliche travel blog. However successful I may or may not be I hope I can use this to show my friends and family a little bit of what I am experiencing, learning or just thinking about. I also hope that by developing this as a habit I may improve my writing skills in order to become clear, concise and entertaining so that those subjecting themselves to my rambling might eventually garner a little enjoyment.