Week 2!

Woo hoo! It’s week two! This week has flown by, and I can’t believe it’s already been another week of living in Florence. So much has happened this week, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it!

Starting off on Monday morning, I found myself wandering around the city, looking for a spot to grab coffee and a place to kill time before my first class at 2:00 pm. During my wander, I ran into my friend who was in town visiting and his sister! It was awesome, and it reminded me of the small-town feel Florence creates, which I have learned to really appreciate! I ended up at a bookstore cafe that had the coolest arrangement of desks and tables to study at. It is called Todo Modo, and I will definitely be revisiting! After I spent some time there, I went to my class, Beginning Italian 1, and it pretty much is exactly what you would expect it to be: learning basic Italian. After class, I went home and then met up at a friend’s apartment for dinner that we cooked together. After that, I went home and went to bed.

Tuesday morning, I had class at 9:00 am, Italian Style and Culture. It is a three-hour class that meets once a week, and it seems like we will be covering a mix of everything from Italian history to Italian cultural significance, as well as getting to explore some of the places that make Florence unique! That was my only class for the day, so after that I went home and took a long nap because, truthfully, I have not been feeling 100%. There seems to be some sort of Florence cold going around all of the study abroad kids, so I was trying my best to rest up before my big weekend. I also have been feeling waves of homesickness every now and then, so I was looking forward to some alone downtime to regroup.

That afternoon, I went on a long walk and just kind of wandered the city by myself, trying to take it all in. That evening, we had a fun seminar with our school that we could sign up for, where we learned about all of the little unspoken rules of Italy. We learned that you shouldn’t order a cappuccino past 11:00 am because Italians believe that a cappuccino contains enough milk to disrupt digestion as you approach a heavy lunch, followed by an aperitivo in the afternoon and a smaller, late dinner in the evening. Italians will also drink a digestivo after dinner, which can be a bitter or sweet liquor meant to help with digestion after a meal.

We also learned that many Italian restaurants will use tablecloths to appeal to tourists because it is something that is normal to Americans, but is actually less common in Italy. So now, I’m definitely looking out for those restaurants that could potentially be tourist traps. We covered more traditional Italian dishes and foods local to Florence, as well as some of the sign language Italians use in their everyday life, and then wrapped up the seminar. After that, it was dinner and bedtime.

Wednesday morning, I finally figured out how to use my Moka pot, which has been SUPER exciting for me to do in the mornings. I then had two classes scheduled, one from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm, which was Intercultural Management, and it turned out to be canceled! I then had another class from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm, which was another Beginning Italian 1 class.

That evening, I met up with some of the girls I met at church to go to this family-owned bakery that, on Wednesday nights, turns their bakery into a party and serves burgers on fresh homemade buns that they bake earlier in the day for the study abroad Americans. It was awesome, and I definitely foresee myself indulging in another burger very soon because they honestly give American burgers a run for their money.

On Thursday, I had two more classes. History of Italian Renaissance Art was from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm, and then my Wine and Food Pairing class was from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm, where we learned some basic wine tasting techniques and information to pay attention to. I didn’t do anything too exciting on Thursday except pack and go to bed early because I had a super early morning to prepare for.

Friday marked my first weekend trip while in Europe, so a group of six of us found ourselves adventuring to Budapest, Hungary! Our bus left Florence at 6:10 am on Friday to take us to Rome, which was a three-hour drive. From the bus stop, we took a taxi to the Rome airport to hop on an hour-and-a-half flight to Budapest.

We stayed in an Airbnb in the 9th district of Budapest, which turned out to be a great spot. Friday night, we wandered around until we found a restaurant for dinner, and we ended up eating at Dobrumba, and it was SO good. It was Moroccan-style food, and our dishes were amazing. The vibes in the restaurant were perfect, very cozy, and a great escape from the cold and snow outside. OH! Before dinner, we tried chimney cakes, which are traditionally called Kürtőskalács, and it’s basically a churro ice cream cone, and is the official dessert of Hungary. 10/10

From there, we went to Szimpla Kert, a famous ruin bar in the city. A ruin bar in Budapest is basically an abandoned building or courtyard that was reinvented in the early 2000s, not long after the fall of communism reshaped Budapest. There are many ruin bars in Budapest, mostly located in the Jewish Quarter of the city. These bars are also particularly unique because during World War II, most of the people in these neighborhoods were Jewish and were forced out of their homes. After the war, little to no one returned to inhabit these buildings due to the brutality of the Holocaust. Then, after World War II, Budapest remained under communist control, and many of these buildings continued to stay abandoned. All that to say, it is a pretty amazing experience with a lot of cultural impact to get to venture around these bars.

After Szimpla Kert, we were exhausted from a long day of travel and went to bed.

Saturday morning, we ventured out to get breakfast and ate bagels right by St. Stephen’s Basilica. Then we went to the Shoes on the Danube Bank memorial, which conveys the tragedy of the execution of many Jews into the Danube River. The shoes represent the Nazis demanding that Jews remove their shoes before being pushed into the river because shoes were valuable to the Germans and could be resold for profit. Seeing this monument was both extremely humbling and impactful, standing in a place where such horror occurred. I had researched Budapest’s history before our trip, but getting to see these places in person does not quite compare to reading about it online. Watching many people lay roses or other tokens of remembrance had me reflecting on what it must have been like to live in this city during that period of time.

After we saw the shoes, we walked across the Chain Bridge, which is guarded by two limestone lions. There is a rumor that János Marschalkó, the sculptor, forgot to give the lions tongues and then proceeded to jump into the river as a result of shame. We then hiked up to Fisherman’s Bastion in the Castle District of Budapest and walked down to Buda Castle. We got tickets to go inside Buda Castle and were able to read all about the history of the castle and look at many artifacts that historians preserved.

After our day out, we made our way back to the Airbnb and freshened up before heading out for dinner and a river cruise. At dinner, we had lángos, which is a popular Hungarian street food. It is basically deep-fried bread made into a pizza, and it was FIRE. Would definitely recommend. Honestly, looking back, Budapest has some really great foodie scenes, and I would love to go back and try more in the future!

After dinner, we made our way to the river cruise, which took us up and down the Danube River. We got to see the Parliament building all lit up, and it was so cool. After the cruise, we went to another ruin bar called the For Sale Pub, which was covered in letters signed by customers from all over the world. We then went to another bar called the Red Ruin Bar, where we met the owner of the bar and some of his friends. We had the most amazing conversation with them about what life in Budapest is like, both pre- and post communism, and got a real glimpse into what it is like to own a business in the city. I think this was my favorite part of the trip, getting to talk to locals about their city and what real life is actually like there.

I wish we could have stayed and talked longer, but we were, once again, exhausted and had flights to catch the next day, so we headed back to go to bed. Also, I don’t know if I mentioned this, but our Airbnb only had 100 liters of hot water, and then you had to wait an hour and a half for the tank to warm up again. This made for some very speedy showers split between six people!

On Sunday, we checked out and then went to brunch with our backpacks since we didn’t need to leave for the airport until 3:00 pm. We had a great meal, explored the Gozsdu Market, and got fluffy pancakes that were amazing. I would definitely recommend the pancakes, too. After pancakes, it was time to head to the airport, where we hopped on our flight back to Rome, and then did the same taxi to the bus station and bus back to Florence. We got home around 1:00 am, so it was another full day of travel for us.

Overall, Budapest was far better than I expected! I honestly wasn’t expecting it to feel so big city, but with so much history and architecture like I had never seen before. It might be one of my favorite places I’ve been, despite the freezing weather. I am very thankful to be back in Florence, safe, and I am really looking forward to continuing to explore here and having a chill week ahead. I hope to take a day trip to Milan with my roommate this weekend to catch some of the Olympics excitement, so that will be fun to look forward to!

Two weeks in now, and I am absolutely loving it.

Ciao!