Post #2
Sunday, September 30 through Thursday, October 4
POST DATE: Sat Oct 6th
Finally Arriving in Florence, Moving In, and Class Information
Firenze
Post Date: Saturday, October 6, 2018
The last time I posted, our flight from London to Florence on Saturday afternoon had been delayed, rescheduled, and cancelled, and we were scheduled to leave London to fly to Rome at 4:30 AM on Sunday. Afterwards we would have to take a bus transport to Florence airport, and we would be missing check in. On Sunday we arrived to the airport hopeful that we would finally be able to get to Florence and would be well rested for Orientation at school on Monday. This was not the case. Our flight to Rome ended up getting delayed multiple times, and we did not end up leaving London until about 9:00 PM. After arriving at Rome, Michaela and I realized that the SIM cards we purchased in London did not actually work in Italy (contrary to what the cell phone company said) and were left with no phones.
Once at the Rome airport, our co-passenger friends and ourselves had to take a 4 hour bus ride to the Florence airport, and then a taxi to our hotel. We checked in around 5 AM, when I was finally able to get Wi-Fi to FaceTime my parents, who were a bit panicked that I hadn't been able to reach out. We got just under 1 hour of sleep and made it to check-in at school at 8:00 AM. Once we signed some papers, we dropped our luggage at the main office and sat through a boring orientation and a tour of the campus buildings throughout Florence.
The customer service line when they cancelled our flight to Florence
The customer service line when they cancelled our flight to Florence
Finally made it to Italy! Wrong city though. Aeroporto Leonardo Da Vinci
From orientation, Michaela and I went straight to a local phone company, got new SIM cards, and then went back to check-in to collect our bags. From there, we went to our apartment where after going about 38 hours on just 1 hour of sleep, we had to haul both our our TWO checked bags ...
up 6 flights ... of stairs ... with no elevator. DEAD.
Finally made it to Italy! Wrong city though. Aeroporto Leonardo Da Vinci
The kitchen is beautiful, is noticeably brand new, and fully stocked with plates, bowls, pots, pans, glasses, mugs, cups, an espresso maker, tea kettle, spatulas, silverware, and basically anything we could possibly need for the kitchen (other than a wine opener). We are even lucky to have a dishwasher! We really lucked out, and from what I have seen so far we definitely got the best accommodations. Our location is even perfectly located in relation to classes and restaurants, grocery stores, and important spots around
Florence.
Our apartment is beautiful, and we believe we are actually the first students to live here. All of the (IKEA) furniture is in perfect condition, and the items in the kitchen still have the IKEA price tags on them! There is a total of 8 of us in the apartment, and there is 1 bedroom with 1 bed, 2 bedrooms with 2 beds, and 1 bedroom with 3 beds, with 2 bathrooms.
Michaela and I are unfortunately in separate rooms, which I guess is what we get for being the last ones here (even though we planned to be the first... stupid airline). The both of us only have one roommate, and both are from JWU Providence as well. The rooms are pretty massive and include a twin bed, nightstand, lamp, bulletin board, and full closet/dresser unit per roommate. The rooms also have a shoe rack as well as a desk for the roommates to share. Each of us also got 2 sets of shower towels, face cloths, and hand towels, a pillow, comforter, blanket, and two sets of sheets for our beds!
Tuesday was our first day of classes in Italy! At 9:00 AM we have Arts and Places: From Renaissance Florence to the Contemporary Metropolis, which is a Florentine Art History class that explains the growth of art and architecture in Florence. We spend some time in class learning the history of certain artists, architects, or art influencers, and then spend the remainder of class visiting the buildings, pieces of art, churches, and museums that we were discussing. Best of all: including myself, there is a total of 7 students in this class!
Check out the pieces I wrote in class for the Florence University of the Arts Website about the connection between Art and Place, and Florentine Art History : http://blog.apicius.it/arts-and-places-from-renaissance-florence-to-the-contemporary-metropolis/
After that class we head to Creative Writing, which begins at noon. In this class we are working on writing the press release, as well as the menu for a gala (we are also working on the event in the Art class) that Florence University of the Arts puts on for the James Beard Foundation in New York City. We are researching the menu items and trying to create a story for the guests that go along with the theme of the dinner; La Dolce Vita.
Each class is 2.5 hours, which totals 5 hours of classes per day. Afterwards we have assignments to do because unlike at JWU where classes are every other day with no class on Friday, classes here are every day Monday through Friday. I would definitely enjoy a bit more free time to explore, however next session Michaela and I are only taking one class, so we will have more time to enjoy Florence.
The door to our apartment
Church of Santa Croce - Right down the street
Bedroom: My bed is on the left