This one is long…

I haven’t had time to blog lately, the element of social conduct has taken up my free time. I think now that everyone is getting to know each other, we all seem to be making plans and hanging out more. On top of the school work, now I actually go out! I went to dinner with Cathy and it was my first real meal out. We went to dinner at one of the places in my piazza, actually it’s right next to my front door. We ordered a bruschetta, which was divine and 2 pizzas to split. One pizza had gorgonzola and pineapple and the other had spinach and sausage…oh yum! The next night was a gallery opening that we were invited too and I did my first paid haircut. In Florence that is a huge antique show every September and this gallery was previewing some of the pieces it was bringing to the show. There were works dating from the 1400’s up to the 1700’s. After getting Cathy and I lost, which was nice because I got to see some new sights we found the gallery. Everyone was dressed up, champagne was being served and it was just great. I realized that I will never look at art the same. I see the decay, the marks of intervention in some cases and I’m already beginning to assess the work. It doesn’t detract from seeing it, in fact it adds to the journey of th piece and I feel like the art and I share secrets now.

The haircut was for my friend Ariana, and I think she is in love with me now. She said that no one has ever given her the haircut she has asked for until now…not like she was asking for anything difficult, it’s only Posh for god sakes.

On Friday…I had my date with Giancarlo. He came from Rome for the day to take me out to lunch and just spend some time with me. I met him online about a year ago and we’ve kept in touch the whole time. He took me out to such a fantastic and expensive lunch. Apparently the Florentines are famous for a type of steak and since he hadn’t had one in years we found that yet another place right by apartment served it. It’s a tiny place callen Noe and it’s really charming. We had a primi piatta of carbonara but it also had artichokes in it which was a really nice touch,wine (of course) and the steak. When they set it in front of us I started to laugh. It’s a t-bone but the width is about twice what we serve on the Central Coast. It was cooked medium rare and it was really tender but I didn’t think it was better than what we have on California. I think as far as Europe goes it is probably insanely good but when you come from cow country it’s hard to top our meat. Since the steak was so incredibly expensive the owner sent over some grappa. For anyone who doesn’t know what it is…well…I can only compare it to Everclear. It is a white alcohol that is so strong…it makes tequila seem like milk. It was good but I don’t think I’ll be ordering it anytime soon. Neither he or I finished it, and we had to promptly head out to get some espresso. I think I’ve figured out why Italians drink espresso like water, you have to given all the heavy food they eat or you would just sleep your life away. It was such a good meal and we had a great time. He took the train back to Rome in the early evening...

(for the ladies, he has dark curly hair, green eyes, about 5’10”, thin build and speaks 4 languages…a good time to be envious of me)

Today is Sunday (probably posting this on Monday) and I went out for a few things and came back with a few clothing necessities and…2 pairs of boots! I had planned on buying one pair for the winter, and to wear in Ireland so my feet don’t get cold but today I was just feeling it. Actually the owner gave me shit load off the second pair and I couldn’t pass them up. So instead of buying a bike to ride to school, I now have boots to carry me there. I am rationalizing it with I walk so much that good shoes are practical and necessary. So now I only have to do 6 more haircuts here to cover the expense…sooooo worth it!

I was thinking that I should buy a few movies dubbed in Italian that I already

know the words to and today I stumbled onto a movie channels. Shazzzam….I’ve now seen Charlie's Angels and I’m watching Transformers. Anyone that knows me well, knows how often I’ve watched Transformers. It’s funny hearing the voices when I know it’s so far from the actor’s real voice, and I wonder if the jokes really translate. So I guess my tv won’t be changing channels much since I do think it will helpful…

Not much time for fun photos these days, but here is one from my school work....the frame I've been working on.