I Violi and Nice, France

To my darling American chums,

How's everyone doing? Splendid I hope. Last week was really jam-packed. In addition to school (I'm taking 2 classes of Italian, Art History-Antiquity to Michelangelo, Marketing, and Creative Writing-Prose), I'm trying to sort out future weekend excursions and travel plans for the semester break. I admit, it has been a bit of a challenge making school the top priority. In my defense, I am surrounded by beautiful places begging to be experienced. Don't worry though - my work is getting done!
On Wednesday night, the Fiorentina soccer team played Parma at their home stadium down the street from our house. Meg and I set out to meet friends at Il Club di Rugby, a pizza/bar Lita and Osvaldo really like. The street was closed due to stadium mayhem, so we instead stopped at a tiny tiny tiny pizzeria. Imagine a standing space at the most the size of the train cabin I'm sitting in now, jam-packed with 15 or so crazy Fiorentina fans and two American girls terrified to rush-order dinner in Italian. We got the message across, and with pizza and a beer in our hands, we squeezed through the purple mass, exited, and leaned against the wall and ate our dinner - true Florentine style.
We walked to the stadium after dinner and met up with Jess and Eric. Now usually I wouldn't buy sporting paraphernalia at all, let alone sporting paraphernalia at a kiosk right outside the stadium, but the crazy excitement was so contagious I couldn't help it - I bought a purple jersey, paying homage of course to a certain Lucca Tony, #30. The jersey was a necessity, especially because of the large TOYOTA printed in white on the front.
The cheapest tickets are 18 Euro, 14 Euro for girls, and were located in the rotund part of the stands. These seats are where all of the die-hard, purple-faced, purple-wearing, insult-hurling, flag-waving, "I-eat-sleep-and-breath-only-soccer" fans sit. The Fiorentina team is their God, and soccer is their religion. It was the most fun I've had at a sporting event. A ton of people from school were there, and it was such an experience being able to participate in a huge cultural event - I loved every minute. And I'm definitely planning on going to as many home games as possible. We (and I can say "we" seeing as I have both a Visa and an official jersey) beat Parma 1 to 0, by the way. Viva i violi!

Changing gears entirely, this weekend was quite an experience – Meg, Alex, Whitney, and I traveled to Nice, France. I was really looking forward to going to France, and when the opportunity came along, Nice sounded very, ahem, nice. Our train ride was a blast (not), but it was definitely part of the experience. We left Firenze early Friday morning at 7:30 am and arrived in Nice around 4 pm. After checking into our hotel, we freshened up a bit and set off to explore the beautiful city on the French Rivera. The apartments, buildings, and homes are painted incredible colors in every combination possible. Soft teals, rust reds, and creamy yellows compliment each other so well. Shutters frame every window, and twisted iron balconies welcome breathtaking views.
Our exploration brought us to a market where we picked up a bottle of wine, plopped down on a ledge, and dangled our feet over the Mediterranean Sea. Dinner Friday night at I Safari was wonderful.
The next day was one I don’t think I could have dreamed up if I tried. In the morning we headed to the outdoor farmer’s market and picked up fresh baguettes, dates, figs, nectarines, peaches, cheeses, and salami. After, we walked to Castel Beach – a private beach where we were given a lounge chair and lunch even, if you chose to pay a ridiculously enormous amount of money. That wasn’t in the budget for poor college kids such as ourselves, so we snuck our food in via Meg’s bulging backpack.
After settling down on four front row lounge chairs, we took in the scenery and I fell in absolute love with Nice. The beaches are covered with smooth stones and the water is an immaculate cerulean blue. Of course, as I’m sure you are aware, French beaches are topless if one wishes, and it took a minute to get the protocol down. It was really refreshing to be surrounded by a culture that appreciates and respects the human body - so refreshing in fact, that we chose to swim in the beautiful Mediterranean “bearing a bit of ourselves” as well. This was, by far, one of the most incredible experiences yet.
After a day at the beach, we climbed to a high point that provided the best views of the city (see pictures). Dinner was at L’Allegra, where I had the most amazing home-made Fettuccine pasta with basil, tomatoes, and garlic. (Vince, I’m pretty sure you would have died and gone to heaven.) A delicate rose gelato followed for desert.
We got an early start on Sunday morning, visited the outdoor market, had French bread and jam for breakfast, and walked around and took in more of the city. Oh! And you’ll never guess what I found – a personalized notepad with my name! Do you realize how long I’ve waited for something like this? Figures that I’d have to go to all the way to France to find it.
This weekend was so colorful and lively. From wine over the Rivera, swimming topless in the Mediterranean, incredible outdoor markets, a wonderful girls weekend with 3 great girls, and a personalized notepad (at last!), I’ve had one of the “times of my life” – I am sure of it.
It was especially great spending a weekend near the beach, and it reminded me of home (minus the French people). While I haven’t really felt any nuances of homesickness, I couldn’t help but think about the fam, Bella, and my comfy bed as we took the train back into Firenze on Sunday night.
M and D, I can’t wait for you to visit, and I can’t wait to show you my life here in Florence! Anyone else in the area is more than welcome to stop by as well – I’d love to hug a little bit of home!
Germany is on the agenda for next weekend – Munich to be exact. Wish me luck, as I’ve 4 days to develop a liking for bratwurst and dark German beer.

Thank you for reading about my life, and I commend your perseverance in getting through my ridiculously long blog!

<3,

Genna beeb