Day 1: Ciao, Italia

The journey began on Sept. 1st.

We arrived at the airport at 1pm to check in the two bags that seemed to have taken 10 hours to pack. Constant rearranging and weight shifting consumed our pre-labor day, leaving us exhausted. After checking the bags my family and I got lunch in the airport. A pre-pattied burger with heat-to-eat bacon tasted better than I thought it would. It was nice having an american meal one last time before my excursion leaves me longing for another for 3 and a half months.

After lunch, the true excitement begins. I wait in line for about 20 minutes and progress towards the security point. [note: my left arm is injured due to the worst possible timing for surgery ever] Since it's tough for me to move my arm because of the wound and the elastic sling holding my arm in one awkward position, it only makes sense that I have to basically empty my entire carry on in order to pass through. I begin by taking out the laptop from my backpack and placing it in its own bin. The other consists of shoes, another bag, and mini toiletries. And so, with that, I attempt to walk through. Beep. Off goes the belt that's basically impossible to put back on again without messing up my sling. Beep. Shit, I forgot to take the watch off! Beep.

"ok well, I think what might be happening is these little clips on the sling have metal on them and it could be setting of the detector.. "

security guard 1, "step in here and we'll get someone over"

So this guy comes over and wands me. Of course, my cargo pocket in my shorts go off, which has my passport wallet, which has a key in it, which makes me feel stupid. Then, he wands once more and it again beeps by the pocket. I had a stash of cash separate from my passport wallet that had a metal clip holding it together. I lose.

Finally, I'm through security and free to wait for an hour for the first flight. I wave to my parents.

* * *

The first flight was... cozy. A small connecting flight that led me to Chicago. I spoke to a woman who was traveling with her family to Paris. She told me that they are doing a 3 month journey themselves, however, theirs is slightly better in that they're literally traveling the world. A month in Europe then Austrailia, some random islands, Hawaii, Las Vegas as the final stop.

As I departed the plane I saw a door that looked like a good one to enter. As I walked towards it, I got harrassed by a girl that probably more than likely hated her job. As I straightened out my route, I walked through the O'Hare Airport, towards a pay phone. inserted 50 cents to try and call home, but apparently I'm incapable. Grabbed a sandwich and waited to board a much larger, roomier, flight.

The second flight was... long. 9 hours in one position isn't the most comfortable. However, it was very relaxing. The flight began at 5:50 PM Chicago time, which is actually 11:50 PM Italy time. Dinner was about as good as any steamed TV dinner can be. Beef, mashed potatoes, carrots, green beans, and a dinner roll. Delicious. I watched Speed Racer, which helped to pass the time, but wasn't impressive. I listened to the iPod, dozed off, and then watched some other movies that I'd otherwise never consider watching. Finally, we began our descent towards Munich for another layover.



The third flight was... overwhelmingly hectic. As soon as I get off the flight, I'm rushing towards gate G. Which apparently was about 3 miles through awkward hallways and random turns. Finally, I reach the Passport checking station, in which I say, "Why yes, I am studying in Florence." Next stop: Security. Here we go again, laptop out, belt off, money so everyone can see. Except this time, I have to empty a smaller carry-on I was taking which had a video camera in it. It was in the bottom. So finally, without time to put the camera back in properly, or put my belt back on, I'm sprinting towards an escalator. I finally approach G65 and the women working sees me approaching. I hold up my boarding pass and she casually remarks, "only 13 minutes left?" I thought to myself, Its better than, "they left 13 minutes ago." I continue. I board a shuttle that ended up taking us to the plane. Another small one. I'm cramped by this kid who finds it necessary to have his legs spread as far as possible so that his knee is in my zone. I iPod it once again for the 1.5 hour trip to Florence.

The wheels set in Florence and I'm exhausted. I've been up for nearly 24 hours at this time (and 31 now that I'm writing this, but I've hit a second wind) and am excited to get my luggage and take a cold shower and a nap. no baggage arrives. I wait for an hour in the Lost and Found line in order to give them the address of the apartment I'm staying at. They don't accept this and instead insist on SACI (the school I'm studying at)'s address. I give it to them and take a taxi to the apartment. Luckily, I ran into Francesca, my landlord, just as she was walking out.



I dropped off my belongings and, with a new found energy, explore a few streets. My hopes were to find a cell phone shop so that I could get minutes added to my phone to call home and let them know of my safe, but hectic, trip. This failed miserably and I finally retreated back to the apartment. After a much needed 2 hour nap, I woke up sweating and confused. I again traveled the streets, this time picking up an adapter for the plug here in the apartment. Once hooked up, I found that the wireless internet worked on the first try and immediately emailed my mom to tell her I was safe.

After a shower, some Italian TV, and this blog entry, my first day in Firenze has come to an end.

Buona notte.