I feel like I have been here for a couple of weeks rather than less than 48 hours.
Waking up this morning and looking out the window made everything much more real.

It is beautiful here - hills, cypress trees and umbrella pines are everywhere. Rooftops and buildings are all orange/red/brown colors - it makes for some very nice photos.

We had orientation this morning and we learned our first bit of Italian...we sang this song.
"Ti amo con l'amor di Gesu, io vede in te la gloria del mio Re, e Ti amo con l'amor di Gesu."
Can you guess it?!

We then took the long walk down the hill to the bus stop for bus #27 and went in to Scandicci. There we went to Caffe Mario and told Mario "Vorrei un cappucino." (I would like a cappucino) Unfortunately, I still do not like coffee.
We found the Scandicci public library, an Italian cinema (showing American movies) and a big Wal-Mart type store that was impossible to exit from.

But, we did learn one thing from Mona Lee (Dr. Garner's wife) today... don't just assume that if it is silver, you can swipe your card, and it has numbers on it that it means it dispenses money...

About 8 of us decided to go on into Florence tonight after Robbie left us in Scandicci. I'm so glad we did! We had to chase down 2 buses, ask about 23984 people where the bus was (the stop was moved) and finally arrived in Florence - and eventually the Duomo.

As my mom likes to say, "Orient the map to the ground!" so we did - and we weren't lost.

Tomorrow, Robbie our fearless leader will give us a walking tour of Florence.
Pictures to come soon.