After hours of flying and a delayed flight, I finally arrived in Florence around 4pm. I was met by a CEA staff member and took a cab straight to the apartment. I was surprised at how nice the apartment is! It is on Via dell' Oriuolo right in the heart of the city. It is just steps away from the Duomo and all the hustle and bustle. The apartment is also huge, with two bathrooms, three bedrooms, a kitchen, and two living rooms. To get to the apartment you have to unlock the huge wooden door outside and walk up the stone steps. I met my 5 other roommates who are all very nice. Three of them are surprisingly from Michigan and two are from California.
I was the last person to arrive, so after I got settled another CEA person took us to a rooftop cafe close to the apartment and went over some things we would need to know. She gave us our schedule and told us some good places to eat. After the meeting I got a chance to shower and not feel so gross. We then did some exploring around the city and went to a nice restaurant across the river. I had a delicious margarita pizza! After dinner we walked around some more to find gelato. There is a gelato shop everywhere you look.
The city is so beautiful at night and the weather is perfect. There are so many American tourists here. It is nice to be so centrally located and close to the beautiful Duomo. After the long day of flying and walking we headed back to the apartment and went to sleep. I will blog about my activities today later on. Ciao!