"Nice Tootoo" said the man. "Lasciami in pace!" said the woman

First day of class was a success! Art History at 9:30 with Doby (the character from Harry Potter aka my cute Italian art history teacher) followed by my first Italian class.  Mi chiamo Allison (My name is Allison) My teachers name is Matilda and I can already tell that this is going to be my favorite class. She taught us how to say "get off" and "get away from me, leave me alone" (Lasciami in pace!) so that the 10 girls out of the 12 kids in my class could finally learn how to tell the greasy Italian men to stay away.  Unfortunately tonight when the Gorilla and I attempted to go on another glorious run (however the Gorilla's left barbarian foot started to hurt so instead we took a 2 hour walk wearing our spandex again because it was too cold to wear anything else) we were yelled at on our way home by two men: "I like your tootoo, nice ass, thank god to your mother" but it was too hard to a.  to remember what we had learned in class and b. too hard not to laugh... we just walked off (So Linda J and Jenny I, mad props mad props! but we love you more than they do!) Anyhoo, after I learned the basics in Italian (I can count to ten!), I traveled closer to my apartment for lunch and then went to the other campus that is actually down the street for an afternoon of painting. There are only 3 other students in the class and my professor seems like he is going to be very entertaining and fabulous: gay American artist meets the Italian world, what more could you want.  Class ended and then the 2 hour walk began and then dinner. The Gorilla and I still have not gone to the market or grocery store (so I lied earlier that we were going) but we promise we are going tomorrow. I had my first experience with  real Italain gelato and I may never go to the market because gelato tastes better than anything I am ever going to cook and it only costs 3 euro (but that is 6 dollars if I convert it in US dollars...I could get a whole collider and more for that but AHH I can't think that way...bad Allison) The Gorilla and I were going to go out to this club called Yab (apparently it is the best Monday night "hot spot" with popcorn bowls at the bars (thats why I wanted to go..free food) and break dancers compete!) but we were too cold, tired after our first exciting day of class and 9:30 class in the morning (granted they are not Michigan 8:30's that I am used to...it is still pretty early) Off to bed! Buonanotte!

The Skinny On Being Skinny

I was finally able to sleep in for the first time since I arrived. When I woke up around 11 and looked out my window I knew it was going to be a good day.  It was finally sunny! The reflection of the sun off the Duomo (yeah my neighbor) and the warmth of the sun made me smile.  We met the group for what Italian's call an "American Breakfast" at a chic little hotel called angel. The logo for the restaurant could possibly be used for a strip club however the actual hotel looks nothing like one. The Gorilla and I sat with a group of girls who we hadn't met yet. All I have to say is..small world.  One of the girls is friends with my one and only true Freaky (the original Freaky roommate back in the aa...who lives in the nip) and another one knew Becca Hayes, a girl who went to my high school and she also knew my group of friends from home (brookie b, hueb, emmie..she knew them all) Small small world.  Breakfast was perfect, hot "american" coffee (american coffee = large cup of coffee, italian coffee = black as night espresso), yellow eggs (no egg whites) and french toast (first time in 5 years) After breakfast the Gorilla and I walked around and saw the most spectacular thing in the entire world. No it was not the Ponte Vecchio, no it wasn't the David, it was a dancing Pekacho (from Pokemon) The streets are filled with vendors on Sundays but a lot of them are illegal immigrants trying to sell knock off Gucci, Prada and apparently dancing Pekacho's are a hot seller. I tried to buy one but when he handed me the package, it was definitely a rip off of the one he was showing on the street. I think he tries to get people to buy them and they don't actually work but luckily I was able to tell that a piece of yarn wasn't causing the dancing Pekacho to waddle around, so I took my 2 euro back and continued down the street (I am not that stupid of an American, I just wanted a dancing Pekacho..and I am sure you would all want them too!) I then went on an Art History tour of the city but unfortunately the tour guide was extremely dull and clogged in the nose and therefore I had a difficult time trying to pay attention when there was so much excitement going on in the streets. Sunday is a hoppin' day for the gorgeous Italian families to take a walk through the markets but I did learn a thing or two, so hopefully my Art History teacher tomorrow will be better than Miss Mc Sniffles (the tour guide). The Gorilla and I met up with Chatty, Kathy and my crazy friend Paul from camp and a few other people we have met along the way at "Central Park", which  is only a hop, skip, jump and a walk down the Arno and across the bridge from the Ponte Vecchio. The Gorilla and I wanted to go on a run before we picnic-ed with them, however apparently it is not socially acceptable to wear spandex or perhaps when in Florence just don't run or maybe it was the neon orange zip up jacket I was wearing (it does have a similar resemblance to a traffic cone..who knows) but I have never been more humiliated to run in my life. People were flat out starring at us. A child even turned his head to look! (The Gorilla was worried she had torn a hole in her pants, and I thought my butt was too giggly and thats why there were starring but I assured the Gorilla that she did not have a hole in her pants and she assured me that my but was not to giggly) However, it was too beautiful outside, so we kept running. We ran up and down the Arno, discovered a secret carnival in the park, admired old couples and women in fur coats taking a Sunday stroll. We came to understand, based off the number of people walking along the Arno, that it is far more socially acceptable to stroll, bike or even scooter down the Arno in fur coats and heals than it is to run in spandex. After our glorious run, we met up with the gang but had to head back home rather quickly because it was...guess what..starting to rain...typical! Tonight the Gorilla and I went over to Chatty and Kathy's for a splendid dinner (at this rate, I am never going to have to cook) But of Gorilla's ears fell off tonight and I sat at the dinner table like I was watching a game of tennis..back and forth..back and forth, it was so entertaining! We just got home from the long and our internet is not working so I am writing in a sticky on my Mac and will hopefully get to post it tomorrow. School starts tomorrow and like a two year old(or like a typical Allison Jane Isenberg) I have butterflies in my tummy. Long day tomorrow, must get some rest! Buonanotte!

Welcome Chatty, Kathy and Miles Davis Junior

Well I am sorry that this blog is so delayed but our internet went out while I was writing this beautiful blog two nights ago and now I am re-typing it to let you know about my past two days. Before I go into full detail about my extravagant winey wino day at Castello di Verrazzano, I must introduce you all to three main characters that I have met along my florentine adventures (I like to collect people, draw them, write about them, and imagine they are tiny little creatures) Blog readers meet Chatty and Kathy, twin sisters from Connecticut (two of the nicest people in the world but given their nicknames (that I have given them)...yeah its pretty self explanatory) They love designer clothing, Burberry is god, but they have this nerdy, quarky quality about them that is incredible. The other day I was like "Gorilla why is your ear on the ground?" and she was like "Oh, I just had dinner with Chatty and Kathy!" Tonight my ear fell off. But I just wanted to introduce them to you all because I am sure their names will come up along the way and I wouldn't want any of you to feel out of the loop (if you really want to know there real names, skype will lead you to the answer) Then the last character for this post, Miles Davis Junior (however he does not have a code name, that just is his name) He is not in the same group of friends as Chatty and Kathy, he has never met Chatty and Kathy and to be honest he isn't even of the same species as Chaty and Kathy, rather Miles Davis Junior has a long narrow face, small but dominant vanilla teeth, round black intelligent eyes and finely shaped ears. Miles Davis Junior is an Italian Greyhound. He belongs to the Art Director at my school. The other night Miles (for short) joined us at our 5 course meal and apparently it is more common to bring a dog to dinner than to smoke a cigarette (who knew?...I thought Californian dogs were prima dogas but Italian dogs know how to live it up) Welcome Chatty, Kathy, and Miles Davis Junior to the blog. I am sure there will be more characters that I will introduce along the way and drawings of them are coming soon, so get excited!

Now for my exciting day at Castello di Verrazzano. Just 30 minutes outside Florence, Castello di Verrazzono, is one of the oldest wineries in the Tuscan area. We hopped aboard a coach bus and traveled through the mountains past several castles, acres of pine trees and small dirt roads to get there. Two really unfortunate things about the day: 1. It was extremely rainy 2. It was evident that everyone has really really been enjoying their time here in Firenze, however some have been enjoying their stay a little too much and I am not sure that going wine tasting at 10 in the morning was really an imperative event for them to attend, instead of thinking or learning about wine, some seemed to already be regertiating it on their way to the castle. Luckily the Gorilla and I have learned how to be Italians and not to over indulge ourselves like stupid Americans, we took a little schnooze instead. We got the castle, and my future husband greeted us at the gates (don't worry dad, he was only 40 and not jewish!) He took us on a romantic tour of the winery, explained the different ways they produce their wine and then invited us to stay for a little wine tasting and lunch. *Interesting fact: The original owner of Castello di Verrazzano winery was actually the man who discovered New York in 1485 (imagine that!) And by little lunch I mean another 5 course meal! (which equals what?...oh yeah another 5 hour meal) I am not sure how the Italians stay so thin by eating bread followed by salami, followed by pasta, followed by beans, followed by pork and sausage, followed by dessert (once I figure it out, I am going to bring it back to the states..and make lots of money because I have yet to find a true Italian that is fat) We tasted a wide variety of wines and learned about the "legs" and how to tell the difference between expensive wines, wines with a high alcohol content, wines to eat with meats, wines to eat with cheese, and wines that are strictly for dessert. According to Gino, you should never eat a meal without wine and you should never have wine without a meal (Dad would love Gino's philosophy) To be quite honest, I think my taste buds have been spoiled by Franzia and Arbor Mist, to fully appreciate and recognize the difference between fine wines.  For dessert, we had to dip a biscotti into their famous grapa, aka moonshine. However unlike the different wines, I would be able to distinguish this stuff from a mile away ( you know when something tastes like acid, tastes similar to something that I once smelled in a chemistry lab) They instructed us to never drink grapa and then smoke a cigarette (I would just say you should never drink grapa in general) After the romantic day at the castle, the Gorilla and I came back to our beautiful home for a siesta. For dinner, I ate at this little hole in the wall Mexican restaurant called "Eby's Bar" and for only seven euro I was able to enjoy a delicious chicken burrito and a glass of wine (not going to lie, but the pasta over load has already hit me!) I started to plan out my weekends for the next couple of months and WOWZA there is so much to do in so little time. I did my first load of Italian laundry tonight (yippie skippie) however it is going to take a quarter of a century for my clothes to dry because there are very few apartments in Italy with dryers. A simple clothes line does the trick but unfortunately it has been raining for the past couple of days, so we shall see. I am not too worried because I still have plenty of underwear and that is really all you need. Tomorrow lends itself to another busy day! Free brunch, free art history tour, followed by a not so free grocery shopping adventure. It is getting late the gorilla is snoring like an ogre and I better try to sleep now or else. Ciao!