Firsts of many

*Cooked our first meal at home

Ok so really Tealy made dinner, I more just got the pot boiling. The spinach ravioli only took 2 minutes to boil! Super fast since the food is sooooooo fresh.  It also goes bad so much quicker.  The milk only stays good for like 4-5 days at most.  Less preservatives, but it is delicious.


*Got my first international phone
      -any calls in are free for me, just cost money for you... email me for the #


*Got lost for the first time, and then a second time... 
     -We had got lost trying to find the Ikea by walking.  I had looked up the address on the Ikea website with their store locator and the address they gave me online was wrong.  Thus I accidentally had the group walking for an hour because we couldn't find it.  We did pass by a few historic buildings (left), the train station and the cute Lithuanian Consulate (right).

*Met our first real Italian boy, man? I don't really know.  His name was Giovani.  We stopped by his tiny coffee bar to ask for directions to Ikea and get out of the cold.  We bought a few warm cappuccinos while Tealy, Sarah and Monica proceeded to ask him about the Italian night life.  It was quite funny, but at least we figured out where we should go at night and where NOT to go.  He also helped us call for a taxi to the rest of the way to Ikea.  The taxi arrived and we were confused as to why there were not two since there was 6 of us.  The next thing we know, the driver is opening the trunk, pushing the 3 middle seats forward to be able to pull up two hidden seats in the floor.  


Italians KNOW how to cram in a lot into a tiny space. Hence the narrow streets that are all basically alley ways with tons of buildings surrounding them.  But no matter how narrow, the cars & buses still are able to fit despite the people, bikes, vespas, and cars parked on the sides.  It is really un-nerving to watch at times because it looks like they are going to hit something or someone, but they don't.  I think if I were to drive here, everyone would honk at me because I would be going like 5 mph, so careful not to hit anyone or anything! 


*We did finally make it to to Ikea.   My first time there would be in Florence; Go Figure.  It was a tad overwhelming because every Italian and their mom, and grandma, and children were there. OH so speaking of children, while you are at Ikea there is a place where you can drop off your kids while you shop.  As my apartment-mate Amy says, "It is like a coat check... for Kids".  HILARIOUS!  Also, the food court inside was super nice!  Way nicer than the ones at Costco or Garden Ridge... I haven't tried the food yet, but I have heard it is delicious.  


*My first skype call with my parents and brother was today... 5 days since I have been here.  It didn't even work until an hour after we originally planned to have it because their computer crashed.  Murphy's Law I guess.  Eventually, they figured it out by using my dad's mini laptop.  THANK GOODNESS. 


overall it was a good day :)