Celebrating America... Italian Style

Many of you were aware how sad I was to be in another country on 4th of July because of how much I love spending the day in Newport Beach. Well the sadness ceased and I ironically spent my first night in Florence with all Americans in American establishments.

Lesson of the day: There are 14 Americans to every Italian. Forth of July is destined to be nuts

Let me be clear, I came to Florence to get a new experience, embrace another culture and immerse myself with the locals... 4th of July felt like they imported US for a night everywhere I went.

As I said earlier, I went and met Kimmie and a group of her friends from her program for dinner and then celebrating.  I met them at this place called Astor.  Astor is a cafe/bar/hangout spot for Americans because a guy from Milwaukee who studied here some time ago opened this bar next to the Duomo. Nonetheless it was the start of the fun last night.  I was inside waiting for the girls and this girl came up to me and started talking to me because she felt bad I was by myself.  She studied here last year and gave me such awesome information about taking these weekend trips (Little did I know, everyone does them and I am going to Cinque Terre this Sunday for the day!) Anyway, apparently the place is perfect to study (Free Wifi!), get your American fix (Iced Coffee) and not feel guilty for speaking English.  It is good to know its there but I need to improve my Italian skills and that most definitely won't be happening at Astor.

**Side note: Did you know that Iced Coffee does not exist in Florence? Ice barely exists.  In this extreme hit I have been dying for an iced coffee and I must go to the American place to get it... Figures.

When the girls finally got there we went in search of this American place called the Diner.  It was just weird to experience all the American things before I had seen any Italian influence but I did learn that Ranch was hard to come by in Italy (probably a better thing.)

However, I soaked up all the American pride I could.  We went to a bar called the Lions Fountain and as soon as you walk in, you realize you could be anywhere in the world. The celling is covered with college T-Shirts signed by people and they have a shot list dedicated to colleges in the US. (Of Course there was a UCLA one.) We sang all American songs (Including the national anthem and Born in the USA) and did many USA chants.  It was definitely not Newport but it was still an amazing time.

I ended up meeting people from my program that night and it just set the tone for a trip that I will never forget.