Even though I love South America, I think I would still go to Italy if I were to ever legitimately study abroad. There is just so much history here, and in Florence alone! Italy can boast a huge array of scientific minds, artistic talent, and original food, even in comparison with the rest of Europe. Think of all the foods you love, and I bet some of it traces back here.
Speaking of food, the food and wine tour I took this morning was fabulous. Our guide, Paul, took us to the local San Lorenzo food market and gave us the history and production information for some of Italy's most important food, like prosciutto and olive oil. He made a wonderful connection with olive oil and the people who produce it: Northern Italians, like their environment, are more temperate and mild mannered, even delicate. Southern Italians, on the other hand, are spicy and full of energy, and sometimes abrasive, like their rocky environment. Middle Italians are, you guessed it, a balance between the two, and if you do a taste test of olive oils from these specific regions, you will find the comparisons to be accurate. According to Paul. But I trust him.
That is all for now - I am going to lounge around my (possibly) new favorite city for the next 4 days until I head to Paris to meet with my friend. For now I have to deal with the one hard part about hostels, and that is that fact that you make friends, and then they leave before you do. It is hard to do things alone. Sometimes meeting people can be made so much easier by just being with someone else, I think because you don't start off so insecure. I will work on it.
Oh yeah, here is my recently acquired ear piercing (sorry, Mom), for those of you who are curious.
