I did not think it would be possible, but, as my Bavarian friends helped me realize, it is doable (though perhaps not preferable or an extended period of time.)The Germans arrived Wednesday night and we had a simple pasta dinner in the apartment, and a after a short night-tour of Florence we grabbed some gelato at my favorite gelateria. (I think they were impressed.) As they had been traveling all day, we called it a night and went to bed early.
The next few days consisted of shopping, rain, gelato, games, sightseeing, and wine. For New Years Eve, Katrin and Anne made us pasta and Max and I purchased enough wine and gelato to last us...a few hours. We played a few rounds of charades and briefly joined my Italian neighbors in their celebration before heading up to Piazzale Michelangelo for the New Year countdown. Honestly, I had had too much wine at this point, which was alright because I had five (mostly) mature and responsible friends to watch out for me. We each sipped a glass of champagne to toast to a happy New Year as we watched the fireworks crack and fizzle in the rain. I wish I had pictures to show you how beautiful the city looked that night.
We were able to make the vacation semi-educational by visiting the Academia where Michelangelo's David is kept. I have been three times and I am still immensely impressed every time I come around the corner and see him at the end of the hall. The Robert Mapplethorpe exhibit is still up and I also never tire of seeing his work.
More rain, more shopping, more games, and more eating. Time went by so fast, and although I am sad they have left me, I am happy they don't have to sleep on a hardwood floor any longer. They left me some delicious German chocolate (which I have devoured already), some fancy liquor, a Bavarian cookbook (love it!) and an invitation to Jan and Katrin's second wedding in May, which I will definitely be attending.
These past few days I have been preparing for C.J.'s arrival, reading, and organizing all of the odds-and-ends I have collected in only four months. I went to see Nerina yesterday and we played Guess Who and a pirate card game she received from Babo Natale. I bought her a Pipi Longstocking book and read about half of it to her last night. I enjoy reading aloud to her, though I don't think she understands half of what I say. She speaks English very well for a seven year old and native Italian, but many of the words in that book are unknown to her and it didn't have as may pictures as I had hoped. Either way, I think it is good for her to hear it. She starts school again on the 11th, which is when I will start picking her up and bringing her home by myself. This means I will have to start taking the bus again (I haven't been on the bus since my run-in with the Controllers in November).
I have the next four days off before I go back to work regularly and 8 days before C.J. gets here. I am looking forward to seeing my brother and showing him around Rome and Florence.
I will update sooner than last time; I promise.
(Thank you Jan, Katrin, Max, Emi, and Anne for a wonderful time in Florence!)
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