Mopeds!! are fun...

The moped ride yesterday had to be one of my favorite days abroad so far. Me and Allie were dressed and ready about an hour before our friends picked us up; we sat legs-bouncing and excited in the kitchen, barely able to contain ourselves for the adventure ahead. Andrea and Mattia picked us up on their mopeds around 3:00 and we headed off into the distance, with helmets of course. Under the beating sun, they drove us toward Fiesole, a small town just outside Florence that overlooks the city with beautiful views. Our hair flapped in the wind but the boys drove slow enough that I wasn’t scared – even on the long hills and curvy curves of the ride up to the city outskirts. As I gripped the handlebars along the sides of the “motorino” I looked out at Florence unraveling below me and knew I was finally a part of this city. The people below were my neighbors and friends, my teachers and café waiters. I was suddenly Italian and so proud of it. And when we reached the hilltops, the four of us scooted off the mopeds to explore the Fiesole antique market. Since it was Sunday and gorgeous out, the town was flooded with native Florentines selling goods and tourists eating gelato in the sun. Even when the clouds came and a few drops of rain interrupted, the streets remained bustling. We wandered for a while and checked out old copies of Shakespeare plays in Italian (so cool!) then hopped back on the bikes for a fun ride back down. In the stop and go traffic, Allie and I could talk to each other from the mopeds and the boys communicated about what streets to take. It was a fabulous day of friendship and fun, and I definitely put that Sunday in my top ten best days in Florence. Not to mention, me and Allie met up with the girls back in the city and went out for some amazing Mexican food – yes, Mexican food is absolutely delicious in Florence, even though you wouldn’t think it. Ciao for now!