I. AM. HERE. Yesss!!!!!

I love it here.

I have never been anywhere that is so full of beauty like this place is. Everything here is beautiful. The buildings, the people, the art, the food, the streets, the language, the clothes, the shoes; even the parking lots and pharmacies are beautiful. The women are sexy and confident and sassy. The men are gorgeous and arrogant and full of compliments. They also seem to be full of invitations to clubs, to dinner, to be alone with them, anything. It's very flattering :)

The food is absolutely incredible. You cannot believe how good it is. Every single bite I take is better than the last. My first meal consisted of: bruschetta (my favorite thing I've eaten so far); penne with olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, and peperoncini; and a wonderful full-bodied, red house wine. Unbelievably good. Everything is just right. Just the right amount of peperoncini in the pasta. Just the right amount of tomatoes and basil on the bread for the bruschetta, just the right amount of sweetness in the wine. I will never stop eating in this city. I am seriously concerned for the state of my weight. It's going to be a struggle.

We walked a lot today, and it was very hot. We're currently in the midst of a little late afternoon siesta. We probably walked a solid 8-10 miles. I'm not very good at estimating those things, but I'm gonna stick with 8-10. It felt like 20 though. But it was worth it. We saw the Duomo (the most beautiful enormous building I've ever seen), we crossed the river via the famous bridge with all the jewelry shops (yes, one day my engagement ring can come from there...just saying), saw tons of basilicas and palazzos, and then looped back around just in time for lunch (pasta salad with fresh mozzarella, roma tomatoes, black olives, and peperoncini). We discovered that all grapes here have seeds in them (SURPRISE!) but they were the perfect ending to the meal. Also, in case you were wondering, gelato is a million times better than ice cream, and I will be eating only gelato for the rest of my life. No more ice cream. I don't yet know how I am going to accomplish this in the US, but I will find a way. Gelato is way too good to give up.

Tonight we are going to eat some more delicious food, drink some wine and some limoncello, and have our first "going out" experience. We're going to some club called the Space Club or something like that. We walked by last night and scoped it out. It looks pretty legit. I'm stoked. Time to meet some Italian hotties and dance the night away. YESSS!!!

Now it is time for me to go fraternize with the beautiful Italian people in their beautiful Italian city. After a quick power nap.

So long my American chums and chumettes! I love you all...almost as much as I love this place. Almost.

xo Sarita