The first full day in Florence was orientation day. For breakfast I went to a cafe near the Duomo. They had pastries and coffee. I had a very good croissant. As a group we proceeded to the LDM, Lorenzo de’ Medici institute, orientation where the Dean of Students, PicCell, medical professionals, and an officer from the Polizia di Stato spoke. They talked to us about safety, our phones, opportunities, and balancing coursework with seeing the sights. We then broke off into a separate NCSU orientation session. Since it was lunchtime we were allowed to go out and eat before going to the second session. We ate at Nerone which was a really awesome pizza place. The pizza was as big as the plate and was slightly spicy. We then tried their coffee and found out that ordering a latte means you will only get steamed milk. You have to order a cafe latte in order to have coffee and milk. The NCSU orientation session included a second talk from the Dean of Students. We were then told more about our program by Ken Johnson and Luca Casaglia. Since it was raining we postponed the walking tour and headed back to our apartments.
Italian pizza.
That night we went to the Palazzo Borghese for the LDM welcome banquet. It was located in a lovely old palace with great decor and an awesome chandelier. The food was brought out in waves and included breads, pasta, rice, and tiramisu. Seating was limited so we had to stand around tables and mingle. After all of my apartment was done eating we headed back. We then decided to hang out with some of the other students for the remainder of the night. We also found out that the Duomo is hard to see when you are close to it since the streets of Florence are winding and the buildings are tall.
A sitting room of the palace.
One of the chandeliers that I am jealous of.
One of the frescoes of the palace.