I'm happy to be done with my first week of class. To celebrate, I decided to go and buy myself the Italian book that Gianluca told me about. I got off the bus in front of the Duomo and walked down via Cavour to Feltrinelli International bookstore. I slogged home through the heat, so I could take a short nap before going to the palestra (gym).

I woke up this morning to the pungent smell of citronella. I didn't hear a single zanzara during the night and finally slept through without waking up. The house is noisy in the mornings: doors slamming, plates clanging, people talking, and shower water running. I hear many voices, but still can't distinguish them all.

After yesterday morning's grandinata (hailstorm), the afternoon's temporale (thunderstorm), and the early evening's sunny skies, I was happy to wake up to a bright and sunny day. I didn't want to miss a nice day out, so I made plans to go downtown in the afternoon. I opened the window in our kitchen this morning in hopes that the air would be as warm as it looked, but it was so cold that I had to quickly close it. I buttoned up my wool coat and wrapped my scarf around my neck twice and I was ready to go.

Yesterday after Dave and I went for an afternoon showing of Syriana at the Odeon theater, we walked over to Simone's restaurant to pay him a visit. He loves to hear what we think of the other restaurants in town. At almost 6:30PM, the sun hadn't yet set, so it was nice to walk over Ponte Vecchio and past Santo Spirito.

Yesterday at the mercato, I stopped by to chat a little bit with my macellaio when I saw him standing at the counter by himself. I went yesterday to drop off cookies to the guy at the gastronomia. The macellaio told me that he lives with his ailing mother who is all alone while he's at work. He seemed a little sad about his situation, but told me, "Contentiamoci" (Let's be satisfied with what is). I told him that I'd return the next day to buy some things and he said, "Mi fa sempre piacere vederti" (It's always nice to see you).

For the festa della donna (Woman's Day), I didn't get any mimosa, but I did get sushi! Dave and I went to Momoyama tonight in Borgo San Frediano. I called yesterday to prenotare un tavolo (reserve a table) for us. All day, I thought about going for sushi. We would've gone to Il Canapone since tonight is sushi night, but we figured we should try all the other sushi places in Florence as well.

Lately wherever I go these days, I don't feel like I stand out any more. I walk into shops and don't feel like I'm being scrutinized. I can't remember the last time someone asked me where I come from. But now I seem to feel like maybe I've lost my luster and no one seems to treat me any differently or look at me any differently.

Dave and I went to the Odeon near Piazza Repubblica to see "I Segreti di Brokeback Mountain." For the first time in a long time, they showed the Italian subtitles for the movie. I even learned one expression that I'll probably never use, "il raduno delle pecore" (herding the sheep).

When I see a menu with enchiladas on it, I naively believe that it's a Mexican restaurant. I knew that Salamanca was a tapas bar in via Ghibellina, but I didn't know they served Mexican food as well. Dave and I had a craving for some Mexican food and had already gone to Tijuana, which is also in via Ghibellina, the day after Christmas last year. But, we wanted to try something new tonight.

"Marzo, marzo, pazzarello, se non c'è il sole apri l'ombrello," is a detto (saying) that an Italian girl in the locker room at the gym said today. So, basically, it says, "March is capricious, if there's no sun, bring an umbrella)." This morning at 8AM, we all woke up to a beautiful sunny and clear day. "Un'ora dopo, sono venute le nuvole e poi è piovuto," (An hour later, it was cloudy and then it rained) the girl continued. With weather like this, it's hard to know how to dress in the morning. Anything can and does happen...especially in March.

It seems like every day I hear people asking the same question, "Quando inizia la primavera?" (When will spring begin?) One day, like yesterday, there's a hint of sunshine that teases us into believing that primavera is just around the corner. Then, the next day, like today, it's cold and rainy and we believe we've got a long way to go before the primavera begins.

This morning I woke up to find that I'd been bitten at least 20 times by mosquitoes. I learned the word zanzara (mosquito) this morning when I showed Signora G. my arm. She told me to go to the farmacia (pharmacy) to get something. I think she tried to explain what to get, but I didn't understand everything. I also decided this morning that I have to find a palestra (gym) because I can't take all this pasta every day.

As I walked up the steps to go to school, I could hear the keys jangle in my pocket. This morning, Signora G. (the ex-wife/mother) gave me a set of keys and explained how I'm supposed to lock the door when I leave and then lock it when I arrive. Of course, I only understood her because she opened the door, led me outside, shut the door behind us, and then locked it. Then, after unlocking the door, we walked back into the apartment and she shut and locked the door again.

Today it was full carnevale mode at the mercato this morning. Lots of people were rushing around to the banconi (counters) to get fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, and even confetti. Some of the venditori (vendors) were even dressed up in different costumes. I thought of bringing my camera to the mercato, but the weather was cold and grey.

When we were in Rome and Sorrento last week, we met a lot of people who were curious as to why we were living in Florence. I thought it would be obvious seeing as though Florence is quite charming. But, most of the Italians we met said that Florence was too touristy, and that è bella ma sporca (it's beautiful, but dirty). Although everyone did say that Florence is una città a misura d'uomo (a city on a human scale).