Cheddar Busses

My dream car...

Alright, I'm about to bite my own cheek while I've been chomping at the bit this week.  I am soooooo ready to pack my bags and head off.  Ready to set sail and hit the high seas!  Alas, 5 more weeks till I go to Seattle, my first stop on my way to Firenze.  So, what can I do while I count down the hours, days, minutes until I depart?  Hmmm....well, I turned to cheddar cheese and bus maps today.

Yummmmmmmmmy

1. Cheddar cheese.  Seriously, I am not a foodie...I'm probably the one person who wants to move to Italy, yet does not have "Italian food" at the top of my list for reasons to go there!  But for anyone who knows me, they all understand cheddar cheese is a big part of my life.  A large portion of my very specific diet consists of this dairy product....mmm...orange colored calcium!  And so what is a difficult item to find in Italy?  Cheddar chesse, of course!  Don't get me wrong, I've come to appreciate a good pecorino and parmigiano...I enjoy it, but there's always something left to be desired in my opinion.  Maybe the lack of orange color?  I don't know.  But I will surely miss my Tillamook Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese while I'm away...so I better indulge in it these next 5 weeks while I can!  (Can we say I'll leave America 10 pounds heavier?  Yes, indeed!)




Huh?

  2. Bus map of Firenze.  This is another thing I will terribly miss while I'm in Italy: the ability to drive my (automatic...no stick!) car, arrive at the place I intend, and park wherever I want.  In Italy, that isn't an option.  So, I turn to public transportation!  Which I am very happy to partake of, and love the fact that I can get anywhere in the city during a 70 minute interval for just 1.20euro.  Yet, my spoiled childhood of having my mother as a chauffeur, and then the access to a car when I was 16, has led me to have a major lack of bus-map-reading-skills.  Seriously, I think I'm great at getting around places, give me a map, and I can get there!  But busses just throw me off completely.  It doesn't help much that the ATAF website for the city of Firenze's bus system is lacking in clarity.  It looks like it should make sense, but it's kind of like trying to read heiroglyphics.  I definitely need someone to help me translate this map so Ava and I can get around the city independently and have some new adventures!  I'll pay good money for a tutor....any takers?  Anyone?  Well, I think the only thing better than figuring out this map, would be if I could drive that cheddar bus around the city!  Now THAT would turn some Italian heads!