Today I woke up and took my laundry to a place right down the street. It said “self service” on the window, but I went in and some lady came in and collected my money and put the soap in. It was 8 Euros for soap and to wash and dry one load! I couldn’t believe it. While I know that you can live anywhere on a budget, I really don’t understand how most people afford to live in Europe. If you just lived a comfortable life, you would have to make at least $100,000 a year and that’s if you didn’t have kids. Most of the restaurants I’ve seen, if you got a full Italian style meal (appetizer, first and second course, dessert, and a drink) it would be 50 Euros per person. Not to mention bills like gas, electric, water, rent, clothes, transportation, and food. I would really love to know how people afford it…if you know, please leave a comment below!

While waiting on my laundry, I decided to have lunch at a restaurant. I haven’t been to a restaurant since I’ve been here because I’m trying not to spend a lot of money, but I wanted to eat at one today. I got two beers and a plate of pasta in olive oil and it was 23 Euros. Something you should know if you come to Italy (and probably other places in Europe) is that most places charge a fee to sit and eat. If you are just drinking they usually won’t charge you or it will be less, but if you are eating there is a small fee. My food and beer were delicious and the weather was nice though! I was in a carbohydrate induced coma, so I went back to my room and took a short nap before I went and got my laundry.

I came back to the hostel and folded and put everything away, laid my outfit out for tomorrow, straightened up my bag, and got everything ready to pack tomorrow, then decided to go back across the river since that’s my favorite spot.

I had the best gelato I have ever had in Italy. I know there is a lot of debate about this hot topic, but I definitely suggest visiting Gelateria La Carraia, if you are ever in Florence.It is conveniently located right by the Ponte alla Carraia, so you can chill on the bridge and watch the river and people.

I decided I’d watch the sunset, but then I remembered I had all of my cameras in my bag, so I filmed it! It was so beautiful.

[http://youtu.be/Sef9CMLU6Do]

After leaving the river, I figured I should pick something up for dinner since I hadn’t eaten since 2ish and I didn’t want to go to my room only having had gelato. I went back to my store (it’s called Uno Rosso and here is the link to their Yelp page). On the way there some dumb boy on his bike kept riding around me and trying to spray me with something in this aerosol bottle…it smelled like cologne, but I wasn’t sure and I didn’t want him to spray me in the eyes and try to take my purse or something, so I yelled at him. There is a one block area by my hostel (Via della Scala/Via dell’Albero/Via Palazzuolo/Via Canacci) that is the Muslim area and during the day it’s been fine for me, but the other night I heard some guy yell at this American girl that was walking by about Obama and war and tonight I sensed some hostility and heard a few hisses (I assume because I was over there after dark), so yeah, just be careful. I might go walk over there tomorrow and take some pictures during the day. Once I made it to my store, I got a salad, but he only charged me .90 cents for it because it wasn’t super fresh since it was late, and a bottle of wine and some water and went back to my room.

SN: There are some awesome Arab markets that are worth checking out on Via Palazzuolo and the area may be larger than a block, but that is the only part I’ve explored.

It’s Saturday night so the street by my room is so busy. There is a pub called Joshua Tree that I can see from my room and it looks so fun. My hair is still wet or I would have tried it out tonight. That’s one of the only things that sucks about being a female, solo traveler…I don’t really feel safe going out to drink or dance at night. I’ve already seen a group of American kids pass by and two guys get into a fight in Arabic, so I’m sure tonight will be action packed.

I want to get up and go to Mass tomorrow, but a lot of the churches have signs that say tourist aren’t allowed and I also don’t have a dress that is church appropriate, so we’ll see! If I don’t go to Mass, then who knows what I’ll do tomorrow. I want to do something fun since it’s my last day in Florence, but I’ve been to all of the museums (except the Accademia) and my Firenze card has expired. I might try to go back to the Jewish museum and synagogue because I saw a really good Kosher, vegetarian restaurant that I wanted to try or I might check out some other gardens.

Anyway, I will talk to y’all tomorrow! 🙂