Thankful for Thanksgiving in Firenze

First off, I would like to wish all of my little Americans a Happy Thanksgiving. I appreciate the Italian lesson Mego, but unfortunately, no turkey for us because we spent this day of thanks at the top of a mountain in pitch black with no flashlight. I'll get to that story later, as well as to all that I am thankful for on this day.

We arrived in Florence Sunday afternoon after taking the earliest train we could away from our friend, the naked Salerno girl. We got to our hostel relatively easily for the first time ever and walked up the red-carpeted stairs to an automatic door (yes, the little things in life still amuse me). This hostel, Plus Florence, has a spa, a pool, a bar, a restaurant, and a movie theatre. I told you, we left the slums for Utopia. Our first order of business was to get our traditional hostel map of the city which has big pictures of all the tourist sites (I'm 22 and still respond better to picture books than words.. odd). We saw a bit of Florence that night and had an amazing dinner complete with a bottle of wine that made us a little too giddy when our conversation turned to us exploring the humor in different types of laughs (again, easily amused). *This Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for good cheap Italian wine.*

The following day we took out our picutre map and did our walking self-tour of the city. We went into the Duomo, the Medici Chapels and went for a walk by the Ponte Vecchio. Unfortunately, the weather finally turned on us and we were caught in the rain which led us back to the first hot, clean shower we had in weeks (some of these showers have actually made me dirtier than when I got in, I swear). We ended up meeting some Aussies at the hostel and spent the night playing cards and watching one Aussie get so drunk, she got lost going to her room at 10:30pm (I thought you were supposed to hold your liquor down under!). *Again, I am thankful for that cheap wine*

In the next couple of days we went to some Firenze markets, held up the leading tower of Piza (yes, it is actually leaning!!), and went for a sunset horseback ride in Chiante. (My life is a fairy tale right now, so where is my Prince Charming? He was probably one of the guys I ignored hitting on my blue eyes.. my favorite pick-up line being, "You dropped something... my heart".) The horseback ride was actually incredible. We rode through the vineyards and the counrtyside and ended the excursion with the best meal I have had in Italy and a wine tasting. Thankfully we didn't have to get back on horseback after that because by that point our group was playing "eye sthpyyyy, wif my little eyeeeee, something that begins wittthhhhh - hicup!" *I'm thankful for sunsets in Tuscany*

This brings me to my first Thanksgiving not spent at home with my family (awww, miss me?! miss me?! huh?! huh?! Don't roll your eyes Dad. I'm a million miles away but I can still see you...). We had a bit of a sleep-in this morning and then went to Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre is basically five amazing little villages along the northern coast of Italy which have a trail in the mountains connecting them. We underestimated the time it would take us to get there, so we arrived just in time to see the sun set over the first village. Since we traveled for about three hours to get there, this hike was happening even thought it was already 5:30pm. We started to climb a huge cliff overlooking the water and we had an amazing view the whole way up. We got to a part of the trail where the path was no wider than the width of my body and a huge cliff was right next to us... oh, and did I mention that it was also pitch black at this point? Neither of us could see anything so I whipped out my cell phone and with some encouraging words from Kimmy (and songs, specifically the lost boy song from Peter Pan) we entered a cave of vines by the light of my cell phone. *I'm thankful for cell phones* Along the way we ran into a family doing our hike in reverse. They of course were well prepared for the darkness and each had a flashlight. There Kimmy and I are in the middle of a trail with certain death inches to our right, walking by the light of my dying cell phone talking to a family with backpacks, walking sticks, and flashlights (just take a minute to appreciate that image). They warned us of how dangerous the path ahead was and that we really shouldn't go on without a flashlight. Oh! Okay Mrs. Minnesota! Thank you so much for your terrifying speech about narrow paths in utter darkness. If you were so concerned for our safety, you would have skipped the horrifying speech and your entire family history (three generations climbing through Cinque Terre "don't ya know?!). If you were really concerned about us you would have GIVEN US ONE OF YOUR FLASHLIGHTS!!! *I'm thankful for not being from Minnesota and for my self-restraint to not throw my cell phone at her face*

This Thanksgiving has been one to remember, and has given me a lot to be thankful for: my family, my friends, my Dougal Dog, my warm Uggs, gelotti, black and white dancing shoes, Thithavong Thai food, Channing Tatum, bows that I can put in my hair, and the fact that I can have each of these things when I return home in a few weeks (well, maybe not Channing Tatum...).

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!