In Florence!

I have arrived! After 30 hours of travel with maybe 3 hours of sleep, I am here. It is absolutely beautiful. I wish I could appreciate it more at this point, but the jet lag is really bad. I had no idea it would be this unbearable. My head is swimming and it is hard to stand because I am so tired. But that aside, I have never felt so free before. The flight on Lufthansa was the best I've ever had - great food, cartoons, pillows, leg room. The orientation was overwhelming; it took every bit of my concentration to just fill out the forms for my permisso di soggiorgno (permit of stay). The thing I'm looking forward to the most is just sleeping, sleeping. I don't even care about food or anything else at this point, I'm just overwhelmed with exhaustion. The temperature is a hot 80F, with humidity and my clothes are gross from not changing or showering for so long. There are palm trees and vespas and every building is more interesting than any I have ever seen in the US up to this point. I can't wait to start my adventure. Cheers!