Moleskinerie

(Van Gogh's notebook from 1888-1890)

Moleskine (n): a small, usually black, leather-bound notebook held together by an elastic band. The notebook features a secret back pocket as well as a variety of page types, including blank, lined, and grid. I would consider the moleskine as a renaissance item, another reason to use one while in Florence.

All around Italy I have seen people porting these cross-gender books. The beauty of the notebook is in its flexible nature. Personally I have two, a smaller one to write down URL’s, thoughts, to-do lists, phone numbers, an unforgettable pizzeria, or anything else that comes to mind.

Having a notebook like a moleskine helps to consolidate thoughts which can later be turned into prose.

bottom line: buy one and see what it does for you!

Ciao! So even blogger is in Italian...

It's beautiful here.

I arrived today, after a few long flights and delays (fog, among other reasons) to a country where I have but only seen pictures. After arrival (thankfully both of my bags made it here), we went on a walking tour, where I ate gelato and walked around the area surrounding the hotel we are staying at-- the Grand Hotel Mediterraneo.

We flew Lufthansa from JFK to Munich and then Florence, and the first plane was clean, new, and huge! There was an empty middle seat in between me and this girl, so we were able to have even more room-- which was fortunate.

I haven't taken many pictures yet-- but as soon as I have them, consider them posted.

The coffee is amazing. And i'm trying to speak a little italian here and there.

Wander+lust=wanderlust

Wanderlust, a word I came across while wiki'ing, means

"(Middle High German: wandern, to wander, and Lust, desire) is a German loanword. It is commonly defined as a strong desire to travel, or by having an itch to get out and see the world [1]. Some consider it to be a simple linguistic compound of wander and lust."

I've never heard of this word until now, but I think that it describes the feeling of many college students, especially those who are planning (or want) to study abroad.

Do I personally have feelings of wanderlust? Most definetly.

+add that one into your daily vocabulary.