Well let me tell ya! Apart from different electronic appliances, there’s the language, how Italians tell time, the currency and the idea of leasure time. The Euro: Exchange rate is typically $1.34-$1.47 us dollars to every Euro. The Bills: The smallest coin 1 cent (size of your pinky in diameter), 2 cent, 5 cent, 10 cent, 20 cent, 50 cent, 1 euro coin, 2 euro coin then 5 euro bill, 10 euro bill, 20 euro bill, 50 euro bill and up. Since coins are very typical in every day use a good idea to bring to Europe is a coin purse. Time: 6 hour difference to new york, Italy uses 24hr clock systems, and daylight savings is NOT on the same day as the U.S. Shopping: shopping can be strange in Italy when the only things that stay open late are bars. Most stores close for lunch breaks around 12 and open around 1 or 2 in the afternoon and most stores close at 6 or 7 (including clothing stores).  Grocery stores: It costs money to buy plastic grocery bags so most people bring their own bags. you can’t touch the produce without a glove and you have to weigh it and put a sticker on it. Ice Cream: Nothing else like it on earth… gelato!!

Here are some pictures of what the apliances look like (be sure to read the discription!)

“Art can be anywhere, you just have to look hard enough,” My mother used to tell me. I didn’t expect that Florence would be a city that seemed to live on a foundation of creativity. No wonder it was home to the renaissance. I have a slight obsession when it comes to Urban Street art, which you can find all over Florence. Not all graffiti is ugly or has to be scary or gang related. For example, the school I bike by every day is decorated by inspiring words transformed into the contemporary art form of ‘Tagging’, and when shops close, their doors are often covered by amazing artwork. If you’re lucky enough you might even spot a sign that has been transformed, like this sign with a heart I saw as I was walking around. Thank you F.I.T. for giving me the opportunity to live in a city where with each step I take I see art.