When I first arrived in Florence, everything felt new. The streets were unfamiliar; I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I’d be walking everywhere and praying no one had a full conversation with me in Italian because most of my practice with Italian came from Duolingo.
One of the easiest ways to settle into the city and make new friends was through food.
During my first week, I had two meals that were very different from each other. One was surrounded by people I had just met, and the other was completely by myself. Looking back, they both became small parts of my first experience of living in Florence.
My first pizza in Florence
On my second day in the city, I went on a guided walking tour with other students who had just arrived. Since we were all new, it was an easy way to meet people who were in the same situation as me. After the tour, a few of us went to Pizza Napoli for lunch; it’s located across from the famed sandwich shop, All’Antico Vinaio. It was one of my first official meals in Florence, so I was excited to finally see what pizza was actually like in Italy.
My first pizza in Florence at Pizza Napoli 1955, shared with a few girls I had just met on my first day in the city.
We ordered two pizzas to share, which gave us a chance to try different kinds. One had a pesto-based topping with mozzarella and tomatoes, while the other was a basic but very delicious Margherita. Sitting around a table with people who had been complete strangers earlier that day made the whole experience feel a little less overwhelming.
We were all figuring things out together. None of us knew the city particularly well yet, and we were all starting this new experience at the same time. In a way, that first pizza wasn't just my first meal in Florence. It was also one of my first opportunities to make friends.
Pasta between classes
A few days later, I had a very different experience. Instead of going out to dinner with a group, I had some time between classes and decided to get something to eat by myself at La Buchetta Food & Wine Restaurant.
Spaghetti at La Buchetta Food & Wine Restaurant, one of my first solo meals in Florence.
I ordered a kid’s spaghetti with tomato sauce and Parmesan. Unlike the pizza lunch, there wasn't anyone sitting across from me to talk to. I was simply sitting at a restaurant by myself, eating before heading to my next class.
Eating alone was a small experience, but it made me realize how quickly my relationship with the city was changing. On my first day, I needed other people around me because everything was unfamiliar. Just a few days later, I was comfortable enough to walk to a restaurant, sit down, order my own meal, and enjoy some time by myself.
I think that is one of the unexpected parts of studying abroad. Not every experience is going to be a big adventure or a weekend trip somewhere new. Sometimes it is just finding somewhere to eat between classes. Sometimes it is sitting at a table by yourself. Sometimes it is sharing a pizza with people you met only a few hours earlier.
Both meals were memorable for completely different reasons. The pizza was about meeting people and experiencing Florence together for the first time. The pasta was about becoming a little more comfortable doing things on my own.
I came to Florence expecting to experience a new culture, try new foods, and see new places. I didn't expect that something as simple as eating would become one of the ways I started to feel at home.
My first week in Florence may have only been the beginning, but it already gave me two very different meals and two very different introductions to life in a new city.