New Beginnings

I knew I was going to blog during my fall term spent in Italy - but just before I leave seems like the appropriate time to start. A week ago today, I was told I was not going to be permitted to go abroad. You see, I have been eating Gluten-free for almost two years - and the villa we will be staying in cannot support such a diet. I was told this three weeks before leaving via email. I was on the phone within five minutes of receiving the email - and after 24 hours of knots in my stomach, a phone conference between my doctor and the international center, and somehow proving that I am a healthy graduate student - I'm back on the roster for the trip. Yes, I have Crohn's disease. And yes, I follow a gluten-free diet by choice to manage it. But is that going to stop me from going abroad - from living life? Not a chance.

So here begins my architectural adventures in Florence, Italy - for life, for food, and for love.