I guess florence is pretty standard.

Besides the language differences, which is a mountain I'm just staring at and putting off climbing, Florence has been very similar to other cities that I've been in. Because our flat and the school are located in very central locations, they seem to be very safe and devoid of beggars and homeless people, which is usually standard in most other cities I've been to. Everyone dresses very nicely all the time, tourists, teachers, students, and especially locals. I can explain some more of the different styles of people another time. Downtown everything is expensive, and there are a lot of restaurants, bars (which aren't really bars but more like a cafe than anything else), and clothes shops, mostly italian designer but even a few chains that have crossed over to america or vice versa, such as Nautica and Diesel. I haven't been to a single one in an attempt to avoid temptation. Traffic seems to be thick and slow. There are tons of mopeds, however. I have been running beside the Arno some mornings and at times the exhaust from the mass of mopeds cruising along can make me feel sick. I guess Florence has a very bad pollution problem, exacerbated by the heat in the summer, and it causes health problems but more importantly damages the beautiful works of art and buildings in the area. Like boston and new york it seems cultured and a little arrogant, probably because these cities dictate certain ways of life that have to be learned and are hard to change or go against.

ciao.