"The best laid schemes of mice and men/Go oft awry" -Robert Burns, "To a Mouse"

Sadly, today I was the mouse.

Yeah, Mrs. Robertson, you should be
pumped about my reference to
9th grade English class

My best laid schemes: 

Flying home for the holidays bright-and-early this morning.  

Where things go awry:

After acing our oral exams and celebrating with a toasty, hot chocolate (garnished with whipped cream and chocolate chips, no doubt) Lauren and I were greeted by a beautiful, Florentine “snowfall.”  

I will not lie to you... at first, we mocked the wanna-be-flakes: they were so puny that they weren't even accumulating to anything. 

This was likely my first mistake. 

Never poke fun at Mother Nature. 

She’s always got the final call.

Case in point: Later in the afternoon, while blasting my Christmas tunes and packing up my suitcase like a jolly, little elf, I was shocked to see that the pseudo-flakes had, by then, morphed into actual snowflakes.  

Wait!  Isn't THIS what I signed up for?

Yup, I’m studying in Italy. Uh-huh, that’s the one in the Mediterranean.  First things that come to mind when thinking about Italy? Certainly not snow. In fact, I’ve been told time and time again that it hardly ever snows in Florence.  Hardly ever.

As the day went on (and the snow kept sticking) it became clear that this year was going to be a little different.  As the day went on (and the snow kept sticking) I went from an ecstatic snow-supporter to a gradually, more-Scrooge-like snow-hater.  

First, my host-Babbo bailed as my ride to the airport because he didn’t have the appropriate chains on his tires.* Then, Lauren and I--suffering severe stomach-grumbles from not eating anything in the last hour or so (haha)--slushed for 90 minutes to the center for dinner because of the lack of public transportation.  (Result: A solid cardiovascular workout yesterday and extremely sore calfs today.)  Finally, the icing on the cake, was--Yup, you guessed it!--a cancelled flight and closed airport.

So... my best laid plans certainly went awry.  I would never lie to my kabillions of faithful blog-followers--obviously I was a bit upset about it.

However

1. A little snow-cover completed the winter-wonderland-look that Florence was going for.
2. I squeezed in yet another romantic, dinner for two with... who else? Lauren. We’ve discovered a new, favorite restaurant and were suckered into a dessert (yeah, yeah, it takes a lot to make me eat a dessert) because the table beside us randomly broke into perfectly harmonized, a cappella, Italian Christmas carols. All visitors to Florence are welcome (or better yet, expected) to treat me to a fine, five-course dinner at this restaurant.
3. I had the chance to finally meet Adair’s mom--another delayed-flight-victim!  Better yet, I had the chance to meet her over a San Luca gelato at our favorite gelateria.
4. I was there to watch my host siblings open up my Christmas gifts this morning.  Nina, was very curious all week about the wrapped gifts, perched in the corner of my bedroom--making her discovery that they were, in fact, for her even more exciting.  Oscar attacked me with a big bear hug after unwrapping his cologne-smelling, long-sleeve tee** and Nina went wild for all of her American crafts, markers, and stickers.  “E’ meglio di un compleanno!" (It’s better than a birthday!) she kept on shrieking. Too precious.

5. The city’s incredibly out-of-proportion response to the snowfall was priceless. The fact that a little dusting of snow can cause an infinite traffic jam outside my window, complete with honking and beeping? Comical.  The image of Nina suited-up for the arctic when, in reality, she was heading into our lightly powdered, tropical garden was also pretty good for a laugh.  Throughout the streets, bicycles were buried, buses were abandoned on the side of the roads, Florentines were on skis, under umbrellas, and in Moon Boots*** 

So, at this point in time, it looks like I’ll be arriving in the U.S. a day later.  As long as my flights and connections all go as planned on Sunday, however, I cannot complain about my extra day in Florence after all.

• 
  

*Chains, really? Guys, if we’re actually that concerned about it, maybe it’s time we enter the 21st century and invest in some 4-wheel-drive

**Again, Abercrombie and Fitch is all the fad for Italians of all ages. Fun fact: Oscar’s life plan, at this point in time, consists of moving to New York City and becoming an actor. (He was a child model... enough said.) Thus, nothing could compare to an Abercrombie and Fitch t-shirt referencing NYC.

*** I do not joke. Real, live Moon Boots in a rainbow assortment of colors... Why Italians--who never experience snow--have Moon Boots in their closets is beyond me.