Friends, Fun, and Florence!

So these past two days have gone by so fast! This is going to be a long post! I leave Florence tomorrow and I’m not sure I’m ready to! Good thing I talked to my daddy today (first time of the trip… sorry dad) and he wants to take a trip to Italy with me as the “guide.” Warning, I charge a high price payable in cash or designer clothes and purses… your choice!

 View from Ponte Vecchio

 View of Ponte Vecchio

Saturday we spent the day with our class. We began the day by touring the Santa Croce Cathedral. It was beautiful! It was somewhat less detailed than some of the cathedrals we saw in Genova, but I liked it a lot! The downside was that the stained glass windows at the alter were being “renovated.” My teacher said that it had been like that for almost ten years! We are currently reading “A Room With A View” and a scene from the novel is set in that cathedral. We stood in the chapels that the characters stood in and it really made the novel (not my favorite to be honest) come to life! Here are some pictures of that morning!

After Santa Croce, we went to the Boboli Gardens. These are actually the back yard of a palace once lived in by part of the Medici family.  The Medici’s were a family of bankers who ruled for a very long time in Florence before the Lorena family and before Italy was united. Here, we sat down in a tiny meadow and had “class” for 15 minutes before walking around more.

After that we split off from the group and began shopping! Florence is known for its leather, silk, and just all around wonderful shopping! There seems to always be a designer store to walk in! We did a little damage Saturday, but saved it for when we had more time (keep reading)!

That afternoon and night we hung out with Anne’s friend CoCo Zentner that goes to UT Austin. She is studying in a small town south of Florence and was in town with her parents for the weekend. While they were on a tour, we get to spend time with her. It was a crazy small world because she’s actually from Monroe and her dad knows my dad, Uncle Brian, and Great Uncle Buddy, who is her pediatrician! I come all the way to Florence to make a new friend that my family already knows! Crazy!

We had Persecco and an amazing dessert after dinner in the Piazza de Reppublicca (I never found a consistent spelling for that!) because we did not want to go back, yet! While sitting there, we noticed a large crowd gathering nearby. They were all waiting for Bruce Springsteen to come out of the building right by us! Its kind of cool to say we were that close to Bruce himself even though we never saw him!

Sunday morning, we were up and at ‘em bright and early! We booked a tour that took us to the Piazzale Michelangelo where there is a replica of David in bronze and the best panoramic view of the city of Florence! It was incredible!

After that, we went to the Accademia Gallery where we saw more works by Michelangelo including the David itself! It was absolutely amazing! Unfortunately photos were not allowed, but you can Google it! No picture can captures the moment! We did take a picture of a modern art version of the David. What do you think?!?!

Last on our tour was the Cathedral of Florence, better known as the Duomo, which means “the house,” as in the house of God.  This is a structure I studied in art history senior year of high school and have been in love with it ever since! I have taken so many pictures of it that it’s nauseating! Here are just a few for you!

After our tour we grabbed lunch and moved into our hostel for our last night. This is my first time in a hostel and it was a little scary walking into it, especially because I booked it and if it wasn’t ok, it was all on me! It’s actually pretty decent and even has FREE Wi-Fi, which is always a lovely thing! It’s right in the city centre and is safe! It’s a good first hostel experience for sure!

With our bags dropped off and everything in line, we hit the streets to go shopping and literally shopped ‘til we dropped! We all picked up great souvenirs from our adventures here in the city and obviously some general goodies for ourselves. I usually like to get one big item on a trip and I’ve been on the lookout for this trip’s item. I found it here in Florence! Since Florence is known for its leather, I bought a lambskin purse! I am absolutely in love with it and can’t wait to bring it home! I will NOT be using it here for fear that it gets messed up! It’s too great to risk that!

I know that was long, but that was two days worth of Florence. I definitely have not seen all there is to see here, but there’s only so much I can do in two full days. I will DEFINITELY come back here, no doubt about it.

Tomorrow, we go back to Genova with a stop on the way where I’ll do my best to prop up a really old building! (Can you guess it?) There will be a post and pictures soon!

I’m loving the emails y’all are sending me, but having trouble balancing time between writing these posts, replying to emails, sleeping, and doing homework (the latter of which is least important)! Ciao!