We have done some very interesting night adventuring here in Florence, and have encountered some interesting people. In the beginning, we particularly enjoyed loading up with some beer and heading to the steps of the Duomo. It seems to be a lively spot at night, which is interesting for us back at home, since you don't really find people partying on the steps of churches...
There were these southern Italian guys who were playing music there on the steps, and insisted that we join them...I was lucky enough to be handed the egg with beads in it. It made me feel like quite the musician.
Jessica and I did a lot of exploring together the first week, and we came across The Leather Market. This place is always interesting to walk around...despite the sellers who believe that you will buy their stuff after they give you creepy compliments, there are always cute handmade things to look at.
We have become good friends with a lovely Italian girl named Carola, who I met online over the summer. She has gone out with us a couple times, and every time we had too much fun. Needless to say, we love her already :)
On September 7th, we got to attend two amazing parties in one night. First, we got to be a part of a true Florentine tradition called La Festa Della Rificolona, or The Festival of the Paper Lanterns. This is a festival that happens on September 7th every year. It began hundreds of years ago when the pilgrims would come down into Florence to bring their goods, and they would arrive before dawn so they would always carry lanterns on the end of sticks. Now, every year the people of Florence parade through the town with these paper lanterns with many different decorations, ending in one of the main piazzas where a speech is given. This was such a cool experience; we felt really integrated into the culture- like true Florentines!
For those of you that don't know, the Fleur de lis is the symbol of Florence, as seen in the lantern above!
This is the piazza where the parade ended, and the speech was given!
After that ended, we got to go to an all exclusive party on top of the Uffizi Galleria. We were invited by the Rotaract Club here in Florence, who told us that the top of the Uffizi is not open to the public, so it would be a once in a lifetime kind of experience. And holy crap, were they right. It was basically a fancy dress-up party with classy Italians, with the view overlooking Florence. One of the most badass nights of my life. Despite the $25 dollar fee to get in, the open bar made it all so worth it. I really enjoyed getting to meet other Italians and practice speaking as much as I could! I mean, how many people can seriously say they partied on top of the Uffizi Galleria?
Two days later, we took a day trip to Cinque Terre with about thirty other people from my program. Let me just tell you, I have wanted to go to Cinque Terre pretty much as long as I can remember. For years, I have been looking at pictures of it and have been dreaming of going, and I finally went. The idea of it is still so surreal to me! It was everything that I dreamed it would be and more.
This is the love seat on Via Dell'Amore, or the street of love. The little locks there are where people write their names on them as a couple and lock it there, and the tradition says that you will stay together forever :)
The beautiful countryside with the ocean!
View from the top of the hike...breathtaking.
A unique characteristic of Cinque Terre is all the colorful buildings. I was in love!
We hiked to this town called Vernazza, which is said to be the prettiest of the five towns. The hike was an hour and a half long uphill in the heat, but descending down into the city made it all completely worth it.
We hiked to almost all of the different towns and got to see how they were different in their own little ways. It seemed like such a peaceful beautiful place- I wish that I had more than one day to spend there! After the long hike into Vernazza, we took a ferry over to the last town, Monterosso, where we got to take a long break and swim in the Mediterranean Sea before heading home. It was warm and wonderful, we were in heaven! A nice big gelato was the perfect way to end the day. I definitely plan on returning sometime later this year!
After the Cinque Terre trip, I got really sick and decided to take it easy for the next couple days. Also, I made the decision to move into my new apartment just four days later, on Thursday the 13th. I was finally ready to make the transition into the city center, where I would be close to everything and finally situated for the year in the place that I would call home. On Tuesday, we went to another Rotaract event that was supposed to welcome everybody and to bring the Italians and the Americans together. It was at a little Karaoke bar, where they reserved a room downstairs for all of us. It was most definitely an interesting night, with some interesting performances from both Americans and Italians. By the end of the night, we were all up learning some random dances that we didn't even understand the words to. It was fantastic.
After the Karaoke ended, Jessica and I went to Piazza Michaelangelo for the first time with our new Italian friends. You can see the whole skyline of Florence...and at night it was beautiful! The perfect way to end the night. On Thursday, I finally moved into my apartment and unpacked all of my clothes. It was so exciting to finally have my own room where I can unwind and relax. Also, I was ecstatic to have my own internet...so that night, I definitely Skyped three different times. It was awesome. The next day, we had our school field trip to Siena and San Gimignano. Despite the rain, it was such an adventurous day. I absolutely loved both towns in their own ways, they were both so different! Getting to go into the Duomo and the museum in Siena was so memorable. The museum in Siena was in the main Piazza, called Piazza del Campo. This is also where they do the horse races, called Palio di Siena, which has been a tradition for hundreds of years. The museum showed us all the art that depicted the government of Siena hundreds of years ago and their conflicts with the Florentine government. We got to go into the rooms where they sat altogether; it was so surreal. Next, we headed to the Duomo. Siena and Florence were rivals centuries ago, and we were told that they tried to build Siena's Duomo much bigger than Florence's. They failed halfway through due to the plagues and the wars, however they left the unfinished portion up, which I found to be very interesting. The inside of the Duomo was just beautiful. It was like a freaking palace! Every inch of it was covered with art and sculptures, all crafted by a human hand. The idea of it blew my mind. It truly was so much to take in! The floor art is typically covered during most of the year to prevent it from fading, however September is the one month out of the year that they uncovered it; we were very lucky! After the two tours, we got free time before we headed to San Gimignano. We spent this time getting a fat piece of pizza and sitting in the Piazza, taking it all in.
From there, we headed to San Gimignano, a little medieval town in the hills of Tuscany. It was so old and quaint, just adorable! The medieval towers were so peculiar to see, especially surrounded by swarms of crows...gave it that little creepy touch. We climbed to the top of this little tower and got one of the most beautiful views that I have seen in Tuscany. Being on the top of the hills, looking down on a little town and the rest of the countryside...mesmerizing. We just spent a couple of hours here exploring the town on our own..and it was certainly small enough to be able to venture basically the whole area. We also got to try what is apparently the best gelato in the world, and while I don't know if I can give it the name of the best, it was pretty damn good. Although I'm far too in love with ice cream to ever say that it was bad. I really enjoyed this town, it made me feel like I have seen some of the heart of Tuscany, with the mixture of the beautiful countryside and little beautiful towns. After we finished up, we headed to dinner at the house of Machiavelli, an Italian historian who was known for writing the famous novel, The Prince. We got to visit his house where he wrote the book and spent some years of his life, and we feasted on a real traditional Tuscan meal where he passed much of his time as well. The dinner was absolutely amazing! I haven't feasted that much since last Thanksgiving. Literally. Overall, it was a such a beautiful and memorable day...I can't wait to explore more of this beautiful region!
The next day, I woke up happier than ever. Massimo came into town! He stayed with me from last Saturday until today, and we had such an amazing time. I was so excited for him to get to know my friends and to experience what I have been experiencing here in Italy during my time that we had been apart. On Sunday we went to a soccer game with my school, and we saw Fiorentina against Catagna. I got Massi in on our student deal, which he was stoked about. It was my first experience at a real Italian soccer game...crazy to say the least! The Italian fans are absolutely insane. It seemed like they weren't even watching much of the game, but more jumping up and down the whole time chanting in unison and waving their flags. What I found quite hilarious is that their rivalry team is actually Massi's team, Juventus. Even though they weren't playing them this time, they were still chanting and cursing against them, which Massi and I were both laughing at the entire time. We get to see the Juventus vs. Fiorentina game this Tuesday, which I already know will be insane!
Monday, I took Massi to school with me. He was the star of my Italian class, naturally. Although he was bored to death, it was nice having his company and hearing him help us with the language :) We went to the top of the Duomo, which I have been waiting for him to do since I got here. I am so happy that I waited for him; it was truly one of the most beautiful moments of my life. Seeing this beautiful city that I live in from above literally brought tears to my eyes. The view was unforgettable and humbling, and reminded me of how lucky I am to be living in a place like this for the year. I am so happy that I got to share those moments with the love of my life and my best friend, it's really a memory that I will never forget.
The next night, I took him to Piazza Michealangelo to show him the skyline of Florence. I'm pretty sure he was just as taken aback as I was the first time. It never gets old!
On Wednesday, it was my friend Haylee's 21st birthday. Boy did we celebrate. We got a big group together to celebrate...it was most certainly an awesome night of random blurred adventures!
During the week, I cooked my first three meals. Pasta Fagioli, Risotto ai funghi e gorgonzola, and Lasagna alla Bolognese. I'm starting to feel like an Italian housewife! I have had way too much fun cooking, especially for Massi :) The only thing is I wish it didn't cost so much to eat here, or I would literally be cooking every night. However I hope to experiment and attend cooking classes this year, so that I can bring some authentic Italian recipes home with me! It was pretty hard to feed Massi though, since he is hungry almost all day. Yesterday he literally ate six or seven meals...so I keep busy in the kitchen between breakfast, lunch and dinner...and the in between meals. ;) This week certainly was relaxing and amazing, with my love by my side. We got to explore Florence more, and even visit the town of Fiesole in the hills behind Florence with some more amazing views. We also spent a lot of time just hanging out at the house together, and enjoying each other's company. We are still getting used to the whole seeing each other every weekend and being able to talk all day with no time difference thing...it's still pretty surreal! He left today, but I actually got to tell him that I'll see him in just four days. Seriously the best feeling ever. It finally feels like we are in a normal relationship...such a nice break :) Now the school week will commence again, and I will see what these next weeks have in store for me! I promise to keep you all more updated, now that things have calmed down.
Ciao per adesso amici!
