Friday after school I headed home to get my bags and go to the train station. Most of the crew was going on this trip plus others in the program so there were a lot of people that we knew! After making a stop in Bologna we finally made it to Firenze! We walked around and found our hostel pretty easily. There were 9 of us plus a few friends from the Milan program staying in the same hostel which was great! The hostel was actually pretty nice for 7 euro a night, except for the workout climbing the stairs haha. After getting settled in we went to a small shop for some wine, and the owner ended up giving us a wine opener and 9 bottles of wine for 19 euro! Dinner was next on the list; we went to a restaurant called ZaZa that was recommended to us by some of the girls friends (and Rick Steves). This place was amazing. I had this amazing pasta with a tomato sauce and cheese, and of course tiramisu for dessert. When we got back to the hostel the pregame began, and ended with Lebomb shots and pulls on a 5th of whisky. We all decided to go to Space Electronica for the night which was so much fun! It was our first discoteca and it did not disappoint. When you got there you get a card and they basically hole punch different spots on your card for different things and when you leave you pay with the card. It didn't end up being that expensive and we didn't need much to drink at that point. It was so much fun just dancing the whole night.
The next morning we woke up bright and early and I started my day with a cup of cioccolata calda (molto bene--the best I've had yet) and a pastry with creme. Our group got a little split up but we started off at the Duomo in the actual church part. It was huge and completely beautiful. I lit a candle while I was there also. After exploring the inside, a few of us decided that it would be amazing to climb to the top of the bell tower--414 steps. There were 4 different levels, so we got to take a break every once in a while and take some great pictures. It was worth it to walk all that way! The bells did go off when we were climbing though and it was extremely loud. The view of Florence from the top of the tower was breathtaking. The walk back down was a little scary--some of the steps were really narrow and it had been raining earlier so they were also wet. After the Duomo we ventured to the Academia to see the David. I have to say it was my favorite thing about Florence. It's funny because we walked right past the building at first; you would have never guessed that the building had no name and looked just like a random house. The rest of the museum was pretty cool, but I could have stayed for hours just looking at the David. We went to lunch at a small pizza place afterwards and Joanna and I split a pizza that had spinach, red peppers, and onions on it. It was amazing and just enough to tie me over until dinner later that night. When we were done eating we headed over to the Uffizi to look around the art galleries. Of course we stopped for some gelato on the way over. I had chocolate chip this time around. The Uffizi was really cool, it was awesome to see paintings and drawings that were done as early as the 1400's! My favorite part of the gallery was the "Birth of Venus" which was painted by Botticelli. We tried going to the Medici palace after that to go to the gardens, but by the time we walked over there we didn't want to be rushed and it was getting dark so we decided to call it a day and take a nap before dinner. Around 9 we went to dinner, and after a small fiasco ended up eating one of the best meals on this trip. We got free wine and lemoncello, and I also had bruschetta and pizza. It was the best pizza I have ever had: tomatoes, prosciutto, arugula, and parmesan cheese. Completely amazing. Dinner wasn't over until almost midnight, so we headed back to the hostel for a quick pregame before trying out a new place. That didn't end up working too well, so we settled for Space Electronica again. It was awesome though, I love that place.
In the morning we had to be out of there by 10, so we left and went to the Boboli Gardens in the Medici Palace. The gardens were amazing, and it was so much fun walking around them. I'm so glad we decided to go that day instead of the day before because it was sunny out and everyone was in a much better mood. We had to carry our stuff with us, but luckily they had a bag check so we could let them hold onto our backpacks. After walking around the gardens for a few hours, we went to drop off our stuff at Kalyns friends apartment. That made traveling around a lot easier. We were so hungry and wanted to go the the Oil Shop to eat, but it was closed so we settled for a place called "Self Service". If you ever go to Florence, do NOT go to the self service. As Joanna would say "I think this was the worst meal I have ever eaten. In my entire life." We all pondered that statement and agreed. I mean if you like balls of bread that you think are meatballs and chicken that is in no way chicken, then I guess it's ok. Oh and it was 10 euro. Awful. But at least it was entertaining. The girls needed to to some shopping so Alex left to do some more sightseeing and we went to the markets to get some goodies. I ended up getting a scarf, a leather journal, and a mask for Carnival this weekend. We also stopped in H&M and got a few things. Of course I was craving nutella gelato so that had to be had. We still had a ton of time to kill so we sat in a restaurant and I ended up with an 8 euro orange juice. At this point though I really didn't care and just laughed it off. We killed a little more time walking around and doing a little more shopping, got our stuff, and headed to the train station. Maggie, Kaitlin, Courtney, Joanna and I opted for the direct Eurostar which was really relaxing and worth the extra money. It felt so good to be home even though I loved being in Florence.
Now we have another full week of Italian, and our test on Friday! I'm so nervous because I feel like I'm still horrible at Italian. I'm going to start studying tomorrow though since it's Mias birthday today. Also I got a package from my parents...I am so excited about it! Sweatpants and lots of chips, cookies, and ranch. And about 8 cards for my bday and Valentines day. So great!!
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