Day 7: Florence

Buon Giorno from Florence! I finally got my luggage on Thursday at noon. We were a little late leaving for Florence but we made it before dinner time and most importantly, I have all my clothes!!!!

Thursday evening my friend Caitlin and I had dinner at a pizzeria named Nuti. I had pasta with pesto--absolutely delicious! It was very fun to be able to visit with Caitlin and who would have guessed our paths would cross in Florence??

Yesterday I visited the Duomo and several other beautiful cathedrals. It is amazing to see what was built hundreds and hundreds of years ago. Our class saw the "David" sculpture at the Academy. It was breathtaking and quite larger than I expected. We also went to the Basilica de San Croce where Michelangelo is buried. After that we climbed to the top of the mountain overlooking Florence and went to a monestary called Miniato de Monte. There we heard Gregorian chants by several monks. All of our days have been so busy!

The food here is wonderful. I find myself frequently grabbing a pizza as they are so delicious and relatively cheap here. They make them in personal size and are also shareable with another person. The gelato (ice cream) is to die for. There is literally a Gelateria on every corner, sometimes several in a row. I've been trying all sorts of flavors like Bacio (chocolate with hazelnut), Caramel, and Limone. I'm attempting to try as many flavors as possible while I'm here--and I definitely don't feel guilty about it with all the hiking I'm doing every day.

Today we went to a town about 45 minutes away by bus called San Gemignano. It is a medival town located up in the moutains. The architecture is amazing. I have plenty of pictures to share!! San Gemignano overlooks Tuscany. The rolling green hills filled with vineyards, the quaint little houses scattered throughout the orchards...etc. It really is one of the most beautiful views.

Market day (today, Saturday) in Florence is really something to see. The streets are lined up and down with many tents housing things like leather (which Florence is known for!), scarves, ties, and touristy souvenirs. I've been trying hard to save my money but my eye caught a few special items. Since the dollar is so weak in the U.S., everything is so expensive here. A bottle of water is almost 4 dollars!

Tomorrow we leave for Podova. While there we will be visiting Venice. I'm not sure what else is in and near Podova. We'll be there for two days. I'll update this as soon as I can. Hope everyone is doing well at home! I miss everyone!

Ciao :)