A Week in Florence...

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Wow, so much to update!! The past couple weeks have been great! Last week we were tourists in our own town and saw the sights of the city!

2/8: We had a field trip for our Food and Wine class to a cheese factory and a winery. The cheese factory was very interesting, as we saw how Peccorino (a tuscan cheese) and Ricotta are made. We saw every step of the process, including the moldy cheese that was aging and, some of it, literally growing fuzz. The winery was in the San Gimignano area of Tuscany, where Chianti wine is made. It was absolutely freezing, but we saw the storage vats and barrels and learned about the wine making and storing process. We got to taste some great wine, and it was very interesting to see how it is all made.

2/9: Ali and Amanda headed off to Bologna, while Meredith and I stayed in Florence to explore. We spent all afternoon outside of the apartment, from finding a cute lunch spot, to a little shopping, to gelato (obviously), to the Pitti Palace, and ending the day in Piazzale Michaelangelo. Piazzale Michaelangelo overlooks the whole city with an absolutely breathtaking view. We got a cup of tea and just relaxed and looked at what is quickly becoming the city that feels more and more like home. Many post card and calendar pictures are taken from up at this Piazzale, and there is also a replica of The David.


2/10: Sunday we relaxed and got some work done. In the afternoon, I walked over to Santo Spirito, a chuch down the street from our apartment, because it is open on Sundays and I wanted to check it out. It is one of my favorite churches so far, and there are many paintings inside. In the surrounding piazza there was a huge garage sale type market which was also cool to see. Later that afternooon Caitlin, Kat, Meredith, and I went to Friends, the pub down the street, to use the internet and do homework in a relaxing environment. When we got back, we cleaned the apartment, and made a big family style dinner. Usually we all make our own meals, so it's always nice to make a big one and sit around the big table.

2/11: After a long day of homework and classes, a few of us went to a Tea House to relax at night. It was a really cool environment and the owner, Rocco, is very nice. He even made me a special tea to help clear up my cold! It was a very nice and relaxing way to end the day and catch up with everyone.

2/12: During our break from class, Caitlin, Ali, and I decided to grab our afternoon books and go to the Galleria dell'Academia to see The David. The David was much bigger in person than we expected, and we even snuck a couple pictures!

2/13: It was an absolutely gorgeous day, so after class Caitlin, Meredith, Ali, and I decided to climb the Duomo. After climbing up 463 stairs (all narrow, some very windy, and some like a stairmaster) we reached the top and had another gorgeous view of the city. We relaxed on top for a while and just took in the sights. On the way down, we got to see the inside of the church, which is gorgeous.

2/14: Valentine's Day!! After class, Meredith and I got enormous amounts of Gelato, as we had been planning on it for weeks. Later that night 6 of us went to dinner at a restaurant called Trattoria Za-Za and had a great time together!

Pictures soon to come!

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