When in Rome

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We have just been getting used to the city and exploring; after classes or on our days off we just wander around and try to get used to the city and what’s around us. We have found really good lunch places just by walking around. The food here is amazing; everything is so fresh and good. So far I think I have had a panini and gelato everyday. The gelato is so good, oh my god. There’s a place on my street that is going to be the reason I come back 10 pounds heavier. On the way back from class I got hazelnut. There were literally whole hazelnuts in every bite, it was incredible. And the wine is so good too. The grocery store has a huge, huge selection. Even a bottle of wine that cost one Euro is good.

In my Contemporary Italy class we had a guest from the community come in and talk to our class. After his brief talk we took the city bus to his community center. First of all having 20 students on the city bus is complete mayhem, not to mention that we had to switch lines multiple times. When we got to the community center it was pretty cool. We took a tour of the center and got to meet some of the members of the community. After leaving the center we went to a small coffee shop and had a glass of wine. Our teacher said that his reasoning for taking us out of downtown Florence was to show us the “real” aspect of the city. He explained that it’s hard to get consumed with designer names in a city like Florence, but in reality there are still parts of the city that are not rich and work for their belongings. My classes are really cool, in all of them we take field trips so it breaks up the 3 hours.

On Friday I had the day off so we went to the closed market. There are two main markets in Florence, the closed market and the open market. The open market has jewelry, clothes, leather goods and stuff like that. The closed market has every food imaginable. Downstairs there is wine, cheeses, meats and breads. Everything is really fresh and they cut the meat right in front of you… its actually kind of disgusting. Upstairs is really cool, its all fresh fruits and veggies, dried fruits and nuts. The dried fruit is really good, there is every dried fruit imaginable. Its really pretty upstairs because of all of the colors of the fruits and vegetables. After we went to the market we just laid out on the bridge for the rest of the day and then walked around.

I went to Rome for the day on Saturday. It was really awesome, very very cityish. It actually reminded me of Manhattan. We took this really cool double decker bus around the city like total tourists, but it was fun. I got to see the Tiber river, Coliseum, Vatican, and where Julius Caesar was stabbed. On the way home I got McDonalds for the train… it was so good. Here they have curly fries… amazing. If I had to make a comparison I would say that Rome was like NYC and Florence is like Boston. Being in Rome really made me love Florence even more; it was so weird because at the end of the day I was exhausted and I could not wait to be back in Florence. After one week it’s already feeling like home here.

Its so cool that I live here, like when I’m walking down my street and pull out my apartment keys I cant believe that I actually have an apartment in Florence, Italy. I went for a run this afternoon and it was awesome to just look around at everything. I love it.

Tonight I went to the best gelato place ever, its called Grom. It was actually named one of the world’s best gelato places. I had Crema di Grom, it was delicious; it was like a vanillaish flavor with chocolate chips and crunchy pieces of nougat

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Photos

Market
Upstairs of the Closed Market

Strawberry
Smallest Strawberry I have ever seen

Market
Downstairs of the closed Market

Market
Downstairs in the Closed Market

My Apartment
Backyard of my apartment

My Apartment
Backyard of my apartment

Apartment
Front Doors of My Apartment

Ruins
Where Julius Caesar was killed