Why so Winter-esque, you should be more Autumnal...

As I sit in the Persimmon Orchard writing this tale, my fingers freezing and my hammock gently swaying in the winds that toss the entire trees to and fro violently, I feel a little less like a tourist then I did the rest of my day. Today, Megan and I decided to let our inner tourist nerds out and gallivant through downtown Florence on a quest: the quest to find EVERY TOURIST ATTRACTION WE COULD THINK OF! Did we fulfill said quest? No, no we did not. But we did enjoy a lot of amazing sites, so hold on to your seats folks, we've got pictures! (All photo credits go to the lovely Ms. Myers)

We headed out about 10 this morning, taking bus 14C back to our favorite sleeping location, Santa Maria Novella Train Station. It’s a lot more appealing in the daylight. HA. Then we set out on foot into the heart of downtown. The streets were cobblestone and full of bikes, mopeds, and city dwellers out for their daily routine.

And then there were the tourists. I heard more languages than I expected today. However, with Megan’s knowledge of Italian, and my few strained sentences, we got by perfectly fine. Although we did agree to talk in British Accents the whole time so as not to draw attention to the fact that we were American, and therefore hated by most European countries. And to avoid more of the ever present “Buongiorno Americane”’s.

First stop was right near the train station, The Santa Maria Novella Church. Unfortunately you have to pay to get inside, so we delighted ourselves in walking around the beautiful courtyard and headed on our way. After many jewelry stores and pastries shops we found our second stop: The Uffizi.

This AMAZING U-shaped building was the Medici’s original palace and administrative offices, and it takes up a good 25 square city blocks, including the cathedral and art courtyard.  It currently stands as on of the oldest and most famous art museums in the western world, holding many originals by Donatello, Boccacio, Michelangelo, Bernini and Da Vinci. The art courtyard was a little awe inspiring with its huge original statues of Greek mythology and a few drunken looking lions. I tried to get in with the gang…

Heading out of the Uffizi and towards the river, you are immediately in site of Ponte Vecchio. This bridge was the original meat slaughtering center of town. However, its buildings were eventually turned into shops that now house some of the most beautiful, and expensive, jewelry in all of Florence. We ooohhhed and aaahhhed all the way down, and got some amazing views of the river side of Florence. What a sight to see, my friends.

As we headed for our final tourist stop of the day, we walked slowly, taking in the sights and sounds of the city. Since we headed to the school as soon as we arrived, and have spent most of our time resting and getting settled in, it was a real treat to be in the city seeing the Italy we hear about in stories. We stopped in some cool shops along the way like the amazing H&M and Kikos, a cool make-up store in Florence that sells nail polish for 2.50 euros a bottle, UNHEARD OF! And then we reached out final destination, Il Duomo.

This amazing building is the main Catholic Church of Florence and is completely covered in marble in the Gothic style. The ornate features of this building are absolutely mind blowing. It stands one of the largest and tallest buildings in Florence, and it stands out like you’ve never seen. Mostly white, it almost glows in the sunlight. Its incredible seeing the kinds of things we learned about in my Art Appreciation class right in front on my eyes! Along with its baptismal building, across the courtyard, it stands as a testament to true craftsmanship and years of time spent in constant commitment. Megs and I sat down here to rest our feet and do some people watching.

As you know, Megan and I are excellent at developing plans. So after Megs thoroughly confused the poor information man with her fluent Italian, we got a map and headed home. We decided to stop at I sette peccatti to partake in one of the 7 deadly sins. You know, there is lust, greed, gluttony, and of course, Cheese. It’s in there. This shop has some delicious Pizza. It also has a restroom, which was a big selling point for us. After a whole pizza for each of us was demolished, we headed back home, taking the countryside route.

 There are some gorgeous hills and homes here in Florence, and the back road from town takes you past a good few of them. After getting run over by about 7 millions cars, and scaring ourselves to death by running into EACH OTHER a few times, we were finally headed up the hill to our new home.

 

 Sitting here typing this is probably the most at home I felt here so far. The wind through the trees is SO strong it is hard to hear each other speak, but it was the perfect weather for such a perfect day. Being in that part of Florence showed me a little taste of all of the amazing things I will get to experience this year. A few more girls came into the dorm last night, and meeting them gave me a little glimpse of what amazing friendships I will get to make this year. So cheers to this year, as it says in Proverbs 31:25, “She laughs without fear of the future”, and I know I’ll get the last laugh.