I spent this last weekend in the fantastic city of Florence with a small group of friends from the Rome Center. The city was beautiful and I loved the food and culture I experienced there. I began my time in Florence by heading to the outdoor market full of famous Florence leather and a plethora of other wondrous goods. I was really proud of myself for bartering for a nice leather purse, and in the end I ended up getting the guy to knock off about fifteen dollars from the original price! I also bought some beautiful scarves that may or may not make it back to Indiana as gifts.
On our way back to our hostel we passed The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, more commonly known as the Duomo. It was massive! I couldn't believe the size of the basilica just from the outside. We went inside and my research senses started to go crazy as I observed how oddly the church was being used. There was only a small section of candles that people were lighting but no one seemed to be praying. The basilica was filled with tour groups and except for the modesty dress code there didn't seem to be any great reverence for the sacred space. Anyway, I caught myself thinking about functionality and tried to stop myself from continuing to explore the church in research mode but I guess its just how I've begun to look at things.
We got a recommendation for a reasonable restaurant from a local that turned out to be amazing. I had pear ravioli in the most delicious creamy cheese sauce every created. It was soooooo delicious. The pear was sweet and savory and I used some bread to soak up every last bit of sauce. Later we went to a gelato place not far from our hostel and I some of the best gelato in Italy! I had amaretto, grapefruit, and blackberry. All the flavors were amazing fresh and super yummy. The fantastic flavors of Florence continued when we went to dinner on Saturday night at a trattoria off the beaten path. We had chicken liver on toasted bread for appertivi (appetizer), and I had ravioli with sausage and tomato in another delectable cream sauce. I also had tiramisu since I've never had it before, and where better than a fantastic restaurant in Italy. The meal was delicious and very reasonable. All the food in Florence was wonderful! When I got a salami (so every things fine!) panino they sliced the meat fresh and added a scrumptious artichoke spread.
I got to go to The Galleria Accademia and the Uffizi Galleria. In the Accademia we saw Michelangelo's David. It was stunning! I wasn't allowed to take pictures and I couldn't do the sculpture justice trying to describe it. Every time I looked at the sculptures face I saw a different emotion. Especially with the religious context of the sculpture it was a moving experience. It was an incredible experience to see The David. In the Uffizi Galleria I saw several paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, and The Birth of Venus by Botticelli. It seems unreal that I saw such famous art.
On Sunday David (the only guy with on the trip) and I went exploring while the rest of the girls went shopping. There was a church I wanted to see but unfortunately it wasn't open. Instead we found a giant garden that we saw on our map. The garden was huge and gorgeous. The two of of took our time wandering around the beautiful gardens (which made me feel like I was in The Secret Garden) stumbling upon fountains and paths of overarching trees.The whole trip was wonderful, and I can still taste all the fabulously fresh flavors of the delicious food!
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