Well, today started out pretty rough. It had been only three days since I had taken italian class, but nothing came to my head when I tried to speak in class. So all my sentences came out as one word tries. Once Irene came to the class to teach, my mind calmed down and I was able to speak better... two word sentences... maybe.
Let's just say I ran out of class right when it was over. When I got back to the apartment I cooked a quick lunch. I was able to catch up with loved ones back home and I watched... She's The Man. That's right... I really immersed myself into italian culture today... mom, dad: aren't you proud? Either way it was a nice break for the brain and it woke me up for our afternoon cultural activity which I ended up really enjoying.
We all went over to Palazzo Vecchio, which known today as Florence's City Hall. It was first built to be a palace and the Uffizi (next door) was for offices. But Cosimo's wife didn't want to live there, so she made the Palazzo Pitti to live in and the Palazzo Vecchio became the central place for the government while the Uffizi turned into a storage area for the Medici family's art. Among this information Miguele, our professor also gave us some history on the David who was formerly placed outside of the palace. Before long we finally made it into the palazzo and began our tour.
In the center hall (500 Hall), I was amazed to find murals enveloping the whole room, even the ceilings. It was a beautiful sight to step into and it was only the beginning. National Geographic was doing research on one of the murals (look to your bottom right on the picture) because supposedly Vasari the artist who created the masterpiece we see today covered up a lost Leonardo Da Vinci piece. Our tour guide was really excited about it as well. Today he didn't know if they had found anything but he did said that Nat Geo had to drill 8 holes into the wall to stick a camera into to look around for anything out of the ordinary. I will be sure to follow Nat Geo to find out if they find anything! It would recovering some incredible history if they did happen to discover something...
Continuing our tour, I couldn't stop looking at the ceilings. Every room created another story, another pattern, another medium for us to discover on the ceiling. The intricacies were incredible and I couldn't believe that a human could have produced such beautiful and detailed rooms. I tried to snap as many rooms as I could, but obviously the pictures don't do it justice.
At the end of the tour, we all sat down to chat with the wife of Cosimo herself! Of course, in (somewhat) considerate fashion, we stood when she entered the room and bowed to greet her. She was surprised by our clothing and suggested that Allison, one of the girls on our trip was actually a male because she was wearing jeans, while she wondered if Michael, another member on our program, was pregnant or could become pregnant because he believed in equality. Our tour guide acted as her servant and tried to explain to her that we were not led by kings or queens, but rather republicans...Wait no! (Slaps his forehead) That's not what I meant! They were ruled under a republic. I wish I could scribe this scene better, because it was incredibly funny. Even "Cosimo's Wife" who had stayed in character the whole time chuckled a bit. I was very impressed by her and in seemed as if everyone enjoyed the "interview" more than expected--- I know I did! 
After everything was over, Kaitlin, Anna, Kenan, Julia, Mary, Amanda, and I all went to a cafe outside and had Cioccolata Calda (Hot Chocolate). I thought the hot chocolate at the French Broad Chocolate Lounge in Asheville was rich... Nevertheless it was quite the treat and it was fun to sit outside on the cold streets sipping (or spooning) the hot chocolate.
I will add.... as a side note to my mom... I tried making tuna pasta tonight and well.... I got everything right, except for the tuna part. (I've gotten pretty good at making plain pasta! Yes!) It was definitely not the white albacore tuna and it was definitely overcooked. Oh well... it takes practice I assume.
I should probably go finish (or start) i miei compiti, but until tomorrow! Buonasera!
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