The Final Days

It's getting closer to the end everyday, with my last real class of the semester done with, I can actually taste the salty air that will come with the Amalfi Coast the few days before I leave to go back home. I am ready to go home, ready for the summer, and for a different scenery, but with that being said, I will obviously miss my experiences here and am trying to squeeze out the last few things I wanted to do before leaving Florence. Luckily, Florence has been so kind to give us some extra fun lately before the semester comes to a close. 

Labor Day was on Tuesday, and the night before everyone hit the streets in the wee hours of the night to celebrate "Notte Bianca" or White Night. Everyone was supposed to dress in white and enjoy the incredible festivities arranged in almost every piazza of the city, EVEN our little Piazza delle Pallotolle (still don't know truly how to spell that...) where we stepped out onto the stage when we stepped out of our door. Surprise guest appearances, I guess? I was really impressed with how many people attended the event and the size of the event in general. (Think Franklin Street on Halloween (minus the"homegrown" part) times 50). Festivities were going on from 5:30 (or 17:30) pm to 5:30 in the morning! Museums, shops, restaurants were all open later than usual, some the whole night, and bands were playing in every corner of the city. The city hall even had a DJ from its window (shown below). However, my favorite part was stumbling upon an italian cover band whose set list ranged from Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana to Knockin on Heaven's Door by Bob Dylan. The whole crowd, of italians no less, knew every word. It was a fabulous way to bring in the New Year--- oh just kidding--- this was for LABOR day...

Florence is known for its art, for its food, and for its highly fashionable citizens, however its not quite Michelangelo's David of the Italian soccer world. Nevertheless, I was NOT going to leave Europe without seeing a european soccer game first. It's not only on my Semester bucket list, but also something that I have always wanted to experience ever since I tried on my first pair of soccer cleats at the age of 5. And even though half of the stadium was empty, the crowd had more intensity than most Carolina games, Panthers games, and umm... Bobcats games. Everyone screaming in unison the different chants that I'm sure have been passed down since they were little kids. Flags, as tall as 4 people combined, blowing in the wind, showcasing messages like FIRENZE OVUNQUE (Florence Everywhere) and FORZA VIOLA (Strong Purple...). Last night was definitely one of the best experiences I have had in Florence thus far, joining the fans around me in cheers of Joy when Florence tied up the game. It was carefree and just plain fun. I, of course, would love to see another European game of greater value one day, but I was more than happy to cheer for the city I have called home these past 4 months for my first game experience.

This weekend will be my last full weekend in Florence! (and I really hope that I won't just be studying for exams the whole time since last weekend was full of pens and paper and my art project) I've got the art show on the fifth for our Sketchbook class, as do most of the students in art classes at LdM. I'm excited to see what kind of work everyone has produced! And of course, we are trying to go to as many restaurants as possible that we may have missed out on during the semester (and returning to a few--- Baldovino perhaps?) My mom comes next wednesday, and we are headed south on the 12th. I can not believe everything is coming to an end, but I am excited for the days and weeks to come.

Make Haste Slowly

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!