ciao bella!

DAY TEN

View from il Duomo across Firenze 

Last night ended being a lot of fun.  After we left the pub, we went to another bar next door and danced!  It is strange because on the UF in Florence program, only about seven guys were signed up, but it seems like every guy who decided to go backpacking this summer ended up in Firenze at that bar last night.  The place was a madhouse and an interesting mix of diversity; Australians, Spanish, Italian, American, you name it, they were there!

This morning I woke up pretty early and read for a while until my stomach called me into the kitchen for some breakfast.  I made an egg sandwich with salami... I am starting to feel like Frances from the children's book "Bread and Jam for Frances."  That is all I eat these days!  I was really excited all morning because today we decided to climb il Duomo!  First, Tarah and I got dressed really quick to fill up the water bottles at the fresh water fountain at the Piazza di Signorina and exchange money at this really sketchy place on the way.  I know that sounds promising... but it was actually legit!  GO THERE is you come to Firenze and you need to exchange American dollars into euro!

Poi, we went back to the Central Market to buy more fruits because they are so delicious and fresh here and they are CHEAP!  Apples and cherries and pineapple, oh my!  I am beginning to fall in love with the little, old Italian vendors who smile at you and speak little to no English, but try so hard to understand our lacking speech as we point to all the different fruits we want to taste.  They are all just so sweet.  What I can do without are the young Italian men... again they are just too "friendly."  It's funny because all the young men here say "Ciao Bella," trying to get your attention (ew gross), but last night, Cole, Erika's boyfriend left our apartment and said, "Ciao Bella!" to her.  It was so cute because we all knew what he was referring to.

Dopo il Mercato, we returned to our apartment to fix our own lunch!  We made pancetta pasta with vegetables and pineapple on the side!  It was so good I almost confused us with real Italian chefs!  I am proud at how we have been dividing up tasks in the kitchen and buying food items for shared meals.  We REALLY live here!  The main difference between travel and study abroad, besides actually getting a chance to relax and spread out the adventures, is that you need to create a system of living.  You have to get into a groove that is economically feasible over the weeks you are living there.  As amazing as eating the Italian cuisine out every night sounds, YOU CAN'T do that...

Anyway, we finally left for il Duomo and I was so excited!!  We first checked out the interior of the chapel, but decided to zoom through that and join the line for the hike up to the top.  When we saw the line we were a little discouraged, but then we remembered that we get to skip the lines with our university museum passes!  Even though I felt like a jerk cutting in front of those hundred(ish) people who had probably been waiting for over an hour, I was just too excited and too impatient to wait in line.  That museum pass... I don't even know, it's incredible.  So... I know Rick Steves says that there are 463 steps to the top, but I counted 458.  Awkward.  Usually is Rick says it, it's true, but I definitely counted them ALL!  I even sang "Halfway There" at step 231!  The steps were very cool though; all different sizes and heights, some spiraling, some so caved in you almost have to duck.  It all only added to my excitement!!  The view from the top is MOST DEFINITELY worth the eight euro it costs.  It was truly fantastic.

The top was gorgeous!  The weather was perfect for the top of il Duomo... it was windy, but the temperature was fabulous!  You could see across all of Firenze; our apartment building, the Santa Croce, the Ponte Vecchio, the Arno, all the hills in the countryside, and all our unmarked territory in the city.  I can't describe how satisfying it felt to be up there staring all the terracotta-colored roofs, tiny streets, and Gothic style churches of "our" Italian city!

One of my favorite parts about being in Italy is experiencing it with some amazing friends.  After blindly signing up for this program, I was so excited to find out how many beautiful people would be joining me!  Being able to share this trip some great friends has, not only improved my friendships with them, but has enhanced our ability to travel to other cities across Italy together!
              

So after taking a million pictures atop il Duomo and soaking up all its perfection, we started down the 463, (scratch that), 458 steps to the bottom, where we felt somewhat accomplished and my legs were involuntarily shaking.  After relaxing a bit in the apartment, we left for this cocktail bar called Art Bar near the Arno.  I got this drink that supposedly was pineapple (ananas), but truly tasted like limeade.  The atmosphere of the joint was cute, but they didn't offer any food other than snacky items--chips and some rice crackers (of course bland shades of starch).  The best part of the drink; however, was the succulent piece of pineapple that was hanging on the lip of the glass.  It was so flavorful.  The pineapple in Italy is beyond delicious.  Today at lunch we all finished an entire pineapple... we will need to buy more of that.

For dinner we went to this pizza place called Gusta Pizza that EVERYONE raves about on oltrarno.  They make personal pizzas with only a few select choices of pizzas.  I picked a salame piccante pizza (duh) and it was awesome!  One of the best pizzas I have had in a long time; fresh mozzarella and basil, spicy salame, some delicious tomato sauce, and great dough all cooked in a wood stove!  SO DELICIOUS!  By the time we finished eating, the sun was about to set across the Arno, so we ran over to the bridge after the Ponte Vecchio and watched the sun set.  It was beautiful and as we watched this street band play.  This atmosphere is so awesome.     

Gah!  It is going to be so hard to leave Italy!  Luckily I still have over a month left to enjoy myself.  Our Italy bucket list is slowly getting marked off as we visit museums and gardens, carry the "Leaning Tower of Pisa," eat gelato (and lots of it), have many moments with David, watch an Italian sunset, become friends with the "Forno man," try to talk in Italian, and climb il Duomo.  There are so many more things we have planned over the course of our study abroad!  Oh right... I am STUDYING abroad, not just eating/laughing/having the time of my life/smiling abroad!!!  I have to go finish writing a paper for my wine class about the landscape of Pisa and how it affects the production of wine there!  Ci vediamo domani!

"Ciao Bella!"