Oh my goodness! I have been horribly neglecting my blog and I quickly came to the point where every time I thought of it a rush of ALL the things I've not said in the past two weeks came to me and so I became overwhelmed which led to more not-blogging and then after a while the cycle would repeat itself. So now I've accepted that I must simply say what I can about the time I've missed and keep the ball rolling. So here's the initial push...
My dear friend, Anna, came to visit last Friday sort of on a whim. Her new fabulous life as a pastry chef in New York City was put on hold for eight days so that she could come experience Italy with me. I think the excitement and slight disbelief I felt goes without saying and when, after a bit of confusion with connecting trains and payphone difficulties, we were finally embracing each other in the Santa Maria Novella train station I felt like I was watching a scene from a movie (this is the general feeling I have while here in Florence).
Just a few hours later we were back at the station catching a train to meet some other students in the nearby town of Lucca. Lucca is far smaller than Florence, even smaller than Siena, but it is a lively place that, for all its quaintness, has a resplendence unique from the other Italian cities I've been to (which is still only four). Anna and I found ourselves wandering into an empty courtyard that reminded me so strongly of every "Romeo calling to Juliet's balcony" scene I've ever imagined. We sat down in the center and drank in the fact that we were together in Italy, letting our conversation meander hither and thither.
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| Excavating the Great Walls of Lucca |
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| Piazza Anfiteatro, Lucca |
Unfortunately Italy, together with the rest of Europe, has been experiencing very unusual cold weather and winds... so many things were closed and Anna's week here in Florence turned out to be a bitter cold one. But despite the fact, we were able to see and do quite a bit within the shortened time she was here. Of course because she and I are both sweets lovers, we were on a quest to find the absolute best Pasticceria in Firenze. We asked locals, read reviews, and searched online maps to finally come to a place not a block from mi
scuola, called
Dolcissima Firenze. The place is a rapture for your senses, filled with the sweetest most alluring smells, beautifully decorated pastries of different colors and textures, all satisfied in one foodgasmic climax by your tastebuds. It's that good.
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| Futbol game- Fiorentina (2) vs. Sienna (0) |
Some of my favorite nights spent with Anna included us serving as tour guides for two Italians not from Florence, Stefano and Ricuccio, who were hopelessly attempting to see the city's best in one night; the finest gnocci I've ever had swimming in a cheesy,truffly bath of goodness, as well as my long-searched for spaghetti picante; and compleeetely losing track of time, having to walk up six flights of stairs at four in the morning.
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| The gnocci, though the picture doesn't do it justice |
I did get locked out of my apartment her last night in Florence and wander the streets for a couple of hours trying to figure out what to do with no phone and no keys before finally being saved by another student I didn't previously know (we're now Facebook friends, so practically sisters)... but this caused me to have to hurriedly get ready the following morning... which caused me to put on my new boots without tall socks... which caused awful blisters and bleeding toes... which caused Anna and I to get a late start on her last day... which caused us to not have time to withdraw cash from the bank in order to buy tickets at the kiosk... which caused us to hurriedly buy tickets for five minutes after we arrived at the station... which caused us to miss the bus to Pisa...
I just hope she doesn't hate Florence because of her last day here. It was a cannon of unfortunate events.
The following day our school of 25 students took our second planned day trip: destination Assisi. It is one of the most well-preserved medieval cities in Europe, perched high on the side of one of the Appenine's mountains. The whole city was dusted with snow this Saturday, an icy wonderland of marble churches and stone fortresses. Our guide was this extremely friendly and entertaining older man who very evidently
loved his Assisi and did all he could to keep our minds off of our numb fingers and toes throughout the tour- not an easy task. When we came upon the Church of St. Francis nearing the end of our tour, I had already been amazed and overwhelmed by the beauty of the mountains, the architecture, and the Church of Santa Chiara, but I don't think I was prepared for the greatness of what I walked into when we entered this church. It is a goldmine of invaluably precious art and history, all of which is completely unaltered from the 13th century, only beautifully and meticulously preserved. Some of the most important and widely studied works of pre-Renaissance art are painted in frescoes within this church, particularly those of masters Cimabue and Giotto. The visit to the St. Francis' Basilica was most certainly the icing on the cake at the end of the day, the small town leaving an indelible image in my mind.
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| Sam and I in Assisi |
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| Basilica di San Francesco |
That evening the girls took me out to celebrate my 21st birthday. They really were so sweet and made it truly special. I feel selfish saying that it was easily one of the most memorable nights in Florence so far (which is an
especially good thing, since it was my 21st).
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| Before the festivities! |
The day of was equally as special... I went to see my very first professional ballet! I have been dying to see the ballet since I was a little girl, and it was magical. We saw Il Lago dei Cigni- Swan Lake in Italia. In front of our row was a group of girls about six or seven years old who were completely enamored; I think I pretty much acted just as they did and felt like I should've been one of them. Having danced ballet the majority of my life it was an experience close to home for me and again, being the softy I am, I found myself feeling humbled by the privilege that inner six-year-old-ballerina had been given to be there.
My host mom Marina is always thoughtful, and for dinner she made spinach and cheese ravioli, grilled eggplant, fresh homemade bread, and my favorite: broccoli. She also made me a little chocolate cake to make the meal special and to make it feel a little like home :)
Since then I've been on a bit of high, which is good because this week consisted of a downpour of papers and projects after weeks of virtual academic freedom. We knew it was coming though... thank goodness tomorrow is Thursday! I'm ready for another weekend in Firenze.
