Spencer's Semester Abroad: Florence (April 4th-April 6th)

We arrived in Florence around midday on April 4th. Chris and I left the train station and made our way to the nearest McDonalds. This time, I wasn't going to eat it, but rather to meet my friend Dana. The two of us were staying at Dana's apartment and she offered to take us around the city while we were there. To be honest, I was shocked at how small Florence was. But walking from the McDonalds to her apartment was a really cool experience. The streets of Florence are narrow, but extremely charming. There are practically no cars, the buildings are yellowish with red shingles on the roof, and there is historical sites all over the place.

We dropped our stuff at her place and immediately took to the streets. A friend of mine from home wrote me a list of everything good to do in Florence, from historical sites, to restaurants and clubs. At first glance, it seemed like we would never get the chance to make it to all of the sites. However, after only a few hours in Florence, it seemed like we would be able to cover all of them, that's how small it is! We started our walk through the city at the Duomo, which is an enormous cathedral in the middle of the city. While huge, for some reason the Duomo seemed a little more welcoming than some of the other cathedrals in Europe. Passing by the cathedral was a treat, but we were starving and decided to head to this little Panini restaurant. The storefront was tiny, but the panini's were delicious. While we sat outside, I ran into Brian and Zack Malkin. It was great seeing them, and after sitting with them for lunch, we planned to meet out that night for dinner. The two of them had to go to class, so we continued on our way. In the streets, I ran into a few more girls that I knew from home. Small world!

From the Panini place, we walked towards the Piazza della Signoria, which is home to the Palazzo Vecchio. The Palazzo Vecchio is Florence's city hall now, but it used to be the Vecchio's (a prominent Italian family that used to rule Florence) palace. One thing I loved about Florence was how many Piazzas (little public squares) there were in the middle of the city. I feel like everywhere I went, there was another city square. After the Palazzo Vecchio, we walked towards the river in order to see the Ponte Vecchio which is a famous bridge. The Ponte Vecchio is a street that connects two halves of Florence, and it's full of little Jewelry stores and shops. I loved the Ponte Vecchio, and to me it seemed like any girl's fantasy.

By this point, I could see why Florence attracts so many tourists. The streets are so charming and the city has a small feel which makes it seem like resort. We continued to walk through the narrow streets to the Piazza della Repubblica. This Piazza was probably my favorite. It had an elaborate arch in it, a carousel, and plenty of places to sit and people watch. What more could you ask for? At this point, Carly had to leave for class, so Dana, Chris, and I wandered through the leather market. To paint a picture, imagine a ton of stands full of all kinds of leather. There were tons of shoes, jackets, belts, wallets, purses etc, but to my dismay, they didn't sell any ass-less chaps (sorry Clay, maybe I'll find some for you at the next leather market). However, I did end up finding this great pair of shoes so it was a successful trip.

From the leather market, we made our way to the Accademia Museum, which is home to the most famous sculpture in the world; David by Michelangelo. I'm not going lie, I had never heard of it. We waited in line for an hour. But that was probably my fault. We had been waiting about 15 mins when I decided to try and be efficient and stop at the ATM before entering. When I returned, Chris and Dana were at the front of the line and had to let droves of people pass them up in line while they waited for me. As you can imagine, I never heard the end of this, but at least they didn't leave me in the streets!

Finally! We got to go inside. The museum is tiny and full of artwork that no one really cares about. In the back/center of the museum is the David. I was shocked by how big the statue actually was. It was enormous (well parts of it at least). David is supposed to be the perfect man, and the sculpture clearly reflected that. Michelangelo carved that sculpture out of a white marble slab. But the details in the statue made it seem like a real person. You could clearly see his veins and knuckles, and after looking long enough he seemed to be real. This is the same David from the story of David and Goliath. If you look closely, you can see his slingshot dangling over his back. What a masterpiece.

We went back to Dana's to get a quick nap in before hiking up to the Piazzale Michelangelo. At the Piazzale Michelangelo, you're supposed to drink some wine and watch the sunset over Florence. We bought a few bottles, walked across the city and started hiking the steps. This was absolutely brutal. When we got to the top, I actually ran into my friend Daniel, who went to New Trier with me. It's crazy how many people I've seen abroad. At the top of the peak, we hung out, and enjoyed the view of Florence. However, it was kind of overcast so it wasn't the most beautiful sunset. Still a great experience! On the walk back, we passed the

Santa Croce, which is another famous church in Florence. We stopped at Dana's and then left to meet the Malkins for Dinner. We went to one of their favorite restaurants and had the best Rigatoni of my life. I would go back to Florence just to have it again. It was great catching up with them, and we toasted to "Old friends in New places", which has become the official motto of my European studies.

Leaving dinner, we were meeting a ton of my camp friends at a bar called Kikuya to get a drink called the Dragoon. Essentially this is a beer with 10% alcohol. It's a great place to start the night. I actually ran into another friend of mine from New Trier named Cassie. From the Kikuya, we went to a club called Twenty-One, where we had a table and a few bottles. Overall, it was a great night.

The next morning, Chris, Dana, and I decided to get Gusto's Pizza. This place had been recommended to me by countless pizza so I had to give it a try. Break out the Lactaid pills! Thank goodness because the pizza was fantastic. After that, we decided to climb the steps of the Duomo. We probably did not pick the best meal to eat beforehand. However when we got there, the Cuopla was closed. So we decided to do the next best thing and climb the towers. The staircases were so narrow and steep, but once we got to the top, there was another breathtaking view of the city.

From the tower, we headed towards the Great Synagogue of Florence. It has a turquoise roof that is amazing. Unfortunately we couldn't go inside, so we went a few blocks away and got some gelato. The rest of the day, we sat in the Piazza Republicca and people watched. The three of us were sitting, posted up against this wall when we noticed this guy taking our picture. He came over and asked to move a bag out of the picture because it was ruining the photo. He was a nice British guy who was a photographer. He thought we were quite the models and offered to send me the pictures. Definitely an interesting experience, hopefully they turn out okay.

We returned to the apartment to relax. That night, we went to a restaurant called 4Leoni. The food was amazing and I tried Tomatoes and Pear Ravioli, and both were unreal. Europe is definitely bringing out the best in me. Walking back from dinner, I ran into a few more people I knew in the streets. Only in Florence! We stopped at a few bars before calling it a night. We were supposed to leave for Pisa to catch our flight home the following day. Before we left, we made one final stop to the Jersey Shore pizza place in Florence. The pizza was fantastic and their signatures and pictures were up all over the place. A few hours later, and we were catching the train to Pisa. By the time we left Florence, I was pretty bored of the city. I can see the allure, but there is no way I could simply hang out in Piazzas all day.

View from Dana's apartment

The Duomo

The Tower next to the Duomo

The entrance to the Duomo

Chris, Dana, and I in front of the Duomo

Narrow streets! Chris had to turn sideways to walk down them because his shoulders were too wide..

Palazzo Vecchio

Piazza della Signoria

Inside the Palazzo Vecchio

My favorite Mutant Teenage Ninja Turtle!

The river

Ponte Vecchio

Jewelry stores on the Ponte Vecchio

Chris, Dana, and I on the Ponte Vecchio

Locks for Love. European couples write their names on locks and then lock them to fences, benches, etc. across the city.

Piazza della Repubblica

Carly (Dana's friend), Dana and I at the Piazza della Repubblica

The four of us at Piazza della Repubblica

Leather Market

Most people try and take pictures of cool, beautiful sights. I like to use it to capture gems like this. My guess was that he probably had to much pasta/wine for lunch and was sleeping it off.

David. I managed to get some pretty good pictures of Michelangelo's work. It's funny because all of my friends who have/are studying in Florence said you aren't allowed to take pictures.