relaxing day in Firenze

June 11th, 2012

Hi all!

Not much to post about here since everyone had tons of homework to do.  But I realized I never really described to you guys about Firenze or my daily life here..

Firenze is a city that is trying to renew it’s image and not to be known just for its’  history. Firenze is where Gucci first started, Pinocchio’s author is from here, and many other famous people either lived here or did something important for the city.  The youth rebel by spreading graffiti all over the streets and a lot of it has to do with political issues.  Most people keep to themselves, but for the most part it is really safe here.

I live on a street which is about a 15 minute walk to the Arno (the river). It is a quiet street filled with old shoe shops and many apartment buildings.  Directly across the street from me is a coffee house which I go to daily for either a coffee or crostata and to the right from me is a very cute vintage shop called Lady Jane Boutique. I love walking away from the busy life at the piazzas and getting to our quiet street which is filled with jasmine plants.

Everyday on my way to school a local shoemaker in his 50′s always says good morning to me which brightens up my day.  I run into several families taking their children to school which is probably the most adorable thing ever to see a five year old dressed so fancy! The streets are extremely busy in the morning and everyone gets settled into their daily routine. The rest of the day is spent walking to classes, helping tourists find places, and meeting people simply by sitting on the steps of Santa Croce which is the big church by our house.  It’s a simple, easy life here in Firenze and that is exactly what I needed right now!

First day

May 13th, 2012

Wow, I don’t know even where to begin – I feel like I’ve done so much already.  After endless hours of flying and camping out at the airport, we finally made it to Florence and discovered that not only is it crazy cold, but it also is really windy/rainy here.  Seeing Italy for the first time was surreal, it was beautiful and looked like a place from a painting.  With the red roofs, cobblestone roads, and rolling hills you couldn’t ask for a better view.

At around 9am we met up with the rest of our roommates from the program and managed to find our way to our apartment. It’s 2 blocks away from Duomo, (see picture below).  First off, our apartment is a massive 3 bedrooms/3 bath place for 6 people.  We have archways, a private garden area, murals on the ceilings – it’s ridiculous. I love it here! Here’s just a few pictures from today but there will be more to come! You can click the pictures to enlarge them, so enjoy :)