Firenze, Italia

Buongiorno from Firenze! I've been in Florence for the long Easter weekend visiting Zoe and exploring Italy for the first time. My trip started off on shaky Italian legs as my flight which was supposed to land in Florence Thursday night was rerouted to Bologna because of the strong winds in Florence. I landed in Bologna and hopped on a 2 hour bus ride to Florence, encountering lots of traffic and no wifi to communicate to Zoe what was going on. However, I did end up making it to Florence around 9 pm Thursday night and was welcomed with open arms by Zoe and her parents, along with a nice big pizza.

Florence!

Zoe's parents were visiting Zoe for the week before I arrived and I got to hang out with them for the last couple days of their trip. Friday morning the four of us went to a cooking class and it was amazing! We were taught how to make a very Italian meal by the friendly Marcella. We made minestrone soup, two different pasta dishes (and made the fresh pasta ourselves from scratch!), and for dessert we made a seasonal fruit tart. We put our aprons on and the 3 hours flew by. The best part was that at the end, we ate the fruits of our labor together for lunch! It was truly an amazing experience.

Going to work, rolling the pasta dough

Florence is a special city because of its rich history and art. I am not usually one to appreciate such things, but Zoe and her family made sure I had my fill and we explored Palazzo Vecchio, Piti Palace, and Santa Croce the next two days, taking the appropriate number of gelato and pizza breaks. I was able to get into the art history spirit and did really enjoy seeing the tombs of Dante, Galileo, and Michelangelo inside Santa Croce church.

We take our medieval art very seriously

Santa Croce

Zoe and I parted ways with her parents Saturday night as they were heading back to Sacramento early Sunday morning. Sunday was Easter and as you might imagine, Easter is a big deal in Florence. Zoe and I headed to Il Duomo at 10 am to watch the exploding of the cart, a Florentine Easter tradition that dates back 350 years. A cart led by oxen is paraded around the city until it reaches the front of the Duomo. The cart is accompanied by drummers, flag throwers, and people dressed in historical costume.  The car is rigged with fireworks and at 11am in front of the Duomo, Zoe and I watched the fireworks display with thousands of tourists and locals alike. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen. It was also a little concerning to us how close the fireworks were being set off to the Duomo! But the Italians had it all under control. After the ceremony, Zoe and I headed inside the Duomo and listened to mass in Italian. I had no idea what they were saying of course, but it was a magical place to be inside regardless.

Firecrackers exploding in front of the Duomo

Pre explosion of the cart

Inside the Duomo

After mass, Zoe and I walked around and explored the Florence's leather market and the Mercato Centrale, an indoor food market. We practiced our bargaining skills and Zoe brought down the price of the black leather purse I purchased from 35 euros to 20. I was impressed. From there, Zoe continued with her tour of the city, and proved to be a very knowledgeable tour guide, explaining various periods of Florentine history to me along the way.

Making deals in the leather market 

Today, Monday, Zoe and I had to take a break from the art history lessons to make some plans for the month of May. Both of our programs will be finished by the end of April so we are going to be traveling around Europe together for about 3.5 weeks in May before we head back to the states. I will keep you posted (pun intended) on where May takes us! In the afternoon we went for a run from her house to Piazza Michelangelo, which is across the Arno River and up into the hills. It was brutal on the shins but the view overlooking the entire city of Florence was amazing! And the run back down was not bad either.

Tonight we are eating dinner with Zoe's host family and then going to sleep early because my flight back to Bordeaux is at 7:05 am tomorrow morning. Her host family is very welcoming and her host dad speaks French which is nice for me because between talking to him in French and to Zoe in English, I am not totally lost here in Italy!

On the Arno