A Day With My Favorite Italian

It's the weekend! At last.

This week has been amazing, but I am so looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow.

Bethany and I headed out early again this morning for our last 9 a.m. orientation with Gloria. We just made it on time, even though I was dragging because the brand new tennis shoes I wore all day yesterday gave me really bad blisters. I really wish I had a pedometer to see how much I've walked this week. I heard someone in one of the groups bought one and walked two miles in the two hours with Gloria yesterday. I believe that.

Today's lesson was on art and how Michelangelo "liked to make fun and so he was boonched in the nose" (as Gloria put it). That's why his nose is broken in so many portraits of him, apparently.

Gloria also told us that Michelangelo's David was carved out of another sculptor's rejected marble. The other sculptor started to carve a person out of the marble, gave up, and gave it to Michelangelo, who refurbished it into the David. Talk about flip this rock.

We toured the sculptures at Piazza della Signoria - the gateway to the Museo Uffizi - walked through the alleyway (a work of art in itself with its own sculptures of famous Florentines and actors posing as living sculptures) and wandered around the Arno and Ponte Vecchio while Gloria talked about tourists and provided more history about the Ponte Vecchio. I missed much of this last part because I was having trouble getting close enough to hear her mouse voice. At least I already know one important thing about Ponte Vecchio : Dr. Lecter himself spent some time hanging out there.

"I came halfway around the world to watch you run, Clarice."

Yes. Because anywhere Hannibal is must be a prime vacation spot... And on a lighter note, I stood there today!

We also toured some of the ancient churches here. Many of them look very plain and unimpressive from the outside, but are just as gorgeous and full of art as any museum (and much more amazing than many museums I've seen) on the inside.

I didn't get any good photos in the churches because none of them allowed photos without a flash, but it was a fun tour nonetheless.

After this, I walked to Il Duomo where I sat on the front steps and waited for Elena, one of my best friends from high school, who is currently studying in Rome for three weeks and was able to come visit me in Firenze.

We caused quite a scene and probably looked like really obnoxious Americans running to meet each other in the Piazza. But it was so awesome to be able to hang out with an old friend from home in ITALY. I mean, who does that? Especially at our age. We're unbelievably fortunate.

The first thing we did was get paninis for lunch and head to a sunny bench on the Piazza to eat while we caught up on what Elena has been doing with her Italian class in Rome and what I have been doing here in Firenze.

While we ate, we fed pigeons bits of our sandwiches, until an Italian woman next to us scolded her son for imitating us... oops. Dumb Americans.

We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping at the outdoor market at Piazza della Republica, where I bought a scarf and was accosted by some man trying to sell me a leather jacket. I tried on a jacket in the style I've had my heart set on, but the guy was so pushy, I ended up not buying. Also, he dumped water on my sleeve and tried to light me on fire to prove how durable the jacket was. These vendors are intense.

Elena and I then made our way back to the statues we toured in the morning and took our photos posing as some of our favorite famous Florentines.

A living statue dressed as a really creepy cupid blew us kisses when we walked past. Elena took a picture of a really fluffy dog that clearly thought it was a lot tougher than it actually was since it barked and growled at her.

We walked along the Arno while Elena took a lot of the photos I've already taken this week. It was hard to get over the fact that we were in Firenze together hanging out together just like we've done since high school (but in a much grander scale today).

Once we got too tired to keep going, I took Elena back to my apartment for a tour and to meet the roommates before the two of us went to Il Giardino del Barbano Pizzeria where I got pizza with my roommates our first night. We shared a delicious funghi pizza and salad, then sat around awkwardly wondering how to pay. The Sexy Waiter from our first night took our money from the table and we left, but not before we saw the waiter pointing at our table and saying something, at which the other waiter and the cooks laughed... Fantastic.

Elena hung out at our apartment again for about an hour before leaving to catch her train back to Rome.

Bethany and Erika just went out with the rest of our group, but I'm staying home to watch Italian TV and relax before an early bedtime. I'm wiped out from all the walking today, but it was another perfect day in Firenze. I can't wait to sleep in tomorrow and spend the day relaxing.

Buona notte, tutta!