Adventure Awaits: We Have Arrived

We are four days into our stay in Florence, and I am in love.

Milan was a good intro to Italy, but Florence represents what we're really here for. It is a far less industrialized city that still has an air of Renaissance about it, as if untouched by time. Walking down the streets it sometimes feels like we're in disneyland because everything is so quaint and colorful. But the significance and sheer enormity of the historical landmarks instantly pull me back to reality. So many landmarks are within walking distance of our apartment. Each one has a story to tell, and I cannot wait to hear them all.

View of the Palazzo Vecchio from my bedroom window

Our first day in Florence we hauled ourselves (and our enormous packs) to pick up our apartment keys from our professor. He is an Italian, born and raised, who is currently a grad student at UC Davis. Our original instructor broke her ankle no more than a week before the trip, and with the insane amount of walking we are doing in this city (seriously, so much) there is no way she could have come.
Our apartment, which is conveniently located directly between a gelato shop and a pizzeria, is more modern and spacious than I expected. Our bedroom window looks out at the Uffizi gallery and the tower of the Palazza Vecchio, and is located about 300 feet from the Arno River. I could not have asked for a better place to live during this trip.
We spent the day exploring the city on foot. We were specifically searching for a place to buy inexpensive wine so we could celebrate our arrival, as well as Kelcey's (our roommate, and one of my very best friends) birthday. When she arrived close to midnight we hit the streets again, each with a glass of wine in hand. It was a really beautiful first night in Florence.

A gorgeous evening

On Friday we had our program orientation where we were able to see our classroom, meet our fellow classmates, and get to know the professor a little better. He informed us that he would be allocating some of the program funds to buy us all museum passes (!!!). After discussing the syllabus and other details he took us on a little introductory walking tour of the city. It was brief, yet informative. We ended up at the San Lorenzo market for lunch, and boy was it good! We sat next to our professor and got to pick his brain about Italian culture over delicious food. They brought out cedar planks piled with proscuitto and regional salami, along with bread, sun dried tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella balls. We made little mini sandwiches, and they were delicious. They also brought out two different kinds of pasta, one with a meat sauce and the other with olive oil and veggies, and I swear the veggie pasta was one of the best things ever.

We got to know some of our classmates a little better over wine and limoncello.

We also took a day trip to Pisa!

I have yet to get a full night's sleep, but Sunday morning that actually worked to my advantage. I woke up promptly at 4:30 a.m., and thought of the advice Taylor (Luke's cousin, who also did this study abroad program last fall; aka our Florence Guru) gave me about going to see the Piazzale Michaelangelo early in the morning before the hoards of tourists arrive. Luckily, Luke woke up shortly after I did and we followed Taylor's advice. It was the absolute best time to go and such a beautiful way to see the city.