Firenze

Last weekend I visited one of my good friends Colleen from Santa Barbara who is studying in Florence. the first night we went to a local restuarant where one of her good friends worked. I had four cheese gnocchi with a glass of wine. The gnocchi was like nothing I've ever tasted before, it melted in your mouth the second you took a bite. A little different from the homemade gnocchi I've been making lately. The town very different from Rome in the sene of its size and layout. The streets are much wider and don't have as many vespas whizzing by. After our dinner, we made our way to a few bars and met up with some of her Italian friends that live in Florence. Since Florence is so small, it was like being in a small community where everyone seemed to know each other.

We started off the next day by going to "The David" by Michelangelo. When I walked into the Gallery, I went through all of the other rooms before entering the room with the David to save the best for last. When I walked in, I was overwhelmed by this giant statue starring down at me. The aspect that stood out most to me were his hands. One hung by his side with the outline of veins running all the way down his arm to his fingers as the other clenched his weapon. His facial expression was an absolute masterpiece. He looked out as though he knew he already knew his doom of facing Goliath. It was full of concern but at the same time a quizzical look of almost as if he was trying to determine his soon to come faith.

After seeing The David we went to the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, almost known as the Duomo of Florence. As Colleen and I approached the Duomo I took in the diverse colors and amazing architecture. This basilica was very different from anything I had seen in Rome. The eccentric detail was flawless and you almost had to just stand and gawk for a little to take in all of its magnificence. The interior was just as large, the sides had pieces of artwork and the altar had a large gold cross in the middle. Colleen and I walked up the entire 460 to go to the top of Duomo. When we reached the top we looked over the entire city of Florence, the view was breathtaking.

After our sightseeing, we went across the famous "Ponte Vecchio" (Old Bridge) which had numerous jewelry shops lining the whole bridge. We walked around Florence for the rest of the day looking at shops, talking to the locals and drinking cappuccinos. One of my favorite things I ate there was from a little stand that apparently all of the locals eat. I had what is called a "Ballito" which has pulled pork that has been roasting all day in a stew on freshly baked bread with sauce from the stew to compliment the taste. It was delizioso!!

Although Florence was a gorgeous city, after my visit I was reassured that I chose the right place to study abroad. For me, Rome's size suits me much better and has more to offer in the sense of Ancient history and culture. I still feel as though I have more to discover and even in my span of four months living here I still think I will have more to see when I return someday. For now roma è la mia vera casa(Rome is my true home).