Piazzale Michelangelo and Boboli Gardens

My mother pointed out to me that I haven't updated this week, and that's because I really don't do much. I live so far away from the center of town that going anywhere is really inconvenient.
But I went to a sightseeing tourist-filled location with my roommate on Sunday because she really wanted to take some pictures.
We walked over an hour, over the Ponte Vecchio on the Arno and up the hill. And it was pain. But we went to the Piazzale Michelangelo and made a pit stop afterwards at the Boboli Gardens. The Gardens are huge and we only saw a teeny tiny bit. There's not much there right now, nothing is in bloom. But it was a nice day out, so it was okay. I really hate walking everywhere, though.

Chocolate Sunday

Ah the annual Chocolate Festival. Now this is right up my alley seeing as I work at The Chocolate Bar back in Houston (BEST job ever, by the way). Two tents are set up at the Santa Maria Novella church by the train station and there are tons of free samples and tons of stuff to buy and eat.

I went with Gabby and Liz, and it was so much fun! We obviously ate a lot and we don't regret a thing! Liz and I each had some chocolate fondue strawberries and a chocolate covered waffle stick. Gabby had a Nutella crepe, which we stole a bite of. Rebeka couldn't make it and since it was her birthday on Monday we bought her an assortment of truffles (we were given samples of those at the Festival, mmm.)

On our way back to campus we found the American coffee shop! WOOHOOOO because I really miss American coffee. It's far from campus but good to know it's there.

But overall it was a very fun and delicious day.

Drawing at Piazza della Signoria

Sketching for architecture at the Piazza della Signoria (the Palazzo Vecchio, Loggio dei Lanzi). It was a beautiful day, even if the the Piazza was overrun with tourists. It was so hard to get a good view of the buildings. But then I got some Gelato from my favorite spot on Via Ricasoli in the Piazza dell'arte on the way back to campus so it was all good.

Climbing the Duomo

Last week for my Architecture class we had a site visit. We got to visit and were lectured at Florence's religious center (a.k.a the Cathedral/Duomo, Campanile, and Baptistery). We first were lectured on the steps of the Cathedral, looking at the Baptistery. We talked about the three monuments and then got to go inside the Baptistery. It's pretty empty but the ceilings are so beautifully ornate. Secondly, we went into the Cathedral and were lectured out the interior architecture plan, blah blah blah. Then we went out through the side and back into a side door that holds crazy winding staircases (also ridiculously steep) that lead all the the way to the top of the Dome. I'm scared of heights so this was quite an adventure. But we got to the top, took some pictures, the professor talked to us about some stuff (but it was s pretty no one was really paying attention), and then we too more pictures.
Unfortunately we ran out of time and had to literally run to catch the bus back to campus. But I definitely plan on going back later in the semester, when the weather is better.