FIRST DAY IN FIRENZE

Bella Gerard
Jun 9, 2016
2 min read

Yesterday was our first big day of exploring, starting with a quick stop in the town of Fiesole to get better acquainted with our area. Fiesole is small and old, in the best way possible - we headed to the Cathedral San Romolo for a look around, and then got to swing by a patisserie and get some homemade almond cookies. I wanted to start the trip off on the right foot, so I wore one of my grandmother's dresses, which she lent me for my trip. Unsurprisingly, it is one of my favorite - as well as the prettiest - outfits I packed.

Living at the villa, we are usually given 2-3 meals per day that we all eat together in one large room. They usually consist of some sort of pasta, flatbread, meat and simple salad, and tend to start with a moment of silence and end with wine and dessert. As a picky eater, I've been going pretty heavy on the pasta/pizza portion, but the walking makes up for it - to reach the town of Fiesole is a ten-minute uphill walk, and to reach the bus stop to Florence is fifteen minutes of steep downhill.

After lunch we headed to Florence to check out the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore. Even in a long-sleeved dress from my grandmother, they tried to tell me I was too exposed to enter! When I finally got in, I spent a good ten minutes staring up into the Duomo. I took dozens of photos of it, but none quite do it justice. Endlessly meticulous, insanely captivating.

Post-Cathedral, we quickly looked around the Piazza Della Signoria, but the weather unfortunately cut our trip short. By the time we reached the Ponte Vecchio bridge, the sky had changed from vibrant blue to ominous black, heavy with rainclouds.

Above: Blue skies!

Below: Storm brewing

When all was said and done - and we had made plans to return to climb to the top of the Duomo - we returned to the Villa to (unfortunately) put the "study" in "study abroad". The readings are interesting, but it's hard to stay focused with windows all over the Villa showcasing our amazing view.

Here's hoping I get to see and do everything on my list in the three weeks I'll be here.