A picture may be worth a thousand words, but sometimes you just have to be there...

Saturday

Fiesole!
Fiesole is an Etruscan/Roman town located about 7 km North of Firenze. It is a nice break from the crowded city and has some incredible views. I walked there in the morning, and I must say it was one of the scariest walks of my life. Not only is it uphill the entire way, but the roads are windy and barely wide enough for one car...so walking was terrifying; I have never relied so much on my sense of sound! When I wasn't freaking out, however, I was able to enjoy the beauty of the scenery, and it was definitely worth it when I arrived to the main square, Piazza Mino. Fiesole definitely exceeded my expectations (which were pretty high)--it was a perfectly sunny day, not too hot, the piazza was lined with restaurants and street vendors and museums, historical sites and amazing views were a minutes walk away.

I started off in the Teatro Romano and Archaelogical Museum. The theater is still in use and they were actually setting up for a show that night while I was there.

Roman ruins

Theater

Then, I grabbed some lunch and walked up another insanely steep hill to the most beautiful view...Piazelle Michelangelo's got nothing on this. I could've sat there forever; I was on top of the world. Up another small hill was a church and garden, where I wandered for a bit, then went back and stared at Firenze for a little longer. I talked to a family from Texas who now lives in Florence and had them take my picture for me (picture #2 of me from this trip! well actually picture #3 but the second photo was from class and I was really tired and it's terrible so I never posted it here). Photos of the view just don't do it justice.

Me and Firenze!

Afterwards I went to a few art galleries, another panoramic view-site, and got gelato (of course).

Cute lamppost

I sat for awhile under a statue in The Piazza and then took the bus home (walking uphill and taking the bus down makes complete sense, I know). It was my first bus experience though, so that was exciting!

Sunday

Rainy day. Went to an artisan fair this morning. It was smaller than the one I went to last week--about 30 tents/booths set up in a nice garden near the train station (on the other side of the city center from my house). Some of the artists were making pieces there which was fun to watch; others were just selling and giving samples of food! This was another event I know my mom would've enjoyed. :)

Fun lighting

After stopping at all the vendors and looking around, I walked back through the city center, had a delicious panini from a hole-in-the-wall panini shop, stopped in Chiesa di Dante, and almost went to Museo Casa di Dante, but decided to go back another day. I was going to go to the Picasso and Dali exhibit at Palazzo Strozzi, but there is a contemporary exhibit opening this Thursday, so I am going to go back then and pay the same price to see both exhibits :).

I had a nice slow walk back home and perused some vendors and shops on the main street I walk to get home. I finished reading Water for Elephants and will now ruin it by watching the movie.

Lesson of the Day

Steep inclines and long climbs are definitely worth it. At least when they are related to Fiesole.

Photo of the Day

I usually don't like photographing flowers, but this was two days in a row that I found really beautiful flowers and just couldn't resist--these were in someone's windowbox in Fiesole and were just so tiny and cute!

Baby flowers

The Count

Glasses of wine drinken: 35

Gelatos eaten: 6

-->Flavors tried: 20

Churches toured: 8 + 1 synagogue

Photos taken: 1454

Tomorrow

Dessert!

and maybe going to class with Andrea!