La dolce vita

Wake up, it's Saturday morning, and there are not buckets of rain coming down. Easy to make a plan for the day: just meet up with your friends at the over 600 year old Duomo. 

You and your amiche walk down the bustling streets of Florence, alive with people no longer forced to hide from the rain. You're not sure how to get where you're going, but you have a general idea, so you'll find a sign eventually. 

As you cross over the bridge on your stroll, you can't help but notice a perfect moment for a photo-op over the raging Arno. 

Having come to the other side of the river, you see a sign for Piazzele Michelangelo. While you're not sure what the location actually is, or where, you hear the view is spectacular, so why not keep meandering in the direction the signs point? 

However, before you can get more than a few meters you see a gelateria. Gelateria Vivaldi beckons you inside with its authentic atmosphere and the promise of fresh gelato. There are too many intriguing and unusual flavors to make the decision easy, but you are sure to make the right one when there is no possible way of going wrong. 

Opting for a double scoop of tiramisu (because you're a bit obsessed) and coconut you continue your journey to the foreign piazzele, now full of bliss as the delicious gelato melts and drips down your cone. 

Finally, after roughly translating an italian sign, you realize that to get to the spectacular view you were promised, you must first climb to the top of a rather large hill. Luckily, the scenery only gets more amazing as you continue your climb. Oos, awws, and ohmygosh-s mark the excitement of your fellow trekkers. 

Arriving at the top, you find that from the precipice of the Piazzele Michelangelo you can see your new home. Florence stretches out before you. The Duomo rises up in the center, boasting above all other structures that surround it. How lucky you feel that this beautiful city is yours to call home for the next four months. 

After an elongated period of gaping at the view, and obviously taking an unnecessary amount of photos, you wander around the piazzele a bit more before beginning your descent back into the heart of the città, and after all that walking, you and your group agree that it definitely time for a late lunch.

I Pizzacchiere sits at the final slope of the hill, smelling of fresh pizza sauce and doughy goodness. There is no point in resisting. Between the five of you two pizzas are decided on: a classic Margherita and the more adventurous 'Big Sun of Florence.' Both are excellent choices and devoured immediately (as you have not quite mastered the slow-eat of italian culture). 

After having had your fill of what may be your favorite piece of pizza to date, you head home for a brief rest. Moments of relaxation (much needed after your extremely stressful day) are had, before a decision is eventually made to go explore the night life of your new city. 

It takes a few flops, but eventually you find a local and modern bar called Moyo. Lucky to be a girl, you order the fruitiest thing on the menu, and head upstairs to find a seat. Tucking in with your girls in a cozy back corner booth, you proceed to bond and gossip for the next several hours with your new friends. 

Eventually leaving the bar at closing, you get home safe and sound, your tired feet happy to be getting to bed. As you lie there in a happy exhaustion, you realize you are living la dolce vita. 

Yours, Kenna