My first official day in Firenze the weather could have not been more beautiful. Even if it rains everyday after (which so far has been the case), fate was kind enough to offer one sunshiny perfect day of exploring to keep me content. Rain or no rain, though, Florence is still more magical than a thousand other places on their most perfectly weathered day.
My new roomies, Jackie and Catherine, and myself spent our first day wandering the streets, generally looking for a convenience store, but mostly just being thrilled with our new home; a fair emotion when you consider the view.
The most ridiculous/fantastic thing I've found about Florence so far, is that now matter how aimlessly you wander around, you will without fail happen upon some amazing priceless piece of history. Or at least a really impressive replica(s) of one particularly famous naked man.
Hello, fake David.
In the square of the Palazzo Vecchio David and his friends stand in glory, boasting superiority, even as frauds.
Even more stunning than happening upon a statue of David while looking for a grocery store is getting lost and then turning your head only to find the Duomo somehow looming above you. You would imagine that a nearly 400 foot tall building would be impossible to miss, but it seems to hide away until you are directly beneath it, left completely stunned by its grandeur time and time again.
My first glimpse of the the Basilica di Santa Maria delle Fiore was at night, when it is most shocking. It looks as if someone photoshopped this ginormous structure right into the center of the city.
Standing beneath it you quite literally feel the size of an ant.
I may love art and architecture, but I probably love food more; I've moved to the right country.
Our first night out we went to a sweet little Tapas bar tucked away on a side street near the Piazza della Repubblica.
The food was both delicious and affordable, plus the service was lovely. The staff was very helpful, and happy to speak english to us as we struggled our way through reading the menu. It's also a perfectly acceptable spot to order just cheese and bread; my kind of place.
We walked home past the gleaming lights of the carousel after the perfect first night in our new city.
The next day was a blur of school meetings, but that didn't stop us from soaking up the picturesque scenery.
After being drained by our to-do list, we thought we would get our first (of soon to be many) cappuccino. Coronos Café was happy to provide the service.
Opting to be both more economical and try our hand at some Italian cooking (pre-cooking class) we made dinner in the second night. An excellent choice, seeing as we came out with quite the delicious spread. Go team.
Add some Italian wine, and we were on our way to authenticity.
After dinner the night didn't feel quite over, so we went for a stroll through the streets. We started out with some innocent (and lustful) window shopping.
However, we were quickly invited in by the modern ambiance of Moyé, with the promise of dessert.
Tiramisu had been calling my name since my plane landed in Italy.
The bottom layer was literally drowning in moisture, which I know sounds unappetizing, but it perfectly offset the heavy cocoa powder covering the top. Molto delizioso!
Dessert is the best way to end any night, and I reckon that my first piece of tiramisu in Italy, will definitely not be my last.
Yours, Kenna
No comments:
Post a Comment