Sharing "La Dolce Vita"

The first weekend I was in Florence I found myself living la dolce vita (the sweet life). With Mom & Jewel in my city, I wanted to show them that same perfect day I had; that first day when I found all my favorite things in Florence. 

We started with what is the essential kick off to any great venture: gelato. Not just any gelato, but the sweet creamy delight that is Gelateria Vivaldi. 

Buona Notte Firenze

It could be argued whether my Mom came to visit just me or just Italy, and the generous answer would probably be a combo of the two. But really, if we're honest, she came for the carousel. 

In Piazza della Repubblica there is a restored early 20th century carousel ran by the Picci family (see story here). From what I have been told it only runs from November to May, but since I arrived in January, it has been present for my every jaunt through the city center. Though I was many times tempted to jump upon the 20 horse parade, I continued to hold out hope that my mama (and Jewel) would cross the Atlantic and be with me for that first ride. 

I was not let down. 

Sneak Peak

Florence is just a bit overwhelming. Well, maybe I just have moments of being a bit overwhelmed. How grateful I am for this life I'm leading, but holy potatoes is it exhausting (see here for this explained in GIF form). By the time I feel like I have any free time during the week after traveling, classes, activities, clubs, friends, homework, etc. I just want a moment to chill. Which has lead to moments of sitting at home enjoying not doing anything (which when it was pouring buckets outside was pretty acceptable behavior). 

However, I want to make the most out of every single moment of my time here, in my fantastic home abroad. Luckily, with the sun finally out and shining here in Florence, I'm beginning to search out places to bask in doing nothing, but outside. If you sit in your room and read a book you're a hermit, but if you do it outside in a park you're a romantic; I like to consider myself a romantic hermit. 

In San Diego I've spend countless hours at Balboa Park, one of my favorite places to go and escape from the stress of life. Like San Diego, Florence is a place where you have to go out and search for a place to escape from the city-livin' life. Boboli Gardens are an excellent place for this. 

The Gardens are connected to the rear of Pitti Palace, which I visited a few weeks ago when the weather was still a bit nippy. At around 11 acres, I couldn't even begin to see the whole of the gardens as I explored during a study break last week, but I thought I'd give you a little sneak peak of just a little bit of it. 

A Simple Sunday

Waking up with nothing to do is blissful. Not having to hit snooze a dozen times and whine to the morning gods that it is too early is one of the better moments in life. Even living in Italy, it can really be these little things that make you appreciate life. 

Sundays are one of my favorite days of the week. There are so many great simplicities on Sundays. My primary preference is "Scumball Sundays" (patent pending), when I don't leave the house or do anything relatively close to productive. Brunch is the primary meal of the day, and there's no going wrong with bacon and mimosas at 11 am. Everything is a little more relaxed on a Sunday. The streets are quieter, hushed from those suffering hangovers, and no one is rushing around with the usual frantic purpose of the week. 

Having been a frantic rusher for the past few weekends (not that there are any complaints here) I have been craving a chill weekend to enjoy Florence and a little relaxation. Friday and Saturday, I spent predominately tucked in hiding from the rain. I took advantage of an uncommon "Scumball Saturday", filled with tea and a Criminal Minds marathon. 

On Sunday I woke to a quite apartment. My whole gang of roommates had departed for the day so I had the place to myself. I think we all know that being home alone is one of those "little things" I was talking about. I opened the apartment windows to let in the sun that had finally peaked out from behind the clouds, turned on iTunes, and began to sing along. I cracked a few eggs on the stove and had breakfast going in no time. I danced around the kitchen, as I moved my cuisine from pan to plate. 

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.