Catching Up

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to catch up. I got backed up so I'm just going to give a brief overview of everything that's happened since June 28 (a.k.a. my first day in Florence)

First off, here are the doors of the Baptistry in front of the Florence Duomo. The metal plates are stunningly decorated with depictions of stories from the bible. This was the only viewable door because it is currently being renovated. That is wonderful for future tourists but sad for me.

I also went into the Duomo and took a picture of me out front. You can't tell as much from here, but it is huge. The inside is absolutely gorgeous as well, with an ornate altar and cross, stained glass windows, paintings hanging on the wall, and much more.

When Lauren and I were walking around the city, we saw a puppet theater performance and had to stop for a moment. After all, Firenze (Florence) is the birth place of Pinocchio... which is abundantly clear at every gift shop and stand.

Here is a picture of me sitting on the railing of the Ponte Vecchio

Here are me and three of my roommates on the Ponte Vecchio. From left to right: Me, Brielle, Serena, Lauren.

On our last day in Florence, we decided to go on a Tuscan wine tour. It started with a horseback ride through the vineyards and countryside. My horse's name was Frank, and he had his own opinion about distance. I was warned that he would go to close to the horse in front of me, but instead he stayed about 3 meters clear no matter what I did. I wonder, did the other horse have gas?

Our wine tasting was paired with a lunch of classic Tuscan foods. We tried two wines, a chianti and a chianti classico. I enjoyed both of them, though a bought a bottle of the chianti to take home since it was better just with cheese or for sipping. The food was good too, and my favorite was a sort of tomato and bean (the type started with a b) stew. And the ricotta? Fresh and amazing

There were two couples also on the tour with us. After we returned to Florence, we went up to the Rose Gardens with them. I didn't really see any roses, and I walked 100+ stairs to get there, but the view of the city was amazing. 

Last night was a networking event with IES, so all of our bosses were invited and we were set to mingle, plus get a free drink from the bar. I mingled, chatted, and tried my first cosmo. My impression? I'll definitely order that again =D

Today I had a free day, so I went to the Museo della Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo Da Vinci. The entrance was only 7.5EUR for students, and it was totally worth it. I spent 5 hours and I still wanted more time. They had models of many of Da Vinci's drawings, a piece of the moon, an Enigma machine in an exhibit about Turing, a mock forge, several train cars and engines, some planes, and a model of the first light helicopter model from the late 1800's. It was an amazing museum, but I'm glad I didn't go when I first arrived. Some of the exhibits, including the Turing exhibit, had no signs in English. My Italian has improved, so I was able to mostly read the displays, and I could certainly understand the basics. It was a nice test of my skills, especially because my reading comprehension has become quicker. I can't speed read yet, but it's getting better =D

Hopefully now that I've caught up, I'll keep you up to date more regularly. If anyone is wondering what prompted me to post now, thank my Mom. She successfully guilted me into it when she called today. 

Ciao!