Fox Trails: Piazza Santissima Annunziata

Last night I made dinner in the apartment with my roommates and some friends. It was such a nice way to enjoy a lazy, rainy Monday. I made the rest of my tortellini and everyone else had pasta and pizza. Making dinner at home saves so much money. I think my meal (tortellini, pesto, green beans and a glass of wine) probably cost me about 3 euro. Can't beat that! Last night after I had gotten ready and into bed, Chloe realized that there was an inordinate amount of water flowing into our bathroom from the floor above. It was running down the walls of the hallway and even more disconcertingly coming out of a light fixture in the bathroom. Our floor has an "emergency phone" and on occasion I have asked exactly how we know when to use it. Needless to say, we used the emergency phone to make sure we didn't end up with one bathroom on top of the other. The girls upstairs were nice about it and said that the roommates who had clogged the toilet had left without thinking. It didn't get cleaned up until about one in the morning. The handy man is coming back today and might be taking out parts of the ceiling. I've never been happier to have more than one bathroom! It seems as though ours might be out of commission for a while.

This morning I was so excited to start my art class. On my way to the bus I got mistaken as an Italian BY AN ITALIAN! This was a very exciting moment for me and I was determined not to blow it. I was asked directions to a Piazza, but alas - I did blow it. I didn't know where the Piazza was, so my first attempt to prove myself failed. I managed to repeat the name of the Piazza, say I didn't know where it was and that I was sorry. My accent is fooling anyone though, so even if I did know I probably would have been found out. I got to campus around 9:30 for my 10:00 class. At 9:40 we got an email that said that class had been cancelled. My art class is supposed to be from 10:00 - 1:20, so I had the option of going home and coming back for my 3:00 class or sticking around and getting some work done. I decided to have a classic Italian breakfast of espresso and a pastry in the cafe on campus before going to the library. I'm not all that responsible though, otherwise I wouldn't be blogging when I still have more reading to do!

These pictures are from the Piazza Santissima Annunziata. This is an example of a time I've been walking in Florence, turned a corner and been blown away by the sudden sight of something I had learned about in art history! I have been meaning to take pictures of it for a couple days. I managed to snap some as I was running errands in the rain. I think the dark sky and ominous clouds make the Piazza look a little spooky. The Foundling Hospital (pictured below) was designed by someone well known to Florence, Filippo Brunelleschi - most famous for designing the dome of the Duomo without the aid of beams or elaborate wooden supports. The orphanage was begun in 1421 and it seems amazing how well it's stood the test of time. Several pedestrians took refuge from the rain in the beautifully designed loggia.