Sunday Funday

Sundays in Florence are my favorite. Everyone is out milling about and wandering the streets. I've been in Florence for two Sundays in a row and have already developed a routine. Chloe and I go to All'antico Vinaio and wait in line anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes. It's completely worth it though.  The deli is on one side of the street and the bakery where they get their bread is on the other! Occasionally you'll see a man carrying a stack of steaming hot loaves from one side to the other. This past time I told the man behind the counter to make me whatever he wanted. I'm not exactly sure what I got, but I think it was homemade sausage, truffled cheese (does that exist?) and some type of other spread. It was amazing! Places like All'antico don't have menus where you can chose from premade sandwiches, they don't even have a menu telling you what there is. You just point to things and occasionally ask what something is.

After that we made our way over to H&M. I didn't buy anything, but I didn't try on the amazing coat pictured above. I know it's just a comforter, but since I spend the majority of time in my bed I feel like I need this. Obviously, for one million reasons (one of them may or may not be that it's 250 euro...) I did not and will not ever get it. A girl can dream. Realistically if I did ever own something like this I wouldn't be able to sit anywhere without falling asleep which would be awkward for all parties involved. Then Chloe and I go food shopping, followed by homework and laying in bed.

The picture of the vat of cheese was from dinner on Saturday night with David. We made our way over to the other side of the river and spent a solid hour and a half wandering around looking for this fondue restaurant. We eventually found it, but it didn't open for another thirty minutes so we spent our time walking up and down the banks of the Arno. When we got there we realized how expensive it was, but we had made such a big deal about it we couldn't not go! We got cheese fondue with fresh and toasted bread, apples, pears and potatoes. It was so much fun to eat! David is really terrible at judging how much food he can fit in his mouth and it resulted in us cracking up the entire meal, we were definitely NOT fancy enough for the atmosphere. After eating an entire vat of cheese we got gelato and walked back across the river.

San Miniato al Monte

Today I had my Cultures and Context class at San Miniato al Monte. I definitely did not plan enough time for the trek and showed up ten minutes late huffing and puffing...there were so many stairs. Physical exertion aside, it was one of the best views of the city. San Miniato al Monte is located on the other side of the bridge right near the Piazzale Michelangelo.

The story goes than St. Miniato was decapitated then picked up his head, walked up the hill and placed it where the church is now. San Miniato is located outside the walls of the city. I didn't manage to get pictures of the inside, but every inch is covered in decoration. The floors are made to look like carpet, which is reflected in the inlay detail of the floor. I felt as though it would be very rude to start snapping photos while my teacher was lecturing. After class I walked back along the Arno and bought art supplies for my drawing class. I caught the bus up to campus for Italian and then went home after to get work done and sketch. My night wouldn't be complete without a lady date with Chloe where we got gelato and did a lap around the Duomo.