On Saturday morning I woke up and met Tylar at the Duomo for a day of museum exploration! We went to a small cafe for a cappuccino and literally the best pastry I've ever had in my life. Then we made our way to the Uffizi gallery, which houses amazing artworks such as Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera, Caravaggio's Bacchus, and Titian's Venus of Urbino. Personally enjoyed the restored statues and busts the most; particularly those in a room that Tylar and I decided to call the Stanza of the Danza- it has maybe 20 statues surrounding the entire room, and each character is depicted in movement, but to me, they definitely all looked like they were doing a lil' jig! REALLY MATURE, I KNOW, but I couldn't help it. I really enjoyed going through the Uffizi, and I definitely plan on going back there soon because after about 2 hours of walking through the museum, my head was throbbing with all the paintings I'd seen!
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| OHAI, DELICIOUS. |
After the Uffizi, Tylar and I decided to eat at a tiny little sandwich shop named Da' Vinattieri near Dante's Church... I could die. Our sandwiches were LITERALLY the bomb diggity and the place was too cute for words. Outside the shop there are a few absolutely adorable bikes-turned-into-tables lining the wall where you can place your drink while nomming up your porchetta, rucola, and mayo panino. Honestly, perfect.
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| just posin' with her Dante and Beatrice sammich. |
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| LOOK AT THIS CUTE BIKE TABLE, PLEASE. |
That sandwich shop is directly next to Dante's Church; for those who don't know, this is the church where Dante first met Beatrice, the woman who inspired La Vita Nuova and led him through Paradiso in La Divina Commedia. Beatrice and her husband were buried at this church, and I could barely believe it.
Next up was Dante's House where many artifacts of the Alighieri family and paintings depicting Dante's work are on display. In the final room, the ENTIRE Divina Commedia is displayed on the wall along with illustrations of the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. It was truly amazing, especially because Dante Alighieri's works were the reason that Tuscan dialect became the standard Italian language.
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| Right in the middle? The entire Divina Commedia work of literature. |
I am glad to say that I finally went to Perchè No, a gelateria close to the Duomo where I ordered fragola (strawberry) and argumi (lemon and orange) gelato. Guys... halp! It was so fabulous that I don't think I'll be able to eat ice cream back home... ever.
Tylar and I decided we wanted to go into the Duomo museum, but after SOMEHOW missing the entrance like total dum-dums, and then circling the entire freakin' thing in the freezing cold rain, I made the executive decision that I needed to go home and crawl into bed to thaw under about 7 blankets... Now that I think about it, I should've brought my forever lazy to Florence.
Okay, funny story time. In a bout of wishful thinking, I decided not to take my umbrella while exploring, so naturally, it started raining while we were in the Uffizi. This meant that I got drenched while walking for 25 minutes from the Duomo to my homestay. A little old Italian grandma even made me get under her umbrella while waiting at a crosswalk- probably because I looked so pathetically wet and cold! Anyway, I got home and Dario (my homestay papa) met me at the foyer and said his mother was visiting and that I had to be introduced... Yes, I met my homestay grandmother while soaked to the bone. I have no doubt in my mind that I looked like a drenched rodent. Embarrassing, but va bene! I had coffee with them and a short conversation and it was truly so nice of them to invite me to sit! I felt really welcomed.
Until next time, ciao boos!
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