Firenze!

Hello everyone! I apologize for not updating for a while...it has been a very busy week, homework has picked up, and I was still recovering from our quick weekend in Florence!

Tomorrow we are leaving in the morning for Provence for the weekend, but will be arriving earlier on Sunday night than this past weekend, so I should be able to catch up with a blog entry more quickly!

On last Thursday night, my friend Morgan and I flew to Florence with RyanAir...For a budget airlines, they were fairly efficient (despite the fact that our flight was about 2 hours late). We arrived late in Pisa and spent the night at a very cute little hostel. It was nice to wake up in Pisa on Friday, because we got to look around the town a bit and of course visit the leaning tower!

We took a train to Florence and arrived in the early afternoon, where we met one of our sorority sisters on the steps of the Duomo. We spent the afternoon with her, and walked all over the city before checking into our hostel. Our friend's school is in Northern Florence, and is managed by Syracuse University...it is GORGEOUS! The building is very old and has very pretty libraries, and in the center is a courtyard that must be beautiful in the spring.

Morgan's and my hostel was so cute! It was a very good deal, and we got "upgraded" to our own room -- lucky us! It reminded me of "A Room with a View," because our little window opened up onto streets and rooftops. The man working at the front desk was so warm and friendly, and the entire establishment very clean; it was a really pleasant place to stay.

After checking in, we went to the Duomo and climbed to the very top to look at the view of Florence at sunset...it was absolutely magnificent. There are 463 stairs, so it was a good workout as well!

That night, we went to Morgan's friend's lodging for dinner -- the Rockefeller villa in the hills of Fiesole, which has been donated to Georgetown to house its students on their abroad program in Florence. It was incredible to go up there and see the entire city at night, and the villa itself is phenomenal. It is such a neat experience for the students who stay there during the semester, and it was really nice to get to have dinner with them. They all sit at long wooden tables, and have a full multi-course meal together every night. Of course, I prefer to have dinners with Madame, and I think it benefits me much better for learning French, but the setting at this villa was really incredible.

The next day, we walked around all day long, through the street markets, piazzas, by the Arno, and finally ended our day at the Piazza Michaelangelo, after several gelatos, cappucinos, and other Italian treats. The view from the hill where the Piazza is located is phenomenal. I'm glad that I've been to Florence before, because on this trip I was able to walk around a lot and not worry about seeing every monument...it was fun to just explore.

On our last day, Sunday, Morgan and I went to the Pitti Palace and saw an interesting costume exhibit there...it showed the style of dress from the past few centuries. Then we walked around the Boboli Gardens for several hours, and just relaxed, before catching our trains, airplane, and bus back to Paris. It was such a beautiful weekend, and quite warm (for us, at least, after being in Paris) that we really enjoyed every moment of being outside. The gardens were a great ending to a fabulous weekend!

More to come soon, about Morgan's host family...some interesting, fun facts about the culture of the young French!

Also, photos of Florence are up to the right!

xoxo,

Ashley