First Impressions

After 15 hours of flying, three layovers and nearly missing my last flight(!!!) I have made it to Firenze. The city is absolutely breathtaking, and has far surpassed my expectations. The streets small and in cobblestone, the hustle and bustle of the tourists and and the painted stucco of the buildings makes the city feel very warm (and congested!) Upon entering the city and getting settled into the hotel, I took a walk with some of the other students. I had spoken to a few of them over the summer on Facebook which proved to be a good idea because I already felt comfortable with them. We had only walked for a few minutes when we were greeted by the monumental Duomo. The cathedral is the largest in the city, and left me feeling somewhat speechless, and somewhat feeling as if I was in front of the Magic Kingdom in Disney- I keep having to tell myself that this is real.

This was particularly exciting for me, as you can tell. 

THE DUOMO!!! I have yet to go inside of the cathedral or any building for that matter but I have decided to wait until tourist season is over at the end of the month or so since it will be much more navigable that way.

We also passed the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence's town hall. The square in front of the Palazzo Vecchio is called the Piazza della Signoria. The Palazzo Vecchio a painting, the Crossing of the Red Sea by Italian Mannerist painter Bronzino, and was rumored to hold a hidden Leonardo da Vinci as well. The Piazza also marks the entrance to the Uffizi Museum, where I will be taking my seminar course on Michelangelo (NO BIG DEAL)

The Fountain of Neptune, Bartolomeo Ammannati.

This is a fake version of Michelangelo's statue of David:

The first night we had the most amazing opportunity to have dinner on the roof garden of the hotel we stayed at. Basically I was in heaven, as this was not only my first chance to experience the food, but for the view of the city. Perfecto!