Sodere Barberino Di Mugello

... to a little Piazza I had heard about. We got on a bus, and headed that way, not really sure where to get off. At one point we realized how beautiful the view was, and as the bus was stopping at a random stop, Kelsa was like "we should get off here!" so we all quickly hopped off the bus. We were standing in front of a great view, and steps that lead us higher to a church and cemetery type place. We took our time enjoying the view and the peacefulness ...

Happy Thanksgiving!

I spent the morning taking an Italian exam!!! The afternoon was a little more fun, touring Palazzo Pitti with my Art History class.

It was a little strange spending it without everyone but my school put together a little gathering for us. A group of us dined on a typical American Thanksgiving at a local restaurant. We were served Butternut Squash soup with bread, Turkey ...

nous sommes rester a florence pour terminer notre visite la ville en allant aux jardins boboli et bardini, situe dans la cours du palais pitti. Deux grand jardins qui a cette date n'ont plus autant a offrir qu'en ete. il n'y a plus de fleur, et la moitie des arbres n;ont plus de feuille, mais on a pu constater l'ampleur de la propriete en passant tout l'apres midi a ...

... since some monks were on the site a few hundred years ago.

Walked around Baboli Gardens which were pretty stunning and crazy to think they were someones backyard at one stage.

After dinner with Zoe, Nonie, James and Kerrin we walked around looking a bar and then when we found it didn't like it so just got 3 bottles of wine for 10 Euro and headed back to the hostel - only to see 4 bottles for 10 Euro around the corner!!!

Hi Everyone!

After an exhausting weekend in Brussels, I was in for yet another treat with cooking classes in Florence. Organized by my school, a group of us met with a chef for some lessons.

We were taught how to prepare typical Tuscan cuisine including Ribollita and Stuffed zucchini-flowers.

Everything was delicious & I look forward to trying these recipes at home!

I'll update you soon,

Siara

... festival of the Goddess Fiora so in honor of her he named the city Firenze in latin after her. The last painting we looked at the Calumny of Apelles, showed Botticelli's support of Savonarola a weird guy that opposed the Medici and thought he was a prophet sent by God to clean up the city. Well the Florentines hated him after a few years and burnt him in piazza del signoria. The painting is that of someone in ancient history that was falsely ...

... I am just competitive :) At some point the chef pulled two of the students away to help prepare the soup - Papa al Pomodoro is a traditional Tuscan soup - so while all of us didn't get to experience the preparation it is extremely simple so there wasn't much to miss. After we finished all the pasta - about 100 pieces in all from my "team" - the chef began to cook everything and construct our dishes while he finished up the soup. We discarded our aprons and took ...

... the information centre, and no luck! So we called the affiliated camp of the place we stayed in Venice (Camp Jolly), and we were in! So we are staying in a hard cover tent with a floor and beds.... and with our handy sleeping bags that dad got us, we are warm and happy!!! The camp is in an Olive grove and on top of a hill on the edge of Florence, so we have a great view of the city ...

... Station we walked quite a bit, Times Square, Broadway, etc (saw Ron Howard walking the street). We went to the Meat Packing District for dinner and drinks then parted ways back up in the Theatre District. I met up with Jacque that night and headed to her place in Hoboken. The following day I roamed the streets of Little Italy & China Town, where I purchased this really great knock-off Coach bag! =) The World Trade Center was quite an experience ...

... in developing banking, accountancy, and the creation of credit saw the whole system become ever richer. Florence was, arguably, the cradle of modern Europe and thence the United States - the way we paint our pictures, the way we do business, and the way we conduct our politics. The Medici became hereditary dukes, and Florence part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, but the end of their line in 1737 saw the city consumed by Austria. In 1859 it was ...