There is never a dull moment in Italy. The longer I am here, the more I realize it. It really is a unique experience to be studying abroad unlike any other. When else can travel to another country, stay for four months, have a loan or scholarship help cover the costs, and have free time to explore with lots of other people the same age with the same excitement for every new place? It really is the perfect opportunity to go to another country on your own and I am so grateful that I talked myself into coming in my senior year!
In these past two weeks we did a lot of fun things that I really enjoyed! The highlights were secret passageway tour of Palazzo Vecchio, flea markets, Carnivale in Via Reggio, and finally Cinque Terre! Its been another great two weeks that just make me thankful and happy to be here!
Secret Passageway Tour of Palazzo Vecchio
The secret passageway tour was something that we ended up doing for free through the school and just because it sounded cool, but it ended up being one of the coolest museum tours that we have done so far. After doing a lot of art museums, it was a nice change of pace to see something other than pictures of Jesus. Don't get me wrong, the frescos and paintings are really beautiful, but after a while you just need a break to see something else.
The tour was something straight out of a movie. In it they showed us all the secret rooms that the rulers had in their castle to get away and to hide their prized possessions. One of the rooms held the magic items of one of the Medici sons. We also got to take secret passages behind paintings and shelves. It was like living a childhood dream! I definitely would recommend it to anyone with extra time in Florence to see things besides the big attractions.
Flea Markets
Another fun thing that we were able to do was go and explore some flea markets of Florence. The ones that we went to were the Mercato delle Cascine, and the Mercato delle Pulci. Both markets had a clothing area with a range of different clothes from vintage clothing to heaps of clothes that you can rummage through and find clothes from anywhere between 1-5 euros. There was also a food area with fresh fruits and vegetables as well as local street food vendors.
The Cascine market was really cool to see because it was located right on the side of a river and so there was a great view to see while you were browsing the market. Also, it was huge! It felt like at least a half a mile of different little stands of stuff to look at. At the Mercato delle Pulci I was able to negotiate with one of the shops and I got new sunglasses for 5 euros instead of the normal price of 10 euros! Aside from clothes and produce, they also had an area specifically for cool, unique antique items. One thing to keep in mind is if you ever end up going to the market, make sure to have cash as most of the places did not take card.
Carnivale in Via Reggio
One of the day trips that we did was to the beach town of Via Reggio where they were celebrating the last weekend of Carnivale. Carnivale is a several week celebration coming from ancient Greece and Rome that was converted to meet Christian ideas. It is now a celebration leading up to the beginning of lent. During this time, people celebrate with partying, musical dances in the streets, costumes and masks, fireworks, and a parade with giant floats that move around! They also gave out bags of paper confetti and throughout the parade everyone would throw confetti! It was really cool to see and the pictures don't do it justice to how big and detailed the floats were.
Cinque Terre (The 5 Lands)
Cinque Terre was AMAZING! It was definitely one of my favorite places that we have been so far. And on top of it being a great place, we got to go when it was great weather as well! It is another really cool beach town that is kind of what I imagined Italy to be like before getting here. It has lots of small houses all squished together with a real small town feel. Cinque Terre means five lands, as there are five small towns connected within this area. We were able to go to three of the five and they were all really beautiful. Each one had a different view and personality, so it felt like taking three different trips within the same day! Everything was so picturesque and the water looked so clear and blue that I wanted to swim in the 60 degree weather! If you watched the disney film Luca, the city in the film is based on one of the towns in Cinque Terre, so it was really fun to be able to walk around and imagine going through the different parts in the film. Overall, it was super duper fun and I want to go back again!
Food (YUM!)
Food is always a great part, no matter what is going on. This is my first time living away from home, and so I have been taking advantage of dinner as a time to practice cooking and it is becoming a fun hobby for me. Even though cleaning up is not the most fun, it can be a satisfying process to see all the dishes in the sink disappear. Here's this installment's haul of restaurant food, pastries, and my cooking!
Well, that's it for this travel log. Thanks for following along. See you on the next one!
Comments