Those of you who know me well know that the one place I really wanted to travel to while I was here was Florence! I have a bit of an obsession with the Medici family, the ruling Florentine family during the Renaissance. So I was really really happy when I found a group of friends to travel with me to Florence for the first week of spring break!
Having our class trip the weekend before travelling to Italy made everything a little crazy. We got back from our class trip about 9:30 Sunday night and then I had to be up at 4 the next morning to get to the airport to fly to Italy!
We flew from Dublin to Bologna and then caught a train to Florence. We ended up getting into Florence around 3 that afternoon. Our hostel was nice and really close to everything! We decided to try to do a little bit of sightseeing that afternoon. We went to the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, walking by the Duomo on the way. And after that we went to the Palazzo Vecchio. Both were really cool. We also had a nice surprise because Italy was celebrating International Women's Day so we girls got into both palaces for free!
Dinner that night was AMAZING! We ate at a little trattoria. I had bruschetta as an appetizer, gorgonzola ravioli and then pork loin. (And of course some great Italian wine.) It was the best meal I have had in a long time! Afterwards we met up with one of Ryan's friends who is studying in Florence and had our first gelato! That may have been one of my favorite parts of the trip. It was awesome!
Tuesday morning we headed out early to beat the crowds at the Galleria dell'Accademia. This is of course where Michelangelo's David is kept as well as a lot of other great Renaissance artwork. Then we headed to the Cappelle Medicee, the Medici Chapels, and browsed through the local markets where we got paninos for lunch (again YUM!). That afternoon we went into the Duomo and Baptistery. 
We managed to squeeze the Bargello in as well. This museum had some impressive sculpture and also Donatello's David, one of my favorites. After that museum we managed to sneak into the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo to see a few more church artefacts but by this time we were all pretty tired and all this religious art was kind of starting to look the same. We retreated to our hostel for a quick break and then headed out for dinner. (I'll admit it--I ate gelato for dinner that night.)The next morning it was time for the Uffizi, the most visited museum in Italy. It is the site of Botticelli's Birth of Venus and La Primavera (love those) as well as a myriad of other paintings. I loved that museum and it took us all morning to get through!
Unfortunately, Ryan started to not feel so well so he just stayed in the hostel that afternoon.
We girls were fine on our own and got to do some more girly things that afternoon. We browsed the jewelry shops on Ponte Vecchio on our way out to the Palazzo Pitti. 
At the palace we went through the Galleria Palatina and the Royal Apartments. The Galleria Palatina was nice if a little ostentatious. Imagine a lavishly decorated room. Then put priceless artwork on top. It was a little overwhelming. We also went into the Boboli Gardens, the gardens of the palace. The weather had been pretty bad but thankfully there was no precipitation that afternoon. The gardens were beautiful but the real highlight for me was that there were cats!
Apparently the guards there feed some of the strays and they're really friendly because of all the tourists. I've missed my cats so much so it was nice to get to have one around for a bit. After the gardens we headed back into the Palazzo Pitti (there are like 5 museums in it). Since it was only us girls we went through the Costume Gallery which was basically a small fashion museum. We also went into the modern art museum. Now the Florentine idea of modern art is much different than ours. Basically modern art for them is anything after the Renaissance. It was not quite what we expected but we really enjoyed it!
For dinner that night we had bruschetta and pasta again. Another wonderful Italian meal! And gelato for dessert, of course.
The next morning Ryan was feeling a little bit better but decided to stay in for the morning. While he rested, we went to 2 churches: Santissima Annunziata and San Marco. Then we did a little more shopping in the markets. Before lunch we also went to the Anthropology museum since my friend Melissa is an Anthro major. After lunch, we went to 3 more churches: Orsanmichele, San Lorenzo, and Santa Croce. All three were beautiful. We finished up the day with a stop at the Museo di Storia della Scienza (for Marita and Ryan, the science majors of the group). That night ended with pizza for dinner and gelato at our favorite place called Perhce No! (Why Not!).
Basically the time in Florence was amazing and we packed a lot into our days! Friday our group parted ways. Ryan and Melissa were heading down to Naples, Marita to Geneva, and me back to Dublin. I was a little nervous about flying back by myself because I had to take a train to Bologna, get to the airport, and then fly back all alone. But it's funny how the day ended up working out. First, when we got to the train station, Marita and I figured out that we were on the same train. I just had to get off the stop before hers. I got to the airport in Bologna around 9:30 but when I got to the airport saw that my 11:15 flight was delayed till 3:15. This made me a little nervous. I was flying Ryanair which is not always known for its reliability. They were checking baggage, though, so I figured the flight was official. I headed through passport control even though I had a really long wait ahead of me. I sat near my gate and tried not to worry about whether or not I'd actually make it back to Dublin. A girl about my age was sitting near me and after a little bit we got to talking. We figured out we were both American and both heading to Dublin. She was studying for the semester in Bologna. Of course imagine our surprise when we figured out that we were both Notre Dame students!! She (her name was Bianca) was flying in for the weekend to see one of the ND girls. Needless to say, that connection made us instant friends and we spent the next 5 hours just chatting. She was able to tell me that the flight was delayed because the Italians were on strike from 11-2. We finally got into Dublin around 6 and I took Bianca to meet her friend.
It's such a small world, isn't it? I was so glad to run into Bianca and we're hoping to hang out again when we are both in Rome for Easter.
Still need to do one more post till I am up-to-date on everything! Hopefully can get that done before the weekend!
At the palace we went through the Galleria Palatina and the Royal Apartments. The Galleria Palatina was nice if a little ostentatious. Imagine a lavishly decorated room. Then put priceless artwork on top. It was a little overwhelming. We also went into the Boboli Gardens, the gardens of the palace. The weather had been pretty bad but thankfully there was no precipitation that afternoon. The gardens were beautiful but the real highlight for me was that there were cats!
Apparently the guards there feed some of the strays and they're really friendly because of all the tourists. I've missed my cats so much so it was nice to get to have one around for a bit. After the gardens we headed back into the Palazzo Pitti (there are like 5 museums in it). Since it was only us girls we went through the Costume Gallery which was basically a small fashion museum. We also went into the modern art museum. Now the Florentine idea of modern art is much different than ours. Basically modern art for them is anything after the Renaissance. It was not quite what we expected but we really enjoyed it!For dinner that night we had bruschetta and pasta again. Another wonderful Italian meal! And gelato for dessert, of course.
The next morning Ryan was feeling a little bit better but decided to stay in for the morning. While he rested, we went to 2 churches: Santissima Annunziata and San Marco. Then we did a little more shopping in the markets. Before lunch we also went to the Anthropology museum since my friend Melissa is an Anthro major. After lunch, we went to 3 more churches: Orsanmichele, San Lorenzo, and Santa Croce. All three were beautiful. We finished up the day with a stop at the Museo di Storia della Scienza (for Marita and Ryan, the science majors of the group). That night ended with pizza for dinner and gelato at our favorite place called Perhce No! (Why Not!).
Basically the time in Florence was amazing and we packed a lot into our days! Friday our group parted ways. Ryan and Melissa were heading down to Naples, Marita to Geneva, and me back to Dublin. I was a little nervous about flying back by myself because I had to take a train to Bologna, get to the airport, and then fly back all alone. But it's funny how the day ended up working out. First, when we got to the train station, Marita and I figured out that we were on the same train. I just had to get off the stop before hers. I got to the airport in Bologna around 9:30 but when I got to the airport saw that my 11:15 flight was delayed till 3:15. This made me a little nervous. I was flying Ryanair which is not always known for its reliability. They were checking baggage, though, so I figured the flight was official. I headed through passport control even though I had a really long wait ahead of me. I sat near my gate and tried not to worry about whether or not I'd actually make it back to Dublin. A girl about my age was sitting near me and after a little bit we got to talking. We figured out we were both American and both heading to Dublin. She was studying for the semester in Bologna. Of course imagine our surprise when we figured out that we were both Notre Dame students!! She (her name was Bianca) was flying in for the weekend to see one of the ND girls. Needless to say, that connection made us instant friends and we spent the next 5 hours just chatting. She was able to tell me that the flight was delayed because the Italians were on strike from 11-2. We finally got into Dublin around 6 and I took Bianca to meet her friend.It's such a small world, isn't it? I was so glad to run into Bianca and we're hoping to hang out again when we are both in Rome for Easter.
Still need to do one more post till I am up-to-date on everything! Hopefully can get that done before the weekend!
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