Beautiful Tuscany.

Another week down. Another amazing city visited.

Wow, Florence is beautiful, full of culture, history, and fun. Everyone in our program that had visited Florence before us raved and raved about how wonderful it was, and they couldn't have been more correct. Some of them even headed south for a second or third time since we've been here if that tells you anything. This is a city that we decided we must do sufficient research in order to not miss anything! Thanks to Megan and her Lonely Planet book, along with recommendations from friends we saw all that we intended to, ate at some tasty, unique, places, and had the best weekend.

After getting sandwiches from the local tabacchi, which are the best things ever, we headed off in a taxi with some other CIMBA students to catch the train to Florence. With only a one changeover journey, we arrived in Florence. We've gotten quite picky on our hostels by now, and know that proximity to the train station, separate bathrooms, and luggage storage are necessities. Thankfully, this hotel had all three, and I have to say, it may be my favorite place we've stayed in so far. Alex, Megan's boyfriend met up with us, along with 2 of his roommates for the weekend. It's always nice meeting up with friends from home as it gives a sense of comfort, and makes for an extra special weekend. (And obviously it's extra, extra, extra special for Megz :))

We did all the touristy things you must see and do in Florence including climbing to the top of the Duomo, seeing Michelangelo's David, leather/souvenir shopping, and watching the sun set from Piazzale Michelagelo. Along with all the sightseeing, we managed to consume our fair share of gelato and pasta making for a perfect weekend.

This Duomo was the first one that I had been in where I actually climbed all the way to the top. There were over 400 stairs, but it was well worth the climb. Along the way, we were able to see the vivid paintings inside the dome and once we reached the top, the view of the city was amazing.

Michelangelo's David is HUGE. Way bigger than I expected and crazy to see in person. Although, the location and appearance of the outside of the building surprised me. It just looked like any other building, nothing too special...until you got inside obviously.

After shopping we hiked up to Piazzale Michelagelo to watch the sunset and get another great view of the city.

Only one week until our travel week!! Can't wait to see my wonderful parents! Woohoo!

Our "Relaxing" Weekend

I use the word relaxing lightly, you can't relax too much when in the middle of a once and a lifetime opportunity to be abroad! This past weekend we had Friday off school, so the majority of our program went to Rome. Hannah and I are meeting my mom and Aunt there in April, though, so we decided to spend the weekend closer to Paderno!

We have a beautiful view of Mount Grappa out of our dorm window, so naturally we had to hike it. Thursday night we carbo-loaded with the best pizza we've had in Italy yet! It was from the next town over, and well worth the walk.

Spinach and Ricotta

YUM!  

We woke up early on Friday and began the trek up! After around 2 ½ hours we could see the top, however it then took us 30 minutes of hiking through knee deep snow to reach the peak.

Almost to the "Cima"- peak

Literally climbing to the top

We were cracking up the whole time thinking, "Are we actually doing this right now?" We finally reached the top, and we were greeted by breathtaking views of the Swiss Alps. Mt. Grappa was the sight of multiple battles during WWI, and it is now a memorial to the Italian and Austria-Hungarian soldiers who lost their lives.

Memorial

We ate lunch at the restaurant on top, but instead of giving you a menu they just tell you what is available for the day. In Italian.  Luckily I am taking an Italian for Travelers class here, so we managed to order polenta with cheese, it tasted great! We went down the mountain a different way than we came up so that we would end in a town next to Paderno called Crespano del Grappa. We ended our adventure with the obvious choice, gelato!

Saturday we took the train into Verona, about an hour and a half away from our school. Verona is a beautiful city, we spent the day walking around the Verona Arena and shopping on the marble streets. The city has a very authentic Italian feel, which made it one of my favorite cities we've been to!

Entrance to Verona's main Piazza

Juliet's Tower

We're spending our rainy Sunday loading pictures, doing laundry, and getting ready for the week of classes. The weekend was exactly what we needed, and it is the last weekend we have planned to stay in Paderno! I can't believe we are already halfway done with our time in Europe, it is FLYING by.

Love you all!
-Megan