Elizabeth/ Mid-Term Week

I know this sounds like a contradiction; having my girlfriend visit during mid-term week seems to clash. However, it wasn't as bad as you would think. We even stayed in one night and Elizabeth helped me study for a few of my tests. I'll try to outline the week as best as I can. Basically we did everything someone could possibly do in Florence in a week.

Sunday

The first full day Elizabeth was here, I took her on a walking tour of most of the major piazzas and other significant landmarks. We saw everything from Piazza San Marco to the San Lorenzo markets. We just wandered all over Firenze for a few hours. The sun came out in full effect in Piazza Santa Maria Novella. We sat down on a stone bench to relax and take it all in. We found a singer/guitar player performing as we passed under the arch of Piazza della Repubblica. After resting up and getting some groceries at Billa, we went out to dinner with some friends at a Spanish-Mexican restaurant called Salamanca. It was the first time I had Mexican food in Europe. I decided on enchiladas verdes, which is a corn tortilla with chicken, cheese, green sauce, sour cream, and onion. It was very tasty, and filling too. My friend Dylan, who took us there, must have known the owner (after studying abroad in Florence for five semesters) because our waiter brought out tequila shots for all of us after the meal. Elizabeth said she had never done tequila shots before so I told her how to put the salt on her hand and suck the lime after the shot. Even though it was her first experience with tequila, she took it like a champ.

Monday

I did not have class until 6pm so we had almost another full day of touristy things in Florence. I brought her two blocks down the street to go inside of the Duomo (we would save the climb to the top for the next day). Florence's Duomo's exterior is spectacular. It is huge with the most elaborate details. However the inside is not as impressive as other Italian Duomos I have been in. There was not a whole lot to see and it did not take long to visit. Next I took Elizabeth to Santa Croce, the other major church in Florence. Just as Santa Maria Novella was the major Dominican church, Santa Croce was its Franciscan counterpart. The piazza is wide open and hosts many events (such as the chocolate festival I went to earlier in the semester) including Calcio Fiorentino, a historical soccer match that has been held there every year for centuries. It was sunny again today so we picked out a bench to rest and observe the piazza. After this we went back home to get ready for a nice run along the Arno River. This would be our first and only run of the week. (Sorry Pete and Chuck, we had a busy week!) It was nice to run with Elizabeth and show her how scenic my running routes had been. We went about seven miles at a comfortable, conversational pace for both of us. By the time we got back I had to shower and get ready for my Italian class. After class we started preparing the meal we picked out at Billa: sausage and peppers on a roll. I hardly know how to cook anything, so at least Elizabeth somewhat knew what she was doing. With a little help from our friend Vinny, our dinner turned out to be a success. With the addition of some fun pasta and some sauce, we made a delicious meal. Later in the evening we got ready to go out and of course the first place we went was our downstairs bar, Bigallo. There were actually not many people there, most likely because everyone was studying for mid-terms (losersss). We still managed to have a good time and I got Elizabeth her own "three for ten euro" drink card, a Bigallo special. (Don't worry she only had one drink and wisely paced herself so the card lasted the whole week) One drink at Bigallo is nothing to scoff at either; you should see the way they pour their drinks. It was a good night, but still incomplete until I took Elizabeth to see the wonder of "secret bakery." Let me clear this up: secret bakery is not the name of the bakery, its actually a bakery hidden deep in an alley. I got us two chocolate crescents which we easily finished before arriving home for the night.

Tuesday
On Tuesday we experienced the best tourist attraction in Florence: the climb to the top of the Duomo. For eight euros they allow you to climb all 463 steps up to the Cupola del Brunellschi and look out over the entire city. After climbing up multiple series of stairs we finally made it to the highest lookout of Florence. It was better than even Piazza de Michelangelo because it was a little higher and you could look down directly into the city instead of from across the river. It was the best 360 degree view I have ever seen! I was able to pick out all of Florence's major landmarks (and our apartment), all of which looked much cooler from way up on the cupola. After spending a good amount of time at the top, we had to start our descent so I could get back home and go to my Social Psychology midterm. Right after my test, I had Italian class and was still trying to decide where to take Elizabeth out to dinner that night. After consulting with some girls in my class, I decided on Gusta Pizza, a great pizza place on the other side of the Arno I had heard about. Everyone was right, it was easily the best pizza I have had since arriving in Europe. The place was pretty cool. There are only several pizzas to choose from which made it easy for Elizabeth and me to decide. We ordered our pizzas, grabbed an open table, and didn't wait too long before our personal pizzas were ready. The pizza was a little messy to eat but tasted delicious. Once we were done with dinner we began to walk back across the first bridge east of the Ponte Vecchio. I noticed a ledge Tyler had told me about a few days ago and jumped over the edge onto the point jutting out over the river. That scared Elizabeth; she preferred to just sit on the side so I sat with her after looking over the edge. We sat there for awhile to admire the Arno reflecting the city lights at night. Since I hadn't taken Elizabeth to get gelato yet, I figured now was a good time for it. We stayed close to the Ponte Vecchio to look for a place since the main drag had the only places open this late at night. We ate our gelato inside then started back home. On the way I decided to take her through Piazza Signoria since a guitar player can sometimes be spotted there at night. Sure enough we caught one performing as we walked through. We sat down on the stone steps near a bunch of Italian teens to enjoy the good sound. What a great night; couldn't have planned it better.

Wednesday
I got up extra early to study more for my Art History midterm at 9am. It was difficult but with some help studying with Elizabeth I probably did better than I would have. We had a big museum day planned once I got out of class. First we went to the Uffizi, which holds the majority of Florence's artwork. We went to the 2nd entrance (VIP style) and budged a huge line thanks for my friend Alyssa who let Elizabeth borrow her Amici degli Uffizi pass. This allows free entrance to many of Florence's museums. I easily snuck her in because so many people visit the Uffizi they don't even have time to check IDs. We covered everything the museum had to offer as quickly as possible and it still took us awhile. We were pretty hungry by the time we made it outside so I took her to get another fine food of Florence: the Kebab. We walked to Star Kebab because out of all the places I have tried, they are most definitely the best. For five euros we got a kebab and a drink to eat outside in the piazza.

Next on the museum tour was the Accademia, Florence's second biggest attraction simply because of Michelangelo's "David." This time we were not as lucky with the ID situation. I found the VIP entrance and we both entered through there. However when the lady in the ticket office checked our IDs Elizabeth was not so lucky to pass as my friend this time. Who checks IDs at a museum that closely anyway? Whatever; we just left laughing because Elizabeth had just gotten denied at a museum but never at a club. We headed home so I could study for my next midterm, Italian. It went pretty well and once we got out it was time to celebrate St Patty's Day. Yes this is an American holiday. It is celebrated just as hard in Italy as it would be in Ireland (by drunk Americans). A few of my housemates got Irish car-bombs at Dublin Pub on the way home from class. Elizabeth was very excited to celebrate her Irish heritage that night and of course I could not wait to celebrate either. (Everyone is Irish on St Patrick's Day right?) I put on the only green shirt I had. To start the night off we went to (you guessed it) Bigallo and got cups of their green beer. I thought that was kinda cool. The bar was packed and almost everyone was pretty drunk. I guess that's what the combination of St. Patrick's Day and the end of midterms results in. It was only right that we ended the night properly by picking up chocolate crescents from Secret Bakery.

Thursday

On Thursday after my Philosophy midterm we had our last full day planned with a few places in Florence I had not been yet. But first I took Elizabeth to Oil Shoppe, an excellent sandwich place, for lunch. We both ordered spicy chicken-parm on a "hungry" sized roll. The meal came with great fries and a water for five euros, what a deal. Elizabeth likes chicken-parm but it was a little too spicy for her so I ate her other half for her. One sandwich was filling enough, I was not hungry again til much later that night. Once we finished lunch we headed across the river to check out the Pitti Palace and connecting Boboli Gardens. I was able to use my pass to get in for free, but Elizabeth did not risk trying to use my friend's again. It took awhile to walk through all of the rooms in the Pitti Palace. We were so eager to get outside and see the gardens on such a beautiful day that we rushed through the end of the palace. We got outside and walked through the entrance to the Boboli Gardens. They were much bigger than I had imagined, with much less color than I expected. However it was only mid-March so everything may not have been in full bloom yet. There were some great views of the Duomo from across the river. We walked around many green pathways in the gardens before stumbling upon a really cool fountain that slowly tricked down a stairway. Eventually we had to leave so I could make it back in time for class.

After class I wanted to take Elizabeth out somewhere nice for our last dinner in Florence. I also wanted to show her what an "appertivo" was all about so we went to a place called Moyo. It was a really classy, modern restaurant/ bar. For those of you who do not know; an appertivo is basically an "all-you-can-eat" buffet of different foods, which you can take advantage of after buying a drink. We sat down and the waitress took our drink orders: a large beer for me and a "Dirty Shirley" for the lady. We grabbed plates and started exploring the different platters. I told her to pace herself because that was the trick for going up multiple times and staying for awhile. After a filling meal, I took her next door to The Red Garter, the main American sports bar in Florence, to watch some March Madness. Here we caught Murray State hitting a buzzer beater to upset Vanderbilt. It was nice because we both enjoy watching college basketball, and it was one of the rare times I saw a tournament game this year. We left after the game was over and started walking around. We went to the same gelato place we went the other night and got some more. Instead of sitting down we walked to the Ponte Vecchio to eat it. We were in luck, there was another guitar player singing right in the middle of the bridge. We stood against the bridge to enjoy the music. The Ponte Vecchio could not have been more beautiful; completely lit up in the night sky.

An annoying flower salesman came up to us offering his stupid flowers. I always get annoyed when they shove flowers in my face. Instead this time I took advantage of an extra pair of hands able to take a picture of Elizabeth and I with the Arno in the background.