my weeekkk

Getting back from Rome I was completely exhausted, so the beginning of this week, I gave myself a lot of chill time. 

Monday: We cooked cheese fondue, pesto pasta and red wine pears in cooking class. I forgot my camera so no pictures this week, sorry!  My group made the red wine pears which turned out really good.. and they were so easy to make!  After class I came home and did some homework, slept, ate, slept, and eventually went to bed around 10. 

Tuesday: Between my classes, I went to lunch with Jenna which is always fun!  I got risotto, which is something we had made in cooking class a few weeks ago, but I hadn’t tried at a restaurant yet.  Amazingly enough, I actually liked the version we made in class better!  Later, I went over to Jenna/Steph/Brianna’s apartment and had dinner there (they made grilled veggies and pesto ravioli, so good!!) and we got ready to go to the opera!  I forget the name of the opera we saw, but it was definitely an interesting experience! I forgot to read the description of act 1 before it started, so the first act I was really lost.  Everything is in Italian, and it was seriously confusing.  The second and third acts I read about in intermission though which made the performance much more enjoyable!  I’m not sure I will need to see an opera again any time soon, but I’m definitely glad I saw one!  Something that I thought was pretty funny was the number of times you applaud the actors.  You clap for them between the first and second acts, between the second and third acts, and at the end.  Also, at the end when we were clapping, it was probably about 10 minutes of applause… my hands started hurting.  Those opera singers sure like their applause!

at the opera

Wednesday: After Italian on Wednesday, Nicole and I went to Gusta Pizza, always a favorite but it was pretty crowded.  Because it’s a small restaurant, if there isn’t enough seating, they sit you at the same table with two other rando people.  We ended up crashing this couples date who were sharing a pizza while Nicole and I each had our own pizza and ate the whole thing.  Would have been awk if I hadn't been too busy stuffing my face with pizza!  Because the day was so beautiful, after lunch we decided to climb the Duomo.  We went back to my apartment so I could change into tennis shoes (Nicole was already wearing them.. It was casual day) and headed to the Duomo.  Let me just say that climbing this thing not something to be taken lightly, it’s a serious workout!  It takes about 20 minutes to climb, and at one point you get to the part where you are literally scaling the dome, its pretty freaky!  It was definitely worth it though because the view from the top was amazing! Here are some pictures from the Duomo! 

scaling the dome...

finally made it to the top!

Climb the duomo, CHECK

After our climb, we went and got gelato at Groms, a really famous gelato place, and walked around for a little bit.  Then later, we had our little Florence groups now annual Wednesday night dinner.  Sarah, Emily, and Audrey hosted dinner (which is always BYOV… bring your own vino) and made this really good bruscetta and pasta with veggies!  Kaylen and I have big shoes to fill next week when we host!  We hung out until about 11 drinking wine and chatting, so fun!

Thursday: I slept in late today which was so nice, and then met Kaylen at the train station to buy our tickets for Venice tomorrow around 2.  After we got our tickets we went to lunch at Gusta Ostaria (the pasta gusta), which was the first time I had been there!  I have now officially been to all the gustas and can highly recommend them to anyone coming to Florence… seriously though, so good!  We were planning to go to the Bobili gardens after (the gardens in the back of the Pitti Palce, old Medici palace) but they were closed which was a serious bummer because it was another gorgeous day in Florence!  Instead, we went and got gelato and sat on the Santo Spirito bridge (facing the Ponte Vecchio) to people watch.  That is one of my favorite things to do in Florence, and today did not disappoint.  Here are some pictures of our time on the bridge

getting artsy 

Tomorrow, Kaylen and I are going to Venice for the night and then back to Florence Saturday evening.  We were planning to do Milan also, but don’t want to overdo it because Kaylen has been sick!  I’ll fill yall in on the weekend on Monday though!  Lots of love!! XOXOXOXO