Firenze

Buonasera da Firenze!!

So I know I still have to finish writing about Milan, but I need to tell you about Florence!! ahh!

Francesca and I got into Florence yesterday morning and my hotel luckily was right across the street. It is probably the most gorgeous hotel I have ever seen. It's absolutely stunning!! It's in this old, historic building and the doors are these ancient rounded doors, like what you would see in a castle.

Even though the weather was bad and it was rainy out, the city was still fantastic. It's so interesting because the streets and buildings are so old, yet seeing the designer stores left and right makes it all the more interesting and beautiful.

Right next to our hotel was the Basilica di Santa Maria Novella. It is beautiful!

Now this hotel is probably 4 or 5 blocks from the very center of Florence. The streets are all cobblestones and lined with amazing palazzos and old buildings. Just a few blocks away is the center of  the city. We walked down one street and along the right side was Prada, Hermes, Cavalli, while on the other was Armani, Bvlgari, and Gucci. Like…. what? Then the street curves and opens up to the center Piazza del Duomo. And in the center is the breathtaking Santa Maria del Fiore.

That's literally what you see when you turn the corner. Absolutely amazing. I thought I should make the picture big so you could see just how ridiculous this is.

The outside is all white and green marble. It's so different from all the other churches and cathedrals I've seen in America, Lithuania and even Milan! I guess the green and white marble was a staple thing that the Florentines used in the old days. It's what separates the Florentine churches from the other churches in Italy. Here are some more pictures:

The Duomo is the most breathtaking and magnificent dome I've ever seen! And knowing that it was built without any support beams or shell underneath is just mind-blowing. And the inside of it is even more beautiful:

Thought I should make that one big too. It is just absolutely amazing!

When looking at a map of Florence, everything seems far from everything and like it would take a while to get places. BUT that is so very false. Francesca and I were walking down a street just seeing where it would lead, and stopping to look at the Prada shoes and the diamonds at Tiffany's (you know, normal stuff), when the next thing we knew, the Fiume Arno was right in front of us! 

Presto! Ponte Vecchio! So awesome! It was more beautiful today because the sun actually came out today- it was probably the warmest it's been since I've been in Italy. It was fantastic. 

We walked across Ponte Vecchio and stopped at a cafe for some cioccolata calda because it was so cold, and it was probably the best hot chocolate I've ever had. It was so rich and thick and just perfect. I literally can't even compare anything to it, it was that great. 

We walked a little more down the street because why not? Everything was so close we were getting around faster than we thought. We saw this church, Santa Felicita which was so simple on the outside, yet inside was stunning. 

So it's getting really late here, and I do have more to tell and show, but I'm going to go to bed. 

Buona notte

Milano- Prima Giorno

Ciao da letto in Milano!

Anna and I woke up late today, so I have a little time to write!

Here's what we did Friday:

I finally got to see the triple bunk bed Anna was telling us about 2 years ago. 

so cool!

Then we started our trek around Milano.

First we went to the famous Duomo. It's so much better than the pictures! Its so beautiful! We didn't go inside of it, but we had wanted to climb to the top of it to see all of Milan. We might do that later today.

Beautiful right?!

Right next to it is the Galleria. This is a gorgeous building that houses a ton of designer stores. The story behind both of the buildings I learned is that when they were being built, the people of Milano donated their money and even helped work on it during the night so that it could be completed. Even the whores of the time would give what they made. It was well worth it- they are both stunning buildings!

Here is the Galleria:

Gorgeous!!

After the Galleria, we went over a block to get a little lunch at this famous cafe, Luini. Oh my it was amazing. We had panzerotti, which is like a piece of pizza that is folded over. It's not a calzone, it's different. And delicious!! The crust is so light and fluffy and the inside [we had tomato and mozzarella] was just perfect.

Here's a picture to kind of get an idea.

After eating, we walked around the city, specifically through the richer parts. There is an area where all the designer shops are. It was amazing! I could just imagine living in one of those fancy apartments and walking down to see Armani or Cavalli…. ah!

Then after that we went and saw the art university, Brera. Earlier in the day we also saw another university, and the interesting thing about Italian universities is they are all in the same place. American universities are more spread out and have multiple buildings, whereas Italian (and probably all European universities) universities are in one building with a courtyard in the middle. It seems so nice because then between classes you don't have to go outside and run across a campus to another building.

After stopping for a quick peek there, we went to the Castello Sforzesco. 

This was really cool. And it kind of reminded me of the castles in Lithuania. 

So beautiful! And you could tell there used to be a moat around it from the dug out ground.

On the side of the castello we sat for a while because we were all so tired by then. We decided to just go back to Anna's apartment after that. Now accounting for the many hours I had been up [I hardly slept on the plane, so 36 hours give or take], as we drove back, I could barely keep my eyes open. We got back and I napped for an hour, then that night we made pizza for dinner! It was delicious!!! The thin crust was so crispy and just *muah*!

We had a margherita pizza, and spicy margherita pizza, and a vegetable pizza that had zucchini, red onion, and yellow pepper on it. That one was definitely my favorite. Then for dessert, tiramisu! And I don't mean just any tiramisu- fantastic true Italian tiramisu. The perfect ending to a great day.

I think we are going to eat lunch in a little, so I will write more and finish up my Milano adventure later!

Ciao!

Milano

Ciao da Italia!

I can't write much right now because we are about to go to bed after a long day, but I will write a little bit then more later.

Yesterday morning I landed in the Milan airport, and after waiting an hour because of a miscommunication and lack of turning around, I found my friends Anna and Francesca who I met when they were exchange students my senior year of high school.

Even though I got in that day, we were off to explore the streets of Milano. We saw so many beautiful places it makes me so sad to think that America is only 200 years old, while the church I was looking at was built in 300 AD….

[pictures to come!]

Anna just got into bed so I have to wrap it up.

We explored Milano yesterday and today, and have eaten amazing food.

Anyway tomorrow is my last day in Milan then it's off to Firenze!

Arrivederci!!