This past weekend, I finally made it to the gorgeous city of Firenze (a.k.a. Florence)! Traveling to Florence was almost too easy. Take just a short hour and a half train ride from Rome and you will find yourself in this beautiful center of the Renaissance. I was especially excited to explore Florence because I would get to do it with my mom and step dad who are visiting me in Italy for the week. While I love showing them my favorite spots in my temporary home city, taking a weekend trip to Florence gave us the opportunity to discover a new city together and Firenze did not disappoint!
After we arrived on the train, we grabbed the typical Italian breakfast of a caffe and cornetto and then headed straight to see the famous Duomo. It was even bigger than I imagined! Everyone was gathering in the main piazza to take a look at the incredible structure. Once we were able to stop staring at the Duomo, we went to check out Florence’s famous leather market and buy some genuine Italian leather products. With some time to spare before lunch, we went to the Galleria Dell’Accademia, where we saw Michelangelo’s David statue. I was anticipating a life-sized David and was surprised to discover that he was much larger!
As if my time in Florence could not get any better, I got to meet up with a group of my best friends from Temple main campus. A group of my fellow musical theatre majors are studying abroad in London for the semester and we knew we had to see each other while we are in Europe. As it turns out, we all planned a trip to Florence for the same weekend without even trying! It was the perfect happy accident. As my family and I went to meet my friends for a delicious pizza lunch, I couldn’t contain my excitement. Walking through the door of that restaurant was like walking into Philly style to meet up with friends back at home (and yet, it wasn’t like that at all). I felt like my worlds were colliding. I was still in Italy, the country I have grown to love over the past two and a half months, but I was completely surrounded by my closest family and friends from the States. I only had one day to spend with my friends before they had to head back to London, which wasn’t nearly enough time to catch up on all of our experiences abroad, but we made the most out of every second of our time.
Of course, we had to get some gelato together. Then we went to the Piazzale Michelangelo, where there are breathtaking views of all of Florence. We bought some wine at a nearby stand, cracked it open, and sat on the steps to fill each other in on our lives while soaking up Firenze. Finally, we went to grab some classic Italian cuisine together for dinner, explored some of the local bars, and even had drinks made by an Albert Einstein look alike. I can’t even express how happy I was to be reunited with my friends and show them a piece of Italy. I was glad I could show them some Italian culture and give them a bit of an inside scoop, even though I may not be the expert on Florence. I was sad to say goodbye to them, but I knew that we would see each other again in a few weeks and we both had so much more left to experience in our own study abroad programs.
As I spent the rest of my time with my mom and step dad, we climbed 414 steps to the top of the bell tower where we could get 360 degree panoramic views of the city. Then we went to wander through the enormous and scenic Boboli Gardens. Finally, we topped it off with a mouth watering pasta meal before heading back to Rome.
I could not have asked for a more perfect weekend: a stunning city, family, and the friend reunion of a lifetime. My heart is full.
