INDESCRIBABLE VIEWS

I’m in love with Florence, in love.
On Friday kalea and I hiked up to piazza Michelangelo. Piazza Michelangelo is a famous square with a magnificent panoramic view of Florence. The view from this most famous observation point of the city landscape has been reproduced in countless postcards and snapshots over the years. I wore Nikes and athletic clothes and I am sure that I was the only person in the whole city who was not wearing fashionable clothing. The Italians here dress up every day, no matter what their status is or how long their daily activities will be.

MESMERIZED STUDENTS

The piazza is stunning though! After working up a sweat walking up hundreds of stairs to get to the top, the view was worth it. You can see everything. And once you are above it all, you can finally grasp the hugeness of buildings like the Duomo and Santa Croce. While other buildings, pale in comparison. On my tour when I visited the Jewish synagogue here, it looked like it reached up into the sky. But once I hiked up to the Piazza Michelangelo I realized how small it really was compared to the great Florentine Duomo, whose dome and bell tower can be seen rising above every other building in Florence.

MONUMENT TO MICHELANGELO

To see a panoramic view of Florence from the Palazzo Michelangelo, CLICK HERE.
The panorama encompasses the heart of Florence from Forte Belvedere to Santa Croce lungarni through the bridges of Florence and in sequence, especially the Ponte Vecchio, are the Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio, the Bargello and the octagonal bell tower of the Badia Fiorentina, without forgetting opposed to the hills north of the city with the center and Settignano Fiesole.

HILLTOP HOUSES OF FIESOLE

The next day we decided to rent bikes for 10euro for a whole day. We set our sights on bilking up to Fiesole, not knowing what we were getting ourselves into. Fiesole is a town on a famously scenic height above Florence, 8 km (5 mi) NE of that city. So, not only did we bike at least 5 miles up to Fiesole and then the 5 miles back down into the city where we rented our bikes, but ALSO the elevation of Florence is on average 50 m (164 ft) and Fiesole is 295 m (968 ft)!!

VIEW FROM THE TOP

Basically the entire bike ride was up hill, except for our descent and the ride out of Florence. It was totally exhausting, although the view is stunning. Once we reached our goal we ran into Jared and Dave, two GIF students who live down the hall from us. We stopped at a small cafe in the sleepy town. I blindly ordered the "Ravioli di Fiesolana" and it was delicious! Once we had eaten, we got back on our bikes and rode back to the heart of the city.

RAVIOLI DI FIESOLANA

Once we had returned our bikes and walked home, up the 66 stairs so our pensione, we collapsed into bed and slept the rest of the day. I should have known it would happen, but I woke up the next morning very sick and I had to stay in bed, only leaving my pensione for food, for the rest of the weekend. But I was prepared because my smart Mom went out and bought my excessive amounts of medicine before I left!
Classes are so interesting that I promise to write later about what I am learning! Ciao!