436 steps later...

Hey everyone! So Caitlin's friend from Duke Katie is in town, so we finally decided to do all the touristy things (Duomo, Uffizi, David, etc)! We started with the Duomo and the climb to the tower (436 stairs, oh boy). On the way we got to look into the Duomo and, even better, up at its ceiling. This was our first encounter in Firenze with real Italian art so we took a nice break to look up at all the intricacy (plus, we were tired from the 212 stairs we'd already climbed).  The layers of the ceiling were really interesting to see, it has, as we learned, the Angels on top, then Christ (with a HUGE golden halo, can't miss Him!), then Mary and the saints (smaller halos), the virtues, the gifts of the Holy Spirit and Beatitudes, and then on the bottom ring a very gruesome depiction of hell (also easy to spot, look for the monsterous beastly figures eating the people).  With many many pictures and a glance back at the beautiful stained glass, we prepared for the next 224 stairs. Totally worth it.

The view from the top of the dome is spectacular. It looks out onto all of Firenze and we spotted some well known landmarks (the fresh food market near us, our apartment, where our friends lived, etc). Though the stairs themselves took away most of my breath, the view that awaited us at the top finished the job. I think it was the first time it really hit me that I'm in Italy. Are my parents crazy?? They let me go to Europe by myself?? Haha and I'm really thankful I'm here (even after my mom watched Taken, I thought that'd be the end of it!) I think my suitemates and I have already started getting too comfortable here. We see school as school and not as the beautiful La Pietra with olive groves. We see our apartment as a place to go on the computer and relax, and not as an alive space with gorgeous views if we just open the windows. And we see our dinners as a necessary meal of the day, and not a chance to relax into Italian culture and people-watch over some delicious pasta (oh hello truffle sauce, little did I know you were a staple in Italian diet...)! Can we have become so jaded so fast? I hope not. Our travels begin soon and I think appreciating other cities and countries will help us appreciate our own even more. A day trip with the school to Lucca, Italy is tomorrow and I'm really excited to go!

That's all for now I have to get some sleep, but here's a picture with me and some of my suitemates from the top of the Duomo!

Oh, and as for the other touristy things? We'll do them another day. 436 steps is enough of a day for most of us :)

ps. A running list of the American food we all miss:
Popcorn
Chicken Fingers with ranch dressing dip
Pasta Salad
Mexican Food