Pure Perfection

With the budding spring weather comes a greater love for Florence.

I didn’t know I could adore this city more than I have during the last few months, but the blue sky and rays of light are proving me wrong. Friday March, 18^th may have just been the perfect day in Florencetown.

To repeat:

1.      Cross your fingers for blue sky and sunshine. Florence’s open piazzas, Arno River, and outdoor eateries are beautiful even peaking from beneath my umbrella. But after a week of rain, sunshine never felt better or looked better on the old Florentine buildings. Not to mention my arm was tired of holding that darn umbrella.

So it is crucial to repeat this perfect day—

Cross your fingers, hope for rays of sunshine.

2.      Perhaps this should preface the entire entry…

For an ideal day, you probably don’t want it to proceed
St. Patty’s Day. As much fun as the Irish Lion’s green beer was starting at noon, this perfect day may have started a tad smoother without it.

Nevertheless, not only was this perfect day a surprise

(they always are, you know that right?)

But St. Patty’s Day is my new favorite holiday.

so festive

Bring on the Chicago St. Patty’s Day Parade next year!

3.      When visiting any city I always wonder if those cliché city items—

Rome’s Trevi Fountain, Chareston’s haunted ghost tours, the top of the Sear’s (Willis) Tower— are actually worth it.

After all there is so much more to any culture than one thing. But whatever you do, art lover or not, visit Michelangelo’s David.

Mammoth not only in size but in presence as well, standing beneath the smooth, humanistic white marble statue is morphing. No picture can do justice to the veins in David’s hands nor his muscular stomach. How Michelangelo carved this out of one piece of stone is baffling.

Heck, I can barely draw a statue… with an eraser. Last time I checked, mistakes on marble don’t erase.

4. Gelato! Vanilla is my favorite (Don’t call me boring).



494 steps later..



5.      I’m a little ashamed to admit it took me a couple months to the top of the Duomo

(the gigantic domed church in Florence and the city’s most notable architectural wonder)
I mean it is one of the things most necessary to do when you visit Florence. I’m blaming the weather for the delay…

After climbing the 494 narrow steps to the top, I have no idea how the cupola (dome) was built in the early 1400s. Props to all the workers laying the bricks hundreds of feet in the air.



search and find, my apartment is somewhere in the picture...



Stepping out of the steep staircase onto the top of the dome is amazing— the beige tiled roofs and narrow streets weaving together to form a zigzagging pattern below.

6.      Piazza Michelangelo

is my favorite spot in Florence.

Located on the outskirts of the town, up on a hill, there is no place I would rather be on a nice day than sitting on the steps of the piazza watching the sun lower in the sky.  Atop the hill (kind of like the top of the Duomo) all of beautiful Florence can be seen. I love that I can point out my apartment from the stretch of amazing buildings.  

To make the day perfect, of course bring a bottle of wine and some great friends to sip on it with. When the sun sets the view is just as amazing— spots of lights illuminating the buildings and reflecting on the Arno river stretching into the distance.

6.      This perfect day wouldn’t be complete without a visit to Kakuya for a dragoon (huhhh..?)

My program has adopted this bar as the place to be to sip on a drink called dragoon, aka a strong beer. Most days the dark, cozy booths can be found occupied by someone from CAPA.
A lot of great night-out moments have been made here

(Sadly, there is only one place in the US that sells dragoons. Yes, we checked).

Well there you go, all the steps to repeat the perfect day in Florence.

Only I think this day with friends was so unexpectedly enjoyable that retracing the steps could never quite be the same.

Love,

Kelsey