Spring Break!

Why does Spring Break always go so fast? I feel like it just flew by!

My parents and sister came to visit me for Spring Break in Firenze. We had a wonderful time!

On Saturday afternoon I picked them up from the airport, checked into the hotel and freshened up. Then we headed out so I could show them my apartment and the area. After that we went to dinner at this delicious restaurant across the street from my apartment called "Il Teatro" (the theater) and had dinner. Jes and Morgan joined us as well. Then we headed back to my parents hotel which had a terrace with a 360 degree view of Florence!! It was really an incredible view of the city! We sat up on the terrace and had some vino and caught up. It was lovely! After that my parents headed to bed since the time difference and all the traveling was sinking in they were very tired. Jes, Morgan and I headed out with a few other people from Rutgers and Nick and Maria to Friends Pub to hang out a little. Amanda stayed at my apartment and she was beat as well so she stayed back.

Easter in Florence is quite the experience! Originally we had planned to go to 11 o'clock mass at the duomo. I had heard there was also some sort of parade and lighting of fireworks that happened around 10am so I figured we could see that and then head to mass. Well apparently Florence has a tradition called Scoppio del Carro or the “Explosion of the Cart." There is a cart which is lead by 4 white oxen and it travels though Florence behind a parade. Once the parade and the cart arrive in the center by the Duomo the cart stops in between the Duomo and the Baptistery. Then they hand attached fireworks to the cart (keep im mind this is Italy where nothing really ever makes sense and everything is slow!!) They put some fireworks on the top with a cherrypicker and there were a few momnets where I thought it was going to go overbroad! I must say it was quite entertaining to watch! Once that was all settled they lit the cart starting at the bottom and all the fireworks to go off! It was quite exciting and certainly different. There was massive amounts of crowds! We got there a little late so it was really hard to see the parade from where we were standing but we could see the fireworks well. (That was the first time I've seen fireworks in the daytime). Definitely an Easter mass celebration to remember! After that, I took them on a walking tour through Florence, stopping in some shops and a few markets. Then we hit up my favorite panni shop, GustoPanni, for sandwiches. We packed a book bag with snacks, panni's, and wine and made the hike up to Piazza Michelangelo for a view of the whole city. It was a beautiful clear day and we could see everything! There was a guy at the top playing music as we ate our panni's and drank wine. It was definitely different from our usual Easter but it was a lot of fun and definitely one to remember! After hiking back down, I took them for their first gelato which I think they really enjoyed!

Monday was a very busy day! Bright and early we climbed the Duomo! (There was many things that I hadn't gotten a chance to go yet in Florence but I knew that my parents would enjoy them as well so I waited until they came. This was one of them.) The Duomo has a total of 463 steps. They start off as spiral and then they get really steep and go straight up! Boy, it was some workout! You start off climbing up and then you climb between the two different shells of the dome so thats why its so steep. The dome was designed by Fillipo Brunellschi and at the time it was a major innovation, built with bricks and wood using a movable scaffold system. It was really cool to see how it the insides of the duomo. (Especially since I have to write a paper on it!) There are two times when climbing the dome that you are actually up close with the frescos painted on the inside of the dome. Its really neat. The view from the top is really incredible as well. We were very lucky as we had beautiful weather! After the domo we visited the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo which contains a lot of orignal things from the Duomo along with one of Michelangelo's Pieta and several works by Donatello. It was very interesting as I had never been there before. Then we grabbed lunch at an outdoor cafe and sat in the sun. It felt so nice! Then my mom and I headed to San Lorenzo Market for some shopping while Amanda and my Dad look a little nap. Afterward's I showed them Palazzo Vecchio and Loggia dell'Signoria.

On Tuesday we got up early again and visited Santa Trinita Church and Santa Croce Church. Santa Croce was hit hardest during the flood of 1966 and a lot of it was destroyed. It was since been restored. It was very beautiful. Galileo and Michelangelo's tombs are also inside Santa Croce. After that we hopped on a train to the tiny town, Lucca. Lucca is about an hour and a half away in northern Tuscany. It is famous for its intact wall that surrounds the city from the Renaissance era. It was built to keep out the Pisans (from Pisa) and the Florentines. Jes joined us for our day in Lucca. We had lunch at another outdoor cafe in the center of town, then walked around and went in some shops and then rented bikes and road around the wall. It was so much fun! I hadn't road a bike in so long and I forgot how fun and relaxing they are! Again, the weather was beautiful so it was just so enjoyable. My mom joked that were like the Van Trapp Family and started singing "Do-re-me!" Haha! Unfortunately big dark clouds were off in the distance so we rode around for about the an hour and decided to head back to Florence before we got caught in the storm. We were cutting it close on time for the train and had to literally sprint to the train! When we got back to Florence, my mom, dad, and Amanda come over to Trattoria Ghibellina (AKA...my kitchen were Jes and I cooked a very authentic spaghetti and meatballs dinner). It was a delicious if I do say so myself!

On Wednesday we got an early start again and went inside church of the Duomo which we didn't really get to see when we climbed it. Its so beautiful inside. Just incredible to look at. Underneath the church there is a museum showing the remains if the cathedral, Santa Reparata, that the Duomo was built on. There was tons of tombs including that of Brunelleschi (who built the dome). Santa Reparata was from the 6th century and was discovered in the 1970's when archeologist found it. They excavated it and it is now a museum. It was really interesting because I didn't even know this existed. After that we went to the inside part of San Lorenzo to get some snacks to have for dinner on the terrace at the hotel. The day was beautiful again so we went to Boboli Gardens, which is part of Pitti Palace, where the Medici family used to live. The gardens are huge! So pretty but tons of walking! There is one part the overlooks the city on one side and Tuscany on the other side. So pretty! Then we went inside Pitti Palace to see the Royal Apartments which are cool to see too. Then we had a lovely dinner on the rooftop of the hotel. It was a little chilly but still so nice. Saw the sunset and all. Then my dad, Amanda and I went out for gelato and sat on the Ponte Vecchio and listened to the guys in the street play music. It was a lot of fun!

Thursday was another early morning. We got up early to head to the Uffizi. Its a big museum and it takes some time going through but it is definitely worth seeing. After that we also went to see Michelangelo's David. It was yucky weather on Thursday so we did inside things. Then we had our final dinner in Italy.

Friday morning Amanda has a separate flight then my parents so I left at about 7am to take her to the airport. Her flight was delayed about an hour and she was nervous to fly by herself but she got on the plane safe and sound. Then my parents arrived at the airport and they were about to check into their flight and it comes up on the screen that their flight had been canceled due to "Handling Agent Strike." All flights in and out of Germany were now canceled. I mean come on...everyone could just put their bags on the plane themselves! So after talking to Lufthansa my dad came back with two tickets for a flight on Saturday morning. So they got a nice hotel near the airport. We took a cab to the hotel and then took a bus back into the city of Florence where we walked around and did some more shopping. Then back to the hotel for a delicious dinner on Lufthansa! Then I headed back to my apartment. It was so nice to have the extra, unexpected day with them!

I had a really great time with my family! I really enjoyed showing them around my city. I feel like I have learned so much about Florence and it was fun to share it with them! We fit so much into such a small window of time but I was really glad we got to do everything we did. I think they had a great time! And I got to see things in Florence that I hadn't seen yet. And the weather was just perfect! I couldn't have asked for better weather or a better time!!

Now the party is over :( Back to school on Monday. On Thursday my Aunt Debbie is coming to visit and we are going to the French Riviera for the weekend so I'm really looking forward to that!

Tonights its out to celebrate Jes's Birthday and tomorrow its homework :)

Pictures!

Spring Break in Firenze with the Family April 11-17, 2009