The Painting of the World

...Another "Light in the Piazza" lyric. It's hard to resist because when I first arrived in Florence on friday, I had the score stuck in my head while taking in the beauty of the city. I love the fact that Florence is such a small city, but is so jam packed with history and art you could wander around for hours and days and years and never be able to take it all in.

I traveled with two friends from Accademia and we stayed at a hostel in Piazza de Pitti, located just beyond the Ponte Vecchio. The first night we just strolled around and had a wonderful dinner. It was great to explore the city without a map and stumble upon beautiful piazzas and monuments at night. Saturday we went to the Duomo and saw Michelangelo's David. My parents would be excited to know that there was an incredible Mapplethorpe gallery at the museum that was placed carefully to echo the art that he was inspired by, such as the David.

More on the Mapplethorpe exhibit

Later that day I met up with Jessica from SLC and saw a few more people from home. It was great to see people that I've missed from SLC and to also meet new people who go to college in the states. We ate more good food and went to some pubs. We had an especially hilarious waiter who made fun of Jessica and gave us free limoncello :-)

The only downside of Florence was that it was flooded with tourists. Especially young American students studying abroad (guilty as charged). It was difficult to find authentic anything - all of the stores and restaurants were about making a buck off of us. Once you look beyond that though, you can see the architecture and atmosphere that makes the city more than worthwhile. Can't wait to go back.

Here are some photos!

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A building we thought was the Duomo... we were wrong. Still pretty!

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River

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At night

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Tristan and Josh

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Carousel in Piazza della Repubblica

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From Ponte Vecchio

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THE Duomo.

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Hillary inside the Duomo

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Back wall of the Duomo

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Candles

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Piazza della Santissima Annunziata

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Another view of the Duomo

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Ponte Vecchio at sunset

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Another

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Piazza near our hostel

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At night

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il mio latte

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Cute little girl eating a chocolate croissant