I’d have to say this past weekend was about as good as it
gets. On Saturday, we celebrated the 10
th birthday of my host
brother, Simone, at an amusement park called Mirabilandia. There were some
great roller coasters, and the weather was warm enough to enjoy the water rides
too! We also got the chance to watch a fun stunt show where cars and
motorcycles were flying all over the place (the show was Simo’s personal
favorite).
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Heading to the the New York
themed section of Mirabilandia |
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| Watching the Stunt Show |
We then concluded Simo’s birthday with an amazing Juventus themed
cake, and the opening of my gift to him, FIFA 14. He was incredibly excited,
even more so when he found out that you can play matches between Italian Serie
B and Serie A teams Carpi and Sassuolo!
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| Arno River |
But the fun didn’t end on Saturday… On Sunday, the program
that organizes the school and host family aspects of my exchange put together a
day trip to Florence! Cate (my host sister) and I, plus 4 other German exchange
students, woke-up bright and early on Sunday morning to catch the train to
Florence. Once there, we started by walking around the Piazza Dell Duomo and
taking in the extraordinary size of the Duomo itself. We then meandered through
picturesque yet crowd-filled streets, past the Uffizi Gallery, to Ponte Vecchio
on the Arno River. The weather was yet again beautiful and the tourists, many
of them American, were out in full force.
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| Ponte Vecchio |
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| Palazzo Vecchio |
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| Piazza della Signoria |
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| Statues in la Piazza della Signoria |
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| The Florence Chapel in la Piazza del Duomo |
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| Dante's bed |
Our next stop was Dante Alighieri’s house. It was interesting to see his house and get a glimpse into his life because of his importance in Italy. Reading his most important work,
La Divina Comedia, is mandatory in all
Italian high schools, and he is worshipped by Italian teachers even more
passionately than Shakespeare is worshipped by English teachers.
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| The David |
We then walked
to the Gallerie dell’Accademie, the home of Michelangelo’s David. “Awe-inspiring”
doesn’t even begin to truly capture the feeling when you first see the David.
You turn the corner, and at the end of a long hallway stands the most amazing
statue ever created. It was much larger than I expected, but the sheer
perfection in its construction is what really struck me.
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| View of Florence from Giardino Bardini |
We then had the chance
to eat lunch and spend three hours doing whatever we cared to do. Some people
decided to go shopping, but I decided to visit Giardino Bardini (Bardini
Garden). Unfortunately the famous Boboli Garden wasn’t open, but the Bardini
Garden was equally as beautiful. It offered a breath-taking and panoramic view
of Florence, and was also a great way to escape the crowds.
All in all, it was an amazing (and very tiring) weekend, one
that I will remember for a long time!
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