tre metri sopra il cielo: three miles above the sky or three steps above heaven

As soon as I hit my bed last night, I was done-for. Out like a rock. Dead to anything but sleep. Considering the 4 hours of sleep I had received over the previous 34, though, it was much needed. I woke up, feeling refreshed and ready to start a day in Florence, or Firenze as the Italians say. Why we don't call it that in the States, I don't quite understand. The word itself is beautiful and, to me, connotes fire and therefore passion (each of which I've seen demonstrated by couples'...ehh hem... body language, all up and down the long alleyways and streets of the city). Anyways, I'm getting off track. We started out with a small breakfast consisting of only bread, jelly, orange juice and/or hot chocolate. I considered it a surprisingly filling meal, ready to hit the pavement (or gorgeous cobblestone roads, in this case), but we sat tight in the quaint dining area of our Hotel Esperanza to recap a little photog before heading out. It was a short walk from our 1 star hotel on Via d. Inferno to the Piazza del Duermo (big church), passing only a few blocks-worth of shops, street venders and the usual bicyclists. When we arrived, David and Carolyn split us into groups of three or four for a scavenger hunt. As you can see here, David and Massimo are handing us maps, just in case.

The results aren't in yet, but, needless to say, Dena, Demeris and I definitely dominated. At first, we were a little out of our element, surrounded by the tall shop and apartment buildings as well as the large Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore and the accompanying museum. Strangely enough, the list helped us loosen up. After showing off my overwhelming potential to be a street performer with a plethora of signature dance moves such as the groovy peace signs across the eyes (so 70s), the "swim down and plug your nose" (I would love to know who originated that beaut), the cabbage patch (it's a tad obvious from where that one came), and the running man (much applause, MC Hammer) in a large crowd of disturbed tourists, it was clear that no further humiliation could phase me after conquering that task. Knock on wood? We did ridiculous things such as sticking paper in a stone wall to recreate a scene from Letters from Juliet, asking a couple how they met and finding out she was married to his boss and they started dating after the divorce (now, THAT was awkward!), fitting into a small store and asking a non-italian couple in Italian to take our picture (also awkward... and confusing), and, last but not least, the human pyramid where we were all in skirts and dresses, trying not to flash the world. Finesse was key. Eventually, we ended up back where we started, cameras full, stomachs empty. Lunch time. For lunch, we dined in an upstairs room of Pizzaria Nuti that barely fit all 18 of us. (Trips to il bagno included Maddie and I discretely crawling under the table and behind Massimo’s chair.) I enjoyed a nice, large plate of tortellini bolognese followed by a dessert that seemed to be the American equivalent of a caramelized waffle dripping with a melted, chocolate, nutella-like spread. Just so your mouth can water as much as mine did (and Maddie’s, apparently), I’ve included a couple of pics from the restaurant.

After lunch, we ventured to the Galleria dell ‘Accademi to view the Statue of David, in all its tourist-attracting glory. After walking one go-around of the museum, Stephanie, Maddie and I settled down at a table in the gift shop with 45 minutes to spare. Naturally, it was naptime for Stephanie… Maddie, on the other hand, was a bit more hyper.

Afterwards, we traversed the streets of the city until we reached the original location of the Statue of David, a scenic town square. David, Carolyn, Carly, and Hart assigned us the mission of choosing a couple elements of photography to search for in the allotted 20 minutes we had there. Though it related nothing to the task at hand, I took a special interest in people-watching.

Apparently, some Italian boys did the same with Rachel. *Note the discreetness attempted while catching them on camera.

Next, came one of our daily surprises: cooking lessons with a professional chef! On our way to the Giglio Cooking School, we took many pictures of the culture and living style of Florence, but once we got there, we were put to work. Our first dish to prepare would be the appetizer: spinach and ricotta ravioli. Yum. We began this by making the dough, a process instructed by the assistant chef, Isabella. Using a pile of flour, you were supposed to create an indent in the middle to crack two eggs into… I missed this memo, but caught back up quickly with the help of my messy hands and a spoon. No worries! Next, we prepared chicken cacciatore and grilled veggies with the help of our main chef, Marcella Ansaldo. She was pleasantly surprised when Maddie and I told her that we knew another Marcella- apparently it’s not common! Last but not least was the tiramisu. One word: yum.

After sitting down to a nice and, if I say so myself, delicious dinner, we said goodbye to our new friends Marcella and Isabella and headed back to Hotel Esperanza to pack. On the way there, though, Ms. Hartman pointed out an assortment of locks hung off of a building. Massimo explained to us that, because of a popular Italian teen novel in which a girl puts a lock on a building to secure the love she and her boyfriend share for eternity, girls all over Italy have been doing the same. The name of the novel translates to “three miles above the sky” (according to Massimo) or “three steps above heaven,” meaning that you are head-over-heels in love with someone. Or, in my case, Italy! It’s amoré. I absolutely love Florence, and I’m sure I’ll love the rest of Italy just as much. I’ll keep you posted on my summer fling if I ever get around to it… I’m so behind on my blogging because I’m having so much fun! Ciao for now!