Firenze (Florence)

Hello! First of all, sorry it's been three days -I believe, since I last blogged. Honestly, I'm hoping I can keep up with this. There is so much going on and it's already so late. Before I go on with what has been happening here I want to apologize for my lack of communication to all of you! My goal is this week once classes start, I'll feel more on track. 

Let's see -- Thursday night I went out with Kara. We hit up our normal hang outs and I met three Dutch guys. They were friendly and taught me a few things about Amsterdam. 

The next day was Liz's birthday, a girl from LVC. It only seemed appropriate to celebrate. Liz choose to celebrate by going to Perugia's chocolate factory. Did I forget to mention that Perugia is one of the largest chocolate producers in Italy? Jealous now? Perugia has created the Bacio, which translate to Kiss in Italian. Although it was a little chaotic getting to and from the factory... which none of my trips in Europe are ever easy, it was worth it. We got the history of the place, an actual walk through of the factory not some ride with singing cows, and then... BEST PART! Maybe 7-9 platters of chocolate sitting out for us to try -as much as we wanted! So kind and awesome! Once we were back and rested, we had dinner at Merlin's, a local pub in Perugia. Here are a few photos from that time. 

LVC Girls Celebrating Liz's (in green)  Birthday. 

My margherita pizza -happily ate all of it.  

Desiree's Pizza. Artsy Shot. 

After dinner, I went home because Saturday (today) was our trip to Florence. Kara, Lauren, Desiree, and myself took the 10 o'clock train into Florence. It's about a two hour train ride and I was glad! I didn't sleep well the night before and fell asleep on the train. Here is a picture of Chocolate and I on the train -awake. 

The stop we took brought us right into Florence near the Duomo. That is where we headed first. I don't know much about it but it was beautiful. Let's be real -I like to shop, eat and eat some more. I find Florence warm and inviting with lots of character, almost enchanting. Here is The Duomo. 

Inside the dome. 

Later we walked around and found the covered bridge. We didn't go inside but took pictures outside and we did plenty of shopping around. Plus we got great food and gelato. I wouldn't be my grandmother's granddaughter if I didn't. We passed so many shops and if I wasn't on a budget I would of had one at each! Enjoy the photos. Until next time -take care.

Purchases from Florence.