A Week with Mom and Grandma in Florence

Considering I haven't written on here in almost a whole week should be the first hint as to how busy I was last week with my mom and grandma! Between going to class and trying to get them to all of my favorite places my days were full. So here is a day by day replay.

Monday: Monday morning Anna and I were still in Munich Germany. Since our taxis from the airport to our hotel our first day costed a fortune, we decided to leave early for the airport and figure out the metro system. We understood how the stops worked and where we had to get on and off, but what we didn't know is what train we had to get on. We went up to an information desk to ask for help and the lady spoke zero english, so as Anna tried to figure out what this old womans hand signals meant, I turned and saw a family coming our way. I approached them and ask if they spoke english and to our rescue they did. They explained to us what train to get on at and off we went! It was a 40 minute train ride, but we saved sooooo much money so it was definitely worth it. We had a nice easy flight from Munich to Florence and when I arrived back at my apartment, my mom and grandma were standing on the stoop waiting for me. I took them into our apartment and showed them were I have been living for the past month and a half and then they insisted on taking me to this dinner place they found because they said it had the best 4 cheese gnocchi. So first we went and I showed them the major landmarks of Florence: the Arno river, Ponte Vecchio, Uifizi gallery, and the Piazza de Republica. After exploring a bit we went to their requested restaurant and it turns out they had captured the hearts of the workers in this restaurant. They were greeted with hugs and kisses and we were each given free glass of prosseco. They insisted I try the 4 cheese gnocchi since I fell in love with the same dish at a place near my apartment, so I did. Grandma ordered the lasagne and my mom got a gnocchi with red sauce. I can't judge which 4 cheese gnocchi is better since they were both very similar but with that being said it was definitely good. And my Grandma claims that this place has the best lasagne she has ever had, and that may be true for me as well. It was delicious but it doesn't have ricotta cheese in it which was a bummer for me... I think if it had that I would've been completely sold, but the sauce made up for the lack cheese. They sauce was delicious to the point Arlene was asking for the recipe. And my moms gnocchi was also good but I'm definitely more of a cheese sauce girl. We finished the night by going to my favorite gelato place where they tried my favorite coconut gelato and they both loved it!

Tuesday: Tuesday my mom and I woke up early to take a morning run to Piazza Michelangelo.Let me tell you... after a certain point it is like a hike. It's a steep uphill climb because you are reaching the top where it is said to have the best view of Florence! We did this early not only because I have class at 2:30 but also because we wanted to try the complementary breakfast provided by their hotel... which to say the least was not worth our early rise. We looked at the food then left and walked down the street to a great bakery for some pastries and cappuccino for breakfast. From here we headed over to my school where I gave them a quick tour of the building and showed them what I was working on for studio. Then we headed to the church of Santa Croce which is famous mostly because it is where Michelangelo's tomb is. After this my mom was persistent on getting pizza from Gustas pizza due to a recommendation from one of her friends from home. It is a pretty famous pizzeria in the area but I hadn't been to it because its a decent walk from anywhere i go daily, and I found great pizza at the central market. But anyway we made the hike and did have a delicious meal. After lunch we went shopping on the Ponte Vecchio which is full of gold. Every shop on the bridge is a gold shop and I had fallen in love with this ring that had a very thin band and a light pink gem at the center. I showed it to my mom and grandma and they each agreed that it was beautiful... then all of a sudden I was trying some on. It was gorgeous and so me so my mom said if I really liked it, it could be my 21st birthday present/an I love you present/ an i miss you present. So after going back and forth I decided to get it. They had to size it down so they said it would be ready in 40 minutes, but I had to leave to go to class because I was visiting the Museo degli Innocent for studio that day. This Museum use to be the orphanage of Florence and it was recently renovated into a museum and featured a rooftop cafe. They reason they took us here is so we could see how a old building had renovations done to it and how this building was successful or unsuccessful at its renovations. It was finitely a successful project and an even cooler museum. My favorite room was the room where they showed the boxes with the children's name on the outside. When you opened each box it showed an item the childs birth mother left for them. We didn't spend much time in the museum since we were just looking at the additions, but I definitely would go back there because it was very interesting. So after studio I ran back to the Ponte Vecchio to pick up my ring before they closed and made our way to Rubaconte for dinner. I was excited to take my mom and grandma there especially since its one of my favorite places, but also since its become a tradition to go there on Tuesdays! I loved watching their faces when they brought out the giant appetizer plate and plate after plate of pasta. Then when we were all stuffed grandma asked what was for dessert. We were a little shocked considering we were all so full but we knew we should try the Magnum store because it was delicious and on our way home... when we got to the door it was CLOSED, so we headed back to our street and got Tiramisu and cappuccinos from the restaurant across the street from our apartment. These two items became an essential for grandma to satisfy her sweet tooth everyday. 

Wednesday: I woke up and was off to class bright and early to see the Brancacci Church. It was kinda a bitter/sweet trip. The church was GORGEOUS but we barely got to see any of it because it was a FAR walk to get there so we got in saw one chapel inside the church then left. So i kinda felt shorted since we were inside this amazing church but didn't get to see much of it at all. After class I stopped in my mom and grandmas room for breakfast before I had to go to cinema class for 3 hours. They were a bit jet lagged this day so they slept in awhile, so when I went back to class they went inside the Duomo and Baptistry, which I am pretty jealous of because I haven't done that yet since its still tourist season, so I have been waiting for the craziness to go down. After class I met them at the Duomo and we went to the leather shop that had the coat i found and loved about a month ago. So we stopped in and found Marco. He pulled the coat for me instantly and once again just assured me that I loved this leather jacket. Marco easily captures his customers hearts, and that definitely helps him with his sales. So i modeled the coat for my mom and grandma, and grandma told me if i loved it than that could be my 21 birthday present/an I love you present/ an I missed you present from her. So again I told myself how could I live in Florence and not get a leather coat... SO we got it! We then went on a hunt for a SPECIFIC trifold wallet for my dad which was a challenge... We never found one, and ones that we found and were so excited ended up not being stamped, so it wasn't real leather. Thats something I definitely learned a bit during my time abroad. I know how to look for fake leather. It must be stamped with something that says made in Italy or Firenze. So after another day of shopping till we were dropping we headed over to dinner. For dinner we went to the GIANT CALZONE place (even thought none of us got calzones) but its a nicer restaurant in the Piazza Republica. This is a fun square to see at night because it is full of life. There is a merry-go-round at the center and always a live band playing outside. So we all got our select pasta for dinner but this place also makes some great drinks so here was the first time we got actual drink drinks... something besides wine. We finished around 8:45 and we had been trying to get to the Magnum store all week to create our own chocolate bar. It had been frustrating because this place doesn't have store hours listed so they close whenever they want if they aren't busy. So we called when we finished and they said they were closing at 9. So we rushed paying the bill and started our quick walk to the store... when we got to the main door it was 9:01 and doors were locked, lights were off, and there was one person left mopping the floors. I was very annoyed because Grandma LOVES her dessert so i knew this was somewhere she would love but again we were defeated. 

Thursday: Thursday was definitely a busy busy day because we left for Poland EARLY on Friday Morning, so we had to get everything in on their last day there. So I went to class early again to visit the Santa Trinita church when back at their hotel my mom and grandma were getting ready for the day so they could meet me after class. Santa Trinita was again beautiful but i think my favorite part was we got to go into this back room where all the priests robes were stored. So we go to see all of the different robes that would be worn the next few weeks. When I was done with class I met my mom and grandma near the leather markets to get some breakfast and shop the vendors. That is a must when in Florence. You have to shop the leather markets because you can get some pretty good things for cheap. Breakfast was our usual for the week, a cappuccino and croissant, and we headed through the markets. We went shopping for leather sandals for souvenirs for my sisters. We hit the Jackpot with one store because we sent pictures of all of the walls filled with shoes the day before and they each picked shoes from the same stores. So we sat trying on shoes so we could decide which one would fit them best. The struggle was sizing is a little different and leather also stretches so we had to decide what sizes would be best AFTER the stretch which wasn't easy without any of them here. So after we FINALLY made all of our decisions we went to the Medici Chapel. Which is still my favorite chapel I have been to my entire time in Europe. So i told my mom and grandma they had to go there. And they were just as amazed as I washy first time. This chapel is FILLED with marble, its absolutely amazing. From here I had to goto studio, and my mom and grandma went to the Pitti Palace. I got to leave class early with permission from my teacher because I was going on a boat tour of Florence with my mom and grandma. It was cool seeing Florence from a different view (Literally on the Arno River). The river was high this week so it was about 5 meters deep when normally it is only about 3. But we got a class of wine as we cruised down the river and got some history on Florence. After our boat tour grandma decided she wanted to go to her lasagna place one last time. So we head there when once again we were greeted with hugs and kisses and my grandma was escorted to our table. Here we all shared our meals, so i got pesto pasta, my mom got the 4 cheese gnocchi, and my grandma of course got her lasagna. Then they talked us into ordering a Florentine steak to share... it was good but definitely not the best steak I have ever had. After dinner we rushed back to the apartments to get packed up for Poland, and once we were all finished we went across the street one last time to order the essential tiramisu and cappuccino.... after we ordered we were informed that they were OUT of tiramisu, Arlene definitely was upset but we tried a nutella filled calzone which was also delicious and something different to switch up the dessert for the week.

Each night ended with me in their apartment and all of us just collapsed on the bed! It was exhausting going all day long then not sitting until 11 pm every night. So I got back into my apartment by midnight! 

And now I'm sitting in Poland. Which you have to wait to hear about till tomorrow because I still have another full day today. But my week with my family was great and definitely full of many laughs and memories, Im sad they leave tomorrow but definitely look forward to returning home to see them all again!