July 5 Florence was so nice to Anne and I. After having somewhat of a rough time in Rome, Anne and I were able to make wonderful Italy memories in Florence. Seeing David first thing in the morning was definitely an awesome way to start the day. It was also awesome not having to trek all the way across town like we did in Rome. Florence was SO MUCH more quaint and comfortable.

After sketching David and seeing all of the artwork, it was onto the markets!! Shopping was DIVINE. We bartered and bought and bartered some more. The key for shopping in the markets is to ONLY have the price you would like to pay in your wallet. For example, "I would love to pay the $65 your asking for BUT I only have $34 in my wallet..." And normally, that will seal the deal and you will snag a GREAT deal.

The Uffizi Gallery was so enormous and filled with beautiful peices of artwork. One painting that Anne and I made commentary on was the "The Birth of Venus". In art history, Pitts was constantly saying how you had to see these paintings in person but when we saw the "The Birth of Venus", it was at less saturated than we both expected. Still a beautiful painting but completely different from the image we had seen. And once again, I just stared in wonder and the BEAUTIFUL CEILINGS. Covered in gold leaf and stunning artwork, it is hard to not be distracted by them the entire time you're walking.

And then to end our day on the most perfect way, Anne and I had a fantastic dinner on a porch restaurant that looked over the Arno River at sunset with a view of the Ponte Vecchio. I had salmon with a pepper sauce that was absolutely WONDERFUL. Seriously...I could drink that sauce by itself, it was so delicious. And then to top it off, we stood on the Ponte Vecchio and snapped pictures of the beautiful sunset while eating gelato and listening to this wonderful Italian man play guitar and sing Coldplay songs. It was quite possibly the best and most unreal moment of my life. I wished I could stay there forever. AND THEN, just to make a perfect evening EVEN more perfect...I found the letter my friend Hunter had left for me under bench By the baptistery while she was studying in Florence the previous week. SO WONDERFUL.




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