The last few days in Florence have been absolutely magical, and this is definitely my favorite city in Italy so far. From the beautiful views, the delicious gelato and the incredible history, visiting Florence has been a very enriching and life-changing experience.

On Sunday we took a train from Rome to Florence; it was about an hour and a half. We then made our way to our apartment near the Pitti Palace, which was absolutely beautiful. It had a vintage feel to it and was very comfortable. It also had an incredible view of the Duomo in the distance, which we were able to enjoy from our apartment’s balcony.

On our first full day in Florence, we made a visit to the Tuscan countryside, where we enjoyed wine tasting. We also had class where we began learning about the rich history of Dante Alighieri in Florence, particularly as it pertained to his composing of the Divine Comedy and, specifically, the Inferno. On Tuesday, we got to see some of the most influential pieces of art at the Uffizi and Accademia museums; at the first we saw the works of Brunelleschi and Botticelli. Most moving of these was Botticelli’s painting, The Birth of Venus. We then made our way to the Accademia, where I was absolutely speechless and blown away at the sight of Michelangelo’s sculpture of David. Before this, I had of course seen images online of the sculpture, but I had no knowledge of the story behind the art (David and Goliath) nor did I fully understand the magnitude of this piece–it stood an astonishing 17 feet tall and was the centerpiece of the Accademia. The intense detail Michelangelo clearly put into this piece was mind-boggling and nearly moved me to tears.

Finally, on Wednesday, we had the incredible opportunity to welcome Chef Marcello from Bologna to teach us about the art of Italian cuisine. I learned so much about food from region to region in Italy, and was happy to have the chance to help prepare fresh, homemade tortellini. Overall, my experience in Florence so far has been incredible beyond belief, and I am very excited to see what else Florence has to offer in my last few days here.