ganzo

i have to say i'm loving it here.  it magically turned from winter to summer over night.  woke up this morning, it was sunny and 60 degrees, finally warm enough to explore the little outdoor market in our neighborhood.  i bought an entire bag of fresh fruits--kiwis, green apples and pears--and some ski gloves (did i mention i'm going to switzerland next weekend where i can ski and skydive over the swiss alps?  i've been having recurring nightmares that i freeze to death there since i definitely did not pack anything warm enough for the snow.  not to mention i only packed gloves without fingers...) all for only 3 euro.  our school also does this really cool thing where they give you vouchers for free meals at this cute little restaurant called ganzo.  so caroline and i went there for lunch and ate a big plate of rabbit.  i tried not to think of furry bunnies while i scarfed it down.  i have to admit it was delicious though.

after our free meal, we went to soak up the sun in our piazza right in front of the santa croce.  i was loving how alive the city feels now that the weather is so much warmer and the sun is shining.  a little later, we hiked with some of roommates up to the piazza michelangelo to watch the sunset over the city.

i cannot even describe how good it felt to sit on the steps of the piazza with this view.  i didn't even have to wear anything more than a sweatshirt, which in itself felt amazing after the zero degree cold and snow from the past month.  it felt like a summer night on the beach at martha's vineyard.  but even better cause it's florence.  i celebrated the end of a great day with one last visit to the chocolate festival (yes, it was my fourth time in a week; and yes, i am now best friends with some of the chocolatiers) and stuffed my face with chocolate covered strawberries sprinkled with coconut.  i'm living the life, no doubt about it.