Wednesday in Florence and Fiesole

The morning was spent in class, where we had an unusal (for me) assignment. We had a long discussion about the geography of Italy, including receiving a chart of the regions of Italy (of which there are 20) and a list of each name and short description. We had to figure out which was which. Then Marco talked with us about the differences between all the regions, culturally and linguistically. He asked us to come up with a few questions about the regions of Italy - as if we were journalists interviewing Italian citizens about the differences between the regions and what their identity was: were they Florentines? Tuscan? Italian? He gave us a grammar lesson, fixing each question so that it was correct. And then he sent us out to find Italians on the street and ask them our questions! I was terrified to do this, but Marco assured me that it would be just fine, and in fact, it seemed that everyone was friendly and welcoming, and we all had an opportunity to chat with someone about their thoughts on regionality. This is what makes this school so special to me: it's all about lessons building upon each other and it emphasizes self-discovery. You are not spoon-fed one thing - you have to work for everything you learn, which makes it much more valuable, in my opinion.

While I was in class, Mom and Aunt Clare were doing a little more shopping, and I got to see the results, including some beautiful jewelry and linens. We met in front of Dante's house (!!!!), which is near my school and near the restaurant that we wanted for lunch. It was the same restaurant that we had visited for dinner in 2005 when all seven of us were here: Mom, AC, me, Mary, Melissa, Pam and Yasmine. We sat outside that evening, but it was too hot on Wednesday, so we stayed inside. More absolutely delicious food....we haven't had a bad meal yet!

Afterwards, we shopped a little more on our way back home, including stopping at a store called "Falsi gioelli", which has beautiful jewelry. I definitely want to buy something there! Mom took a nap, I went to the opera house ticket window for a ticket to the opera tomorrow night, and Aunt Clare found the Pennsylvania girls choir singing in a church near our apartment!

In the evening, we took the bus to Fiesole, which is very close to Florence - about a 15-20 minute drive. It's up on a hill, and the vista there is incredible, as you can see!

The very steep path up the hill

The view from up top...it was a little hazy, but you can see the Duomo in the distance

We ate at a little restaurant on the piazza with a very flirty waiter. Gnocchi with red sauce for mom, antipasto and pasta with red sauce, eggplant, and capers for Aunt Clare, and tagliagelli with pesto followed by chicken caciatorri for me. Red wine, as always, and a little coffee afterward. So far, we haven't ordered dessert in any of the restaurants! But we've had gelato many afternoons, and that's the best anyway, although I definitely need to have some tiramisu soon!

After dinner, the bus back to Florence and a little window shopping before bed.