Giardino di Boboli

As I had hoped for, my professors are very aware that most of came to first experience Italy and then to deal with our Lorenzo de'Medici course load. My homework for drawing each week is to visit various historical locations Florence and sketch. Today, that location was the Boboli Gardens, built by the Medici in the 16th century and located behind the Pitti Palace. This was my first trip to the Gardens and it was such a beautiful day to go! My assignment for photography was to take pictures of large landscapes and there was so much opportunity. The views were unbelievable - I'll post the pictures to Flickr soon. I was so caught up in the photos that I completely forgot to draw so I only got one sketch in. It's an excuse to go visit again.

Last night Lena, Libby, Cecilia, Megan, Jen (from VCU), and I went to a bar called Kitsch for aperitivo. It's 8 euro for one drink and a small buffet. I've been to a few aperitivos already but Kitsch's was the best by far. You're really supposed to eat a little there and then go to a real dinner but we just use it as an opportunity to stuff our faces non-stop for a few hours. How un-Italian.

After my Garden visit today I met Libby and Lena on the Ponte del Vecchio to do some across-the-river café hopping and try to have a more local experience. We also found the yoga studio I've been researching and it seemed like a nice place so we will try it later this week. I am in need a few good sessions to combat all the wine and chocolate consumption. Every storefront window is filled with chocolate, pastries, pizza, or shoes. It's almost impossible to go a day without caving in to at least one.