getting to know the Duomo

It finally rained, all day. Before i left everyone said winter was rainy season i see can see why. it is supposed to rain tomorrow as well. i didn't really mind because in the morning the city was quiet and peaceful. I could see the Duomo from the window of our classroom with a slight drizzle of rain and i probably zone out for most of it.  we were talking about the Hebrew Bible in western civ and it just felt like a sunday school lesson, i think it will be more interesting when we start discussion rather than just listen to our teacher Matt.   

So the Duomo, the Dome. history lesson!! it is the biggest church in florence and the city is built around it, and right next door is the baptistry dedicated to Jean the Baptist and in between the two is the most holy place for Florentines. Both were very well funded and pretty ornate. the Duomo is the 4th largest cathedral in all of the Christians. we went inside both today with our art history teacher which was really neat. we got our own personal guided tour through history. random people even tagged along, freeloaders. 

view from inside the Duomo.

looking up at the Duomo.  it was built in 2 layers with space in between and you can walk in between them and see the art up close!! 

Outside of the Duomo. so pretty. 

This is how we travel around the city. Teacher, huuge group of girls, the boys are somewhere, and cameras galore. we are such tourists. 
The campanile, bell tower. 

after class i decided today would be a good time to go shopping in a real department store, not just a lil street shop. Zarra is big here, and i guess they have them in the states. Shopping gave me a good sense of how the Florentines, and i guess Italians act. They do not care about you.  They cut in line if you look away for a SECOND! every time i tried to walk up the stairs there were large groups congregating and talking and i couldn't get them to pay attention to me to move. eek. but somehow we managed because we were determined!! i heart sale month. i got a sweater for 12 euro (thats good considering how freaking expensive things are here)!! yay. that was enough for me. after shopping in a four story Zarra with crazy italians trying to get the last good buys before the month was over i needed some fresh air. phew. 

not only do the people not care if they are in your way, but the pigeons care even less. they flew in the lil tent next the our cafe and SAT on the tables!! GROSS. then the flew around and landed on the drink cart where the glasses were. SICK! they are fat and you can walk up to them, stare them in the eye, and they walk closer.

well my sleep schedule is really messed up and i slept through dinner and woke up to an empty apt and Emily ringing the phone, doorbell thingy. you would think after being here a week i would be over jet lag...but somehow i just cant seem to get it down.  time to catch up on hw and try to actually sleep through the night!

ciao!