View Article: 091705 Shopping in Florence and La Notte Bianca

	091705 Shopping in Florence and La Notte Bianca
	written by liu9700 / 09.18.2005

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Itinerary

Katherine Liu

Tour of Florence

Lisa gives us an orientation to the city.

Katherine Liu

Honey and Vinegar

Honors students Justin and Joel sample some aged vinegar and truffle honey at the indoor food market.

Katherine Liu

Leather Shop

Honors students Joe and Nicole model their new jackets with the owners of the shop. This is just one of an uncountable number of leather shops in Florence.

Katherine Liu

Faux David

One of many lifesized replications of Michelangelo's David that can be found around the city.

Katherine Liu

Spoils

One student shows off her collection of purchased items. Don't worry parents, this is not one day's shopping but four weeks worth.

Katherine Liu

La Notte Bianca

Our beloved Campo was a little more crowded than usual this night.

Today began with a seven am, three-hour ride on a fashionable bright yellow bus. How appropriate then that we were on our way to Florence, famous for leather goods and a fantastic outdoor market, to do some fashionable shopping ourselves.

When we arrived in Florence Lisa treated us to a quick orientation tour to the city. She showed us the location of all the churches, pointed out the museums, took us to the markets and then set us off on our own to explore. Most students spent at least some time in the huge outdoor market by the church of San Lorenzo. It is perfectly acceptable to bargain with the vendor here and many students, especially those who shopped in numbers, walked away from the place with some great deals.

Florence is the birth site of the Renaissance and its art, churches and public spaces all stand as testament to that age. Unfortunately for us the city was unusually packed this day and the lines for such attractions as Michelangelo’s David and the Duomo Cathedral were impossible to visit. However, the lines for the smaller museums and churches were not as outrageous and many of us paid a visit to one of these.

On the bus we each displayed our purchases for the day. Items ranged from leather journals and pasmina scarves to model motorbikes and 30-year aged vinegar. Just as the bus pulled out of the city it began to pour. This did not subside until well into the next morning.

It may have already been quite a busy day, but the activities were far from over. This night was La Notte Bianca, “The White Night”. It is an annual event where monuments, museums, art galleries, shops and restaurants stay open the entire night. Public spaces are cleverly lit and all admissions are waved. People come into the historic center of Rome from all around, making it a very unique event.

Tonight we began to wonder if the event was jinxed. The steady downpour kept most Romans indoors. Apparently two years ago the city suffered a blackout on this night as well. So hoping that the rain would stop honors students gathered for a night of playing Mafia at the large Campo apartment instead.

When it looked as though the rain wasn’t going to stop anytime soon some students went out to experience the night anyway. The streets were full of people walking and celebrating. Each piazza we reached housed its own little party. The festivities continued long after we had turned indoors for some desperately needed sleep.

Highlights

Today we took a long bus ride, found some great deals, saw some great examples of Renaissance art and architecture and got thoroughly soaked during La Notte Bianca.

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