Tuscany Calling...

Yesterday we started off ambitious. Our class met early in front of the Duomo and climbed the 400+ stairs (I stopped couting after 400) to the very tippy-top of Brunelleschi's dome! We came face-to-face with the frescoes inside the dome and gaped at the amazing view from the cupola outside. I have to say my calves were burning and I felt like I might die for lack of oxygen, but I did it! And it was totally worth it. 

After our climb, the group went into the museum of the Cathedral - Museo dell'Opera del Duomo.

There we saw some of the original statues and sculptures that adorned the Duomo, as well as some relics...which were pretty creepy, I'm not gonna lie.

...there were some jaw bones, fingers, arm bones...the works. 

Yet, we also got to see Michaelangelo's famous last Pietà and Donatello's Mary Magdalene. I love both these sculptures in particular because the first is unfinished - supposedly Michaelangelo found a flaw in the marble, so you get the chance to see how sculptures began and looked before they were all polished. Also, Michaelangelo used his own face in the figure of Nicodemus (they even had a sketch he had done of himself to prove the resemblance), which I thought was very interesting, especially since he did this piece so late in life.
As for Donatello's Mary Magdalene, I love the way in which he portrays her not as a voluptuous courtier, but a real-life, beat-up woman who needed the love and acceptance of Christ when the world had treated her so poorly. The roughness and gestural qualities of the piece, I find way more intriguing than alot of his other beautiful, perfectly-smooth figures.

Another really cool part of the museum featured construction tools used to build the massive Duomo (there were also some on our narrow walk down from the dome itself), and some wooden models and drawn plans for the building. I couldn't believe the level of detail in the models and the drawings were so beautifully preserved.

After our jaunt through the museum, we all went to an awesome restaurant called, La Grotta di Leo, where we all got super-delicious pizza!! We got ours to split with proscuitto, sausage, olives, artichokes, and mushrooms...Sabrina got most of the latter 3 ;D

Later, we wandered around a bit before finally deciding to head over to the Pitti Palace until our cooking class started!! Although we all got a little split up in the huge mansion, we saw a glimpse of the sprawling gardens (I still want to go back and actually walk through them), as well as some of the huge, beautiful interiors. The Palace reminded me alot of Versailles, but it felt almost grander in scale and more lush in decoration. They even had an extra costume exhibit open where they had original gowns and outfits some of the Medici wore around the 1500s, as well as later dresses from the 18th century onward. It was soooooooo cooooool!!!!! I just wish I could've taken pictures, but luckily the girl I went in with, Victoria, let me stand and soak it all up for a good long while. 

...we saw at least 3 cats just hangin' out...this little guy was tucked way up high in this corner of the palace walls!

When our feet began to hurt, we left and headed back to our apartments where I took a nap before we headed out to our cooking class! It was such a cute little place and we were all divided up into groups of four where we were instructed by our adorable, and hilarious chef, Alessandro! Together we made ravioli with a spinach & ricotta filling, an artichoke souffle, and a panna cotta with strawberry sauce - all from absolute scratch! We even got to roll our our pasta! It was a ton of fun and the finished products were so delicious! And as a plus - we got all the recipes for free to take home and try out again! ...pasta roller is definitely going on my Christmas list.

 Some of my fellow classmates and our cheeky, fabulous Italian chef, Alessandro!

And so, that brings us to today! At 7:45 this morning we met at the Santa Maria Novella train station (actually Sabrina and I kind of sprinted there because we were running late...it was a pretty sight, let me tell you), and jumped on the train headed for Siena! The trip was about an hour and a half or so, but it was worth it. Siena, though extremely hilly (meaning super-steep climbs that my legs loved me for), was adorable and a nice break from Florence. We spent alot of time in the main piazza - Piazza del Campo - and looked at the Palazzo Pubblico which was very similar in style to the Palazzo Vecchio. It makes sense though, because Florence and Siena have been and in some ways still are the two big rivals in Tuscany. Inside the tower complex we saw even more amazing artwork (shocking, I know), including a piece I have studied many times and looked at on slides - the Allegory of Good Government by Ambrogio Lorenzetti. Unfortunately we couldn't take pictures of it either, but believe me, it was so fantastic to see it in person!!
Another work that was simply gorgeous and way better in person was Simone Martini's, Maestà.

Then, after the Palazzo, we went to see Siena's version of the Duomo - which actually was finished first - and really was meant only to be an arm of the final finished Cathedral....but that plan was never realized. Nonetheless, it was jaw-dropping to be inside - the outside was amazing too - but inside just took my breath away.

I can only imagine being a poor peasant and walking into such a building. I think I might've just fainted right there on the spot. And yet, the cathedral wasn't even complete in it's original art. The altar piece - for which the town of Siena shut down - was stored in the adjacent museum, along with other statues and relics (like the museum for the Duomo). It was another piece I've studied over and over and I was so amazed to see it in person! But again, I couldn't get a pic, so you'll just have to take me at my word.

Anyways, after the cathedral we were all let loose, so Sabrina and I did some exploring and picture-taking. Then she bought some fresh fruit from a street vendor, and I whipped out my meager italian to buy a Sienese flag. Afterwards, we headed back to the main piazza and sat down to a meal of gnocchi in red sauce for me,  and a fish salad for her. Of course, we had to get gelato too! I got panna cotta flavor...and finally we hopped back on the train for Florence.

Whew! I cannot even believe how much we have done already - and the week is not even up yet!! But I'm really excited for what's left in store for us...I just hope I don't become any more convinced to never leave....