Argento

As the days go by I am more and more cognisant of how quickly time has passed in Florence. It’s already my sixth week here (seventh away from home) but it feels like only two weeks have gone by. They say that time flies when you’re having fun. They’re absolutely right. And it’s not like I’m out there partying it up every day (or week for that matter). My days just fill up with things to do, even if I’m at home cooking lunch or watching Mad Men. Or if I’m grocery shopping. Or if I’m putting a pox on Wind.

I still haven’t been inside the Duomo, Santa Croce, the Uffizi, or the Vasarian Corridor (I visited the first two with Nicky three years ago). There are lots of places I would like to visit in the upcoming weekends, including Lucca (the birthplace of my favourite composer Giacomo Puccini), Arezzo, and Ravenna; plus, one of my teachers highly recommended Lerici, a small town near the Cinque Terre with a beautiful beach and no tourists.

But I have been to Piazzale Michelangelo and San Miniato al Monte at least three times, and I’ve frequented my favourite gelateria around five times if we include my little visit there today. I haven’t missed a single day of class (nor do I intend to--I paid good money for them!) or free tours given by the school.

Today, a small group of students and I went to an artisan’s shop to see how silver was crafted. Silver was and is an important part of Florence’s history and culture. I watched as the artisan moulded a silver disc into a tiny oil urn. He showed us around his workshop and at one point we got to see an original intricate piece commissioned for a Jewish synagogue.

My favourite product was a fine, silver bookmark with a decorative butterfly. It was exquisite!

On the back of my mind the whole time was my favourite gelateria (Gelateria alla Carraia). The silver shop was less than 3 blocks away and I had been raving about this place to my classmate. My original plan to try new flavours every time I visit was quickly thwarted when I saw my favourite flavours in front of me: cookies and opera italiana. There was no turning back from their call, and I am very happy with my decision. The best part was the huge chunk of chocolate cookie that I saved for the very end.

My classmate had ordered a huge cup of gelato so a few of us walked to the Palazzo (Brad) Pitti to sit in the sunny piazza. It was, in a word, meraviglioso. This week we have finally gotten to see Florence’s splendour with a more consistent sun and temperature. It felt almost like summer and we spent a good hour or two just sitting, people/pidgeon-watching, and talking in Italian.

Today's word of the day is argento, meaning "silver".