Last weekend was another best weekend of my young life. I took off from school and made my way to Italia to enjoy pizza, pasta, gelato and more importantly, some time with Amherst friends. Wednesday morning I bailed on my classes and took off for Florence. After a turbulent flight and some difficulties with the language barrier, I found Rachel at the train station in the city center. We spent the afternoon catching up on life while she showed me some of the top sights in Florence. First we hit the Cattedrale de Santa Maria del Fiore, more commonly known as simply Il Duomo. The cathedral is absolutely massive, and Brunnelleschi’s dome is a masterpiece.
There, I had my first taste of true Italian food. Personal motto for the trip: no food left behind. I ordered a personal pie and devoured the entire thing in under ten minutes. Next we had gelato from Vivaldi and it was the greatest gelato that I had ever had (until the next two times I had gelato). Then we trekked up to Piazzale Michelangelo. The plaza is the best place to view the entire city, overlooking the river and all the buildings. I was completely struck by the beauty of Florence from the panoramic view. After some more sight seeing, we grabbed dinner, drank some wine with her friends in front of the Basilica di Santa Croce, and called it a night.
Thursday morning I woke up bright and early to be a super tourist. I knew I couldn’t leave Florence without seeing Michelangelo’s David, so my first stop was the Galleria dell’Accademia. I stood in line for nearly an hour, but it was worth the wait. The David statue is one that everyone learns about at some point in some class, but no textbook or photo could do the statue justice. I’m definitely not an art historian, nor am I often wowed by art, but Michelangelo’s masterpiece is definitely “wow” worthy. It’s so much larger and more powerful than I anticipated it being. After a zillion shameless selfies and some more art, I left the Accademia to explore some nearby churches and plazas. Around noon I met up with the Gunn family vacation crew. Katie, Conner, and Nic. Mr. And Mrs. Gunn arrived in Florence after a couple days of exploring other Italian cities. Immediately upon arrival, sightseeing began. We explored more of the Duomo, including the baptistry and climbing to the top of the dome, which had spectacular views of Florence from the center of the city. We had a delicious lunch at Zaza’s, where I implemented my “no food left behind” motto with a delicious pasta meal. We met up with Sara, and kept the Amherst reunion going. We saw Ponte Vecchio, the famous bridge featured in nearly every photo of Florence. We went back to Vivaldi for more amazing gelato. We climbed back up to Pizzale Michelangelo for sunset, and the views were better than the first time. We had another delicious Italian meal and I decided I want to move to Italy. Then we kissed Florence goodbye, and I headed with the Gunn’s to our hotel in Montevarchi. Friday we journeyed to our next Italian destination: Venice. Let me start by saying Venice is now my new most perfect place ever. I am obsessed with the colors, the canals, the architecture and the entire ambiance of the city. It felt like I was living in a fairytale for the weekend.
We arrived in Venice after many hours in the minivan, eager to see what the city was all about. Immediately we were awestruck by how beautiful and distinct Venice is. All around us were blue and pink and red and every color imaginable buildings, while water canals took the place of what would be roads. We went to our hotel and enjoyed drinks while overlooking the whole city, and I was officially on cloud nine. That evening we enjoyed another delicious Italian meal at an amazing and adorable local restaurant (shoutout to Pao for the recommendation!). I kid you not when I say my belt loop changed a notch after my weekend in Italy. Saturday was spent wandering the city and taking pictures of almost every single thing I saw. I am the definition of American tourist. After hours of exploring, Conner, Katie, Nic and I relaxed on a gondola while our gondelier told us a brief history of the city. After our ride we decided that, naturally, it was time for gelato. I ordered the largest size available and thought it was a picture worthy cone. I told the group I needed a “food in the air” photo, and ran down the block to the Grand Canal under the Rialto Bridge, a spot I thought would be perfect for my perfect photograph. Like the basic betch that I am, I held my ice cream up in the air and starting snapping pictures and adjusting the angles. I turned to get a different background and that’s when I had a classic, clumsy, Devin moment. I slipped on unseen seaweed and my phone went flying from my hand and into the Venetian lagoon, as it is called. I watched helplessly as my phone sank and I struggled to get my balance. Not sure what to do, I stepped into the canal, knee deep in my favorite suede boots, to pull my phone out of the water. At this point I was screaming and a crowd had gathered to watch the pathetic American rescue her precious iPhone. A nice man helped me while I stood there shaking, crying and laughing, attempting to dry my phone and empty the water from my shoes. I ran back to my friends like an idiot, just grateful my phone was salvaged. The best part: I didn’t drop my gelato. And it was the most satisfying gelato I have ever eaten.
That night we enjoyed a final, delicious Italian meal and a lot of laughter. The next morning I took off on my water taxi for the airport, and swore I’d be back to Venice. Lucky enough, I’ll be headed back to Italy in a couple weekends to visit Roma! And the gelato better not disappoint. Ciao!