Although I only have a mere 9 days left in Italy, I am enjoying every minute of my remaining time. This weekend I had a Christmastime themed blast with friends! On Friday, I went to the Mercato di Natale (Christmas Market) in Santa Croce. The market, which began in Florence in 2003 is modeled after German Christmas markets and featured a variety of both Italian and German holiday food and decorations. After trying a delicious soft pretzel and buying some gifts for relatives at the market, I then simply took a tour of all of the Christmas lights and trees in downtown Florence. The tree that was most stunning was certainly the tree in Piazza Repubblica.
Then on Saturday evening, I went out to a restaurant called Trattoria dal Tito in Piazza della Liberta with friends. The food was delicious and being able to spend an evening out and taking a break from writing papers for finals or procrastinating by watching Hulu made the night even more enjoyable. After dinner, we stumbled upon an ice skating rink located only a few blocks from our school and took a try at ice skating for a few hours. For the first few minutes I was terrible at keeping my balance and was constantly holding on to the rail, but eventually I let go and was able to skate on my own (at a very slow pace I might add).
Days like these are what I know I will truly miss about being in Florence, but at least I can say I enjoyed it while it lasted.