Final 48 hours in Firenze

Forty-eight hours doesn't seem like a long time. But when you're trying to hang on to the greatest experience of your life when you know it's just about to end, you find yourself forgoing sleep and downtime for any opportunity to make it last a little bit longer...

Thursday
I got up early and took my Italian final. The moment I handed it in I realized I'm now a senior. SO. OLD. I ran into Mindy on our way out of Strozzi, again seeing that as a sign from the universe that we should daydrink. We both hadn't eaten yet so we went to Gusta for pizza in beer. It is the best pizza in Florence so we had to eat there one last time. A few minutes after we sat down Virginia, Amelia, and William walked in. Great minds think alike! We all enjoyed our final real Italian pizza together, the first of many "this is the last time we'll ever ____" activities that took place in the following two days. 


I went home for a few hours to start packing. I was extremely unproductive since I was in denial that I actually had to move out. I distracted myself by doing a little more souvenir shopping and going to the advising office to say goodbye to Laura, my advisor (and the savoir of my Italian life). My roommates and I got ready, and then met up with Eric to walk up to Piazzale Michelangelo. Tonight was our final "Tiger Thursday" and our final time going to my favorite spot in Florence. It was our last chance to take it all in. Every time I look out over that piazza, I honestly feel like I'm dreaming this entire experience. This time, knowing it was the last time, it was even more surreal. I think it's the first time it hit me that I have no idea when the next time I'll be looking out over this city will be.

After Piazzale Michelangelo we met up with the rest of the group at Il Gatto. It's a family style restaurant where they bring out giant bowls of pasta and unlimited wine for large groups. We enjoyed one final, perfect Tiger Dinner, complete with "Tiger Superlatives" that my roommates and I made on paper plates for all thirteen of us. My roommates named me the "Drunken photojournalist Irish M.I.L.F." in reference to my sheer talent of photographing people doing embarrassing things and acting as the Mom of the whole wild bunch. We made a bit of a scene inside the restaurant with our grand presentation and photoshoot of the superlatives. They were the perfect way to express what a weirdly diverse group of friends we have. Somehow despite our differences, we all complimented each other so well. Suddenly at the end of dinner, laughter and commotion started to build outside. When I went outside to see what it was, I found my lovely roommates ("the Blondtourage") negotiating rollerblades off of two Italian school children. Next thing you know they are rollerblading in sundresses through the streets of Florence. Totally normal night...

After Il Gatto and the rollerblading extravaganza, we headed to the one and only, Lion's Fountain. I can't imagine spending my last night "out" in Florence anywhere else. Meg got free shots galore for her birthday. Then suddenly my lifelong dream came true. Mindy and I weaseled our way behind the bar with Luca, Karl, and "the Hot One" (no one knows his name, he's just the hot one). My life was complete:

I <3 Lion's Fountain

Friday

I woke up surprisingly early Friday morning, and when I went to the bathroom I found Meg's pajamas folded in the bidet. Successful 21st birthday, I'd say. We got up and out early knowing it was our last day in Florence. Meg, Alana, and I went to our favorite cafe on the corner for cappuccino and cioccolato caldo. We even stood at the bar like real Italians. Afterwards we wanted gelato, but considering it was 10:30 in the morning, our gelato boyfriend hadn't opened shop yet. We decided to get lunch at the Oil Shoppe, one of my favorite sandwich places. We got them to go and sat in the sun in Piazza Santa Croce to have a mini picnic on a bench. Unfortunately we were attacked by pigeons after we very cleverly decided to feed them. Post-pigeon attack, we started wandering aimlessly behind Santa Croce (a part of town we generally don't go) where we stumbled upon the Florence Leather School. I don't know how we never knew this place existed, it was so interesting. It was an actual school filled with students learning how to make leather goods. They had a huge workshop with windows so you could see right into their classes. They also had a store upstairs full of some of the most beautiful (and not to mention, out of my price range) leather I've ever seen.

After the Leather School, Alana and I got lost in that area of town trying to find the Sant'Ambrosio market. Jacqueline always talked about it being the non-toursity version of Marcato Centrale. We eventually found it. It was so cute and so local. Alana got a pear and I got a peach and we wandered around saying hi to the adorable little vendors and enjoying the perfect Florence weather. 

Afterwards, Alana and Meg went to the Uffizzi (once was enough for me), so I officially finished souvenir shopping and headed home to officially finish packing. Seeing my room so empty made it feel even more real. My roommates and I started to clean our apartment, which was a much more difficult feat than we imagined. We never got around to counting the wine bottles we saved on our cabinets, but I would estimate the final tally to be somewhere between 60 or 70 empty bottles. Job well done. We also had a ton of unused food, so we had a strange midday feast on pasta and parmigiano. We continued to pack and clean for the rest of the afternoon, until it was time to get ready for Meg's big birthday dinner.

We headed across the Ponte Vecchio (one last time...) all dressed up in heels and dresses. Meg even had a light up crown. We attracted a lot of awkward attention on the way there, considering it was still daylight and we were strutting past Piazza della Republica in heels. Random Italians kept yelling at Meg "Oh, it's the Queen! You're the Queen!" We ate at Gold View, a super fancy restaurant that overlooks the Arno. It was stunning, and we had delicious food and obviously good wine. It was one last perfet meal shared with the best study abroad friends that have ever existed. Meg stood up to give a toast to "The Tigers," and this set off a chain of toasts around the table, most of which all of the girls cried through. It made us all realize how lucky we were to have each other in Florence. Most people don't go study abroad and find a huge family to share their experience with; especially not a family full of so many diverse personalities and upbringings. Every one of them surprised me this semester by not being anything I expected them to be. After this experience, we truly have one of the most unique bonds a group of friends could have. For the rest of our lives, when we think of the four months we spent in Italy no one else in the world will be able to relate besides the 13 of us. I'm so thankful for that.

After dinner, we did one last grand tour of our beautiful Firenze. This started with a photo-shoot on the Ponte Vecchio:

From there we headed back to Lion's Fountain so Meg could get her Dad a t-shirt and a "beer for the road." This is when the trail of goodbyes started. As we walked around the city, different people said their goodnights and goodbyes and trickled off to head home to their apartments. Now it was real. Fortunately for me, most of the first goodbyes I had to say were to real-life Tigers who I'll see in the fall or summer, so I managed to hold it together. After Lion's we stopped by Cafe Bigallo, another spot we frequented for cheap drinks from Giorgio in the beginning of the semester. It was actually the very first place we ever went out in Florence. Looks like everything comes full circle. After that, we felt it was essential to pay our respects to Astor. We hate this bar as much as it hates us, but a picture of myself and the Blondtourage out front was definitely necessary.

From there, we wandered back to my favorite piazza, Piazza della Republica, to dance in the streets and say goodbye. Toto also walked me around the corner to the Jersey Shore 4 cast's apartment! If I couldn't meet them, I was at least going to see their apartment. It was on the street that I walked on to get to class every single day! There was a security guard standing in the doorway otherwise I might have invited myself in. It was eventually time to go home, so we said goodbye to Eric & Toto and headed back to our cozy home on Via Faenza, 66. We sat in Jacqueline & Megan's room with a bottle of fancy champagne and had a slumber party. The intoxicated birthday girl even made a music video of herself rapping about her birthday. We attempted to stay up all night, but eventually took a little hour long nap until it was time to walk Alana to the train station. When we woke up, Alana was on the floor, I was in Meg's bed, and Meg was in...Amy's bed? Who would've thought she'd spend her birthday and last night in Florence passed out on the bed where the Wicked Witch of the West once slept? Jac and I walked Alana to the train station at 5:30 a.m. and that's when the waterworks started. The sun was rising, I was leaving in a few hours, and Alana was leaving. My entire concept of time and life and the fact that we were really all leaving was so thrown off. Jac and I got breakfast at the only cafe that was open this early, and then I said goodbye to my room, my roommates, and the city that became my home.