3. Sant Agostino 23 ( Favorite Restaurant )
4. Italian ( Favorite Class )
5. The Joshua Tree ( Favorite Bar )
6. La Carraia ( Favorite Gelateria )
7. "The Big Red Bridge" ( Favorite Bridge )
So in order to keep the countdown in a readable fashion...
NUMBER 3. - SANT' AGOSTINO 23
I highly recommend eating at this establishment. Its location in the Santo Spirito neighborhood of Florence makes it a bit difficult to stumble upon but it is well worth the trip. Upon arrival you might be a bit hesitant, as i was, to enter what seems like a small and unimpressive kitchen. You will be glad you did. The menu is stacked. The adventure begins with the antipasti which can be anything from a plate of meats and cheeses to a sumptuous salad. The prima piatti has much to offer as well. My own experience included a plate of pasta carbonara and... a garlic breaded pasta. After this Alice and i started on the second piatti of spicy pork and a Fiorentina bistecca... the menu is BOMB. All i will say is that you should be prepared to speak italian and spend around three hours eating.
NUMBER 4. - ITALIAN CLASS
ELENA! Far and away the best part of the Palazzo Rucellai Program. I can not say enough good things about this class. By far the best language course i ve ever taken ( spanish blows! ). AND it was actually useful. After a week or two of only saying SCUSI in my obnoxious fake italian accent, i finally found myself being able to ask for things... or at least being able to say that i wanted them. Elena didnt just teach us the language though. This class taught us many cultural things such as Italian greetings ( a very funny class ) and introduced us to the concept of Aperitivo ( drinks and appetizers from 7-9 before dinner). It was really more about just helping us survive in this country and i think it did just that.
NUMBER 5. - THE JOSHUA TREE
THE best bar in all of Florence. The place where you will find Palazzo Rucellai students after any significant assignment has been completed. The place where your friends DJ and free drinks are always on the menu. The place where you know half the people in the place and everyone whos working there. Max is the man. He pours the best Heinekens, Erdingers, Murphy's, etc... In general, this is just the place to be when you want to enjoy a drink with your friends and listen to music that you actually enjoy.. and theres almost always a good soccer match or highlight on the tv.
NUMBER 6. - LA CARRAIA
This is the best gelateria in Florence. Given gelato is one of the best things in all of Italy, it becomes difficult to understand how i rated this place at number 6... too late now... Anyways. The flavours get me going but in this case the QUANTITY blows my mind. Imagine twice as much ciccio'arancia ( chocolate with orange) or biscotti ( cookies) as you would get anywhere else in the city. What im saying is that La Carraia hooks you up right. A two euro cup of anything is more than enough where most other places would give you a bit more than a spoonful for that price... dare i say that i ll be hitting up Friendly's when i get back?
NUMBER 7. - PONTE ALL' INDIANO
Despite being in a historical city full of beautiful bridges, my personal favourite bridge is the one above. I have grown quite attached to this bridge as it has been a destination of my runs for the past three months. It is located on the far end of Le Cascine Park and plays a major part in vehicular transit in the more modern part of Florence. The simplicity of this bridge has always pleased me as well. I am pleased by the two towering vertical supports which take the load of the entire bridge. I am also pleased by the cables which bond the two together. The details of this bridge are particularly enjoyable as well. You can take a closer look at the ends of the cables and observe the massive bolted connections or observe the welds which create these massive steel piers. OR you can venture across the footbridge which hangs below the decks in between the road ways. In general, there is a lot to enjoy about this bridge. It's only downfall is that its so damn far away.
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