Jennifer Lee in Florence!

I am lucky enough to say that this past weekend, I got to show my best friend around the beautiful Florentine city that I have come to know and love. That's right, Jenny visited me in Florence, Italy!!.. And needless to say, she fell in love with it right away just like I did. In fact, after tre panini, tre gelati, tre caffe latte, molto Italian birre, one home-cooked meal, and endless galavanting around the beautiful sights, Jennifer was very sad to say goodbye to all the wonderful food, people, and culture... and of course, her best friend.

Jenny, friends, Germans, and I the weekend before.

Jenny arrived on Friday around 12, the same time my site visit for my psychology class was beginning and wouldn't be over for another 2 and a half hours. Of course, being Jenny, this didn't stop her from wasting any time experiencing Florence. When she called me from a random Florentine phone number, she told me that she was waiting in line at Gallerie dell'Accademia, waiting to see Michelangelo's David. When I met her in line, she told me she had already climbed Giotto's bell tower near the Duomo (something I myself had not even done), oh and of course, being Jenny, she had already made acquaintances with people in line from all over the world. We spent the rest of the day touring some of Florence, grabbing a bottle of wine and drinking over the bridge, talking and people-watching and enjoying the Arno River. We went grocery shopping and got some things to cook for dinner that night. My roommates were gone for the weekend so we invaded my quiet apartment and kitchen with a delicious dinner - breaded chicken cutlets with tomato and mozarella melted on top, a mixed salad, bread, and of course wine... Jenny's chicken cutlets were good, as always, being the housewife she is. Then, we got ready and met my friends at their apartment and proceeded to go out in Florence. We came home that night to the leftover chicken, thankfully.

Jenny and I at Piazza Michelangelo

Saturday morning, Jenny woke me up with a full day's list of things to do: we quickly got ready and then made our way into Florence, stopping to rent bikes for a 5-hour duration. We rode over the bridge onto the other side of the river, stopping for coffee and paninis and then rode towards Piazza Michelangelo. We parked our bikes and walked up the many stairs to the piazza which overlooks Florence beautifully. We walked around, took in the view, and sat and looked out over the city with a couple of Italian beers. I was so happy to have my best friend there to share the view with. Later on, we met up with Kim and Alan and registered for wine cards for the Firenze Wine Festival in town this weekend - the card allotted us 5 glasses of wine (whichever of the dozens we wished to try) and to keep the glass. The real purpose of this little escapade was surprisingly not the access to great wine but access to mine, Kim, Alan's drawing teacher. He had told us that he would be painting frescoes near one of the wine tents that weekend and to stop by if we were on that side of the river. True to form, Kim and I made sure we were there. Jenny got to meet him and we stayed for a while and talked with him. He's truly a great guy and a great teacher. We're very lucky we get to see him 6 hours a week. After this wine tasting, we got ready for our dinner reservation. Six of my greatest girl friends in Florence reserved an 8 o'clock spot for us at Osteria de'Benci, so Jenny and I met them there. Apparently, they are well known for their strawberry risotto - and it is no wonder why. Jenny and I ordered that and the pasta with salmon to share. Both were so delicious and so filling, but I swear I could have ate 2 more orders of both. The eight of us stayed at the restaurant for a while and it was a lot of fun. My friends here were extremely welcoming towards Jenny and very nice to her, which made me see even more that I have found a great group of friends here in Florence. After dinner, we went back to Gino Capponi and hung out for a while, and spent time with the birthday boy - Mondy! Then, after all the build up, we finally ventured out into Florence after 1:30 am to find the SECRET BAKERY once and for all. (Florence has one or two "secret bakeries" that open late at night, on very discreet streets, usually out of someone's apartment, and they sell pastries and pizzas... the perfect late night snack. It being my first time, I went a little crazy and got a pizza, a dolci with nutella, and a dolci with chocolate. The chocolate one was my favorite. It seems like a sketchy little operation but it's funny to see all the drunk people lined up for late night munchies.

Sunday morning, Jenny and I woke up and went to Italian mass and lit a candle for our beloved Mr. Ryder. We prayed and held a moment of silence for him. Then we got lunch and coffee and went and made a reservation for the Uffizi Gallery later in the afternoon. In the meantime, we strolled through the outdoor market and stumbled upon a leather store while actually looking for a different one. I tried on a jacket that I ended up falling in love with - it's much different from what I originally picked out, but I especially liked that. I had best friend approval on it, and she of course managed to get the leather guy, Sabrino to cut the price down a bit. And he explained to us the quality of the jacket and its true Florentine roots. I'm so happy with my purchase and so glad my best friend was there when I got it. When we were leaving, Sabrino said to me: "This is the type of best friend you want to keep for life," and I agreed. Then we spent a while in the Uffizi gallery, taking in the art. Finally, we made our way across the bridge for Jenny's last gelato stop. It was tough saying bye to Jenny after 2 weekends together, but I know that I'm very blessed to have shared two European excursions so far with my best friend, and I loved showing her where I'm living and studying. Near or far, a best friend always provides comfort. And I can't wait until my next adventure with Jenny - which will be in Dublin, Ireland! What a life.