After waking up ridiculously early (7:25 am), we had breakfast and coffee before setting out for our charcoal drawing class. We entered an art school and warmed up our drawing skills with a few exercises where we drew our hands and faces without looking at our papers. Our final art pieces were close-ups of different famous works from Italian artists done in white chalk on black paper.
Once we thanked our instructors we went to the Duomo to walk by and let one of the chaperones get in line while we went to the Santa Maria Nuova church. While we did not go inside, our tour guide highlighted the importance of the church, which was built in the first half of the 13th century and attracted many famous artists. At the All Saints Church we saw many large murals of different stories from the Bible. Many of the depictions were of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. In some of the side rooms there are the tombs of Carolina Bonaparte, the sister of Napoleon, and the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci, which is where the name America came from! Exiting this room we saw a case filled with trophy-esque items called relics. Each of these relics contained a piece of a saint’s body (taken after death). Some contained small skin particles, while others contained entire pieces of bone!
After we were set free to roam, a few of us found a cafe and had delicious pasta and much-needed water. Then we went back to the market where our tour guide took us yesterday and purchased a lampredotto, which is a sandwich with a cow’s fourth stomach and different spices. Very good sandwich and we would recommend it. Of course afterwards we found gelato. Also very good and would recommend!
Next we stood in line for the Duomo, a long line but absolutely worth it. Inside is a gigantic room filled with paintings and beautiful stained glass pieces. This cathedral is famous for its dome designed by Brunelleschi. There was a downstairs area that led to old stone rooms and of course, a gift shop. We walked around looking for a little café in hopes of a caffeine boost. Considering we are in Italy it took all of five seconds. We bought cappuccinos and cannolis, and I can say that they are 100% the best cannolis I’ve had in my entire life. After wandering around and taking one last look at the Florentine shops we headed to our cooking class.
We washed our hands and entered the kitchen and were surprised with our own aprons with the International School of Hospitality logos on them! Our instructor, Ana from Brazil, helped us divide and conquer: everyone took on their own tasks, some of us making pasta, others meatballs, and we even made our own sauce. We were also given the recipe for the pasta, a simple 1 egg to every 100 grams of flour. Once we were done, we all sat down together for our homemade dinner. To end the night, we had dessert of panna cotta made by our own Mr. Cotter and Ms. Stevenson!