Older than Florence... Fiesole (Fi-EH-zo-le)!

A week or so ago I made the trek over to a little town outside of Florence called Fiesole. The town itself was founded in 6th century BC, making it older than Florence. In the city there are ancient ruins from the Etruscan period, which I had learned about in my art history class. Since I've been in Italy, I have made it my personal goal to try anything and everything and to try to see anything and everything.  Fiesole is a town that is free of tourism for the most part and is just a short 20 minute bus ride from Florence.  My professor had told me about a charity event that was going to take place in the town so I saw this as my chance to go check things out.

Clock tower in the main piazza

One of my roommates, Caroline, has a similar outlook on trying to see everything, so her and I along with our friend Adam went to check the town out.  We decided to pick up a few items to snack on once we got there because we knew that the city had an amazing view over all of Florence.  Once we got some cheese, salami and bread, we were well on our way!  The town was very quaint and had a lot of local flavor and charm.  It was nice to have a break from the city and spend some time around Italians in their normal setting.  We climbed the hill to reach the lookout and once we were up there we spent a few hours just talking and enjoying the scenery. It was very beautiful and relaxing!

Our picnic snack overlooking Florence!

Me, Caroline and Adam!

The charity event wasn't going to start until 10pm and cost 15 euro so Adam and Caroline decided to hoof it back to Florence. I wanted to stay because the event was actually Egyptian belly dancing and the proceeds benefited disabled people from another town on the outskirts of Florence.  The event was held at the Etruscan outdoor theatre built in 80 BC.  It's amazing that its still standing and used today for different events.  Because I am a dancer, I could appreciate the art of Egyptian belly dancing although the movements are isolated in just the hip area. I prefer dance that includes every part of the body.  All of the people around me were Italian and mostly elderly but I was loving every second of it.  There was a narrator in the beginning of the show, speaking in just Italian of course, but the screen on the stage had an English translation so I could follow the plot. It was definitely a cultural experience! Fantastico! :)

Etruscan theatre

Solo of the Egyptian queen

Group shot! 

(Not the best pics but the best I could get at night!)

Ciao Ciao!! 

xoxox Ash