Florence Pt 2

12th January 2013
On the second day, I joined the free walking tour offered by the hostel. But just before that, the breakfast was amazing! It was buffet style and it had a considerable variety. There were eggs, bacon, sausage, coffee, cereal, fruit, etc. An amazing spread and the hostel was in a great location as it was near the station. I stayed at Archi Rossi.Originally, I was tossing up between a few significantly cheaper hostels but reviews seemed to be quite dodgy so I splurged on Archi Rossi (I believe I paid $20 AUD/ night not including city tax and every other tax imaginable).

I didn't include any photos of the duomo (Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore) in the previous entry because it was gloomy.







Actually really hard to illustrate how amazing the building was using my photos alone.


NOT MY PHOTO. Credit.


The tour was informative and as it was free, I couldn't complain! I went back to the Duomo and decided to climb to the top.




On the inside of the dome.


Look closely. Hmm. Can you spot it? Look at the torches held by the devils.


If that is what hell looks like, I sure don't want to be there. I went to Catholic school and to church for many years and I really don't remember learning about a 3 faced creature in Hell. .

The view was breathtaking and the weather was gorgeous!








My typical lunch. Of course. Back to the present, I bought 1kg of Twiggy sticks and I believe I am 20% through and I am dreading the rest. I love salami and other cured meats, but my biggest issue is the fat pockets. It honestly grosses me out and in my Twiggy sticks they are becoming quite a significant issue.






My Overall Thoughts
Florence is so gorgeous and so incredible. I loved the street stalls selling every leather product imaginable. If I wasn't so conscious about the weight of my luggage, I would have loved to splurge on a leather handbag or satchel. I love the smell of leather. It was a lot busier and crowded than I imagined, considering that I was travelling in low season so I can't really imagine being there during peak season in the summer.

My experiences in Florence always make me smile. It was an incredible city, coupled with Pierre (the man I met on the first night).

Would I re-visit?
Yes. Yes. Yes. Florence is my favourite city out of all the places that I have ever visited (places in the USA, Canada, Europe and Australia). I had never really thought of visiting it until my Student Flights travel agent (who by the way, was so lovely and I will have a random post at some stage about him) recommended me to visit Florence as it was his favourite city after Barcelona. And I completely agree. It is a place that I would recommend to everyone. I would also love to explore more of Florence (I didn't have time for the galleries) and Tuscany at some stage in the -hopefully- near future.

Next stop: Rome. 

Florence Pt 1

11 January 2013
Florence is an hour train ride from Pisa. After disembarking at Centrale, it was immediately obvious that Florence was a much larger city than Pisa.

One of the first stops in Florence was the supermarket and once again, I stocked up on salami, cheese and bread. I also bought a iced tea drink however I couldn't open the bloody thing! Normally I am pretty good, but this lid was just glued on. I actually asked two male Korean tourists if they could open it for me but they couldn't. I was actually really close to throwing out the drink (although that would have been such a waste of €2). On my way to the duomo, a middle aged gentleman was walking in the opposite direction and I stopped him and with my incredibly limited Italian (which consisted of "Hi, excuse me" and then motioned towards my drink lid). He struggled and I tried to tell him that it was okay but he insisted and actually - and this was so adorable- he got out his keys and basically pried off the lid from my bottle and I thanked him profusely.






The Duomo was incredible. Absolutely incredible.





Eventually, I stumbled upon Arno River and Ponte Vecchio. On the bridge as I was taking a photo of Florence, an elderly Italian gentleman - Pierre- approached me and asked me if I wanted him to take my photo. After the experience in Pisa, I was a little hesitant and I told him that it was fine. But he was persistent so I caved. He started to ask about my background and he commented on the fact that I was travelling by myself ('My daughters would never do that') and offered to give me a quick tour of Florence. So off we went. He talked about the history of the city, the Medici family and the palace. We stopped off at Chiesa di Santa Felicita which had this incredible painting (and the guy said it was very important, but I can't remember what it was. Whoops). We must have walked for an hour or so and it was so enjoyable since he was so knowledgable. We talked about the city, his home and his family. He also showed me the "most romantic spot" in Florence and it was incredible. When we parted, he gave me a proper cheek kiss and such a lovely, lovely hug. What a sweet man.






Ponte Vecchio