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Firenze ~the first real weekend trip I planned on my own! On Friday January 30, we had no class because two of the classes offered at my school were taking field trips to Florence. I decided to join almost everyone in my program on their field trips (since I'm not in either class), and spend the weekend exploring Firenze. Unfortunately, the weather forecast was rain for most of the weekend, so I decided to only stay one night. I woke up early in order to make it to Florence in time for the 9:30am art history tour. We visited several churches including the Brancacci Chapel in the Church if Santa Maria del Carmine, Basilica of Santo Spirito, and Bascilica of Santa Maria Novella. Our tour concluded in front of the Duomo (Basilica of Santa Maria del Fiore) and the Baptistery.
From there, we broke up into groups to grab lunch. There were some people who were regrouping at the Duomo for the Dante English class field trip, but I went with a larger group who decided they were going to explore on their own. I made plans with 3 other girls in my program to go shopping, and wander around. However, I accidentally started following some other girls from our program, and the next thing I knew, the group I had plans with had disappeared! I started heading back the way I came, and looked down a couple of streets for them. They were no where to be found, and I realized I was completely separated from my group...alone...in Florence. I had no map, and no idea where I was or where I was going. I began frantically fast walking wondering what I should do. I ended up finding two groups from my program who were going back to their hostels to rest. They thought my best bet was to sit in a cafe outside the Duomo, and wait for the Dante English class to regroup at 2:30. I didn't want to waste my time in Florence sleeping, so I might as well take the Dante tour! I went to a small cafe with wifi, ordered myself a schiacciata (a ham and cheese sandwich on special Tuscan bread), and stared out the window for the Dante class. Miraculously, three girls from my program walked into the cafe, and sat with me. They wanted to use the wifi to find directions to their hostel so they could sleep. One of the girls in their group was only there for that day, so we decided to go shopping together.
I tried to check into my hostel because my shoulders were tired of carrying my 20 pound backpack around, but we found out the front desk was closed from 2:00-4:00pm. Naturally, this would happen to me (it was 2:40pm). Oh well! We walked the streets on a mission to find deals on genuine Italian leather. For those that don't know, Florence is famous for their Italian leather market. I ended up buying myself a lamb leather purse for a really great deal at a store called IL Principe. I successfully checked into my hostel around 5:30pm, and I was so happy that I didn't have to carry my backpack around anymore. I was sharing the room with one other girl from my program. We had a private room with a double bed, and a shared bathroom between the 5 other rooms in our hostel. Our hostel had the most amazing location- a 3 minute walk from the train station, and a 5 minute walk from the Duomo. The central location was definitely a blessing!
Dinner plans were still up in the air around 6:00pm. We had recommendations for a couple of different restaurants, and we ended up going with Vecchio Mercato. Best. Decision. Of. My. Life. I joined 9 other people from our program for dinner, and we collectively decided to "treat ourselves." Florence is known for their Florentine T-Bone steaks, and if you know me at all, you know how much I love steak. As I'm sure you can guess, I "treated myself" to one of their specials known as Menu Bistecca. My meal began with freshly baked breads that we dipped in fresh olive oil and the best balsamic vinegar you've ever tasted. A glass of wine was also served with my meal, and the waiter brought that out soon after we all ordered. Next, I was served cold cut Italian meats as my antipasto that I made little half-sandwiches with. Then, came my favorite part: a 500 gram Florentine T-Bone steak with roasted potatoes. That's right...17.6 ounces of melt-in-your-mouth steak. I was in heaven! 3 liters of house red wine, 2 1/2 hours of conversation, and 10 empty plates later, we all left in complete agreement that this was the best Italian dinner we've ever had. I walked back to my hostel admiring the quiet streets of Florence knowing I was quickly falling for another amazing Italian city.
The next day, Saturday January 31, several of us met in front of the Duomo to walk to the Galleria dell' Academia (where the statue of David is located). To our surprise, there was no line at the ticket window, and we walked right in. I enjoyed looking at all the Renaissance artwork, but I was most looking forward to seeing Michelangelo's David. Not surprisingly, I was in awe as I made the journey down the hallway to the statue of David. The hallway was lined with 6 of Michelangelo's unfinished sculptures, which were equally incredible. It never ceases to amaze me how an artist can turn marble into something so life-like or soft and flowing. The unfinished pieces looked like people trapped inside stone trying to break free. Fabrics looked nearly translucent, and faces expressed clear emotions. As someone who enjoys creating art as much as I enjoy admiring it, I kept finding myself asking "how on Earth did he do that?" Then, of course, I get to the end of the hallway, and gaze up at the attention-grabbing David statue. His presence was just as commanding as I knew it would be. Michelangelo achieved such perfection with this one piece, and I felt so lucky to get to experience it firsthand. After taking quite a while appreciating David, we moved onto several other rooms filled with realistic marble sculptures.
We left the gallery feeling satisfied, and we decided to do some more leather shopping before grabbing lunch. I ended up finding a pair of Italian leather gloves lined with cashmere that I completely fell in love it. They were the first pair I saw, and the only pair in my size -obviously it was meant to be! They were even on sale! We grabbed lunch at a pizzeria by the Duomo, and then went inside the cathedral. I simply do not understand how people designed, build, and decorated these massive cathedrals. All I know is that I'm happy I get to enjoy them! The dome of the Duomo is detailed fresco which depicts the Last Judgement. After walking around the inside, I decided to climb to the top of the Duomo with two others from my program. 463 steps later (with my 20 pound backpack in vary narrow and steep stairwells), I witnessed one of the most rewarding views. I was able to see all of Florence from the top, and it was breathtaking. I could have stayed up there all day. I love getting a bird's eye view of cities, and walking up all those steps was totally worth it. After making the trek back down, I went inside the Baptistery. Sadly, the outside was being renovated since it's the off season, so I only saw part of the infamous Gates of Paradise gilded doors. The inside of the Baptistery was ornately decorated with mosaics. Not a single surface or archway was was plain.
I left the Baptistery, and made the journey alone to Santa Croce to meet another group of people to walk around with. It took less than 24 hours, and I was already feeling comfortable walking around the city by myself without a map. I took the leisurely stroll, and found my group without a problem. We did a little more shopping before grabbing some gelato and heading to the train station for my 6:00pm train.
When we arrived at the train station, I found out my train was delayed 90 minutes. Naturally, I was frustrated by this, so I grabbed a number and waited my turn for an available ticket window to change my train. Each waiting ticket has a letter that corresponds to a different problem, and then there's a number that comes after it. For example, I wanted to change my train ticket and that problem corresponded to the letter C. I noticed that only 1 ticket window was taking "C" people. After waiting over 20 minutes, my number was next. I noticed the worker at that ticket window got up and left. He put up a "closed" sign, and I was confused -he never called my number! I waited a little longer to see if a different ticket window was going to take "C" people, but they never did. I finally got tired of waiting, so I went up to an open ticket window and requested a new train. At first the worker told me to get an "A" or "B" ticket, but I refused to wait even longer since the train I was supposed to be on was technically scheduled to leave in 10 minutes. The man finally gave in, and he assigned me to a new train that left 15 minutes after my original train time. I was exhausted by the time I got to my train, and I was relieved when I made it back to Bologna. I didn't get to see everything I wanted to see while I was in Florence, so I can assure you I'll be back!
From there, we broke up into groups to grab lunch. There were some people who were regrouping at the Duomo for the Dante English class field trip, but I went with a larger group who decided they were going to explore on their own. I made plans with 3 other girls in my program to go shopping, and wander around. However, I accidentally started following some other girls from our program, and the next thing I knew, the group I had plans with had disappeared! I started heading back the way I came, and looked down a couple of streets for them. They were no where to be found, and I realized I was completely separated from my group...alone...in Florence. I had no map, and no idea where I was or where I was going. I began frantically fast walking wondering what I should do. I ended up finding two groups from my program who were going back to their hostels to rest. They thought my best bet was to sit in a cafe outside the Duomo, and wait for the Dante English class to regroup at 2:30. I didn't want to waste my time in Florence sleeping, so I might as well take the Dante tour! I went to a small cafe with wifi, ordered myself a schiacciata (a ham and cheese sandwich on special Tuscan bread), and stared out the window for the Dante class. Miraculously, three girls from my program walked into the cafe, and sat with me. They wanted to use the wifi to find directions to their hostel so they could sleep. One of the girls in their group was only there for that day, so we decided to go shopping together.
I tried to check into my hostel because my shoulders were tired of carrying my 20 pound backpack around, but we found out the front desk was closed from 2:00-4:00pm. Naturally, this would happen to me (it was 2:40pm). Oh well! We walked the streets on a mission to find deals on genuine Italian leather. For those that don't know, Florence is famous for their Italian leather market. I ended up buying myself a lamb leather purse for a really great deal at a store called IL Principe. I successfully checked into my hostel around 5:30pm, and I was so happy that I didn't have to carry my backpack around anymore. I was sharing the room with one other girl from my program. We had a private room with a double bed, and a shared bathroom between the 5 other rooms in our hostel. Our hostel had the most amazing location- a 3 minute walk from the train station, and a 5 minute walk from the Duomo. The central location was definitely a blessing!
Dinner plans were still up in the air around 6:00pm. We had recommendations for a couple of different restaurants, and we ended up going with Vecchio Mercato. Best. Decision. Of. My. Life. I joined 9 other people from our program for dinner, and we collectively decided to "treat ourselves." Florence is known for their Florentine T-Bone steaks, and if you know me at all, you know how much I love steak. As I'm sure you can guess, I "treated myself" to one of their specials known as Menu Bistecca. My meal began with freshly baked breads that we dipped in fresh olive oil and the best balsamic vinegar you've ever tasted. A glass of wine was also served with my meal, and the waiter brought that out soon after we all ordered. Next, I was served cold cut Italian meats as my antipasto that I made little half-sandwiches with. Then, came my favorite part: a 500 gram Florentine T-Bone steak with roasted potatoes. That's right...17.6 ounces of melt-in-your-mouth steak. I was in heaven! 3 liters of house red wine, 2 1/2 hours of conversation, and 10 empty plates later, we all left in complete agreement that this was the best Italian dinner we've ever had. I walked back to my hostel admiring the quiet streets of Florence knowing I was quickly falling for another amazing Italian city.
The next day, Saturday January 31, several of us met in front of the Duomo to walk to the Galleria dell' Academia (where the statue of David is located). To our surprise, there was no line at the ticket window, and we walked right in. I enjoyed looking at all the Renaissance artwork, but I was most looking forward to seeing Michelangelo's David. Not surprisingly, I was in awe as I made the journey down the hallway to the statue of David. The hallway was lined with 6 of Michelangelo's unfinished sculptures, which were equally incredible. It never ceases to amaze me how an artist can turn marble into something so life-like or soft and flowing. The unfinished pieces looked like people trapped inside stone trying to break free. Fabrics looked nearly translucent, and faces expressed clear emotions. As someone who enjoys creating art as much as I enjoy admiring it, I kept finding myself asking "how on Earth did he do that?" Then, of course, I get to the end of the hallway, and gaze up at the attention-grabbing David statue. His presence was just as commanding as I knew it would be. Michelangelo achieved such perfection with this one piece, and I felt so lucky to get to experience it firsthand. After taking quite a while appreciating David, we moved onto several other rooms filled with realistic marble sculptures.
We left the gallery feeling satisfied, and we decided to do some more leather shopping before grabbing lunch. I ended up finding a pair of Italian leather gloves lined with cashmere that I completely fell in love it. They were the first pair I saw, and the only pair in my size -obviously it was meant to be! They were even on sale! We grabbed lunch at a pizzeria by the Duomo, and then went inside the cathedral. I simply do not understand how people designed, build, and decorated these massive cathedrals. All I know is that I'm happy I get to enjoy them! The dome of the Duomo is detailed fresco which depicts the Last Judgement. After walking around the inside, I decided to climb to the top of the Duomo with two others from my program. 463 steps later (with my 20 pound backpack in vary narrow and steep stairwells), I witnessed one of the most rewarding views. I was able to see all of Florence from the top, and it was breathtaking. I could have stayed up there all day. I love getting a bird's eye view of cities, and walking up all those steps was totally worth it. After making the trek back down, I went inside the Baptistery. Sadly, the outside was being renovated since it's the off season, so I only saw part of the infamous Gates of Paradise gilded doors. The inside of the Baptistery was ornately decorated with mosaics. Not a single surface or archway was was plain.
I left the Baptistery, and made the journey alone to Santa Croce to meet another group of people to walk around with. It took less than 24 hours, and I was already feeling comfortable walking around the city by myself without a map. I took the leisurely stroll, and found my group without a problem. We did a little more shopping before grabbing some gelato and heading to the train station for my 6:00pm train.
When we arrived at the train station, I found out my train was delayed 90 minutes. Naturally, I was frustrated by this, so I grabbed a number and waited my turn for an available ticket window to change my train. Each waiting ticket has a letter that corresponds to a different problem, and then there's a number that comes after it. For example, I wanted to change my train ticket and that problem corresponded to the letter C. I noticed that only 1 ticket window was taking "C" people. After waiting over 20 minutes, my number was next. I noticed the worker at that ticket window got up and left. He put up a "closed" sign, and I was confused -he never called my number! I waited a little longer to see if a different ticket window was going to take "C" people, but they never did. I finally got tired of waiting, so I went up to an open ticket window and requested a new train. At first the worker told me to get an "A" or "B" ticket, but I refused to wait even longer since the train I was supposed to be on was technically scheduled to leave in 10 minutes. The man finally gave in, and he assigned me to a new train that left 15 minutes after my original train time. I was exhausted by the time I got to my train, and I was relieved when I made it back to Bologna. I didn't get to see everything I wanted to see while I was in Florence, so I can assure you I'll be back!