#42 - Firenze con Davide
Dear Dubrovnik,
These past/ next couple weeks are insanely busy! Hoping to stay on track with my posts! :) What a shame to have so much to write about! ;) (Never!)
It was a long haul to the first stop with a small bus from my home town. I then had to find the train station, and thanks to two random italian business folks who knew no English but offered to guide me there- I made it. I had 15 minutes to get my ticket once I arrived but when I got to the window the ticket man told me there were no tickets to Florence from the station, as there was no such train. Thanks to my over prepared-ness I'd written out all the stops, train numbers and times- so I slid my notebook under the window and looked at him and asked " so this train doesn't exist?" A couple minutes later I had my tickets in hand and was trying to find the platform as the station isn't marked well. I remembered a friend saying to look for the train numbers. I found the platform and as I was walking up the stairs my train was here waiting to depart. Phew!
1.5 hours to Genoa, 2.5 hours to Pisa, ( lucky to share a train car with a man-spreader,) and a final train for 1.5 hours to Florence. I arrived at 11:50 and had ten minutes to get to my hostel before the office closed. The directions got me there somehow as on paper they were confusing but really simple in reality.
It was very clean and welcoming. I had a six person room with a loft for three beds. All beds were full once I arrived and unfortunately the man on my floor was a fatal snorer, not like stuffy nose- like open mouth loud. A couple times I reached his bedside table and crashed it into his bed to wake him up so I could sleep for a few minutes.
In the morning I awoke early and opened the suite windows and was amazed to see the Duomo right in view, less than two minutes away. I had breakfast and headed there right off. It took a while to find tickets but I began my exploration by heading up the clock tower. It was 418 steps to the top, which was more than my Dubrovnik apartment. There were four or five landings to the top and at each, I stopped and walked around. I final got yo the top and was feeling great to have such an amazing view, and finally see with m own eyes all the places I studied in school for many years.
Grate down four floors!
4 floors up the bell tower!
However I suddenly felt sick. I rehearsed my italian sick phrases but was overcome with a wave of, "do I throw up, try to get down, or collapse?" I became very dizzy, coupled with my heart racing. I leaned back agains the tower and propped myself there as my vision tunneled slowly to white. I couldn't see for a couple minutes but knew that collapsing would bring no better results as I would not get help quickly that high up.
Clammy and exhausted I regained my sight and could stand after about ten minutes. I didn't think I'd get into the Duomo after that. I passed an older woman on the stairs who opted for the inside which was far steeper with no real foothold. I offered my hand and she swatted t away and proceeded to fall a few steps later.
I thought of a phrase I tell myself often which is "if the last thing u were to someone was nice, than you've done the best you can, the rest is up to them."
I eventually made it down to the square below and walked around for a bit. I headed to the Duomo to take s look inside and found myself in a staircase heading to the top. I guess I found the wrong door! This climb was much more claustrophobic and steeper but was much easier. It was amazing to see the internal arches and structures the support the dome, the honeycomb infrastructure supporting itself. It was sad to see all the graffiti on all of these monuments. Everywhere within arms reach people had scrawled their names or crude statements.
View on the bell tower from the top of the Duomo.
Duomo ceiling!
After taking in the view I headed back the square where I got a small water color from a very kind non abrasive artist. Then I got a gelato, and headed to the leather market. I didn't have any haggle in me but I did get a small bracelet.
After a small lunch I met up with Elise at the hostel got anther gelato, and headed to see the David. It really isn't an attraction, but an experience. He's incredible. In fact, I had a great text conversation with my host mom about him. She told me to find my italian boyfriend and I said that if let them know if I did. I then sent along this photo and said "I found my Italian boyfriend" to which my host mother had the best response.
So there you have it! I found the best italian man!
So many tourists of a particular nationally crowding the best photo spots!
This one the mother is exclaiming "no you will eat your fruits."
This is a depiction of a group of friends at the club when one friend doesn't want to leave: "Nah guys just go home without me. I'm STAYIN HERE!"
Elise and I headed off to catch the sunset up on the hill across the Arno river. We tried to get a picture of the two faced statue but the sun wasn't in our favor. We did get some great photos of the old bridge. We then went to our hostel and met two other TA's living in our hostel room. We decided to meet up after dinner, so Elise and I headed off to the area where she lived when studying in Florence. It was very quaint, and we instead got gelato as the pizza wait was very long, and stopped to get pizza on our way back. We also stopped to get train tickets and got zero help from the ticket man who pointed us to another booth. But that's normal. ;) We then met up with the other ladies and left for an Italian club! I showed them how to open a bottle with out an opener, and we didn't get home until
.
And believe it or not, we got at 8 to get to the Uffizi, which servers as an office building for the Medici family who rules Florence in the 1500's. They actually built a passage (the Vasari Corridor) across the Ponte Vecchio to their meeting building so they didn't have to go outside. Another infamous person who walked those halls was no other than Hitler himself.
Ponte Vecchio
Florence!
3AM Duomo
Uffizi!
As all museums are free on Sunday we waited for about an hour and a half which was actually quite short. We saw the Venus, and Primavera both of which are so perfect- they look printed not painted.
The Venus
Primavera
What's that fella doing - causing mischief.
Uffizi pigeon
As usual, we ran to the hostel and then to the station where the train was waiting. We said our so long for now and off I headed!
I had the train car to myself for about an hour and who would guess the people who join my car are heavy smokers who love to talk. The view outside was astounding, but I could acutely taste the cigarette ashes in my mouth. Bleck!
My hallway view on my last train...
I walked around Asti for a little waiting for my bus (that never came) and happened upon a little carnival. It reminded me of European skating rinks. People of all ages, see older teens hanging out and playing together. Te culture is much different as people can't drive until 18, so people kind of gain three more years of childhood and bonding with friends where they just hang out. It made my heart smile to see them, hair done up, clothes looking fresh, but they were smiling ear to ear driving into each other in bumper cars, (a pretty true depiction of italian driving,) with arms out wide as the sail around the hi flying swings.
It was so reassuring to see teens having fun doing such normal things. It made me wish to be young again with non driving friends! Or at least to keep my sense of adventure and excitement. People often mask their true joy but why?! I hope that one day when I have children they manage to keep their sense of wonder and adventure.
In the end, my bus never came as it was Sunday and my Italian phone died but my lovely host family knew that info and picked me up shortly there after. Onto the next adventure! :)
Ciao!