Adventures in Firenze!

Bongiorno!  This past weekend was spent in Florence and it was genuinely one of the best weekends of my life.  From start to finish the trip was fun, beautiful, interesting, delicious and almost perfect.  I went with a fairly large group but ended up spending the majority of my time with 5 others (Megan, Jamie, Jenna, Brittany and John).

We took a train Saturday morning from Perugia to Florence and it was lovely.  We actually got McDonald’s for breakfast before getting on the train at 10:00 AM and I’m not embarrassed by it.  As Megan put it, “It tasted like home.”  The train took about two hours and we got to see some incredible views of the Tuscan countryside as we traveled.

Upon getting there it was raining, but even that couldn’t dampen our spirits.  We walked through the streets of Florence looking for our hostel (which I found!  Who’s proud that I managed to not get lost in a foreign city…because I am!) and seeing some incredible things as we walked.  I got my first, albeit brief, view of the famous duomo which we planned on going back to as soon as we dropped off our belongings.

The hostel itself was fine, actually far better than I imagined.  It was a private room that we booked with enough beds to sleep 8.  Very basic and small, but at least clean and private for our group.  Good job Hostel Veronique!

Then we went back to the duomo and it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life.  There are a few parts to it structurally.  The bell tower, which was designed by Giotto right before he died.  The baptiste, which Giotto and Michelangelo both have frescos and sculptures in.  And the actual duomo itself, which is where the cathedral lies, and where we spent most of our time.  The pictures I took really can’t justify how awe-inspiring it is.  After spending time in the cathedral we climbed the 463 steps to the top.  Trust me when I tell you this was no easy task, but so worth it.  The stairs were steep, narrow and dark.  But the feeling of standing at the top of the duomo, looking over the entire city of Florence, is one that I will never forget.  It costs 8 euros and takes some time, but if you have the chance absolutely do it!

The rest of the day continued to go really well.  Everyone was in such great moods, the city is a like a giant piece of artwork you can’t help but be enthralled by its beauty.  We had a wonderful lunch, walked through out markets, went to the famous bridge over the river, just exploring and taking pictures the whole time.  (Which are posted!)

The best part of the trip, however, came at dinner.  I was taken by one member of my group to a restaurant she went to a few years ago when in Florence.  It’s hard for me to explain why this particular dinner is now one of the best memories of my life, but I’ll try.  First of all, the food was incredible.  It far surpassed everything I’ve eaten in Italy so far, hard to believe but true.  It was truly the best meal of my life.  Italians have such pride in their food and cooking.  The menu at this restaurant changes daily with whatever is fresh at the market, and we just told them we would have whatever they recommended.  There were no words to describe how good this meal was, especially for a “foodie” like myself.

Another reason this night was so spectacular was the company.  I don’t just mean the people I was with specifically either (although they were all wonderful and we are all forever bonded by this experience).  But everyone in the room became our friend for the evening.  The other guests, the chefs, the servers, the owners, the hosts, EVERYONE! One of the funniest moments came when they asked us if we minded if they smoked.  We, of course, said no because it’s Italy and that’s what they do here, it was polite of them to ask but we’re guests in their country!  As soon as we gave permission all the Italians in the room lit up, turned on the music, and started dancing!  The dancing quickly made it’s way from the floor to the chairs, and from the Italians to us.  The rest of the evening was spent mingling with locals and having an incredible time dancing on the chairs in this tiny, unbelievable restaurant.  In general, the experience was pretty surreal.

The next day in Florence was fantastic as well.  We shopped and continued to walk around.  And we happened to stumble across a chocolate festival!  That just ended up being a delicious and hilarious way to spend the afternoon.  We made our way back to the train station and back to Perugia after that.  But in all, it was an absolutely unbelievable weekend.  The fact that we were all constantly soaking wet from the pouring rain, and still so happy, just proves that you can’t be upset in Florence.  Or at least we couldn’t be.