Florence for the Weekend

Over the years I've been to Italy many times. My first trip to Rome was when I was 2.  Growing up, summer vacations were either down the shore in Jersey or Italy.  I remember one year my sister and I actually complained about having to go to Italy again for our vacation...we were really hoping for a trip to Disney World!  Haha...I guess at the time we didn't know any better.  We always went to Rome for a few days and then to Pietracupa for the rest of the trip.
All those trips to Italy, but I never had a chance to see other parts of the country.
Over the weekend, I finally took my first excursion to a new city...Florence.

For years, I have heard just about every American who has traveled to Italy say that Florence was their favorite Italian city. Even Italians, who are all positive the city they live in is the greatest in the world, say that Florence is beautiful.

I traveled by train, which I’m finding to be my preferred way of travel more and more with each trip. Not having to deal with lines, baggage claims, weather delays, and everything else that is a hassle at airports these days is such a relief.

My initial reaction upon arriving at a train station in a new city is always...”Ok, now what??” I tend to just pick a direction out of the station and hope it’s right. Most of the time I’m wrong, but I like getting lost. I end up seeing things I would have otherwise missed. I wandered around the streets outside the Santa Maria Novella train station (main station in Florence) for a good half hour before I found the right way.

When I finally got to the hostel, I used my limited Italian with the girl at the desk who was relieved to be able to speak Italian for once. She let me know that I wasn’t really speaking Italian, but Romano. I didn’t know if I should take that as a compliment or an insult. In the end I guess I was just happy that she could understand what I was saying at all...MY ITALIAN IS IMPROVING!

Not only was the hostel it in a perfect location in the heart of downtown, but it also provided appetizers and wine every night before dinner...my kind of place. A glass (ok, multiple glasses) of wine with some bruschetta and a mortadella sandwich was my 6:00pm snack every night I was in Florence. Thank you Academy Hostel...best hostel I’ve stayed at so far!

One of the keys to traveling alone is being able to meet new people to enjoy the trip with. My first night I met some college kids from California who were just passing through while studying abroad and two girls from Brazil who were on vacation. We spend the next few days seeing the sites together during the day and partying at night. We all got along really well and it was nice to be able to share the experiences with some other people.

Florence is much smaller than Rome, but it is no less charming. To me, if Rome is equivalent to New York City, than Florence is San Francisco. Two very different places with a different style and energy. Florence might be small, but there are a ton on things to see. The Duomo (Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore) is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Aside from being massive, it’s made of white, green, and pink marble which gives it a very distinct look. I climbed the 463 steps to the top of the Brunelleschi’s dome and even with the hurricane winds and sleet storm while I was up there, it was worth the incredible 360 view of the whole city.

I also made it to the Palazzo Vecchio, Uffizi Gallery, Ponte Vecchio, Piazzale Michelangelo, and of course saw Michelangelo’s David at the Accademia. There was too much art and history to describe everything in a few sentences. All I can say is that if you do take a trip to Europe one day, make sure Florence is on the agenda. You will not be disappointed. I know I will be making more trips to Florence while I am out here.

I’m off to Innsbruck, Austria this weekend for some skiing with a friend from the Austrian gymnastics team. It’ll be my first time skiing...should be an interesting weekend.