Hey cool people!
So this is the second time I am writing this post because I forgot to save it the first time. 😞
Anyway we spent a few days in Florence or Firenze as the Italians call it. So here it what we did:
Day 78 Tuesday, August 4th - Today we arrived in Florence. We were staying at Plus Florence Hotel and I originally had us booked in an 8 bed dorm room. Well, when we got there, we found out that they had upgraded us to a three bed private room ... Woot Woot!!!! Love the free upgrades!
That night we took part in a Welcome to Florence guided walking tour. The tour started at our hostel where we were led by a Florentine guide who told us the wonders and history of Florence. After te walking tour, we made our way to a leather ship to watch a demonstration: learn how leather is made, branded, treated and turned into beautiful garments. We also learned hoe to distinguish between real Italian leather and the fake stuff. We ended our tour at a popular local restaurant, where we had a delicious 4-course meal. After we partied the night away at the Red Garter karaoke bar next door.
Day 79 Wednesday, August 5th - Today was a struggle waking up after last nights festivities. We were heading for Pisa!!! It was about an hour long train ride to Pisa and when we got there it was HOT, but we managed to our touristy pictures by the leaning tower. Besides the leaning tower, there wasn't much to see or do in Pisa, so we headed back to Florence in the early afternoon.
When we got back to Florence we took a little siesta in our airconditioned room to cool down and relax before meeting up with a couple people we met on the bus for dinner. We were going to a place called Mama Gia that was recommended to one of us. Google maps got us a little lost, but we eventually managed to find it! The food was pretty good, despite the fact that they forgot to make my meal at first. After dinner, we walked over to a gelateria called Edoardo's located across from the Duomo. This was recommended by our Busabout guide and it did not disappoint!!! It was soooooo good. They make the waffle cones right in front of you! I tried the cinnamon and milk cream flavors! After gelato, we made our way back to the hostel and called it a night!
Day 80 Thursday, August 6th - Today Lydia and Jess went off to tour the Duomo and Accademia, while I went to do my own thing. I didn't feel like waiting in line or paying the money to see those things, and while it might have been cool to go see the Statue of David at the Accademia, it would have been the only thing I would have been interested in and I saw the replica outside the town hall and that was good enough for me.
I spent the day walking around and checking out some of the local sights. I tried to do some shopping, which ended up being very unsuccessful, every shop I went into had jackets and sweaters. It was 96° outside, why were they selling jackets and sweaters? Anyway, after a little bit, I met up with my new friend John to grab some lunch and then went back to the room to cool off and take a nap.
Lydia and Jess got back to the room shortly after I did and it sounded like they had an interesting day. They waiting in line to climb the cupola of the Duomo for about two hours then found out that it closed down because someone fell apparently. After finding that out, they toured the inside of the Duomo, went underneath to the ruins of the old cathedral and Lydia climbed the bell tower. When Lydia was at the top of the bell tower, she noticed that the cupola was reopened, so her and Jess got back in line only to find out another person had fallen and it was closed again. After that, they decided to get some gelato from Edoardo's again and come back to the room for a siesta.
That night we were going to go out to dinner to Pizzeria Gusta. A local pizzeria that was recommended to me and Lydia by a friend who studied abroad in Florence. That night, when we got there, we found out it had closed two days earlier for summer holiday. Ughhh!!!! Well, we were all in the mood for some pizza so we walked around until we found another pizzeria nearby. After dinner went back to the room for a relaxed night, to pack for our bus ride to Cinque Terre the next day.
When I finished packing, it was still pretty early and I was wide awake, so I decided to go out for a quick beer with someone I met in the hostel, Danny! We walked down the road to the bar that had a hipsterish vibe and had, what appeared to be, local craft beers on draft. We sat outside and talked about our travels and such. After our beer, we went back to the hostel and I went straight to bed!!
Fun Facts:
1) Population of Florence is about 360,000
2) In 1339 Florence became the first city in Italy
3) The duomo took almost 150 year to complete
4) Florence is the birthplace of Gucci and home to the Gucci museum
5) Florence is home to a wealth of art including the Statue of David at the Galleria dell' Accademia and the Uffizi Gallery.
Sun set from of Florence from the oldest and most famous bridge in Florence, the Ponte Vecchio, which is lined with jewellery shops and bustling with visitors enjoying a stroll across the Arno.
Night view of the Duomo
The town hall