This past weekend I went to the wonderful Florence, or Firenze. It was beautiful, although chilly, the first day and the second two days it rained unfortunately.
En route to Firenze!
Friday:
We left in the morning bright (actually not so bright because the sun hadn’t risen yet) and early to catch the 7:30 am bus to Florence from Perugia (cost: 10.50 euro). The ride was pleasant since it did not have any stops and it was more like a van than a full size bus so the re-circulated air was not as bad as usual. The bus ride took around 2 hours and we arrived around 9:30 am. I had written down directions so we found Hostel Veronique (where we would stay 2 nights) relatively easily. Despite the horrendous smell in the hallway (think sewage or small animal death), the room we were staying in was nice and clean – the bathroom the first day was questionable, much cleaner the second day. Friday was a huge walking day! We walked around for about 8 hours total – seeing many piazzas, statues, buildings, and markets (both indoor and outdoor). The outdoor market sells a lot of leather products, souvenirs, bags, scarves, and other assorted products.
Here are some pictures from Friday:
The lucky boar of Florence – people rub the nose for good luck!
Overlooking the river.
About to enter Piazza della Signoria and Palazzo Vecchio.
Standing in the square in front of one of the copies of the David statues.
The Duomo! The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.
A view of the tower.
Two of my roommates and me in front of the Duomo.
Inside a large indoor food market – lots of interesting foods both fresh and packaged!
Once the sun came out the river and buildings looked even more vibrant.
A view of the hostel room we stayed in – surprisingly comfortable and we weren’t with any strangers. The same can’t be said for the bathroom which was shared among several rooms.
A view inside the Duomo.
A view of the inside of the Duomo’s dome.
While at dinner we met a famous Japanese actress! She was filming her experiences in Italy. My roommate even got her autograph.
Fun fact: Friday afternoon I was telling my roommates that I wanted to be one of those people who sees someone from back home in a foreign country. About 20 minutes later I saw a girl from my high school who I haven’t seen in a long time! Then that night, I saw another girl from high school! It was a really cool experience – and I finally get to say that it happened to me.
Saturday: Rain. Unfortunately it rained for the rest of the weekend. We were still able to walk around though, exploring sites and seeing a great view of the city (for free!), although it was quite a hike. Here are some pictures from Saturday:
A view of Piazza della Repubblica. There is a carousel that lights up at night on the bottom left.
Another copy (this one in bronze) of the statue of David.
We climbed to the top of a hill to get the view of all of Florence (for free – yay!).
A close up of the Duomo from afar.
Roomies! Overlooking the city.
Sunday: More rain. Sunday morning we left the hostel, ate breakfast and waited at the train station to take a regional train (cost: 12:55 euros) back to Perugia. I was happy to find some tasty honey roasted (or some kind of sugar coated) peanuts at the train station. The ride back took approximately the same time as going there, but there were stops so we had to be alert to make sure we didn’t miss our stop.
Other notes: It is hard not to spend money when traveling! I highly recommend a budget or at least being aware of finances. I splurged on 1 or 2 meals in Florence but most of my other meals were under 4 euros – that is, I pretty much ate a panino at every other meal. You need to find the balance between experiencing the local food and shops while still keeping an eye on the cash in your wallet!
This one is for my family.