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.
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:
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:
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!