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It’s hard to not be prejudiced when going to places you have always wanted to go. Of course I want to go everywhere, but for quite some time … I’ve longed for Florence, Italy. I guess to some degree it was something sparked at quite a young age… whilst watching late night Italian films on SBS. And then hearing about its character and class from those who have been there. It also helped that one of my top three favourite books of all time was set there, Hannibal by Thomas Harris- which solidified in my mind: Firenze- a place I must experience.
So yes it’s hard to tell what part is actual affinity for a place and how much is just falling into the romance of a dream coming true. So Jian might be the better of us two to judge, but I can say with utmost sincerity that I love Florence and it is one of the greatest cities in the world.
The first great thing about Florence is that it isn’t big, but it has the grandeur of such a scale. It’s centre is riddled with tourists, but five minutes away you are discovering the hidden
doorknockers
they are all so beautiful and massive in firenze!treasures the locals pride themselves with. It is a city with class, which manages to not be intimidating (I’ve heard that Paris can be like this), which is full of culture and arts but is in NO WAY wanky (imagine for those Sydney bound ‘Newtown’ without the pretentious attitude). The streets are cobble stoned and full of arches, churches, cafes, amazing restaurants and jaw dropping Piazzas (Sydney really only has one- think Martin Place without the commercial stigma, plus statues!)
There is also a slightly dark streak to the city that the thriller fan in me responds to. You cannot go anywhere without seeing statues of ten foot tall men wrestling beast sized boars, or women holding up the heads of their kill. And also lingering in the back is the omni-present memory of Il Monstro, an un-caught serial killer who roamed the streets not too long ago (something Harris cashed in on with Hannibal as Florence is where the cannibal-killer lived for eight years after the Silence of the Lambs- suffice to say we visited all of the places in the novel and visited locations where the film was shot… which as a total movie buff was VERY
aaron humping a pig
they used it in a scene of hannibal apparently? exciting for me).
The entire experience was also boosted by staying at the hands-down best hostel we have stayed at yet. Yeah the rooms were small and shared, it was a little creepy at times, but the people there literally made you feel like part of a family. There were literally times when I said to them, okay- who actually works here? They fed us breakfast AND dinner the nights we were there and took us out on the town with other backpackers (suffice to say there was bad music, bad dancing and some baaadd photos taken- and not on our camera- scary). We drank plenty of great wine, ate cheap but really great food and made friends. This is something that we are finding much better in Europe as opposed to Asia. Here, it is sooo much easier to make friends along the way. In Asia most people seem very streamlined or maybe are just not interested in developing great, fun ‘travel-relationships’. But in Europe, people are just so much more open to the idea. It’s really great. I personally have realised just how much I miss meeting new people- the actual act of it- with no initiation
gruesome statues
outside the Uffizi gallery briefing, putting yourself out there. It’s hard, but rewarding. It’s great to feel young and silly but loving the culture and enjoying the arts. And to do all that, with others.
We crossed channels, tried countless flavours of gelato. I personally was thrilled to see authentic Giallo, who for those who don’t know are paperback horror and thriller novels (pulp fiction basically) that were always (from the 40’s onwards) published in Italy with bright yellow colours. Dario Argento, a famous Italian director (you got to see Susperia kids- it’s like an authentic nightmare) then took this concept and made it into a film genre- murder mysteries called ‘giallo’. We took in a Serial Killers Museum, which was really quite unnerving but seriously fascinating. It was part Maddame Tussauds with all the wax figures, but part historical recreation with audio guide covering Jack the Ripper to Ed Gein. Suffice to say Jian and I walked home looking over our shoulders all the way.
Italy is expensive but worth it. I longed to just sit down at a sunlit café and enjoy a cup of coffee- but it is at times too expensive to do that. But where we skimp
fake david
outside galleria del vecchio on some parts, we make up on others and it all balances out in the end.
Florence is a dream that I don’t want to end. I cant imagine it getting better than this. The Duomo with its immaculate art, the insane glory of the Vecchio or the authenticity of the people, who are so very embracing… Firenze is a slice of Nirvana, set in stone and pickled in wine made from grapes picked by Dante after writing ‘The Divine Comedy/Tragedy’.
I could live here.
Ciao, kids.
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Emma
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That figurine looks scary!! Loving your blogs boys. Keep it up and keep having a ball! x