Traveling to Firenze

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I had packed the night before so I was ready to go the next morning and catch the train to Florence. I'd already gotten my ticket ahead of time on the my first day in Venice. Sam helped me buy the ticket so I could make sure I got there with no problems. I remember the woman who sold me the ticket because she quoted us the wrong price for the ticket. The woman realized she'd made a mistake but I could tell she was super tired.

My last morning in Venice was a good one. I made sure I had a big breakfast because I had no real idea of what the day would have in store for me. When I would visit Rome I would stay at the Hotel Corona which was within walking distance of everything! They had a really cool continental breakfast as well and I would always stock up on pastries so I would have something to eat as I went out to explore the city. I filled my pockets with pastries this day also which was a good thing so I could have something to snack on.

I was traveling with stuff that was going to my friend Katty in Germany that she needed for work. If I hadn't had that stuff it my luggage would have been a lot lighter (one bag instead of two), but it was all good. Those who know me know that there is very little I won't do for a friend. I made a point of getting to the train station early just in case there were changes to my train schedule that I did not know about. I have discovered that travel delays are just happen and it's best not to worry too much about it.

When I got the train station I checked the schedules and found that my train was on time and went to the platform to wait for it. I haven't traveled to often by train either at home or abroad but I noticed some similiarities. You've got folks coming and going from all over the world at a train station. I saw families, couples and individuals all running too and from trains as they sought to make their way to where ever they were going that day. For myself I just decided to wait enjoy the sunshine and read a book. After about a half an hour a train pulled up to my platform and people started to disembark. I found an Trenitalia employee and asked her if I was at the right train. The lady took a look a quick look at my ticket, nodded her head and I got on the train.

I had an assigned seat for this trip so I made my way through the train car until I foung my seat, stowed my stuff down. I have a habit of watching who sitting nearby me regardless of whether I'm traveling on a train, plane, bus period. I observed this family making their way down the aisle two teenage boys a father and a mother. The boys were brothers and awake but only just barely. The father seemed like an easy going guy but the mother on the other hand was vocalizing her opinions on the train, the traveling and their overall circumstances since arriving in Italy. In short, she seemed like she really enjoyed complaining. I didn't think much of it until more people got on the train and this particular family had to get up because they were in someone elses seats. They made their way down to where I was sitting and the mother immediately informed me that my backpack was in her seat. I took a deep inward breath and moved my backpack so her son could sit down next to me.

It wasn't too long before any irritation I had faded completely because I could tell the boys were very embarrassed by their mother. I then made a point of talking to the parents who as it turned out where from Nova Scotia of all places. Turns out that the family (I never did catch all their names) had done a fair amount of traveling before through Europe but they'd never been in northern Italy before. I told them I had just spent a week in Venice and I was heading back to Florence for the weekend to visit the city and spend some time with my friend Giovanni. I've been told many times before by different folks that they could "never travel alone" especially through strange countries.

I find that statment in and of itself to be strange. While it's true that 9 times out of 10 I do travel alone I'm never bored nor at a loss for making friends or talking to people anywhere I go. I think the people that are truly alone are those who are afraid to take a chance to do something different. By being afraid or unwilling to "travel alone" you cut yourself off from some really awesome experiences that you would not have otherwise had. I've been to a lot of amazing places in my life and met a lot of great people. One of the best things for me when I travel is that I typically don't have a "fixed" plan on what I'm going to do while I'm on the road. I have a general idea of what I may be doing and I usually just make it up as I go along. The only thing that matters is that I've got money in my pocket, my backpack and a place to rest my head at the end of the day.

The train passed through Bologna on the way to Florence and I took a good look around since I was coming back to Bologna on Sunday. Finally, we arrived at the Santa Maria Novella train station and I told the family I was traveling with goodbye. Turns out that they were going to Roma so I gave them tips on what to expect when they got to Termini Station. They'd been to Roma before but shared some of the shortcuts I'd discovered especially with getting to the Vatican and I told them about the awesome pizzeria in Vatican city where they could get a good deal on lunch. Likewise, I told them if there was time they should climb to the top of Saint Peter's Bascilica. I have passed that bit of advice on to everyone I've come into contact with. Watching the sunset over Roma from the top of the St. Peters is a memory that is still as vivid as the day I was last there. I can't wait to go back and do it again.

This was my fourth time to Florence in less than 4 years. I have studied abroad in Florence twice, last year I was here on my own and now here I was again. Some folks may get tired of going to the same places over and over again but I've never grown tired of Florence. I fell in love with Florence many years ago and that love has only grown stronger, but I have to admit that Venice has laid claim to my heart also. I'm okay with that. If I have to have two ladies in my life I couldn't ask for anything more spectacular than Florence and Venice to spend time with during my travels.

I was staying at the Hotel Lorena which is within easy walking distance of the train station right off of Via Faenza. I stayed at the Hotel Lorena last year which was not too coincidentally 3 doors down from the Dublin pub. For those who know the place, the Dublin pub has excellent beer, descent food and is really good for people watching. Whenever I am in Florence I make a point of stopping into the pub if only to sample the excellent beer and just take in the atmosphere of Florence and her citizens.

The Hotel Lorena is a family run establishment (as most hotels in Italy are) and the family was glad to see me again when I got there. The father is a busy man but he remembered me right away as did his son Lorenzo and his sister Maria. Lorenzo's mom doesn't speak any English but I gave it a go and talked to her in Italian briefly. I started laughing when she was going to quick for me. My favorite phrase in Italian is "Parli piu' lentamente per favore" which means speak more slowly please! Maria took over talking at that point and we got caught up on what we'd been doing since I'd been to Florence last year. Turns out that Maria had been to Istanbul for the first time last fall and she told me that I need to go and see Istanbul for myself. I don't need too much prodding when it comes to seeing new cities so I have added it to my list.

I got to my room dropped off my stuff and immediately went out to see what was going on in Florence. It had been raining earlier that day but I quickly found that the streets of Florence were alive with people as always. I have a little bit of a ritual that I do when I come to Florence. It does not matter the time of year or what the weather is like. One of the first things I do is go and snag some gelato and there's only one place I go to. There is in Florence one gelateria that I was introduced to many years ago when traveling with Professor Delph. I don't recall if it was Delph, Chris or Jeremy that first discovered that place but it's the bomb. Friends of mine who've been there will no automatically where I'm talking about the Festival del Gelato. To find this amazing establishment all you have to do is get to the Piazza della Repubblica and then make your way down the Via del Corso. It's the second door on the right and you can't miss it because the name of the place is in neon lights! You can't possibly miss it because if you do well the loss is truly yours because the service and the gelato are top notch.

As usuall the place was busy as hell never mind the fact that it was probably 40 degrees outside. I got a healthy dose of gelato and wandered my way back to the piazza to see what was going on. You never know what you may find in the Piazza della Repubblica in Florence but this time I'd hit the jackpot. Playing in the square where three guys who were rocking it out to almost every kind of music imagineable. One guy was playing the violin, another guy was playing a cello and the other guy was rocking out on a guitar. They'd attracted quite a crowd so I found a place to sit, eat my gelato and just listen to their amazing music. I found out they called themselves "the Draculas" which I thought was totally cool. They were playing a lot of old standards (i.e. Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett) but they were also playing tunes by Elvis Costello. In short they just rocked! A couple of school kids were dancing to their music and one guy started clowing around next to the band pretending to sing while his friends took pictures. Totally awesome afternoon.

I wandered back towards my hotel but I stopped in the Piazza della Signoria just to see what might be happening. The square was full of people ( as always) so I made a pit stop and picked up a panino and a coke and sat in the Loggia dei Lanzi while I had my lunch. You know you've been to a city several times when you recognize the gypsies going from person to person looking for handouts. I responded with my typical "No grazie" and the lady moved on her way to try her luck on an unsuspecting tourist.

I looked at my watch and saw that I had enough time to get back to the hotel, change my clothes and go to see my friend David at the Galleria dell' Accademia. Now, when I say my friend David, I mean no other than Michelangleo's David which now rests inside the Accademia. The Accademia is often easier to get into than the Uffizi but I aimed to visit the Uffizi on Saturday. My mission for Friday was to spend quality time in the Accademia and pay my respect to David.

The Galleria dell' Accademia is easy to get to by foot but it just depends on which direction you are coming from. The Hotel Lorena is literally located directly behind the Medici chapels and San Lorenzo so what I do is I travel to Santa Maria del Fiore and then walk up the Via Ricasoli until I get to the Accademia. The Accademia is very close by the Piazza San Marco just in case you get lost. If you end up in the piazza then you can be sure that the Accademia is very close by.

When I got there I saw that there was a line outside and I got a little worried. My worries were unfounded because I only had to wait about 10 minutes and I was inside once more. Traveling by yourself is different from studying abroad or even just going with a few friends. Traveling solo you can take as much time to do whatever the hell you want. There is no rush and you simply have the time to really appreciate every facet of your experience while traveling. There's one thing I still do when out on the road and I keep a small note pad in my back pocket to write down my impressions of not just the art I'm viewing but my experiences in general.

It didn't take too long but I entered the room where the David is kept and it was absolutely silent. Nobody was talking even the tour guides were speaking to their groups quietly so I just took a seat once more in the galleria reveling in the moment.

Those who don't know the history behind Michelangelo's David may only know of the Biblical hero from the Old Testament. Michelangelo's David however means so much more especially to the Florentines. Michelangelo's David symbolises the civil liberties of the Florentine Republic that were constantly threatened by not just her powerful neighbors but by the Medici family who subverted the Florentine government under their rule for many years. The Florentines themselves never forgot their origins as their love of independence and liberty from all rulers would resurface which culminated in the explusion of the Medici three times. If you look at the statues placed in the Piazza della Signoria and especially the Loggia dei Lanzi you can witness that the statues are all in conflict with each other. Many of the older statues were designed during the time when Florence was a true republic and its citizens made all the decisions.

When the Medici came to power several statues were commissioned to demonstrate the ascendency of the Medici and their influence in the city. If the Medici had been able to they would have removed all of the former statues that served as continual reminders of republican liberty. The Medici did not however because to do so would have resulted in an uprising against the Medici that would have ended in violence. Tom Parks in his book entitled "Medici Money" writes about how the Florentines were aware of Medici influence had done to Florence. "The secret things of our town" was a phrase often used by Florentines who referred to the disparity between what how things were supposed to be done and how things were really done in the city under Medici rule. (Parks p. 138) Cosimo di Medici knew better than to rule out in the open but his heirs did not follow suit leading to many conflicts between the Medici and the resurgent republic until the Florentine Republic was finally destroyed and the Medici ruled the city until their family died out in 1737.


When I got back from the Accademia I was ravenously hungry so I stopped off at a random pizzeria over by Santa Maria del Fiore. I'd been there before but for the life of me I cannot recall the name of it. If you ever go traveling with me through Florence I promise to take you there however! I got two slices of pizza and a Coke for 5.50 euro which worked for me. The pizza slices were not the piddling slices you might get if you were picking up pizza from Little Caesars not at all...these slices of pizza were gigantic! I'd hit the jackpot as far as I was concerned that much I was sure of. I got my food and went to the steps of the Santa Maria del Fiore and devoured my repast in one sitting! It was awesome! I know that there are a lot of people who could not imagine traveling on their own but speaking only for myself I could not have been happier at that moment. Here I was in Florence sitting on the steps of one of the most amazing churches I've been to so far eating pizza with the sun shining on my face. It really can't get better than that!

I finished up my meal and decided to make my way back to my hotel to shower, put on some fresh clothes and think about what I was going to do with my evening. The options were endless but in my own mind I'd decided what I was going to do. I got back to the Hotel Lorena and got my key back from Lorenzo. I went up to my room and decided to utlize the shower. When I booked my room at the Hotel Lorena I'd decided to get a room without the shower in the room to save some cash. I figured why not? Sure, I read all those reviews from folks who were "unhappy" about those types of accomodations but my experience in Venice was good so I decided to do it again. After all I was on a budget. I was not surprised when I got into the bathroom that it was about the size of my dormitory bathroom when I was living up at Eastern Michigan. I used to live on EMU's campus back in the 90's and it's so funny to say that now! I lived in room 213 in Buell Hall whichh is right in the middle of EMU. Anybody from EMU who is reading this will know exactly where I lived. I liked the convenience of the dorms because I could get out of bed, go to class right across the way from Pray Harrold it was sweet!

The shower in Hotel Lorena was about the size of a phone booth so taking a shower was interesting to say the least. I could not imagine anybody taking a bath in one of those things! Just completely crazy! I got myself cleaned up, put some fresh clothes on and sat on the bed. My mind was already made up in advance of course. I put on my shoes, slinged my backpack over my shoulder and decided to head down to the Dublin Pub! The decision was an easy one because whenever I make my yearly pilgrimage to Florence I just have to go there. The Hotel Lorena is conveniently located three doors down so the possiblity of me NOT finding my way back from the pub is remote especially after I've gotten a few pints in me. =)

Friends of mine who have traveled with me might remember this young kid who was always outside running around in the street playing soccer. Well, I can tell you that this kid has gotten bigger since you've last seen him. I'd wager he's about 8 or 9 now and his athletic skills have grown by leaps and bounds! I was amazed. I've been coming to Florence since 2005 and I've seen this kid every year I've been there. I got to the Dublin Pub and ordered myself a pint of Killians. The guy behind the counter was new on the job and still trying to figure out the register. That was funny. I ordered a tall one because given this guys skills with the register I didn't know what would happen if he had to change the keg. That could pose a problem.

Beer in hand I made my way to a table and began to go through my pictures and start writing in my journal. It could just be me but my consumption of the Killians helped with my recalling the events of the day. I don't think I've ever been to the Dublin Pub when there wasn't a soccer game going on. The pub wasn't packed but there was a good crowd there so I decided to do some people watching as I wrote in my journal. The guy who was waiting on me was Italian but the young lady helping him was from the Czech Republic. She spoke English, Italian, and Czech. How awesome is that? I remember the first time I came here and the bartender was a Chinese girl probably in her late 20's. I remember talking to her at the time and she'd come to Florence on a whim, fell in love and just never looked back. I thought that was cool.

It wasn't too long before I saw a young woman come in off the street and order a beer. Not only did she order a beer but she got a Guiness and sat down at the table next to me. I'd already been writing in my journal for quite a bit. I watched and listened to see where this lady might be from. It wasn't too long before I found out she was American and visiting with her mom. I decided to go get another beer and introduce myself. Turns out that this young lady's name was Brooke and she was a flight attendant who had some time off in between assignments so she was traveling through Tuscany with her mother.

I figured Brooke was probably in her late 20's, blonde with blue eyes very intelligent and she could carry a conversation without a hitch! Not only that but she could put down a Guiness like a champ! That's always plus! But I digress. We sat together for the better part of the evening and talked about our various travels. I take a lot of pride in the fact I've been to a lot of really amazing places but one place I haven't gone to yet is South America. Brooke had spent time in Rio and I've been told more than once but lots of folks that I have to go there. Needless to say it's now on my map of places to go.

Brooke had never been to Florence so I was able to help her out with ideas and suggestions about what to do and where to go. Brooke's mother was sick so she stayed in the hotel while Brooke went out to the pub. They had plans to go to the Uffizi the next day which is a must especially if you've never been to Florence before. I filled Brooke in on how to get to the Ponte Vecchio, the Branacci Chapel, the Piazza della Michelangelo and San Minalto along with Santa Croce and San Lorenzo. They'd already been to the Accademia but hadn't gone to San Marco so I told her if there was time she should try to go. Likewise, I told her to climb to the top of Santa Maria del Fiore. I've only done it once and I regret I didn't have enough time to do it on this visit but that's okay because I know that I will be back. I love Florence but Venice has laid equal claim to my heart and I plan on spending a fair bit of my time in each of these amazing cities in the years to come.

As always the best trips are where you have no set plans, no destination in mind and nobody specific to meet anyone in particular. It's in those moments you will cross paths with some of the most interesting people from all across the world and this night was testament to that. Brooke and I parted ways and I went back to my hotel extremely content and looking forward to a good nights sleep. Tomorrow I had plans to get up and meet my friend Giovanni as I continued my adventures in Florence.

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Photos

Piazza della Repubblica
the Dracula's playing in the square

Loggia dei Lanzi
Rape of the Sabine Women

Comments

[Sayak's Travel Guide]

http://sayakstravelguide.blogspot.com/2010/04/mini-vacation-ideas-to-italy_07.html
Italian civilization is one of the oldest civilizations of the world. Ancient or classical Italy has a rich history of art and culture. It's one of the exotic location everyone like to visit.

[sctis1koolguy]

You speak the truth! I usually go to Italy at least once a year but I'm hoping to go back again this year perhaps in the fall. Time will tell.