First few days in Florence

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Buonasera! I have been lucky enough to explore Florence for three days and although there is still so much to see I’m in love with what I have seen so far.



The first day I spent in Italy was amazing despite the terrible jet lag, almost missing our flight from Paris to Florence, and several girls losing their luggage. We landed in Italy in the afternoon and my roommates and I were taken to our apartment which is only a couple of blocks from the Piazza della Repubblica. We all rested from the long journey then headed to a wonderful welcome dinner with multiple courses of popular Italian dishes and a bottle of red wine. We had bruschetta with fresh tomatoes and delicious cheese for the first course as well as chicken liver (pate) which I soon decided was not for me. Followed by gnocchi with tomato sauce and another pasta dish then a variety of pastries for dessert which were all delicious.




I was much more rested for the second day which started out with a mini walking tour around the city during which we got see the school where we will be taking classes for the next two and half weeks. We also saw some of the cities major attractions such as the mercato di san lorenzo, cattedrale di santa Maria, and cappelle Medicee. My roommates and I had a nice lunch at a restaurant in the piazza della Repubblica. We found a grocery store nearby and loaded up on snacks for the week before catching the end of the epiphany parade near the duomo. The parade was slightly underwhelming from what i was expecting although it was still very interesting to see the beautiful costumes and learn about the meaning of the event. Because it was epiphany the city was so crowd which made it difficult to explore. I went shopping at few different stores however I could not spend more than a few minutes in any of them without feeling claustrophobic and being physically pushed out of the way. However the night ended well with an aperitivo (a small buffet with a drink) at a local restaurant.




Third day had several high and low points for me. The day started out with us getting lost on our way to meet the rest of the group at the pitti palace thanks to the unreliable google maps app i download however we were able to eventually navigate our way to the place on time using a paper map. We then trecked up the mountain to see an amazing view of the city at the piazzale Michelangelo. We all then decided we would see the leaning tower of pisa which required a longer than expected train ride. The tower its self was extraordinary to see and made for some great pictures however the restaurant we choose to eat at nearby was a huge mistake. After receiving the bill we realize there was a cover charge and a serve charge on top of the price of our food which made it about 18 eros a person. Most places usually have one or the other but not both included on the bill with your meal. This was heartbreaking for me because I love food with a passion and this was my most expensive meal so far and I did not enjoy the pizza I order at all. I decided to try something a little different so I got a gorgonzola cheese pizza with mushrooms which did not make a good combo. The day then ended with a big cup of geloto which was delicious but very expensive.




Overall I have had a great time which I’m sure will only get better once I learn a little more Italian, am able to better navigate through the city and figure out where the cheap but great food is.







My steps for the first three day in italy:

January 5th- 7,065 (half day of traveling)

January 6th - 17,113 (walking tour)

January 7th- 18,352 (going to pisa)

Total- 42,530 steps

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