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Published: September 16th 2011
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Yes, yes I am well aware that I have not posted in over a week. I cannot begin to say how busy these last 10 days have been. Well...here's an attempt.
I don't know if any of you have even a vague idea of what life is like in Florence, but it's an absolute conundrum. The culture is so laid back (ex. I have yet to begin anything with an Italian that has actually started at the pre-determined start time. Usually we start about 15-20 minutes late.), and yet it is so fast-paced. The traffic is a direct example of this. Mopeds, cars, pedestrians, and bicycles are EVERYWHERE and all are moving to their own speed which spurs on a lot of swerving and honks from others traveling even a little too slowly. It makes all traffic on these narrow and packed streets quite interesting. After only being here for about two hours, my roommates and I watched an old man on a moped get hit by a polizia car. Yup. Insanity. However, if you're smart about it, you'll live. Fingers crossed.
Getting to know Florence takes a lot of walking. A LOT of walking. I sincerely love it,
but holy cannoli does it get hot. Anyway, I have been wandering around for almost 2 weeks now and have yet to understand the exact layout of the city. Regardless, I can find most of what I want quite easily. I have figured out the main(ish) roads that take you right through some serious hot spots.
On the second night, a group of us decided to walk to the Ponte Vecchio. While Florence is stunning by day, I absolutely love walking about in the evening. Everything is lit and buzzing and people have let their hair down a bit. On the way to the Ponte Vecchio, we passed by the Duomo (if ever a person could be in love with a building, this is the Brad Pitt of buildings) and standing near the steps was a woman singing opera. Her voice filled the whole space and reverberated off the high walls of the piazza. Honestly, it was a bit of a movie moment. I had some severe goosebumps. I was wandering once of the most beautiful and historical cities in the world, walking by one of the beautiful buildings ever constructed, listening to a woman sing opera as I
walked to one of the most famous bridges in the world. And I live here. How exactly does one wrap their head around that? Seeing these places was an excellent start to my stay in this gorgeous part of the world.
After I didn't think things could get any more overwhelming, a large group of us met up at the Ponte alle Grazie on the Arno and decided to make the trek up to San Miniato al Monte and the Piazzale Michelangelo. In order to get there, you can either take a bus or walk. Of course, we walked.
It was honestly one of the most horribly gratifying experiences of my life. The weather was hot (SHOCK!) and we were already warm from running around all day so standing at the bottom of an enormous hill covered in stairs was a tad daunting. I don't think I've ever sweat so much in my life as I did walking up those stairs. They just kept on going and in a very weird way I loved the obstacle. Getting to the top was hard, but once you got there it was ENTIRELY worth it. At the top of the hill
is an exceptionally well-placed stand that sells water, gatorade, and the like. They charge an arm and a leg, but holy cannoli I bet they make a lot of money anyway. About half the group stopped for something. We headed off to the left and arrived at Piazzale Michelangelo.
It is honestly one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. It overlooks Florence and the surrounding hills of Tuscany in a broad, panoramic view. You can pick out the many historic buildings and places in Florence easily from there. We spent quite a chunk of time wandering the courtyard, staring off around the beautiful place that was now our home for 4 months. After many pictures were taken, we decided to head even further up the hill to San Miniato al Monte.
The church sits atop the hill and overlooks Piazzale Michelangelo and the rest of Florence. If you time your journey right, you can catch sunset from the top of the hill. Unfortunately, it was a little too cloudy to see the sun when we went, but the surrounding rays and coloring were still a sight to behold. Surrounding the church are hundreds and hundreds
of graves in one of the most beautiful cemetaries I've ever seen. Apparently there are a variety of famous and notable people buried there, but we were unable to really take a look. Also, if you are there at 5:30 pm, the monks from the cathedral sing and it is apparently something you should try not to miss. Of course, we missed it, but only by a hair. I am not so terribly upset by this as I fully intend on making many a journey back up to San Miniato.
Wandering around the church courtyard and seeing the surrounding cemetary and landscape was a humbling and eye-opening experience. Words can't really describe how I felt looking at all of the stunningly carved gravestones decaying in their age and sitting atop a hill with one of the most beautiful views you could ask for. I felt small and yet content. I appreciated what was around me in a way that grabbed my heart and squeezed so as not to let me forget.
The most unforgettable thing about visiting San Miniato for me was surprisingly not anything we intentionally went there to see. After a wedding had finished in the
church, we were able to go inside. Absolutely every square inch was beautiful. The entire floor was etched (with what I do not know), the walls were high and detailed, and the columns, stairs, and railings were so detailed that I could not help but stare in wonderment. As I silently wandered and tried to take in as much as I could, I reached the top of the stairs and to my left was a man. He was young (probably in his early thirties) and held the tiny hand of his toddler. The girl was absolutely adorable and exciting to watch. She was fascinated and completely engrossed in all that she could see around her. Her father just held her hand and followed as she stared around and occasionally, when she seemed particularly intrigued by something, he would kneel down and explain to her what it was she was looking at. He would lift her up so she could look at the carvings on the bottoms of the balcony or to feel the texture of a design on a column. He kept up a constant commentary and let her explore the beautiful place around her. She was completely involved and
connected. It was so fulfilling to get to witness such beautiful bonding moments between a father and his daughter. Indescribably great.
What goes up, must come down. No magical fairies showed up to magick us down the hill into our apartments, much to our dismay. Content and exhausted, we staggered back down the freaking MOUNTAIN :D. The sun was officially down so we got to walk the streets in darkness with only streetlamps and light spilling from the still-open eateries to guide us. To cap off the evening, we got to cross back over the Arno and see the Ponte Vecchio in all of its glory. Absolutely mind-boggling.
Alrighty, Roo! Tune in next week (or whenever I can find a gap in this craziness) for the trips to Giogalto, Poppi, and possibly Greve in Chianti. We'll see how long that posting gets... Ciao Ciao!
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