Thursday 9/08 11:30pm Florence, Italia
The past two days have been very exhausting. I caught a train to Florence on Wednesday morning and got to Florence around 2pm. The hostel was only a few minutes from the train station, so I was thankful to get checked in quickly and be able to relax for a bit... but my idea of relaxed was sitting for about 30 minutes and then heading out to see the Duomo. I've gotten in a habit of spending the first afternoon in a city getting used to my surrroundings, and so far it has helped out a lot. Of course, I ended up taking a detour through the Leather markets, which are well-known in Florence. It is amazing how much stuff they have and how inexpensive it is. Then I walked around the Duomo square, and after about 2 hours, I decided to call it a day and head back to the hostel. I ended up spending about an hour talking to Mom and Dad about Texas A&M's move to the SEC and why Baylor is being whiny about it, which was probably the most exciting thing about my day.
This morning I woke up and headed out to meet my tour group. Breakfast here is free and really nice so I was thankful I didn't have to wander the streets looking for something decent to eat. The pastry shops all look amazing, but in the mornings, I'm just not in the mood for all the sweets they offer. At 945am, I got to the plaza where I was supposed to meet my tour group and waited... and waited. By 10am, I was really worried because I know I should have seen them at that point. In Venice, the group was huge and it would have been hard to miss them. As I was walking around, these three people kept looking at me, so eventually I walked over to talk to them to see if they could help me. Turns out, it was my tour group... which consisted of the tour guide and one other couple. People definitely play twice as much for groups that size, but we pretty much got a private tour of Florence. It was a really great tour and I learned a lot about the Medici family and all the artists that came through Florence. Florence was the birth place of the Renissance, so the history about it is amazing. The tour was three hours long, and we walked all over central Florence and then to the Academia, which is home to the statue of David by Michelangelo. The couple with me were from Baltimore and were really friendly, and so it was fun sharing a "private" tour with them. And I think the tour guide was a little more relaxed and we had a better chance to ask questions. All around great.
After the tour, my feet were hurting a little, so I came back to the hostel to pass out a little. For lunch, I stopped at an take-away italian place and got some pasta, tomatoes, and eggplant. Let me just say, the eggplant was the best thing I've ever eaten. I mean, Dad's is good and all, but this was juuuust greeeeat. Usually on trips, I like to eat some fruits and veggies everyday, but it seems it's just easier in italy to do so because so many places have things like eggplant or fresh fruit cups for sale.
I passed out for awhile, and I woke up when my new roommate came in. He's from New York and I talked to him for awhile. He's like 29 and decided to quit his job and travel because he hated what he was doing so much. I mean, you hear about people doing it, but he was the first person I met that has actually quit his job to travel. He seems to have his life completely together though and has a plan for when he is getting back. My other two roommates also showed up and they are two girls from Brazil. Actually, I'm the youngest as everyone in my room is like 30 lol. They are both lawyers and really friendly and hilarious. It's the first time I've had fun with my hostel roommates, so I'm glad about that.
After that, I decided to go out a little longer, so I got my map and headed out. I went to the church where Michelangelo is buried, and while I didn't go inside, I saw the outside and looked at the courtyard, which is really nice. Then I walked to see the National Library and took some pictures of the Arno River and the hills on the otherside. Then, coming back, I detoured through the Leather Market and bought my faaaavorite souviner.... a leather purse. Now, I know what you are thinking, and it is pretty much like all the other purses I own since I'm more of a crossbody purse person, but I like it because it's simple and it smells nice lol. And I like this whole getting one thing in each city I love. And since after this, I only have Rome in November, I don't need to worry about collecting TOO many things.
I ate dinner at the hostel for 3 euros plus I bought a diet coke, so 4 euros total, which is cheap for dinner. Then, I had fun talking with my roommates for awhile. My tour guide had mentioned a few times that this was actually a holiday in Florence so tonight, from 8pm to 11pm, the baptistry by the Duomo would have it's Gates to Paradise open so the public could look inside the baptistry. We all decided to go and when we showed up, not only were the Gates to Paradise open (it's these beautifully designed doors painted with gold), but the Duomo's main doors were open and they were letting everyone in. Earlier today, the line to the Duomo was about an hour and so we were all so excited to be able to get in without waiting at all. And the Duomo had someone playing the organ, so not only could we go inside and walk around, but we got to hear the pipe-organ echo through the giant dome. It was pretty cool and was so worth it because tomorrow, I now won't have to wait in line to get inside the Duomo. Stephanie and my tour guide FTW!!
Now I'm sitting in my hostel's laundry room doing some laundry. It's the first hostel that has had one, so I'm glad I have a chance to have all clean clothes. Tomorrow, I'm going to the Uffizi Gallery at 9am and meeting up with Kathryn in the afternoon! should be fun!!
