A Wrong Turn, A New Perspective

I had caught the wrong bus. Florence train station starts off so promisingly, a simple row of tracks leading to one exit. It is here where the simplicity decides to turn back and lose itself in the left luggage facilities. Having traversed the sprawling, cheerful mass of Italian charm a few times before – this was my third day in the city – I was becoming a little too confident about the geography of central Florence. Imagine my surprise when I sauntered onto the bus, paid my fare and promptly began moving in the exact opposite direction to the one desired.

I left the centre. Maybe there was a different way around? I left Florence. There was probably not another way around. The bus spluttered ever further up a lush countryside incline, slowly arcing back towards the city and more importantly, as the sun began to lie on the horizon, my hostel. The suspicious lack of bus stops suggested an interesting terminus, so I waited. And waited. I was glad I did.

The sun was shimmering in its final throes of life as the bus came to a halt on the soft Tuscan hillside. As I stepped off the bus with a distracted “grazie” – the driver, as usual, didn’t notice – I was greeted by the most outrageously beautiful view I have been blessed to experience. Overseen by a bronze replica of David, I stood dazed on the edge of Piazzale Michelangelo, drinking in the warmth and sheer vitality of a city transformed from above. Gone were the labyrinthine streets, the imposing Campanile, the curious miscellany of the Ponte Vecchio. In their place, a sea of terracotta, waves shimmering in the low heat, separated only by a streak of emerald water. This was the closest I have come to true beauty in my young life, and I yearned for someone to share it with. Unfortunately, I had actually caught the bus with my friend Tom, and so after a moment of quiet contemplation, we coughed, shook hands, remarked, “Nice, isn’t it?” and reluctantly took the correct bus back to the real world, as dusk began to settle on the rolling hills above us.