Firenze!

Firenze (Florence) was our first real stop in Italy, and it has been a wonderful start to our time here. It’s a fast, bustling city with Vespas zipping past you at every turn. I was expecting this from Rome, but from what I remembered of Florence was a much quieter and low key city. Quiet this city is not, but it is packed with history, art, and architecture, like any Italian city. We picked the best first week to be in Italy. Last April 16 marked the beginning of Italy’s Settimana Cultura, Culture Week. This granted free admission to all of the national parks, museums, and historical sights that would otherwise cost a pretty penny. Although this meant that every place we went was flooded with school classes taking advantage of the learning opportunity (a.k.a. kids goofing off in museums), the free admission to some of Italy’s best sights can’t be beat. The last time I visited Italy was in 2000 with the Notre Dame Prep High School summer trip, and so far everything is just as grand and as inspiring as I remember it being a decade ago. My top 5 favorite sights on this last trip to Florence are as follows:

1.) Il Duomo of course! The contrast of the white and green marble is aesthetically unique in its detail. Our hostel was pretty close to the Duomo so we got to sit at length on the marble steps and marvel at the atmosphere.

2.) Ponte Vecchio, the old bridge crossing the Fiume Arno. The bridges have always been a highlight of Florence, but the Ponte Vecchio is the only lasting original bridge in the city central area that was not destroyed during World War II. Now it houses jewelry and artisan shops.

3.) The David. There are a few replicas of Michelangelo’s statue of David, one of which is in the Piazza della Signoria right outside the Palazzo Vecchio (pictured below), but the original is housed in the ­­­­Galleria dell’Accademica. There are no photographs allowed of the actual David.

4.) Piazzalo Michelangelo. If you take a bit of a trek up to the Piazzalo Michelangelo you will find the best view of the city. We took up a bottle of Chianti and sat on the steps watching the sunset.

5.) Palazzo Piti. This is one of the major palaces of the Medici family. The various rooms were impressive with their murals, paintings, and tapestries, but the gardens were really the main attraction. There was also a great view of the city from this area as well.

My only disappointment came from hearing so much English speaking everywhere we went. We sat with two American students for lunch one day, and they both agreed that they rarely spoke Italian as all their friends spoke English. It's too bad as we're trying to learn as much Italian as possible, but difficult to speak it to people and actually have a conversation. Even so, we're learning little by little.

Our hostel was one of the best we’ve stayed in yet. It’s called the Hostel Archi Rossi is located down a narrow street that gives way to many of Florence’s feature sights, the closest of which is Piazza di Santa Maria Novella, right near the train station. The best part of this hostel is the free (or included) breakfast, tours, and wireless internet. The tours made all the difference. I’m not usually one for tours, but it was so helpful and informative to have a local show us around. The way they had it set up was so that one day you would tour one side of the river and the next day the other, it was great! I learned so much. My only very small complaint was just in reference to the décor of the hostel. There are paintings all over the walls as you walk in, and a beautiful porch with an awning covered in lilacs, but in the halls leading to the rooms, the hostel lets people write things all over the walls. It sounds interesting and unique, but felt more like one big , long bathroom stall with phrases like “Argentina rules mucho!” and “Resist the corporate brain wash.” It was funny to read everything, but for me, it ruined the charm that the hostel had going for it. Graffiti aside, it was a great place to stay at a nominal price especially during the low season, however even now, it books fast!

We would love to be couchsurfing right now, but have had a lot of trouble finding hosts in Italy. Especially in the bigger cities, it’s my inclination that they get requests all of the time (everybody wants to stay in Italy). Hopefully we find some people to stay with in future cities we visit, because I forgot how expensive Europe is! Next up: Roma! But first, I had to do a whole separate posting on food (of course).