firenze frenzy
Il Duomo di Firenze
Ponte Vecchio
Tina
Ilaria
Nolwenn
Parco Delle Cascine
Piazzale Michelangelo sunset views
Nolwenn
Tina
Galleria dell’Accademia
Michelangelo's David
DAY ONE
I honestly don’t know how I got so lucky making a friend like Luisa, she really really helped me in so many ways including arranging a stay for me at her friend Andrea’s place in Signa, a small town just outside of Firenze. After parting ways with the gang from Pisa I was received at the Signa station by Andrea and fully realized after collapsing onto the extra-comfy queen bed that I had TOTES been living in a tent for five weeks prior. Andrea was an excellent host and offers his place on Airbnb. We had a delicious dinner at his mother and sister’s house and then went for gelato at Gelateria La Torre in Artimino where I tried papaya, grapefruit, and blackberry flavors for the first time.
DAY TWO
After being in Firenze for all of ten minutes, I found out that my old friend and teammate from college, Tina, was also there. I was so happy to have our paths cross on our separate solo journeys, especially so soon after I’d had such a great time with Chris. Nolwenn and I met Tina and her new friend Ilaria at the Mercato Centrale in Firenze on my first full day after enjoying some delicious pizza and gelato from the second floor. The Mercato Centrale is pretty pricy and touristy but is so much fun, the bottom floor has fresh produce of all kinds, the middle floor has all kinds of food and beverage options as well as quality goods and a cooking school, the top floor has a full restaurant, and the outside of the market is surrounded by an outdoor market where you can haggle for leather goods. I ran into Lore from my train ride to Cinque Terre at the market and he offered his couch for Nolwenn to sleep on because she wasn’t having any luck with Couchsurfing (not an easy accommodation route to take in Italy FYI). We went to the park near the Fortezza da Basso to relax for a bit and then made our way to visit Lore at Il Giardino dell’Orticultura where he works at the cute little outdoor bar.
DAY THREE
Tina and I kept joking that “Florence was not my Friend” because I had some major difficulties getting lost, missing trains, getting questioned by the Carabinieri, having to trade my Pop Vision fisheye lens for train money, etc. I exercised a bit of retail therapy and got my leather goods fix at Michelangelo after reading up about reputable leather stores and walked away with exactly what I wanted: a hassle-free experience and quality leather pieces. After shopping the girls and I visited Parco Delle Cascine, easily the largest in Firenze, to gab and grub; the little stand in the section of park we were in was actually churning out some really great food, my veggie sandwich was surprisingly scrumptious! We ended the evening by visiting the Piazzale Michelangelo for sunset viewing, the colors and light were incredible.
DAY FOUR
After a morning of failure, I finally found my way to the Galleria dell’Accademia three hours later than intended to peep at David for free (my favorite price). Befriending locals always has its perks! The larger than life portrait is truly an impressive feat, the detail in every vein, hair curl, and section of eight pack is unbelievable. In the evening, Tina joined me at Andrea’s for a homemade seafood feast consisting of seafood pasta, octopus and potatoes, steamed mussels and clams, and well-paired white wine. Nothing beats good food and good company!
DAY FIVE
I spent my last full day in Firenze just relaxing at the house editing photos and then went with Andrea and his friends for aperitivo and gelato. I am so grateful for Andrea’s hospitality, it was great to have a nice place to come back to every day, to be shown around, and to get to know him and his family, grazie mille!
