Florence!! A stunning city with lots going for it, but it just wasn’t really my vibe. As a disclaimer, I will say that I was sick the entire time I was here, so perhaps that skewed my perception. But because of my lack of enthusiasm for the city, expect a shorter post than normal.
On my way to Florence from La Spezia/Cinque Terre I stopped by Pisa, in all honesty, just to see the leaning tower of Pisa. It was cool. It leans a lot more in person than it looks in photos. From there I met up with a friend (hey Izzy) and we made our way to Florence.
We started strong, wandering around the city, visiting well known attractions like the Duomo/Cathedral, the Arno River and its many bridges, many Plazas (squares). But in the afternoons, the city got so busy, the streets became packed with tourists, combine this with 35 degree weather, and being sick, it just wasn’t the best time. Florence is obviously well regarded for its museums and art galleries, but we all know they’re not really my thing. I don’t have the patience and appreciation to truly enjoy them. However, we did visit the Leonardo Da Vinci museum which provided a fun hour or two. It highlighted all his scientific concepts in interactive ways – the man truly was a genius. So that was well worth it.
I had my first overseas pharmacy experience here in Florence. After days of having a severe hacking cough, that not only kept me up all night, every night but likely all my dorm mates too, I decided to go buy some cough medicine. Cough syrup is an over the counter medication in Italy, so I had to go and explain to an Italian pharmacist that I had a cough and needed something to ease it. Thankfully this man’s English was pretty decent. I was halfway across Florence at this point, taking a walk, so I sat down on some stairs in an alley to take my first dose of cough syrup. I don’t think I could have looked any dodgier.
The highlight of Florence for me was watching the sunset at Piazza Michelangelo. It is a well known viewpoint, that overlooks the city, and in the evenings many people gather here to enjoy the sun setting with a bottle of wine and some pizza. Here we saw two seperate couples getting married at nearby venues. A downfall of this sunset viewpoint though is just how busy it gets, it packs out, and you have to be there well before the actual sunset to even get a spot. I’m not used to this, at home (in New Zealand) you just turn up to the beach, and half the time there won’t even be any one else there.
Anyway, that’s pretty much all I have to say on Florence. The architecture of the city is beautiful, and if you’re into art and history then this is the place for you. But admission to the museums and galleries is expensive, be warned. I did have some really good food here, pasta and pizza mainly of course. I wanted to try the Florentine steak, but it was really expensive everywhere we went so I skipped it. Florence was nice, not my favourite stop so far, but that’s not to say there’s nothing to do or it’s no fun!!
~ Nikita’s Nomadic Notes
Nikita’s Nomadic Notes 