I saw that saying on a sign on my first day in Florence, I thought it was pretty cool.
So, Florence is basically rad. I got the super speedy train here from Venice which only took two hours - I was checked into my hostel and ready to explore by 3pm. Wooo!
I didn't really know that much about what to see in Florence, so I spent my first afternoon just walking around going "Oooh that's cool...I dunno what it is...Oh look at that! I wonder what it is..." (The next day I took my guidebook with me!) I climbed up to Piazzale Michaelangelo, which is by far my favourite place here. It's a fair hike to get up there, but luckily, as I've been climbing so many towers, it wasn't too much of a struggle. From the piazza you get an amazing view of the city, you can see absolutely everything! And it's even prettier at night...I cannot be bothered to put up photos right now though, sorry!
The other day my Mum pointed out to me that there wont be anything for me to climb in Canberra when I get back...I was sad. Anyone keen for a group hike up Black Mountain? :)
When I got to my hostel the receptionist informed me that it was free museum weekend in Italy, so if I wanted to go to the Uffizi Gallery or The Accademia I didn't have to pay. I felt really bad about this because my gorgeous mother had bought me tickets online so that I didn't have to queue - I am SO glad she did! I queued for about 15 minutes at the two galleries - one of the girls in my room queued for 3 hours at both! Crazy! And it wasn't just because they were free, I walked past The Accademia this morning and it was just as bad! I'm not a big fan of Renaissance art, but I really enjoyed both places. Michaelangelo's David is very cool...there are in fact three David's in Florence - the original in The Accademia, a copy outside of Uffizi and a bronze version in Piazzale Michaelangelo - I have seen them all. I thought his hands and feet were a bit silly though, why are they SO big? The only thing I didn't like about Uffizi were the human statues outside...there was an old, fat man dressed as Cupid sending kisses this way and that...SO CREEPY!
Yesterday I went on a wine tour of the Chianti region, it was swell! The tour was called 'Chiantipsi' which I thought was really cute. We went to an adorable little vineyard and got to stroll around then taste some wine and eat extra virgin olive oil on nummy, nummy bread. Then we went into Greve, the capital of the region, and went to the biggest wine shop. Here we tried a delicious Italian desert wine - my friend described it as 'Christmas in a glass', it was so good! We also tried truffle oil on bread, it was tasty too. After this we went to a big old villa and got a lovely lunch and more wine. Also, our guide for the day, Irene, was possibly the coolest person I have ever met. She was so full of energy and talked non-stop. She was hilarious because she'd tell us these stories/myths and then say "It sounds like bullshit to me, but you can make up your own mind." - rad.
My hostel here is one of the best I've stayed in. It's called Plus Florence and I am staying on the floor called Plus Girls. The walls and curtains are bright pink, which is a bit sickly, but the rooms are so good! They give you towels and hairdryers and straighteners and a little toiletries pack and there are no snoring boys! It's pretty luxurious. There's also a restaurant, bar and nightclub downstairs and a rooftop terrace.
I spent my last day doing basically...it was all gloomy outside and I didn't really feel like getting rained on...so I did a mountain of laundry instead. I have come to love the hours I spend doing laundry :)
I am now in beautiful Roma and am going to explore and find some biscotto gelato! Sorry for the lack of pics, I'll put them up another day!
LOVE! <3 Courts
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