Up Up and Firenze

"Hey, do you want to go to Florence this weekend?"

"Yeah, definitely!"

Two cheap train tickets and a hostel later, I found myself getting ready to go to Florence. My friend, Caitlin, had found some great deals so we took advantage of the Saturday and Sunday (March 23-24) before our midterms to take a quick trip to Florence. The greatest thing about this trip is that it was all planned within a week- that's the beauty about traveling throughout Italy.

We woke up early Saturday morning (6am!! Ahh!!!) to catch our 7:30am train.  Since the regional train is the cheapest train, the journey was about three hours. I took a nap on the train, of course, and next thing I knew we were in Florence!

The thing I noticed right off the bat about the city is how English it is- more so than Rome, which isn't what you'd expect. Perhaps the reason is because Florence is so much smaller than Rome so the American people are more concentrated rather than spread out through the city; or perhaps because the city is a popular destination for college students to study abroad.

Not much of a view, but balconies are always fun.

Caitlin and I checked into our hostel after leaving the train station. The hostel was just a short walk away from the station and was incredibly adorable. The staff was so nice and helpful. Our room also had a balcony!

Now I didn't know a lot about Florence (the Duomo! the David! Jersey Shore filmed season 4 there!), so I did a little research when I wasn't napping on the train of things to do and see. I had been a little nervous about having enough time to do everything in the little over 24 hours we'd be in the city. Caitlin and I agreed the three major things we wanted to do were climb the Duomo, see the David, and go to the famous bridge, Ponte Vecchio. Other than that, we'd wander the city and see what we could find.

Shortly after departing our hostel, I soon realized seeing everything wouldn't be a problem. Florence was so small! I guess it makes sense because Rome is gigantic, so I'm used to that. Honestly, once you knew where the Duomo was in Florence, you could orient yourself around the city easily.

The first thing we saw was the Santa Maria Novella. The architecture in this city was so incredible. After gawking at the beautiful building for a few minutes, Caitlin and I continued our quest to the duomo. As we rounded a corner we came upon the front of the Santa Maria del Fiore. The basilica is better known as the Duomo. I thought the Santa Maria Novella was incredible, but the architecture and details on the Duomo were absolutely astounding. I made the comment to Caitlin that I would be content pulling up a beach chair and just staring at the building.

Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore and Giotto's Campanile

After grabbing lunch (some delicious lasagna), Caitlin and I got in line to climb to the top of the dome. This was definitely the top thing I wanted to do, so the hour wait was totally worth it. It would have been shorter too, but of course the guy cut off the group right when I got to the front of the line. Just a few minutes more though, and we began the ascension! To get to the stop we had to climb 463 steps. No sweat for me, as I recalled climbing to the very top of St. Paul's Cathedral three years earlier during my senior trip to London.

So. Steep.

Let me tell you guys though, these stairs were still ridiculous. You start with just normal rectangular steps, going up in a square fashion. Then you move onto the stone spiral steps. The trick to getting up these small steps is turning your body in towards the center and kind of grapevining up the stairs. As we were getting closer to the top, we had to climb arched steps. This was basically like you were climbing to arch of the dome itself. The Benet Suicide stairs (may they rest in peace) had nothing on these bad boys.

 The frustrating part of these stairs is that from about halfway up to the top, the stairs going up were the stairs coming down. I was totally not expecting this since St. Paul's had a completely different system. So we would be climbing up some tight staircase and a family of four decides to come down although we're already halfway up the stairs. Umm... excuse me? Where have people's manners gone? Oh well, the ascent continued.

When we finally reached the top I was absolutely amazed by the view. If the season fall could be captured in a city, it would be Florence. Red and yellow were spread all across the city with the occasional peak of white from a basilica or bell tower. The mountains in the distance added a touch of green. I took a minute to soak it all in. Sometimes I still can't get over how lucky I am to be abroad and to see all these amazing places. With reflection time over, I whipped out my camera.

Panoramic #1

Panoramic #2

The 463 steps were totally worth it. This view was absolutely breathtaking. I could mention, as I'm sure you can see, that it wasn't really sunny, but honestly there's no way I can complain about this incredible experience.

Cheese :)

After the descent of the Duomo, Caitlin and I decided to check out the inside of the Basilica. I was very surprised at how simple and basic the interior was, considering the exterior was so decadent and grand.

Inside Santa Maria del Fiore

NBD, I just climbed you.

Our next stop was the Accademia Gallery to see Michelangelo's David. Another line to wait in and again we got cut off right when we got to the front. Finally we entered the museum and started in a room with some paintings. Cool stuff, but where's David? We walked down the hall and took a turn and I gasped.

Now for those of you who don't know, David is a Biblical figure. Probably his most well known story is that of "David and Goliath." Basically David was this little guy who faces Goliath, a giant, with nothing but a few stones. He kills the giant with a tiny stone where stronger men failed with a sword and armor. As I turned the corner and saw Michelangelo's statue, I was blown away. This time, David was the giant. The statue stands 17 feet tall, and I don't think that even includes the pedestal he stands on as well. The details in every aspect were amazing. I could have stared at this for hours. The fact that Michelangelo carved this out of stone is perplexing. Pictures aren't allowed of this original statue, but do you really think that's going to stop me? I'm a rebel.

The first view.

From the side.

We explored the rest of the museum, but the David was obviously the highlight. After leaving the museum, we headed back to the hostel to take a quick power nap and freshen up for dinner. On the way to dinner our route took us past the Ponte Vecchio so we took some cute night pictures.

It's the most photographed bridge in Florence!

The next day we had no real agenda, so we walked up and down the main roads and did a little shopping. I got some new shoes because the pair of boots I brought from home were destroyed by the Roman roads. Caitlin and I got lunch from a sandwich place. The funny thing about this place is that it is the #1 attraction site according to a travel app I have. Can you imagine?
"Hey, what did you do in Florence? Climb the Duomo? See the David? Go to Piazza Michelangelo?"
"Yeah, sure sure, whatever, but I got a sandwich at ALL'ANTICO VINAIO!!!!"
 I mean, it was a good sandwich...

Worth the #1 spot?

While I've heard from many people that Florence was their favorite city in Italy, I respectfully disagree. I'm a Roman girl. I much prefer the big city, and if you know me that shouldn't surprise you (*cough NYC cough*).  It was a great place to visit, and I would love to go back again one day.