Friday Morning, Hour 1: We were planning on getting the 8:43am slow train out of Rome to Florence that costs only 16 euros. We arrived at the train station at 8:45. Our friends, Matt and John, who had already purchased tickets online got there even later. The next slow train wasn't for another few hours but for 45 euros we could take the fast train there that left at 9:45am. I went and checked out other fares and schedules while they got their first McDonalds fix since arriving here (I hate that place). By the time I got back and told them about the 9:45 train it was probably 9:25. We all quick dashed over to the ticket machines. It's 9:30 and John, the last person, had just bought his ticket. 15 minutes to get to the platform, we'll be fine. Nope. The machine errors and doesn't print his ticket. Quickly we find an attendant that speaks English and explain the situation and they take him back to another area to resolve the problem. Finally, 5 minutes later he emerges with a ticket and we're set to go get on the train. Nope. Matt dropped his ticket and we can't find it anywhere on the ground. Dash back to the ticket machines. He buys a new one (for all those counting at home this is his third ticket including the online ticket for the train we missed) and we're finally set to go. It's 9:41. Search the display boards, find out platform and run there. We get on the train at 9:43. As soon as we sit down the doors close and the train starts moving. What a start.
Hour 4: We arrive in downtown at the Florence S.M.N. station and start heading in to find the hostel we had a deposit at. After getting sidetracked by the huge Duomo we found the area we needed to be in but could not find the hostel despite about an hour of searching. Not wanting to waste anymore daylight we ended up going to the next one we found and dumping our stuff off there. After having lunch at a really great pizzeria we started our sightseeing adventures.Hour 6: 14:00: I split off from the group for a bit to go return a leather jacket I had bought earlier by the train station. The zipper had already broke off of it, but after being able to negotiate the price down 25% down I should have expected that. For some reason they just gave me a new one though, whatever, I'll take it.
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| Scarfed up with Galileo - Star Gazing |
Kind of a big deal. Okay so after getting many pictures of all these intricately beautiful tombs, there was a whole museum part that housed clothes of St Francis of Assisi, famous Renaissance paintings and even more famous tombs. Too much to say about this place so I'll leave it at that.
Hour 9: The next few hours were mainly spent wandering around the city streets and going back to the hotel to rest up a bit and watch Italy's Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Who knew that show was even still being shown. No Regis though..
Hour 12: We went out for a good Florentine dinner at the recommendation of our hotel, sat down and realized nothing on the menu was under 30 euros, ouch. After politely and awkwardly telling our waiter we had to leave, we ended up at a cheaper and better restaurant. Not that the waiter there had any problem making fun of me for butchering a couple words in Italian, no tip for you buddy.
Hour 14: Wandered around the city some more and saw what a lot of the sights look like at night. Ended up at a bar that was recommended to us by a friend that was studying in Florence of one of the guys I was with. It was pretty empty when we showed up so we ended up just discussing future plans for cities that we wanted to go and the likelihood that I will ever get to go to Egypt like I want to. Then, oddly enough, it started filling up with lots and lots of guys (I only saw two other girls in the whole bar) and then they put on the YMCA. Hmm, so around midnight we called it quits and started walking back to the hostel.
Hour 24: Woke up and started getting ready for the day to realize that our hotel room had no running water. That delayed us a couple hours, finally a few hours later everyone was awake and we started out to the Uffizi. The line was around 45 minutes wait so we ended up making a reservation to come back at 1:30.
Hour 28: Checked out the Accademia Gallery where Michelangelo's Davis is now kept. It was moved there a little over a century ago to protect and preserve better since it had been out in Piazza Signoria since the early 1500's where a marble copy now stands. Not much else in that museum except for the David, which was so incredible. Incomplete statues surrounded it so that you could see Michelangelo's process of chizzling away at the marble, the fact that he made him so lifelike and smooth blows my mind. Pictures weren't allowed so here's the best I could do.Hour 30: Finally in the Uffizi, where again pictures were not allowed but I guarantee you that it's worth seeing for yourself. Did a self-audio-guide tour which was well worth it and I think we spent about 2 hours in there, It was just so much artwork by so many great artists. Again, too much to talk about it. Next stop.
Hour 32: After grabbing some lunch, we started our ascent up to the top of Il Duomo. 468 steps, nothing compared to St Peter's Basilica a couple weekends ago (wow I can't believe it was that long ago). Anyways the view of the city which was home to so many great minds and people during the Renaissance was stunning, red roof tops everywhere. The feeling of knowing that I was walking on the same streets and same churches that Galileo, Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Lorenzo D'Medici, Dante, the list goes on and on. Hopefully I soaked up some of their enlightened thought and knowledge.
Hour 34: After climbing back down, we got some gelato to recharge our batteries at Black Bar where I went again with Maria the following month. This was actually only the second time I've gotten gelato but just like the last time, the amazing taste was just as mind blowing. Alright so our visit is winding down. We started walking towards the train station when out of nowhere, these bird or bat things overtake the skyline. This wasn't a normal flock, this was something out of a Hitchcock movie. They were making real high pitched noises and swooping around in herds everywhere. We went for cover in fear of getting pooped on, John wasn't able to avoid it though, ha. |
| Bird Attack - Watch Out Johnny! |
Hour 35: We got to the train station and bought the cheaper slow train ticket that would be over a 3 and a half hour ride home. It left at 7:13. We had some time to kill so we went down the street and had a nice early dinner. I don't know if it was because the dinner was so good or what but apparently we lost track of time. I went to the bathroom as we were getting the check and when I took my watch off the wash my hands I realized that it was 7:02. After quickly paying and rushing back up towards the station we managed to find the platform and get on the train with only 2 minutes until it departed. After finally sitting down and relaxing a lady came on the intercom saying that tickets would be checked soon and all those who didn't validate their tickets will be assessed a 40 euro fee. We, first time train travelers, had no clue what validating meant. We paid for the tickets, we thought we were fine. Luckily some American tourists behind us told us that at the platforms there have validation machines and we need to get each ticket stamped. At this point the train was slowing down for a quick stop at a small station outside Florence. Matt and I sprinted out the train while the others jammed in the door so it wouldn't close and leave without us. As the train lady is blowing her whistle at us we finally get them all punched by the machine which was conveniently right outside the door. Not after a minute of being back in the train sitting down the lady comes by checking for ticket validation. She found it interesting that our tickets where validated at the last stop despite it being obvious we had boarded the train back in Florence. Oops. She let us off with a half grin. That could have been bad. The rest of the 3 hours was just me and my Dan Brown book which fit well with the whole aura of where I had just been.
Hour 40: Home sweet home. Not that this apartment is anything special but it being almost midnight and having slept little to none in the past couple days, there was no better site than seeing Circonvallazione Gianicolense 168. After sleeping in until 1 this afternoon and spending way too much writing this blog I guess it's time to start some homework and get ready for the school week. Going to wineries and Tuscany this coming weekend!
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