My last two days in Florence were filled with...well, more of the same, really. On Saturday morning I finally made it to San Spirito - lovely, by the way - and was just sitting down to the best cappuccino I've had in forever (travel tip - if you pay more than 1.50 for a cappuccino in Italy, you're getting thoroughly ripped off) when my phone rang. Mariana was in town and she and Andrea wanted to swing by and pick me up. Mariana said Andrea had somewhere he wanted to take us, and she murmured something about 'place' and 'Michaelangelo'. I got excited. I'd heard good things about Piazza Michaelangiolo, but it's hard to get to without a car.
So I guzzled my wonderful cheap coffee and hobbled up to the station to meet them. The Piazza was wonderful. It's on a hill about Florence, so you get the most amazing views of the town - and, of course, another recreation of Michaelangelo's David, which is located in the Galleria dell'Academia in Firenze and which I chose not to see cause it costs a bit to get in. Another travel note for Italy - unlike France, everything costs, and it adds up very quickly. Anyway, amazing amazing views from the Piazza Michaelangiolo and from the two churches on the hill just above it. We headed so Andrea could have 'the most amazing kebab in Florence' and Mariana and I could have what had to be the worst chips. We then grabbed a coffee in Piazza della Repubblica, before the others headed back to Prato for a bit and I visited the Chiesa della Santa Trinita down by the river for a while. Yes, I'm aware I have a bit of a thing with churches. No, I'm not concerned by it. Santa Trinita was lovely, too, though a little bit eerie after dark. The eerie was kind of fun, though, in an odd sort of way.
Later that evening I met up with Mariana and Andrea again for an aperitivo, which is from what I can tell like a cheap students' thing, where you get a basic drink and free reign over a basic sort of buffet. Needless to say Andrea got two drinks that night, because the 'simple, plain' spritzer he recommended for me was, as expected, gross. I headed home early because the buses don't run late, I'm a killjoy and I had homework - pick your reasons. Sunday began with the much-anticipated trip to the Battistero, which was nice, some last-minute shopping at the market and the Piazza della Repubblica, and the exploration of an upscale chocolate shop. Has anyone here ever seen sugared violets? Yes, I mean actual flowers that have been dipped in sugar to turn them into sweets. I'd heard of them, but...well, this place had sugared violets and sugared roses. The shop clerk was a little confused when I just wanted one of each 'to try' instead of buying them by the kilo like normal people (the first time I mentioned trying one, she handed me a violet to eat straight up), so they threw them in for free with the chocolates I bought! They're an odd delicacy - it was like having a violet field in my mouth, but the concept of tasting flowers in your mouth rather than your nasal cavity was actually quite pleasant and didn't freak me out like I expected.
My final adventure was an accident, like always. I was looking for one final church to visit so I could feel less guilty about bailing early because I was tired and cold and had homework when I found myself in a line for what had looked like a church from the outside but which didn't seem to be on the inside. It cost me 6 euro to get inside the Cappella di Medicee, and as I wandered the crypt I wasn't sure it was worth it. Then I found the stairs and ascended into the chapel itself.
The Medici family, in their time, were the royal family of Florence and thus Italy, and in a way much of Europe too. They were powerful, produced a Pope or two along their way and were uber-rich beyond our understanding of the word. So when they decided to build their own private chapel to bury and honour their ancestors, they were thorough. And holy schmackeroly, were they! Every surface inlaid with stone mosaics, and not just any stones, semiprecious ones! Huge ceilings, large tombs and statues for all the big names of the family, the works. And the most amazing part? It was TASTEFUL. No opulence, no overt, grandiose displays of pomposity such as are usually seen when rich people let their money loose. It was very well done and truly beautiful, making it both awe-inspiring and breath-taking (my breath was so taken that I had to sit down - though...that might have been the foot).
I left Florence early the next morning, taking a train from Firenze Santa Maria Novella at a quarter past nine. It was an interesting stay I'd had. Youth hostels always make for new experiences, though the way I ended up in the Frano-Japanese dorm was interesting. The only other girl who was in there during my stay, albeit for one night, and who wasn't French or Japanese was a Canadian girl studying in Lyon, France, for a year, Louise. Apart from Laure there was also Carole to keep me amused, another older French girl who I chose to stop talking to because she didn't know when to stop... (in my thoughts: 'Carole, it's half past eight in the morning and I'm standing in the corridor in my pajamas and bed hair holding a towel. Though I'm sure the girls on the second floor are all enjoying the pre-breakfast amusement, can you please figure out a little quicker that you need to run out of things to say so I can please how my shower now?') You get the best stories from staying in youth hostels. I'll try and post the final Italy instalment in the next few days - the homework situation has been getting demanding!
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| With Andrea and Mariana above the city of Florence |
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| Firenze from the Piazza Michaelangiolo |
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| From the steps of Santo Miniato del Monte |
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| Florence |
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| Introducing the Florence Historical Drummers and Flag Tossing Marching Corps Band! (Yeah, I made that title up, but they were cool) |
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| The roof of the Battistero |
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