Firenze!

Ok, finally some free internet!

From Roma we moved on to Florence or Firenze in Italia.. (Not exactly sure how that translation came about) The entire train ride was a blur. Our attempted ˝all nighter¨ with Maura prior to riding being the cause, was pretty successful except for the measly hour of sleep on the couch in the hallway of the Best Western.

As soon as we arrived, we headed straight for the campsite so we could grab a quick nap before seeing the sights. Appropriately named, Camping Michelangelo, the site was in close proximity to Piazza del Michelangelo and shared the same beautiful views of Firenze.


After a much needed nap we got to it. Down the hill and over the famous Ponte Vecchio we went, dodging the plethora of jewelry dealers and opting for the awesome views instead. We walked around a good bit of the city holding out as long as we could but ended up calling it quits pretty early. After a delicious gelato we climbed back up the hill and watched the sun slip behind the mountains of Tuscany from out campsite.

The day began really early, probably around 3am, when Chelsea rolled over and said, ˝sooo, are we staying in a hostel tonight?!˝ The higher altitude and mountain winds combined for a very frigid night, so we did not get much sleep, and spent the rest of the morning in search of a hostel.

We found this pretty cool place thanks to a bunch of backpackers we passed on the street, who we would hang out with later. We settled in and got our sight seeing on. The first stop, Academia of course to see David. The outside of the building is pretty plain, considering the masterpiece that it holds and luckily, we only waited about 25 minutes to get in. (We heard that ques can be as long as 3 hours!) We tried to pace ourselves and appreciate all that Academia had to offer, which was some impressive painting, sculpture and instrument collection. Expecting to be led through a series of museums and galleries we were pretty surprised to turn the corner and be struck with the size and beauty of David after the first one. We are by no means art buffs, but you really do not have to be appreciate this masterpiece. We sat down and took our time checking it out, a noteworthy experience and a highlight of Firenze. It was incredible how much better it was than the 2 other fake ones u can find in the city! The detail was amazing!!

There is enough art and architecture in Florence to occupy a few days And a bunch of euros, so we just walked around and saw what we could from the outside. We checked out the central market area where the streets are lined with sellers of, randomly enough, leather. Leather bags, jackets, bracelets and so on.

We headed back to the hostel and recruited other hungry and broke travelers (1 girl from France who lived with PRETTY LIGHTS!!! Which is mine and Brads favorite musician!!, 2 Aussies, 2 girls from Great Britain, and then quite a few Americans...Texas, Seattle, New York... so we had a great mix!) for the 7 euro buffet. I know I know, buffet, nasty, but this was Italy and food is better there. It was a good time all around and our new friends were grateful for our discovery and their full bellies. We carried the fun into the night. A box of wine and good company made for an awesome night and a great second day in Florence! Brad forgot to mention, but we actually went out to a bar and then a nightclub for a little bit! The nightclub was crazy....dark with blue lights and PACKED...and of course...loud house music! It was fun for a bit, but we were not dressed for the occasion AT ALL...dying of heat! But a cool experience nonetheless!

Our last day in Firenze, we just took it easy! Walked around to some pretty gardens and sat down for a bit! Felt like total hippies as we braided flowers into my hair and watched the ducks race around the pond...or so we thought!! We're going ˝0o0o how cool they are racing...or maybe..0oh they're teaching their young to fly!˝ Then we watched them land and immediately were shocked to see what looked like the male duck trying to rip off the female ducks neck as they all tried to rape her!!! We were so upset! But it was a big moment in our day hahah we spent a lot of time watching this scenario go down!

We tried to go to the Boboli gardens, but it was ridiculously expensive, so went to the free gardens next door to eat our lunch and wandered around..getting ourselves lost in the beautiful streets of Firenze before we climbed back to the top of the hill to watch the sunset! We bought ourselves a bottle of wine and enjoyed it with some crackers....which apparently is the thing to do, as tons of other people were sitting around us on the steps doing the same thing! No public drinking laws in Italy = great! The sunset was beautiful and it was a lovely relaxing day!