Florence: the beautiful
Finding time during the week is extremely challenging because of my class schedule, tutoring, and homework. Then on the weekends I’m off traipsing through Europe. So more than a week later here is my account of Florence.
To start I know already that I will be returning to Florence some time in my life, maybe with a significant other, because Florence is more beautiful and romantic than any other place I’ve ever been.
We woke up at 3:00 a.m. on Jan 30 to be on the bus by 4:00 a.m. go to Florence. Alberto, the guy that runs the front gate of the Institute Filippine, set up a bus to go to Florence and Rome. For €50 we got a roundtrip bus ride. That’s cheaper and faster than taking a train which is €36 each direction for second class tickets.
On recommendations from other CIMBA students we booked the Archie Rossi Hostel. It was absolutely amazing! For 20 Euros we got a 5 bed – room with a private bath, breakfast included, free dinner on Friday night, and walking tours every day. We got into Florence around 9:00 and dropped our bags off at the hostel. We couldn’t technically check in until 2:30. The hostel has graffiti all over the walls. Every person that has stayed there writes their name and some little remembrance on the walls. I wrote “Niki Thiessen, Feb. 2, 2009, Proverbs 3:5-6.”
We walked to a little café for breakfast where I had my first coffee. I ordered caffelatte which is one shot of espresso and lots and lots of steamed milk. I don’t normally like coffee in the States but this was fantastic! While we were there Erin, one of my traveling companions slid her chair backwards to go to the bathroom, but in the process knocked over the table behind us. It was a marble top table that sounded like a gunshot when it hit the floor! IT was quite embarrassing, but the owners were forgiving, and refused to let me pay for the cup of sugar that broke when it fell.
At 10:00 we went back to the hostel for a walking tour. We saw historical Florence including the Medici tombs, the Florence Cathedral…aka the Duomo, Chisea de Santa Cruce, Palaces, Dante’s house, and much more. We ended at the Uffizi gallery of art where some famous statues still stood outside. The cathedrals were absolutely gorgeous. The facades are made of green and white marble and almost look fake. They are built so precisely that they kind of look like giant 3-D puzzles.
We then toured the Uffizi gallery, one of the most famous art museums in Italy. All the art and the building it was in was commissioned by the Medici family. This family ruled Florence for more than 300 years. I learned about them in my Western Civ classes at KU. It was amazing to know a lot of the history behind the things I was seeing.
We grabbed some lunch at a local pizzeria, which I’m already getting sick of pizza. Valerie and I split a ham and sausage pizza. There were two types of sausage…one tasted like hot dogs. It was weird to have on my pizza. Next we walked through the open air market. Every other shop was either leather goods or pashmina and cassimere scarves.
Exhausted we wandered back to the hostel where I laid down for a while. Our room had 5 beds, but there were only 4 CIMBA girls. We thought that extra bed would be empty, but nope, we had another roommate. Her name was Susan and she was from Ireland! She was going on “holiday” by herself. I couldn’t believe it. I don’t know if I would be courageous enough to go to Italy by myself! She is an amazing person and fun to talk to. She spent most of the day with us on Friday and Saturday.
Friday dinner we ate at the hostel. It may have been the best pasta I’ve had to date in Italy and it was included in our hostel cost! After dinner we all took showers and got ready to “go out.” We heard about a club called “Twice” but when we got there it was pretty empty. Italians don’t go out until after 1:00 a.m. Valerie and Susan and I stuck around for a while, but decided to head back toward the hostel and find something else along the way. We ended up in this quaint pizza place. When the cameriere (waiter) brought us our food, he showed us that our pizzas were heart shaped. We got good service that night! ;) We finally got back to our hostel around 1 a.m. and I crashed.
Saturday was just as much as a whirlwind! We got up and had breakfast at the hostel. This hostel is special because they served eggs! I got eggs, ham and toast and another caffelatte! At 10 we went on the walking tour again. This time we saw Florence from “off the beaten path.” This time we saw more chapels, statues, Medici buildings. We even saw a palace that was built specially for a mistress of one of the Medici. They were extremely wealthy and could do whatever they wanted.
We grabbed a quick lunch on Ponte Vecchio, a famous bridge. This bridge, again commissioned by the Medici, used to have houses and stores on it. The Medici thought that the meat stores that were there smelled awful, so they created a law that only jewlers and goldsmiths could work and live on the bridge. That law is still in place today!
After lunch we went back to the Duomo and decided to climb all 463 steps to the top. It was the most amazing view I’ve seen yet in Italy. I have great pictures and even some cool panoramas! It was an extremely long and somewhat treacherous climb, but worth every single step.
Then we went to the Academia Gallery. This was what I had been waiting for in all of Florence. Here is where the statue of David is housed. I’ve known what the statue was for almost ever, but you are still blown away when you see it. Michelangelo must have been an amazing artist to have created something as wonderful as the David. When you look at him from one side his face looks calm and almost sad that he had to take the life of anyone. From the other side his face is fierce and knows that he has done the work of God. I could have sat and looked at the statue for hours. But exhaustion set in, so we headed back to the hostel.
We all rested for a while, got cleaned up and then went to supper around 8:00. We decided to eat at a little hole in the wall a couple doors down from our hostel. Apparently that little hole led to culinary heaven! Our waitress was in training but spoke perfect English, so that was helpful. Her trainer though didn’t speak English so we practiced our Italian with him. Everyone is so patient and encouraging with us and our attempts at Italian. I had grilled chicken and roasted potatoes. Fresh bread and oil and vinegar came before the meal. Finally for dessert I had a chocolate torte with cream sauce and a strawberry. AMAZING! We stayed there and talked for a couple of hours. The restaurant was very beautiful. When they sat us the waiter lit candles on our table and all around us. It seemed tiny, but the place was 3 stories tall and longer than we expected.
Toward the end of the meal, Tami came back from the bathroom and said “Every has to go to the bathroom while we are here!” It is most definitely the nicest bathroom I’ve been in, in Italy. Everything was automatic, including the light. It was beautifully decorated and some what soothing, if bathrooms can be soothing.
Afterward we all went back to the hostel and chatted before bed.
Sunday morning we woke up early, grabbed breakfast at the hostel and jumped a train to Pisa. We were carrying all our travel backpacks, it was raining, and it was a 30 minute walk from the train station to the Leaning Tower of Pisa but it was totally worth it. It was once again one of those things I’ve seen all my life but was still blown away when I got there!
We didn’t stay very long because we had to get back to Florence to catch our bus to Paderno. Before we left we stopped once again at a pizzeria. When we got there the kind of laughed at us and seated us. Pretty soon about 10 guys in black athletic suits came in and started chatting with the owners. One was carrying a mysterious silver briefcase. Pretty soon all the guys in matching suits were escorted to a private back room. We all started giggling and freaking out a little because it felt like we had just happened upon some Mob boss’s front for something illegal. It got even funnier when I realized it was a poker game. The silver case was definitely a chips case!
The weekend was exhausting, exhilarating and way too short. The bus ride home was slow, boring and way too long! All I know is that I can’t wait to get back to Florence and see everything
Verse of the day: Isaiah 48: 17 "This is what the Lord says - your Redeemer, the Holy One of Isreael: 'I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go."
To start I know already that I will be returning to Florence some time in my life, maybe with a significant other, because Florence is more beautiful and romantic than any other place I’ve ever been.
We woke up at 3:00 a.m. on Jan 30 to be on the bus by 4:00 a.m. go to Florence. Alberto, the guy that runs the front gate of the Institute Filippine, set up a bus to go to Florence and Rome. For €50 we got a roundtrip bus ride. That’s cheaper and faster than taking a train which is €36 each direction for second class tickets.
On recommendations from other CIMBA students we booked the Archie Rossi Hostel. It was absolutely amazing! For 20 Euros we got a 5 bed – room with a private bath, breakfast included, free dinner on Friday night, and walking tours every day. We got into Florence around 9:00 and dropped our bags off at the hostel. We couldn’t technically check in until 2:30. The hostel has graffiti all over the walls. Every person that has stayed there writes their name and some little remembrance on the walls. I wrote “Niki Thiessen, Feb. 2, 2009, Proverbs 3:5-6.”
We walked to a little café for breakfast where I had my first coffee. I ordered caffelatte which is one shot of espresso and lots and lots of steamed milk. I don’t normally like coffee in the States but this was fantastic! While we were there Erin, one of my traveling companions slid her chair backwards to go to the bathroom, but in the process knocked over the table behind us. It was a marble top table that sounded like a gunshot when it hit the floor! IT was quite embarrassing, but the owners were forgiving, and refused to let me pay for the cup of sugar that broke when it fell.
At 10:00 we went back to the hostel for a walking tour. We saw historical Florence including the Medici tombs, the Florence Cathedral…aka the Duomo, Chisea de Santa Cruce, Palaces, Dante’s house, and much more. We ended at the Uffizi gallery of art where some famous statues still stood outside. The cathedrals were absolutely gorgeous. The facades are made of green and white marble and almost look fake. They are built so precisely that they kind of look like giant 3-D puzzles.
We then toured the Uffizi gallery, one of the most famous art museums in Italy. All the art and the building it was in was commissioned by the Medici family. This family ruled Florence for more than 300 years. I learned about them in my Western Civ classes at KU. It was amazing to know a lot of the history behind the things I was seeing.
We grabbed some lunch at a local pizzeria, which I’m already getting sick of pizza. Valerie and I split a ham and sausage pizza. There were two types of sausage…one tasted like hot dogs. It was weird to have on my pizza. Next we walked through the open air market. Every other shop was either leather goods or pashmina and cassimere scarves.
Exhausted we wandered back to the hostel where I laid down for a while. Our room had 5 beds, but there were only 4 CIMBA girls. We thought that extra bed would be empty, but nope, we had another roommate. Her name was Susan and she was from Ireland! She was going on “holiday” by herself. I couldn’t believe it. I don’t know if I would be courageous enough to go to Italy by myself! She is an amazing person and fun to talk to. She spent most of the day with us on Friday and Saturday.
Friday dinner we ate at the hostel. It may have been the best pasta I’ve had to date in Italy and it was included in our hostel cost! After dinner we all took showers and got ready to “go out.” We heard about a club called “Twice” but when we got there it was pretty empty. Italians don’t go out until after 1:00 a.m. Valerie and Susan and I stuck around for a while, but decided to head back toward the hostel and find something else along the way. We ended up in this quaint pizza place. When the cameriere (waiter) brought us our food, he showed us that our pizzas were heart shaped. We got good service that night! ;) We finally got back to our hostel around 1 a.m. and I crashed.
Saturday was just as much as a whirlwind! We got up and had breakfast at the hostel. This hostel is special because they served eggs! I got eggs, ham and toast and another caffelatte! At 10 we went on the walking tour again. This time we saw Florence from “off the beaten path.” This time we saw more chapels, statues, Medici buildings. We even saw a palace that was built specially for a mistress of one of the Medici. They were extremely wealthy and could do whatever they wanted.
We grabbed a quick lunch on Ponte Vecchio, a famous bridge. This bridge, again commissioned by the Medici, used to have houses and stores on it. The Medici thought that the meat stores that were there smelled awful, so they created a law that only jewlers and goldsmiths could work and live on the bridge. That law is still in place today!
After lunch we went back to the Duomo and decided to climb all 463 steps to the top. It was the most amazing view I’ve seen yet in Italy. I have great pictures and even some cool panoramas! It was an extremely long and somewhat treacherous climb, but worth every single step.
Then we went to the Academia Gallery. This was what I had been waiting for in all of Florence. Here is where the statue of David is housed. I’ve known what the statue was for almost ever, but you are still blown away when you see it. Michelangelo must have been an amazing artist to have created something as wonderful as the David. When you look at him from one side his face looks calm and almost sad that he had to take the life of anyone. From the other side his face is fierce and knows that he has done the work of God. I could have sat and looked at the statue for hours. But exhaustion set in, so we headed back to the hostel.
We all rested for a while, got cleaned up and then went to supper around 8:00. We decided to eat at a little hole in the wall a couple doors down from our hostel. Apparently that little hole led to culinary heaven! Our waitress was in training but spoke perfect English, so that was helpful. Her trainer though didn’t speak English so we practiced our Italian with him. Everyone is so patient and encouraging with us and our attempts at Italian. I had grilled chicken and roasted potatoes. Fresh bread and oil and vinegar came before the meal. Finally for dessert I had a chocolate torte with cream sauce and a strawberry. AMAZING! We stayed there and talked for a couple of hours. The restaurant was very beautiful. When they sat us the waiter lit candles on our table and all around us. It seemed tiny, but the place was 3 stories tall and longer than we expected.
Toward the end of the meal, Tami came back from the bathroom and said “Every has to go to the bathroom while we are here!” It is most definitely the nicest bathroom I’ve been in, in Italy. Everything was automatic, including the light. It was beautifully decorated and some what soothing, if bathrooms can be soothing.
Afterward we all went back to the hostel and chatted before bed.
Sunday morning we woke up early, grabbed breakfast at the hostel and jumped a train to Pisa. We were carrying all our travel backpacks, it was raining, and it was a 30 minute walk from the train station to the Leaning Tower of Pisa but it was totally worth it. It was once again one of those things I’ve seen all my life but was still blown away when I got there!
We didn’t stay very long because we had to get back to Florence to catch our bus to Paderno. Before we left we stopped once again at a pizzeria. When we got there the kind of laughed at us and seated us. Pretty soon about 10 guys in black athletic suits came in and started chatting with the owners. One was carrying a mysterious silver briefcase. Pretty soon all the guys in matching suits were escorted to a private back room. We all started giggling and freaking out a little because it felt like we had just happened upon some Mob boss’s front for something illegal. It got even funnier when I realized it was a poker game. The silver case was definitely a chips case!
The weekend was exhausting, exhilarating and way too short. The bus ride home was slow, boring and way too long! All I know is that I can’t wait to get back to Florence and see everything
Verse of the day: Isaiah 48: 17 "This is what the Lord says - your Redeemer, the Holy One of Isreael: 'I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go."
posted by Niki in High-Def at 8:31 AM
2 Comments:
I'm so excited for you and all the adventures you have in store. You will HAVE to stop in and show pictures. I've always to see Venice -- beautiful accounts. Thank you so much.
All my love,
Mrs. N
WOW! What a journey so far. I enjoyed reading about all the food. Stop making me hungry! There are some international students from Italy, here in Del Rio, learning to fly for their country.
Anyhoo, keep the blogs coming. I enjoy reading about abroad experiences.
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