Florence, you beauty!

As promised, the Florence blog begins at 9.53am, 20th August, when I start my longest train journey yet from Florence to Nice. On this journey I will catch 3 different trains and all going to plan should be in  Nice by 7.30pm. I am not looking forward to it but it must be done. I guess it is kind of preparing me for the 30 hour trip home in November ;)

Now to write about my time in Florence. I will start at the very beginning and tell you about meeting Alessandro. Florence was my first air b'n'b experience, I can imagine most of you thinking "What is air b'n'b?", so I will quickly explain. Air b'n'b is a website where people let out rooms in their homes or apartments for people who are travelling. It can work out to be cheaper than a hotel and the same price as a hostel but you get your own room and use of all amenities in the house/apartment. Each host has reviews from people who have stayed there so you can do heaps of research before choosing a place. Hostels in Florence were quite pricey and I had trouble finding one with a good review so that's how I got looking on air b'n'b and how I came to find Alessandro's place, a 3 bedroom apartment on the 4th floor and only a 10 minute walk from the heart of Florence.

My train from Venice got me in at 12.30pm but check in wasn't until 3pm but he kindly agreed to meet me at the apartment at 1pm. I got there a little before 1pm so was sitting outside with my bags observing the goings on around me when all of a sudden I hear "Ciao Zara!" and there was Alessandro waving walking towards me down the street. Oh he was a gentleman, carried my bag up the steps and made me feel right at home. He showed me to my room and I can't even begin to explain how nice it felt to know I'd have my own room (if only for 4 nights) with a double bed and space to put my bag. It felt pretty darn good. He did a bit of cleaning up while I got settled in my room and then we sat down and he told me good places to go and marked everything on a map for me. When he left he said, "Zara, I want you to feel at home here and love Florence, anything you need just call", I didn't need to call but what a nice offer.

My own room!

View from my window

I quickly showered because one never feels to good after lugging round a big back pack and headed to the local supermarket he recommended.  I picked up lots of goodies, cheese, pasta and salami just to name a few. I had good intentions of going out to explore in the afternoon after I'd had a quick nap but would you believe it, I fell asleep at 3 and didn't wake up until 9!!! I must have really needed the sleep. I only got up to cook up the pasta and plan my activities for the next day and then I was back in bed to get all the energy I could because I needed all I had for the next day.

Can't beat Italian pasta!

Back home in NZ it had become a bit of a tradition to watch the travel show 'Getaway' as a family (minus Matt) and one of the episodes I saw that I have never forgotten was when a cute Australian guy walked the Cinque Terre in Northern Italy. When I watched it I thought to myself, "I have to do that", so that's what I did, I caught a train to La Spezia and walked the Cinque Terre. The train I am on at the moment is actually going the same way so I will get to see glimpses of it again today.

I packed up my lunch (my mum will be proud) and headed to the station ready for an adventure. I got to La Spezia at about 12, got my ticket (€10) so I could walk the tracks and use the trains in between the villages. I caught the train to the last village, refilled my water bottles, marvelled at the emerald sea for a bit before I started on my way. I remember the guy on the show saying it was hard work and I agree with him that it was flippin' hard work. Now I do a lot of walking, I am not the fittest person in the world but I am far from unfit and it was a real struggle at times. I think this was mainly because it was 33+ degrees. I was happy that for most of the time I was alone because the odd swear word may have left my mouth when I'd turn a corner to find yet MORE steps but the views made up for every hard step. It was, quite literally, a breath taking walk. If you're ever around that part of the world I'd recommend it but just make sure you have sensible footwear and clothing. I know you all would but I saw ladies in high heels trying to do it and guys with tight skinny jeans, I mean seriously?! Made me giggle along the way.

Proud of that lunch Mum?

Me looking hopeful before the trek!

Nice hill view

Nice cliff view

Can you see the sweat dripping of me?

Some of the path

Coming into a village

Those darn steps!

Check out the colour of the water!

Someone's vege garden

Landslide got this one

Seaside village

A village street

The villages were nice to stopSomeone's wander around. All of them had gelato shops so sooner or later I would be stopping in at one of those. Oh, gelato has never tasted sweeter. It helped too that could get 3 flavours for €2! You'd think they'd charge ridiculous prices because of the location but it was very reasonable.

Just what I felt like

Ok adding this pic for fun. It was in one of the villages - check out his pose, classic!

I slept most of the way on the train back to Florence which was just over a two hour journey. I was so happy to see my bed and had the best sleep that night. Cinque Terre was a great success.   My next day started with a nice chat to my mum and dad before heading out to the Ufizzi Gallery. I could've booked a ticket online but the reservation cost was €5 and because I am trying to keep costs down I thought the line surely wouldn't be as long as they said it would be... That was my naive kiwi side coming out in me because of course there was a line, it is the number 1 rated gallery in the world after, so I happily(?) waited for 2 hours before going in to see some master pieces. Was it worth the wait? Yes! That €5 bought me not just one but TWO gelatos that day. Probably the most famous piece of art the Uffizi houses is Botticelli's 'Birth of Venus'. There was a huge crowd but at least, unlike the Mona Lisa, you could be at a distance and admire it. I then headed to the Galleria dell'Accademia to see Michelangelo's David but I was not prepared to wait in line again especially because this line was not in the shade.

Outside the Uffizi

Bridges by day

The Cathedral

Chalk street art I found along the way

I had packed sandwiches for my day out at the museum but started to think ahead to dinner so a trip to the supermarket was in order. As I was strolling around the isles I heard someone call my name and what do you know, it's good old Conor and his girlfriend, Belinda. Conor and I went to high school together and live streets away in NZ. I was in complete shock! We chatted for a bit, caught up on each others' travels and agreed to meet up for a dessert of gelato later that night. If I hadn't of waited in line so long this meeting would never have happened so it worked out perfectly really.

I went and dropped my food back at the apartment and then set out again to get to the Piazalle Michelangelo. This was a spot on top of a hill that overlooks Florence with great views. I needed to catch 2 buses up there and the view was great. I got back just in time to cook up my dinner before heading out for gelato with Conor and Belinda. It was such good fun, chatting with people from home. I took them to this organic gelato bar I'd found earlier that day by the Duomo and Cathedral so it was a great place to sit and watch the world go by. Their next stop was Venice so I could pass on advice about water  buses and all that jazz which they were thankful for. We're all on mission to spend as little as possible and I am pretty good at finding a bargain! So that brought two great days to an end.

Florence from the hill

Zara and Florence

HVHS represent

Belinda and Conor

So with only one day left in Florence I had to think very hard about what I wanted to do. Climbing up the Duomo was on the list but the early morning lines were just ridiculous, I couldn't afford to waste any more time in lines. I'd read about a town called Fiesole 4km out of Florence up on the hill so I decided to catch a bus out there, I had nothing to lose. It seemed pretty deserted when I got there, a few restaurants on the main street and a town square so I thought I would go explore the side streets. Thank goodness I did because just around the corner I found the Fiesole Archaeological site and museum. I made the most of still being 24 and got a half priced ticket for €6 which gave me entrance plus an audio guide. I was in heaven looking around all the ruins. There would have been less than 10 people wandering around like me and I was glad to be away from the big crowds. I'd found something great and cherished every moment there.

All set with my audio guide

Ancient baths

Oh the views

Theatre

View of Tuscany from the theatre

Part of the old baths complex

One happy Zara!

Afterwards I explored the small town a little more and found some great spots with views overlooking the whole of Florence. Then I caught the bus back, walked back past the Duomo and decided the line was still too long so went to the apartment to eat some pasta for lunch. I was tired and hot after all that walking so had a nap. I set my alarm for 5pm because I knew they stopped entry to the Duomo at 6.20pm so figured if I got there for 5.30pm the line would be shorter and I get I  just before closing time. I executed my plan fantastically and was one of the last few admitted into the Duomo (I very nearly missed out) and had to wait less than half an hour. 435 steps to the top, my poor legs have done a lot of climbing lately and even though they were screaming at me I made it to the top and took in some more great views. It was a fantastic way to end my last day in Florence, great views of such a gorgeous city.

Outside of the Duomo

Views

Just stunning

At the top!

Taking in the view 

I stopped by the supermarket again on my way back to the apartment, unfortunately did not see anyone from the Hutt this time, but I did get supplies to last me on the train journey. As I was walking back I was thinking about what I could cook up for dinner and then I thought, "Hold up, this is my last night in Italy for who knows how long, go and buy yourself a nice dinner and enjoy your last meal here!". So that is just what I did. I found a nice restaurant with tables outside and ordered a whole pizza. I sat and ate it (not all of it although I did try) and watched the world go by. It was the best!

Florence by night - a pic to leave you with x

So that brings my time in Italy to an end. Oh how I do love Italy - I just looked out the train window and saw a field of sun flowers, what perfect timing!