Our trip from Naples to Florence was, compared to our other trips, actually pretty easy. We dragged our suitcases from Casa Susy to the Sant'Agnello train station, took an hour long train ride to the big Naples station, ate some McDonald's, and paid 68 euros (yikes) for our train tickets to Florence. But when we saw how much nicer this train was compared to the previous public transportation we had been using, the 68 euros seemed worth it. So, we got comfortable with our big, soft seats and wifi for the three hour ride up to Florence.
After an extremely confusing bus ride to the hotel (it was supposed to take about 15 minutes, but took ahout an hour), we were settled into the hotel by about 7 PM. We stayed at Hotel D'Azeglio, a really tiny, simple hotel in the center of Florence. The woman who runs the hotel with her husband was so sweet; she marked down sightseeing, restaurants, and shopping for us on a map before even checking us in. The hotel was just a 10 minute walk from the famous Duomo Cathedral, and only a bit further to the shopping markets, piazzas, Santa Croce, and more.
Anyone who was on my Italy trip last year knows that most of us did not exactly love Florence. The 2 and a half days we spend there were hot and tiring, and many of us had negative encounters with shop owners at the street market. But this time around, I got a completely different impression of Florence and fell in love with the city.
Florence is so easy to get around. Literally everything worth seeing is within walking distance from each other, and the Dumomo provides a great central landmark in case you get lost. After checking in, we decided to try one of the nearby restaurants that the hotel owner reccomended to us. We walked just a few minutes down the road to La Ghiotta, a simple and small family owned restaurant that has some of the best food I've ever tasted. I order tagliatelle with mushrooms and cream sauce and Myrissa had ravioli with meat sauce. This pasta was so incredible; it was on par with my favorite pasta from Novecento in Rome. In fact, we both loved our food so much that we ordered a third bowl of pasta, orchiette with vegetables, and split it.
That night, we decided to go to Space Electronic disco club, the same club the Jersey Shore cast went to when they lived in Florence (not why we went!) and that Myrissa's dad went to in the seventies! We stood in line behind a group of 15 year old Brazilian kids. The club manager came out and warned all of them not to drink because they're under 18, and I wondered for a minute if Myrissa and I were about to go to a club filled with kids who are my sisters' ages. But when we walked into the club, saw the crowds of people dancing, flashing lights, and groups of American students, I knew we made the right choice. Honestly, it was one of the most fun nights we had on the trip, and I think Myrissa agrees with me. We made some friends from America and learned from the Brazilian girls how to do the Ai Se Eu Te Pego dance. My pictures and videos from the night probably do a much better job of describing it than I possibly can!
We went back to La Ghiotta for lunch the next afternoon, then spent the rest of the day sightseeing all over Florence. We originally planned to go on a wine tour, but decided to save our money and enjoy the city instead. We saw Il Duomo, Santa Croce, Piazza Repubblica, Piazza Signoria, the old bridge, and did quite a bit of shopping at the open air market. Myrissa and I went from stand to stand, smelling and rubbing purses to try and determine if they were real leather. I eneded up with a really nice brown leather (hopefully) purse that I've been using since I bought it! My market experience this year was significantly less traumatizing than last year's.
That night, we went out to two bars that are pretty touristy and popular for Americans to go to. Neither of us wanted to leave Flornece, our adorable hotel, or our favorite pasta the next day. I expcted to come to Florence this time around feeling the same way I did last year, but my feelings are completely reversed now. Florence is such a liveable, comortable city, surrounded by Tuscany and molded by so much history, not to mention some of the best artwork in the world (which Myrissa and I both wish we could appreciate/understand more). Despite how breathtakingly beautiful southern Italy is, I know I could never live there, but I could live in Florence.
Two short nights in Florence really were not enough. I'm so happy I was able to experience Florence from a different perspective, but now I know I have to come back soon, especially since we didn't have time to see Tuscany!
Anyway, leaving Florence on Thursday wasn't so bad because we were beyond excited to finally reunite with our favorite Maryland exchange students in Milan. We walked around Florence for the afternoon, did a bit more shopping, and took a 4 PM train to Milan.
It was finally time to see Sofia and all our other friends! After all, they are the reason we came to Italy in the first place!
xoxo
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