In my last blog I talked about my two days in Venice, and I intended to do another blog the next day on my time in Florence, but work got in the way. The joys of retail work during the run up to Christmas. Its a little belated but I suppose better late than never.
Well, we arrived in on the train from Venice at about lunch time, and I have to say we were so impressed with the train systems in Italy. It worked out at about 20 euro for a 2 hour high speed train from Venice to Florence, and they are so comfortable and easy to figure out. Just buy your tickets online before heading on your trip. After the quiet and peace of the cobbled Venetian alleys, the hustle and bustle of the busy Florence city came as a bit of a shock. Writing this, I think I should get the negative aspects of the city over and done with before ending on the positives. We found our hostel easily from the train station, but instantly found Florence to be quiet different to Venice. As well as the noise of constant traffic, we found the people there to just not be very unfriendly compared to the Venetians. For example, standing in line to see the famous 'David' by Michaelangelo (more on that later), we found the sellers of memorabilia to be absolutely horrible. They were particularly racist to the Indian man standing in front of us, and like to harrass and hassle you a lot more than the Venetians, or even the Romans, to buy their products. I found them quite intimidating and they really set a bad feeling for the city as a whole from a tourism perspective. I personally also found the tourist sights and museums to be extremely busy and I felt a little like a member of a herd of cattle jostling around places. I found the people working in the tourist places, such as the cathedrals, churches and museums, to be quite rude and unfriendly. Even the people staying in our hostel room were rude!I slowly began to realise that in this city, money makes the world go round. As a backpacker, that's not the way you work, but more on that later. To be completely honest, I really didnt like Florence, and wouldn't even think about recommending it or going back again ..... But that's my negative rant over . There are some nice things about Florence! Promise.
We started out our one day in Florence by seeking out the famous 'David' statue, built by Michaelangeo. It is located in a museum, the Galleria de Academia, whose entrance is on a little side street, easily missed if you don't have an eye for street names and a good map. When queueing up, I was standing there thinking 'is this really worth it? Its just a little statue' (tip, book beforehand. The queue is much smaller). It is not little, at all, and it is really worth it. We got an audioguide (bring a drivers licence as they ask to hold id when taking the audioguide, and giving a passport is not a good idea), and it was well worth it. There is so much to see in the museum besides the statue, and it is really interesting. But the statue is by far the most spectacular thing there. It is HUGE, and has the most amazing detail and is so lifelike. Take time to sit and really look at it, but whatever you do, don't take pictures of it. If you do you will feel the wrath of one of the scariest and loudest museum security guards on the planet, only a little less scary than the ones in the Sistine Chapel.
From there we headed over to the popular shopping area in the old quarter of the city near the Rialto bridge. Here, we found ourselves wandering around, bemused, and ending up sitting at an old cathedral (now an art museum) feeling very, very poor. Everywhere you look there are the most expensive designer brands, from Dior, to Prada, to Gucci. You think of it, its there. To say our backpacker style and love for cheap pizza didn't really suit the atmosphere was an understatement. As my travelling partner pointed out, we were like peasants in a noble's castle. Similarly, when we found the Rialto bridge, we took our pictures and oood and aaaahd at it, and then wandered across it. What I didnt realise was the Rialto bridge is actually a shopping street rather than a bridge, and has only jewellery stores on either side. Very expensive jewellery stores. We moved across the bridge and took a wander through the Piazzas getting a feel for the place, and stopped for a beer or two, and admired all the amazing architecture in the streets.
.jpg)
We also took in the splendour that is the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, or the Duomo as it is better known. This is a gothic style cathedral, and really is amazingly detailed and awesome in size. Squeezed into a piazza, it is free in (wear appropriate clothing) and has the most amazing 3D like fresco on the roof of the dome, although your neck won't thank you for your interest in it after.
To end the day, we sat on the roof of our hostel and watched the sun set down over the city, which was really beautiful, and we chatted to some nice Malaysian tourists and relived our time in Asia. We then found the nicest food in a restaurant near our hostel named Mamma Napoli, which was located opposite the entrance to the Mercato Centrale Firenze (Florence Central indoor Market). The waiters there were so friendly and the food was incredible and pretty cheap. We finished off with a few beers during a Rome v Florence football match.
I must say, although there are some lovely things to see in Florence such as the Duomo and handsome David, unless you intend on doing some serious shopping, I wouldn't come to Florence. It is characterised by the smell of cigars, expensive coffee, and poodles in knitted jumpers. It should never be on any backpacker's hot list, and you know, once a backpacker, always a backpacker; you just cant shake the innate attraction to cheap, and Florence really doesn't like cheap.
Next blog, Rome (I promise, its a happy ending).
Slán.
