Tuscany: Florence

It’s not much to look at from the Tuscan hill: a valley filled in by a sea of red roofs and the basilica sticking out above the rest. At street level however, it is the most beautiful city that I’ve come across so far.

  Our group of eighty stopped at the Piazzale Michelangelo to take typical postcard pictures of Firenze and to celebrate our arrival with wine. Not being much of a photographer, I took it upon myself to be the model. Unfortunately, I can’t say that my Americanized poses could do any comparable justice to the backdrop. Not, at least, while the hill boasts a copy of Michelangelo’s David.

The rented coach bus brought us to the PLUS Florence Hostel so that we could drop off our bags. Twelve of us found a corner restaurant for lunch and again I was disappointed by the quality of food. My Four Cheese Pasta looked more like buttered noodles. What’s worse was the restaurateur trying to scam us on the bill.

All clad in our navy ESN (Erasmus Student Network) shirts, we then split into two groups of forty for guided tours. Our guide, aptly named Guia, walked us around the city and explained its history and significance, all of which I have regrettably forgotten. Of course, the most notable of the squares was Piazza del Duomo with the green, white, and red marbled Florence Cathedral and the Florence Baptistery.

The Baptistery grabbed my attention because I recognized it from a documentary I watched a number of years back. In the video, an artist who was blind from birth was asked to draw the building. The host led him around to feel all sides of the octagon and amazingly, the artist drew with accurate perspective. That is, he correctly judged that the bottom of the walls sloped up into the distance and the top of the walls sloped down.

As one might expect, the streets were crowded with people. Even so, our divided groups were large enough to draw attention. Wherever we went, people stared at us and took pictures, evidently wondering what organization we were with. One lady even went so far as to videotape us.

My favourite part of the day was sunset. A few of us found our way to the Palazzo Pitti: a wide open slope of cobblestone where people sat down and relaxed. The air was notably refreshing, filled with the coolness of the Arno River. A large fortress was at our backs and small stores such as a leather shop and wine bar were below. Couples and friends scattered the grounds while the music of an amateur guitarist and some restful chatter filled the gaps. It was one of those moments where I can truthfully say I was at peace.

P.S. Days 2 and 3 of the trip to Tuscany (Siena and Pisa) will be up in the next few days.

P.P.S. More pictures will be posted to the Facebook page once I steal them from everyone else.