Florence, Italy

My train pulled into Florence at dusk. I wormed my way out of the station and was expecting to see old buildings and steeples. But I found myself in a completely residential area. I didn´t think too much of it and made it to the hostel. It looked great from the outside, it even had a courtyard. But once I was inside, it was like a hospital. Long corridors in dead silence, without a soul in view. My room was locked and I didn´t have the key, so I waited at the couches. There I met a girl from New Zealand who was happy to finally see another backpacker. Apparently most of the people in the place were permanent residents. Her roommate was a 40 year old overweight woman hooked on 2 packs a day and an aversion to sunlight. We commiserated for a while then struck up on the idea of going to a different hostel in the morning. It was set. We went out for a while then went to sleep. My room was so bad I didn´t even change or get under the covers.

In the morning we made it to the center to our new hostel. It was completely worth the headache to move. It was smack in the middle of everything, just a five minute walk from the Duomo. We checked in our luggage and started exploring. We walked by the cathedral and then decided that we should know where we were heading. This gave the opportunity for my first Italian espresso, the biggest jolt to the system I´ve had in a long time. You´re so awake your eyes almost start watering.

We decided to head to Ponte Vecchio, the famed Florentine bridge. You stroll through narrow alleys that are actually main roads, a bazaar comes into view with another of Florence´s famed residents: the Metal Pig. The nose is polished as poor people clasp the pig by the mouth in order to drink the water it spouts. Legend has it that a coin placed in this pig´s mouth and allowed to drop into the drain below guarantees that you will visit Florence again. The bazaar behind is abuzz with movement as people haggle over the price of pashmina and leather purse.

The Ponte Vecchio is everything about Florence reduced down to a bridge. It used to be filled with butcher shops until Lorenzo de Medici decreed that their refuse was intolerable, so he replaced them with gold merchants. Since then it has become alight with jewelry shops and apartments. Yes, apartments on the Ponte Vecchio. If the lady who owns the apartment with the red flowers is reading this, please sell me your apartment, name your price.

The walk continued along the Arno as we winded towards Piazza della Michaelangelo. Scooters once again rule the day, I think Italians should get a discount to scooters just because their country is keeping the entire industry in business. The piazza is up a hill and the walk itself should be a destination. A very enjoyable hike. Once you get to the top you have a bird´s eye view of Florence, and you can stand next to David as you take it all in. The statue of David is in the Academia, but there are two copies of it in Florence. One outside the Uffizi (it´s original location) and a brass copy atop Piazza dela Michaelangelo. And it has the best view of all three.

The Uffizi is one of those rare museums that has international acclaim not only for its collection, but for the history of the very museum. It contains the greatest collection of Renaissance art in the world. As it should, since Florence gave birth to the age. It took the better part of a day to make it through the whole collection, and I remember near the end I was praying that it would end, because my brain could just not take any more concentration. But it is impossible to say you know Florence if you don´t see the Uffizi.

Gelatto. Before coming to Italy no one told me to make sure I see the Colosseum or the Pantheon. They said to make sure I try gelatto. So I couldn´t leave without trying it. It is so creamy, thick and soaked in flavors you´d think it is from Bacchus himself. I had pistachio, but that was not the last one by far.

Night fell and I had to return to all the sites I had seen earlier to take some photographs. The Uffizi is bustling with activity at this time, soprano singers who should really be in an orchestra sing along the sides of the streets with hats in front of them for any loose change. Along the side of the museum´s exterior are statues of dozens of famous Italians. People like Galileo, Da Vinci, Dante and Vespuci adorn the walls. Immediately afterwards is the Ponte Vecchio again. Floodlights bathe the side in different colors, from red to green to purple, changing between then every minute.

I made it all the way back to the Piazza della Michaelangelo one more time. I was greeted by a group of Japanese tourists who were taking pictures of the city with the flash on (please never do that if you are taking a night shot). One of my main goals in coming to Florence was to do the Hannibal Lector tour. Throughout the trilogy there are references to this city, and I really wanted a picture of what he drew in his cell in The Silence of the Lambs: "The Duomo as seen from the Belvedere." It is quite a dark walk to get to the Belvedere, but I finally made it and snapped a picture.
In all Florence was an amazing experience. It is the kind of city that is to be experienced and not just seen. Sipping an espresso in the midst of a piazza makes you stop and appreciate just how unique a city it is. I would leave the home of the Renaissance and Italy behind, but not before stopping to see a little leaning tower.