SOLO EURO II: DAY 6 & 8...PARTIALLY [FLORENCE & LUCCA]
i think i am going to keep skipping around a bit. some days were more eventful than others and if i keep posting chronologically, some posts are going to be way too long. i have so many pictures i enjoy & want to share!
i also forgot to mention, the afternoon before i lost my apple ear buds somewhere in venice that i had bought specifically for this trip. i am thinking i lost them at the train station. it seems like i will have to have an electronics problem for every trip (in 2017, my adapter broke & i had to got to a polish electronics store). i realized after i got back to the hostel, so ended up walking back to the train station to see if there was a place to buy a pair. other than the station, the closest stores were in downtown which i would have to take a bus to (it was getting dark). at the station, there was one electronics store, but it was so expensive! fortunately i was able to find a crappy pair at a convenient store. they lasted my entire trip, but broke when i got back.
the next morning i left for florence. as i have said before, i love train rides and this one was very enjoyable. this was also the first time i got a coffee to go, something not so common in italy. once arriving at firenze santa maria novella (wow was this a busy station), i checked into the hostel (more on that in a future post) to drop my pack off and make my way to the historic center.
florence was probably my favorite big city in italy i visited. there are so many pretty little things to see around every corner. yes it gets busy, but like venice you can turn on a random corner and take a comfortable stroll away from the crowds. also, the weather was no nice. it was a bit muggy, but it was also warm & sunny. the one exception was the mosquitoes that came out at night. the first stop was piazza del duomo where the duomo is at, duh.
santa maria del fiore (c. 1436, gothic)
this is probably the most famous building in florence (and very crowded). the church is the third largest in the world (after rome & london), but was the largest when it was built. the cathedral is recognizable for it's white, pink, & green marble. it also has the largest brick dome in the world.
pictured below was my attempt to a discrete photo of the army tank. when you go to the big tourist sites anywhere in italy, it is almost guaranteed there will be an army tank & soldiers wearing camo, a beret, and holding a rifle.
i then made my way for a snack and found this lovely little cafe (decorated in art deco!). i liked it so much, i returned on a later date & was proud of myself that i was able to remember how to get there when i did not even know what street it was on. here is where i discovered my love for prosciutto e parmigiano reggano panino, a perfectly delicious ham & cheese sandwich. normally, prosciutto would be matched with mozarella, but i found this perfect match throughout tuscany. this was one of my favorite places i found during my entire trip.
prosciutto et parmigiano reggano panino & an americano.
i then made my way to the first museum of the day, museo nazionale del bargello. this was a late addition to my itinerary & turned out to be one of my favorite museums in forence. even though there are bigger museums with more word famous works, to me the building the art is housed in adds to the experience and this building was so visually interesting. the bargello was first a residence for government officials & was later a prison/police station where executions took place. also, it is the oldest public building in florence. the bargello houses different types of art, but my favorite was the sculptures. some famous artists are michelangelo & donatello (2/4 of the ninja turtles).
the inner courtyard (c. 1255, gothic)
i love a good starry ceiling. these are all over italy.
santa croce (c. 1443, gothic & rennaisance) & the piazza
next stop was santa croce, another fancy church. originally, the facade was brick but in the 1860s got a fancy facelift in the gothic revival. here is also where a lot of significant people are buried, including galileo & michelangelo. this church is also featured in e.m. forster's a room with a view. i read half this book before my trip, but never finished.
later in the day i returned back to this square & bought some small watercolor & ink sketches from this nice Italian old man (i even returned the day after to buy an additional one for my boyfriend). this man was no nice & grandpa-like. he told me i will return to florence & him in 10 years & with a husband & bambino of my own. little does he know i will be a spinster for life.
galileo's tomb
the courtyard
my first attempt at a iced caffe au lait (it was as gross as it looks)
the next stop was the hospital of innocents, which was an orphanage for 400 years (1400s-1800s). today, the hospital has a museum that includes exhibits on historical art & the history of the hospital. the complex also is a primary school. there was an interesting exhibit that included interviews of people who were orphans, especially during the wartime when political minorities felt pressured to send their children to orphanages out of fear for their safety.
a sea monster fountain with the ospedale degli innocenti, hospital of innocents, in the background
where babies were left at the orphanage. previously, there was a wheel where you could drop-off babies.
dare i say, a room (from the museum) with a view.
i then thought i would be brave and try eating at a restaurant with a three-course meal (which is more common than you would think). if i remember correctly this was my last attempt while i was in italy. i then stuck with cafes or quick bites. the waiter spoke english well so that helped a lot, but then things took a turn when he asked me out in the middle of my 3 course meal (consisting of bruschetta, pesto pasta, and a little slice of cake). i turned him down & he was not rude about it, but it was really awkward the rest of the meal. this was the same week as my awkward experience in milan, but luckily nothing like this happened the rest of my trip.
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my first day trip from florence was lucca (at rick steve's tip). out of all my day trips fin italy, lucca was the most skippable. for my kind of travel, there was not much to see. i planned originally to visit the town of ravenna, which is on the east coast, to see the ancient byzantine sites. my research showed out of all the big cities i was staying at, it would be the easiest to visit from florence, but it got a little too complicated & expensive for my comfort. i would have had to taken a train to bologna & transfer. i then thought about staying the night in bologna, but there were not many options for hostels so i scrapped my plans to ravenna.
other than rick steve's recommendation, what interested me in visiting lucca was the renaissance-era city walls. today the you can walk the whole loop which pretty much is an elevated park with walking & bike trails. other than that, there really aren't any big attractions in town. i took an early train and by the time i got to lucca (one of the last stops of the line) there was barely anyone on the train. i ended up moving to a fuller carriage (empty carriages scare me).
the city walls, now a pedestrian promenade.
enjoy my earthworm face. this was the one day of my trip where i had absolutely no clue it would rain. when it started to pour, i seeked shelter under this balcony.
there was not much to do, so thought i would make my way to pisa earlier than planned. that did not happen. this is when i learned that in smaller towns, trains take a lunch break. i was stuck in lucca for another 2 hours. since i had nothing to do, i walked around the tow until i found a cute little cafe to order a drink & a bite.
unfortunately, i should have learned from my experience the day before and not get an iced drink. this was a badly executed blended cappuccino, but the bread was good.
i then made my way to pisa. the train was the oldest train i went on during my trip. it must have been from the 70s, maybe early 80s. it worked fine, but it felt a bit like going back in time, which was fun. it was very call me by your name-esque. also, prior to that, i had second & last experience with a squat toilet at the train station. more on pisa the next post.
now for a song. i wish i could remember more of the type of music i listened to, but i can't. last post i talked about the norwegian show skam and right now i am finishing up on the italian adaptation, which i am really enjoying. martino is my favorite character & his season is also my favorite. it was filmed in rome, milan, & bracciano (all places i visited). so rolling with that, i shall choose a song from the soundtrack as i have been listening to it on repeat at work (and will probably choose songs in future posts). right now i am really enjoying anoraak's "evolve." it is such a fun song & i love the vocals. as someone who is not particularly fond of 80s sounding music, this is still a jam. enjoy!