Florence

We arrived in Florence in the early afternoon and the weather was less than ideal. From the train station we had to walk a few blocks to our hostel. Trying to carry our backpacks and suitcases through the city after some solid rain proved to be a slightly taxing experience for me. Let’s just say I got a little wet from the waist down by the time we got to the hostel. Wang and I hadn’t eaten lunch yet so we asked for a quick rec from the front desk and went out. Ending up at a completely different place than was suggested we sat down at Cellini’s for some pizza. It was the best pizza I had had to date in Italy and the wait staff was hilariously Italian. After lunch which was very near or hostel we couldn’t help but browse the market that was around the corner. We spent about an hour perusing the leather goods and other items for sale. Wang having been to Florence before and myself who had heard about the great leather markets knew it was only a matter of time until we would find ourselves shopping in one. Some of the stuff was crap but other things were very beautiful. We walked through stopping at several stands checking out mostly leather goods but decided we should shop around before making any quick decisions. Once through the market we walked around the city getting a feel for the layout and helping us create a game plan for the next two days. The city was small and we actually covered a lot of ground that evening. We headed back towards the hostel and had dinner at a very nice, very Italian place called Trattoria Enzo Piero. I was very full from our late lunch still so I had a salad, bread and some wine. Florence is full of English speaking servers so getting what you want to eat is extremely easy. After dinner we went back and hung out at our hostel. The hostel was great with a very helpful staff and exceptional services for the price you pay including a free hot breakfast and pasta for dinner which we never utilized. Our room was a 6 man in which I swear they put all of the Asians and me. The entire three nights we were there the room was filled with Asians and myself with the exception of one Italian guy the first night. I thought it was very interesting as it was the only time this had happened the entire trip. Either way I tend to love Asian culture so it was cool with me.

The next day started with our complementary hot breakfast which was very good considering the price. After breakfast we waited in the lobby for our 10 am free walking tour. The hostel does two different free walking tours every other day. Today’s was the more ‘off the beaten path’ tour guided by a blonde Italian woman. Yes I said blonde. You could tell she had an attitude and it was a great source of entertainment throughout our two hour excursion. This was the first walking tour we had done while in Europe and it was very worth our time because the things the guides tell you are things the average person might miss when just walking around. We learned all about the Medici family, the richest family in Florence and got to tour one of their palaces. All and all a very enjoyable tour. After we walked to the Michael Angelo plaza which overlooked the city and on this particular sunny day provided some amazing photos and the warmth on your body was also a welcome experience.

We walked down from the Michael Angelo plaza which was situated in a beautiful park on the south east side of the city, to the downtown area to look for food. I was getting hungry so time was of the essence as I didn’t want to get too irritable. So we picked a place that was self service and I ordered a pizza and Wang a small sandwich. They messed up Wang’s order and only charged him slightly over two euro and mine which was awful about 6.50 euro. You can’t always pick a great place. After lunch we headed out to find the Galleria Accademia where the statue of David is on display. It was an unbelievably large, perfect statue created out of marble by Michael Angelo. It was a pleasantly small museum so we didn’t spend too much time there and headed to the Duomo, the third largest Cathedral in Europe (we had already seen number one and will see number two before returning to the states). Once we walked into the Duomo with free admission to the main church and we very impressed with is size and decoration. Wang wanted to climb to the top of the dome and after my little bout of claustrophobia at the Vatican I decided to wait at the bottom for him. He snapped some shots and climbed the stairs back down so we could go buy some things at the leather market.

When we got to the leather market I knew exactly what I was going to buy. The first day we wandered into this guys shop that was full of beautiful leather goods from purses, wallets, messenger bags, etc. I was in the market for a leather messenger bag I can take to work. He had the perfect one that I couldn’t leave Florence without. I we talked price and I got him to come down to something I felt was reasonable and a price that I also knew was about half what you would pay in the states for something of similar quality but definitely mass produced. I was thrilled to not only have purchased a bag I had been wanting for months, but that it was from Florence and I had met the man who had made it for me. Wang was in the market for a portfolio he could use at work but soon fell in love with a leather travel tie holder. Wang purchased the tie holder from the same guy and completely excited about our buys we went out to find Wang two Italian silk ties to fill his new leather travel pack. The ties were very inexpensive buy any American standards so Wang bought three and I bought one too. With a few new items we were all shopped out, dropped off our stuff in our room and tried to figure out where to eat for dinner. Wang wanted a traditional Florentine steak so with the help of wikitravel (an amazing free travel guide online) we found a great place with low prices Florentine steak. It was called Trattoria Le Mossacce. It was a tiny little hole in the wall place and we were seated at a four person table with two people already sitting there. They pack people in and there is no seat unused. It was very cosy and we were seated right next to the open kitchen and were able to watch the chefs cook the food. The meal was delicious and after a great day and a great meal we decided to grab a drink before heading back. We stopped at an Irish pub and had a beer. The crowd was sparce and the music was terrible so we went back and hit the sack.

Our last day started again with free breakfast and a free walking tour starting again at 10 am. This time our tour guide was a much more typical Italian woman. I just loved her. She laughed constantly, talked very quickly, was extremely nice but I couldn’t help but notice her terrible cough and yet she still sucked down a few smokes… a true European. All guides carry some type of item to help their group keep an eye on their guide and hers was a large stuffed flower. In retrospect her locating beacon embodied her personality quite well. She suggested looking at another local market for leather so Wang could maybe find that perfect portfolio he was holding out for. We quickly looked through the goods and didn’t find anything better than what we had already seen.

Our next city was to be Venice and I wanted to stop at the Ferrari museum between these two places in Italy. Well as it turns out, there is no train to Maranello, Italy to see the museum so we racked our brains for a way to get there. Well… why not rent a car!?!? So after the leather market we went to the area of town with multiple car rental places and found the cheapest place and booked a little Italian Fiat for the next morning to drive to Maranello and then leave in Venice.

We wanted a fast lunch because we still wanted to fit in Pisa for the afternoon. Lunch was at a kebab place and was delicious. We then walked to the very near train station to book a ticket to the one hour away location of Pisa to see the leaning tower. There isnt a whole hell of a lot in the little town of Pisa, Italy. Some shopping between the train station and the leaning tower and that’s about it. We spent about an hour in Pisa and headed back to Florence on the train.
Once back in Florence we were hungry and were craving Cellinis again so we went back to visit our girlfriend. Not to disappoint, the meal was outstanding and we went back to the hostel to get a good night sleep for our next day.

That next morning we headed out to an internet café to print off directions to the Ferrari Museum and onto Venice. After directions were printed Wang and I split up so he could find postcards and so I could pick up our little car. Wang’s task proved to be slightly less taxing. It took me only 7 minutes to walk to the car rental pick-up and over 25 to drive back. This was due to an excessive amount of one way roads, excessive construction with Italian signs directing traffic and probably also because I had never driven in Italy. I finally met Wang at the hostel, we loaded up the car and headed off onto the A-1.