Firenze

Florence was our first trip outside of Rome. There were probably about 20 of us, so it was almost the entire program that took the trip. Since I had a Friday afternoon class I left with a group of Loyola people after our class in the early evening. We took the Eurostar, Italy’s bullet train and were in Florence in about an hour and a half. When we checked into our hostel we were really surprised. Usually you hear that hostels are dirty, smell and just an overall unpleasant experience, this was not the case at all. The hostel was huge, the rooms were nice, clean, and the bathrooms were even nice.

After we checked in we met up with the other group of Loyola people who had gotten there earlier in the afternoon. It was a pretty relaxed night; we explored the city a little and met up with some of the Loyola Florence students. It was actually really funny because the Florence students planned a trip to Rome that weekend and we had planned a trip there. Saturday most of the Florence people were back so we got to see more of our friends and they showed us around.

We got up and out of the hostel around noon on Saturday. The group of guys I was with met up with the Rome girls and got lunch. We walked into a random restaurant and of course there were already a group of about eight Loyola Rome students, we were everywhere. After lunch we did some shopping, exploring and more eating. In Florence waffle/ gelato sandwiches seems to be their thing, so naturally I had to get one. It was one of the most unique experiences, two waffles and strawberry gelato in the middle. Definitely difficult to eat, the thing was huge. What I equate this to is a funnel cake. You see it at the carnival, want it, you’re going to eat all of it and then 3 bites in you’re full. That happened with this but it was worth it.

(Our Waffle Gelato Sandwiches)

All around the Duomo there are blocks and blocks of vendors selling everything from leather to ties and t-shirts. The sales were great and I couldn’t pass up the four ties for ten-euro deal. After the shopping we did the real tourist thing and did a lot of sight seeing. We went to the Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio and Piazza Michelangelo.

(Me on the Ponte Vecchio)

Getting to Piazza Michelangelo was a hike. It was really far from the city center but we had heard good things about it so we made the trip. Not only did it turn out that it was really far, but it was over 200 steps from the bottom to the top. Once we got there we all stopped our complaining because this was the most spectacular view of Florence, you could see everything and it was gorgeous. Of course we found more Loyola people up there. We had no idea that they were going to be there, but we caught them in the middle of a wine and cheese break before heading back down. After staying at the piazza for almost an hour we decided it would be a much better idea to take a taxi back to the hostel instead of walk.

(Evan and I at Piazza Michelangelo)

We were exhausted from walking all so what do five male college students do, take a nap naturally, for two hours. It was perfect because we woke up right in time for dinner. Jeff and I went with a few of the girls to this restaurant that they had heard about. Up until this point I never had that one standout, blow you away amazing Italian meal, but this meal was the one I had been looking for. It wasn’t anything complicated, just extremely fresh and well cooked. So what did I have you ask? I started with the beef carpaccio and for my entre I had grilled calamari on a bed of fresh grilled vegetables. There was a lot of zucchini in it and as I said before I was never a fan of it before and cant promise that I will be a fan of it when I get home, but it was awesome.

After dinner we headed to a famous discoteque, Space. This was the first time I’ve ever had to wait behind a velvet rope with a bouncer who had a clipboard. It didn’t open till about 12:30, but we made it in and it was quite the experience. At the end of the night we walked back to the hostel and what was right down the block? A McDonalds, so we had to go in. This was the first time in three weeks that any of us had any American food and it was great, Italian can do McDonalds pretty well. We kept the American food rolling the next morning with a trip to an American diner, such a novelty over here. I’m not a huge breakfast person but it was so nice to have apple juice (which isn’t too popular here) and French toast.

Later that afternoon we caught our train back to Rome. It was so nice to get back and it was so weird because I was homesick for Rome. I couldn’t wait to get back to my house, be in my room, use my shower and of course Paolo’s cooking. Overall Florence was good but I like Rome so much better. It feels more like home, things move at a fast pace (which says a lot for Italy because nothing is done with a sense of urgency) and it seems more Italian. In Florence it seemed like everyone spoke English. I don’t know if its because its smaller so the city is more condensed so you notice it more, if there are more English students or if most people actually speak English there. It really was a great trip, but at the same time it showed me Rome was the perfect choice.