From an aerial view there is no other city that looks more like the epitome of Italy than Firenze. Looking down, the city is a blanket of terracotta tiles. High above the rest is the duomo or more formally, Florence's Cathedral called the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. It's incredible dome is designed by Brunelleschi and is just as beautiful from the outside as the inside. This basilica is home of the largest brick dome ever constructed, as well as the Baptistery of St. John and Giotto's Campanile It was designed by Arnolfo di Cambio to be the largest Roman Catholic church in the world but had to later be reduced in size. Like the duomo in Siena, the Florence Cathedral is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
After the two hour train ride from Orvieto we started walking from the train station, Santa Maria Novella. Despite the gloomy weather we found our hostel quite easily, situated in the largest and most picturesque square, Piazza della Repubblica. Coincidently the piazza I lived around in Orvieto had the same name. This Florentine piazza held a brightly lit carousal that made the piazza come alive by adding a festive touch of juvenility. In this piazza the famous Florence Chocolate Festival was taking place, which only happens from February 10-19th. I could not have been more excited for what seemed like a little slice of home. There was every assortment of chocolate you could imagine. There were booths filled with fountains, chocolate dipped fruit and nuts, chocolate shaped characters and tools and the most surprising - chocolate phones (i'm talking nokia AND the IPhone). It was almost dangerous. You could quite possible have found something for every family member imaginable, even that Aunt who only loves cats. We also discovered through the grape vine an American breakfast place called, The Diner. Even though at this point it was only a short time since we'd been away from home, American coffee and eggs led us to shouts of joy. In Italy there isn't much a breakfast other than a quick shot of espresso and pastry to go. None of us ever got used to this. Even though the service was shoddy we didn't care one bit.
One of the highlights of my quick trip to Firenze was running into my good friend who was studying abroad in Italy as well. Her apartment was two doors down from the hostel we were all staying in, something that comes down to sheer luck! Walking home after a night out I heard my name from a crowd passing us across the street. She spotted me through the mass of more than ten of us. I couldn't believe that before we were going to meet up the next day we almost literally ran into each other. Having friend's input on a city is almost always more helpful than any guide book. You could tell the city was changing her the way Orvieto was changing me.
Florence is a city that I will always remember by it's unique coloring and refreshing adaptation of American culture. In my own opinion, history aside of course, Florence trumps Rome any day.
Here's a combination of my own and my friend's pictures. I was mortified to find that I didn't have many photos of Florence from above!
great post ana
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