Florence, Italy

After visiting Milan, Cinque Terre and Pisa in the same day, and after not really sleeping the night before, by the time I reached Florence I was pretty tired (and covered in drool from falling asleep on the train and dribbling all over myself). So, I did the sensible thing and dropped my things at the hostel, drained three delicious cappuccinos and set out to explore the famous city. My efforts were duly rewarded with a city that was lively, bubbling with energy and visually stunning.

In that night, I saw Michengelo’s David, many open squares and, my favourite thing of all, the Firenze Fiera (Florence Fair), which was kind of like the Exhibition in Toronto, but better. I saw kids learning to roller blade, others bouncing on trampolines and sampled all sorts of foods and drinks. Yum. After a couple of hours exploring the fair, I returned to the hostel, where I met a neat pair of Canadian women (one, originally an Icelander). Then, finally, I crawled into bed for the night.

After a decent rest, I set out to see a another park where there stands a bronze copy of David, and to visit the Ponte Vecchio bridge. Although Ponte Vecchio is not as popular a place to fasten love locks as Ponte Milvio in Rome, there were some in sight, connected to chains on nearby posts. After that, I made my way to the train station, stopping en route for my first plate of risotto ai funghi porcini. It was steaming hot, just how I like risotto, but it was way too salty. Or perhaps in my time away, I’ve developed a distaste for salt. Who knows? In any case, it made me long for some of my sister’s delicious mixed vegetable risotto. After lunch, it was off to Rome