Chapter 3 - Firenze

Well readers, where to begin, it's been a little while in between chapters, but I figured it might be time again for another capitulo of my spring break saga.

Last I left you, we had completed our journey in Rome. And so, I hopped a train from Rome's Termini station to Florence. A few interesting tidbits about the train ride through the middle of Italy.

- my first trip on the immaculate Eurostar train, we were forced to purchase the slightly more expensive tickets because all others were sold out, but the setup all but made up for spending a bit more dough, the Eurostar kindof puts Amtrak to shame, the seats were large, comfortable, and clean and the journey took only 2 hours

- two guys, college kids, looked about our age that were setting directly adjacent to us, one had a backwards "Memphis basketball" cap on, and the other had a "Wisconsin" t-shirt, after going to prep school for 4 years, I like to talk alot with my friends about the idea of the "bro" culture, it can be described as dudes that a) don't always have alot going on up in their heads b) have led relatively privileged lives c) like talking about their flow, "hair" and d) love, i mean love talking about how much they brew, how high their tolerance is, and how fratty they are

We were quietly reading our books/magazines, but we couldn't help but notice the two of them were getting animated, why, you may ask?

- the Memphis dude was reciting his diary entry to his friend about their experiences in Rome, "oh, I thought, I feel kinda bad, he's keeping a diary, I shouldn't have judged him to be such a bro."

- Well, his diary entry read something like this, a stream of consciousness kindof effort:

"Rome, naked statues, nightclubs, lots of brew, being drunk, hot chicks, fun, friends, epic, the best."

- Yea, I'll leave it at that.

Arrived in Florence train station where we met up with our friend Ryan, who had previously spent time in Milan and Venice. The Venice train station was notable for but one occurence.

- Upon arriving in the station, we were approached by an elderly man who for some reason was walking his small white dog through the train station...at 9:30 pm on a Sunday night...alone, anyway, he approached us and excitedly asked "ahhh you need hotel?" Politely, we declined, and he continued walking his dog. However, not 2 minutes later, the same man came up to me, and posed "You need hotel?" I couldn't help myself, and I burst out laughing. The man proceeded to ask, "Why he smiling?" repeatedly when I continued to keep cracking up.

Florence was an incredible experience, and here are some of the "best of"

- View of the city from the top of the Duomo, one of Florence's most beautiful and recognizable churches, the building's design is the epitomy of Renaissance architecture, and the religious art inside made it feel like I was back in the Vatican

- Piazza Michaelangelo - stunning piazza that overlooks the city, this is where I called my parents to let them I was ok after the earthquake the previous night that had occurred outside of Rome, I subsequently used all the money on my prepaid phone, rendering it useless for the rest of the trip

- Bargello Museum - quaint little museum filled with magnificient sculptures, chiefly the works of Bernini and Michaelangelo

- A night out with a large group of Georgetown girls that a) had come down from the villa in Fiesole, or b) were visiting from Sevilla or some other random study abroad in Europe...an extremely fun night that ended with lots of merriment and dancing in some Italian club, big bonus...gratis entrance

- Our hostel...quite cozy, effectively an eight room apartment on the 5th floor of some building, also effectively a bed and breakfast, because the owner of the hostel, a very personable and loud Italian woman, woke us up every morning at 9 am with a boisterous "Bonjourno" and a basket set up with breakfast

- Michaelangelo's the "David" statue, his quintessential masterpiece, the statue towered over crowds and crowds of people who stared in wonder and awe at the meticulous attention to detail (pulsating veins in his arms and hands, perfect body structure) and the sheer scale of the sculpture, waited for an hour and a half to get inside to see him

- Cherry tomato and Mozarrella Salad at very authentic restaurant in the city...mouth watering, savery, any positive adjective you're heard from Emeril or Bobby Flay...I can die a happy man now.

There's always more to tell, but for now, I leave you til Cinque Terre. I hope you enjoyed Florence as much as I did.

Ciao bella,

B