IC London...I See France

11 March 2007

Brits in Florence (New Entry #5)

I honestly didn't get much tourist-ing done in Florence. We waited around the train station to meet Alyssa and Tim at 10:30 as planned before we left London, and once they were there, we split off: I went with them and the other three went to Ponte Vecchio.

Alyssa, Tim and I inquired about tickets for the train back to Rome and made our way toward the Uffizi Gallery, one of the oldest and most famous art museums in the world. We bought paninis at a place called Queen Victoria (such an Italian name) and ate them on the way. We took pictures of the replicas of famous statues outside the Uffizi; my second sighting of The David, though not The David. Fun. We met the girls in the line, which a sign told us would take no more than 2 hours but no less than 1. It was just like an amusement park, but the end wasn't quite as thrilling. We were behind two adorable old women from Britain, one from Manchester and one from "the country," who were there celebrating one of their birthdays. We had a great time talking with them in line about Italy and London and New York City and their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

I'm not too impressed with Medieval art, to me a lot of what we saw in the beginning looked all the same. Sadly, art is lost on me; I only really enjoy looking at pieces by artists I recognize the names of, and that's not very many. I wandered, I learned a bit, I mostly enjoyed the views of Florence from the windows.

Being pressed for time, Alyssa, Tim and I left to walk up the Duomo before we had to catch our train. We were anxious to get the most out of our €6 admission (you know my penchant for climbing hundreds and hundreds of stairs at a time), but we got stuck behind this extremely stupid man who didn't understand how to walk through a turnstyle. The couple made it about two flights up before they had to stop and take a break, so luckily we weren't stuck behind them the entire 423 steps to the top. It got pretty tiring pretty quickly - the fact that most of the way up is also the way down didn't help matters. The views from the windows going up were amazing, but they didn't compare with the views when we stepped out onto the walkway. Florence is absolutely breathtaking. Obviously, lots of pictures were taken. We began to climb down just as the rain drops started to fall on the city to go gather Alyssa and Tim's bags and head to Rome.

We stopped in a wine shop run by the most gracious woman. She happened to own the pizzeria next door, so we ate there after shopping. I didn't see much of Florence as we walked to their hostel nor on the way to the train station as I was trying my best to not get soaked. Rain is fun. The train ride wasn't too bad, mostly because Eurostar books it, and thankfully it wasn't raining when we reached Rome.

According to Alyssa's Rome guidebook, one of the best pizzeria's in Rome was somewhat near their hostel, so after checking them in, we went in search. It took a bit to get there because near is all relative, but it was absolutely worth it. It was full of locals (a good sign) and wasn't too expensive either (another plus). Based on such an accurate recommendation, we walked in the complete opposite direction to what was deemed one of the best gelateria's in Rome, near the Trevi fountain. The gelato wasn't so great - nothing seems to compare to Old Bridge - but the man serving it made me laugh so much. Apparently, I'm Mexican and own a horse.

2 Comments:

  • So, in your opinion, what is the biggest difference between real Italian pizza and what is sold in the States?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:58 PM  

  • The crust in Italy tends to be thinner, which I love. A single serving is generally a whole small pizza rather than a slice or two. Also, rather than picking your own toppings, you pick from a list of pizzas the restaurant makes. While some of them are a little weird, you'd be hard-pressed to not find one you would like to eat. Plus, it's a great way to try new things!

    By Blogger Megan, at 8:58 AM  

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