Aaaand we’re off!! waking up at 5am to thunder and lightning might not have been the best omen, but with Firenze on the horizon we were not slowed down. John, my roommate Abbey, and I boarded an early 7:15 train from Roma Termini. Many students from our school are visiting Florence this weekend and it’s reassuring to know that there are friends around if we need them.
The train from Rome to Florence is just under two hours so we arrived in the city around 9:00am.
Our first day in the area was actually spent in Greve in Chianti. We went to a small family winery dating back to the 1500s where we toured their grounds, learned their wine making process, saw the cellars and of course tasted their wines. This was one of the first non-urban places we had the chance of visiting in Italy and it was wonderfully relaxing. The fields were peaceful, the grapes were delicious, and the company was even better.
The process of making certified Chianti Classico wine is strictly regulated, and it was a joy to learn about it. (For the record, I didn’t mind tasting it either.) The only struggle of the day was arriving in Florence and realizing just how far away our wine tasting was from where we were staying. Thankfully, we’re getting better and better at navigating public transportion in Italy. So, we hopped on a bus in the afternoon and an hour later we were in Greve. The evening was well spent.
That night, we found a small restaurant in Greve to eat dinner at before returning to Florence. I had been craving Carbonara Pasta so I was delighted to find some. John ordered a potato ravioli dish with mushroom sauce. Both were delicious.
On Saturday we woke up and hit the city of Florence. Our host gave us a route to walk and we did our best to follow it. We got lost on the way to the piazza del duomo, so when we rounded the corner and saw the cathedral we were completely stunned. That feeling of surprise has become one of my favorites and it happens rather frequently when lost in a new city. The size of the cathedral and Duomo are not fully captured in the photos I’ve taken. It is absolutely massive. We were unable to climb to the top of the Duomo because it was sold out until Monday. Instead we were recommended to the bell tower which is just as tall and had views of the Duomo. It was definitely worth the two hour wait.
After climbing over 400 stairs up and down, we were exhausted and hungry so we found a cafe with food. We ate, relaxed our feet, and regrouped. Then, we continued our walking self-tour of Firenze. We found the Uffizi Gallery but were unable to manage the multiple hour long wait to get in. Instead we walked along the outside statues and found our way to the Ponte Vecchio Bridge.
Interestingly, the bust on the Ponte Vecchio of Benvenuto Cellini was made by a friend of the family members that owned/operated the winery we visited the day before. At the winery they had multiple of his works, and were very proud. It was interesting how our weekend trip seemed to tie together in that way.
After the bridge we happened upon a car show in the Piazza Pitti, at this point John took over with the pictures. His favorites were the Maserati, Lamborghini, and the Rolls Royce pictured below.
Our walking continued and we found ourselves surrounded by high end fashion. Prada, Gucci, Armani, Balenciaga, and so on and so forth. At one point John actually turned and asked me “are we even allowed inside?” The stores were gorgeous and full of gorgeous things. Unfortunately, we were unable to make any purchases. Maybe some day.
Our day concluded with walking the markets for a couple hours, and stopping to eat for dinner at a chinese restaurant. I KNOW IM SORRY!! I love Italian food but getting off the bus this morning we saw a sign for chicken teriyaki and neither of us could shake it from our heads. It was inevitable. Here’s a picture of the pizza I ate at lunch to make up for it.
Florence was so amazing to visit and we had a great time seeing parts of the Italian countryside as well. This weekend was full of amazing sights, yummy wine, and wonderful food. I definitely hope to visit again someday (maybe even a day trip this semester to see the Uffizi Gallery). But for now, ciao Firenze!
Highlights: the Duomo, chocolate croissants, wine tasting, Italian countryside, old cars, and a 3 year anniversary well spent.
