Florence

Hey Everybody,

Thanks so much for all of the birthday wishes.

Going into Florence I knew very little. I knew that the Renaissance had started there, and that it was in Tuscany.

First things first. My hostel was sick. I dont like to advertise hostels, simply because they typically overcharge you for the services that are available. This was not true about this hostel.

Plus Florence had a pool, a sauna, and a turkish bath. I hadnt ever been in a turkish bath, but it was somewhat like a steam room. You can only see about a foot ahead at any given point. Three of the four nights I was there, I used and abused the pool area. There were also two bars and a disco. One of the bars was a terrace bar that had an unbelivable view of the city.

For the first 3 nights of my stay I was with a group of Indian cousins ranging from 12 to 30. Great people from all over the world.

A few hours after I got there, I ran into Parker from California. Parker and I had originally met in Barcelona, then ran into each other in Munich, and I immediately saw him when we got to Florence. There is almost a hostel tour that some people are on, so you always run into similar people.

We decided that there had to be a bigger reason for the third meeting, so opted to spend our time in Florence seeing the sights.

The first night we walked around a bunch. We briefly saw all of the major sights. This included Accademia, the dome, the tower, the church, the doors of paradise, and the Uffizi.

That night, we decided that we had to celebrate the coincidence of running into each other three times in three different countries. Long story short, the next morning I wasnt a happy camper.

Sober Zac had signed up for a bike tour at 10 AM. Drunk Zac forgot this fact, and barely made it to the bike tour. I constantly checked the time, praying that it was over. I remember thinking that at least an hour had past, and it was 15 minutes. On the plus side, Parker did find an unbelivable way to get drunk quickly. If you want to know, just ask and I will gladly tell.

At one point during the bike tour, I needed water. I NEEDED water. I was dieing a slow and painful death. I also had no money on me. As we were biking, we passed an ATM, and I figured I would catch up with the group once I got the money. Big mistake. I ended up losing everybody, but remembered where the wine tasting was going to be. After a good half hour of waiting, they came back, and we started the tasting.

Though the wine tasted great, I was still too hungover to really appreciate it. From what I remember, Tuscan wine was unbelivable. There are 20 states in Italy, and each makes their own type of wine.

That night Parker and I went to a park to watch the locals. We ended up meeting another guy from California who was studying abroad in Florence. He told us some crazy stories about his experiences in Florence, and about his somewhat weird roomate. His flight left from Florence about 5 hours after he left us... Hopefully he made it.

The next morning, Parker and I decided to go to Pisa. Not only is this the last name of my favorite Middle School teacher ever, there is also a tower that famously leans. It is a really cool sight, but for some reason I always assumed it was pushed back along the Tuscan countryside. It was actually in the city center of Pisa, right next to a church. I later read that it was a German outpost during the war, and that the Allies had almost destroyed it. Crazy!

After spending about an hour at the grounds, we needed to get back. My father has a friend whose brother is an architect in Florence. He invited me to this old jail called the Murato, where he runs an event every monday night where an aspiring young artist speaks to the community. Free wine and aperitifs (appetizers) are served. Unfortunately, I thought it was much closer to my hostel then it actually was. It took me about 40 minutes to get there, and I was hustling. Either way, I made it, and it was a cool experience. Marco (the brother) introduced me to the head of the Syracuse abroad program in Florence. She apparently worked more with architecture students, but I told her that a friend was going to be studying in the fall... Small world.

That night, I decided to take my time and walk around the city. As you get farther from the tourist areas, there are small paths and alleyways that crisscross the city at various points. I ended up at a restaurant and started a conversation with the couple who was next to me. They were Welsh, and we discussed how different cultures are. By the end of the dinner, they refused to let me pay. It was one of the nicest things that has happened on this trip. Apparently, as their sons travelled throughout the US, a couple had paid for dinner one night. Perfect Karma.

As I was walking home, I stumbled upon some type of parade. Everyone was dressed in very traditional clothing, and there were flags of the state of Florence everywhere. There were drummers and horn players throughout, and there was a group of locals who followed in suits. To this day, I have no idea what it was, but it was pretty cool. It was a great night.

The next morning, Parker and I decided to climb to the top of the tower in the town square. There are two choices. One can climb to the top of the dome, or one can climb to the top of the tower. The line for the dome was at least an hour, while the climb to the top of the tower was about 15 seconds. The views on top were spectacular, but it unfortunately started raining.

When this happened, we originally thought that we should go on line to see the statue David at the Accademia, but after waiting on line for half an hour and not moving, we decided that it would be smarter to go the next morning before the train to Rome. Instead, we found a video game arcade, and spent the afternoon there. That night, we hung out at the terrace bar, and met a bunch of Americans from all over. As the sun slowly sank, we realized our time in Florence was limited.

The next morning we got up early to go see David and the rest of the museum. Unfortunately, the rest of the museum is kind of boring. There is a hall of statues that is interesting, but the rest of the museum are mosiacs that are very similar in color and size.

We hopped on the train, and both of us made it to Rome. Woo!

That being said, I have noticed a few things. All of a sudden I am much more tired then usual. I am waking up later then I have been at the beginning of the trip. I believe I have hit some type of wall, and do miss some small comforts. That being said, Rome is a beautiful city, but one needs to walk a bunch. Therer really isnt any public transportation, because every time they try to build an underground they find a new ruin. I guess thats what happens when the city is thousands of years old.

See you all soon.

Zac