My First Time In Florence
There is a reason why Italy features heavily on travel blogs, vlogs, etc. That country has more than its fair share of beautiful places to visit and they photograph very well. It was the epicentre of a mighty ancient empire that built a lot in stone, hence a lot survived into the present day. It also participated heavily in the Renaissance period which was characterised by magnificent art and architecture. The location geographically also lends to great weather most of the year, even if a little bit too hot at times, and a beautiful sea, so more reason that people travel there. The stars really align for Italy that way.
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Ironically during my trip to Tuscany, I never actually visited the sea at all. I saw three great rivers, a bunch of lakes, but never the actual sea. I've been to that coast before though and I know how nice it is there. I feel like I didn't have enough time to truly explore this time, so I will probably return to Tuscany one day to spend more time. Having said that, Sardinia is most likely the next place I'll visit around there. I've always wanted to visit Sardinia and I have a couple of friends there too.
My first impression of Florence, coming out of the Train Station, was "big city vibes". I had travelled there from Pisa, a much smaller and less crowded place. No surprises there though as it's the capital city of that region. It wasn't as crowded as, say, Rome, but it was very busy and bustling. Outside the station, or to the side of it or whatever, was probably the largest flag I'd ever seen in real life. The green, white and red of the Italian flag waving proudly in the breeze.
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I made my way on foot to my accommodation, which was an apartment bang in the city centre. It took me a while to get there since I was using Google Maps and GPS isn't very accurate in large cities with tall buildings and narrow roads and alleys. I eventually found it and it was extremely charming. You can see the it here if you're interested. I was very happy with it even though I had to climb up a lot of steps to get to it. The charm of the apartment and the views and sounds from the windows were all worth it. Besides it had AC, which was a welcome respite from the sizzling hot temperatures of Florence in August.
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When I eventually got out to have a look around, I just walked everywhere interesting. I found a few things I wanted to see. Top of my list, of course, being the Cattedrale di Santa Maria, it's the most imposing and iconic structure in Florence. I could see it from my apartment. It's the equivalent of St Paul's Cathedral in London, but without the city skyscrapers blocking it off. Also, unlike London, the ancient buildings are still all there, making it impossible for towers of glass and metal to block off this ancient and magnificent work of architectural genius.
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The closer you get to the cathedral, the more impressive it gets I think. I realised, at some point, that that intricate design that makes it stand out from other buildings around it where done by hand! There are beautiful carvings and murals all over the walls. I don't know how many times the cathedral has been restored over the centuries, I'm sure it has been, but I'm always in awe of these people from the past that created these structures.
I mentioned in the beginning that ancient buildings photograph really well. It's always very frustrating, however, for me in places like Florence because I can NEVER actually get good photos. Not the type I want anyway. The buildings are too close together that you can never get a proper shot. There are also always so many people about, tourists and otherwise, that one can never get those clean shots that present very well. Professional photographers that create photos for websites and magazines are able to do it. I can see how; they'd need a good vantage point that's not the ground floor. So either they get access to adjacent buildings with a balcony or window looking directly at the structure or, in modern times, use drones. An average tourist like me of course has neither.
Anyway, at times like this, I just enjoy the view and accept that I can never get a photo that matches what I'm actually looking at. The one exception is in large squares. There you can get a clear shot of the facade of the structure at least. I had my new favourite tripod/selfie stick with me on this journey so I got a lot of phots of myself in-situ for a change. This is probably the best travel tripod/selfie stick I've ever owned.
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If you love art, sculpture and architecture, then you'd enjoy Florence. I also spotted some lovely vintage cars still in use by people. One in particular brought back memories of my childhood - a Pegeot my dad had when I was a kid. Very cool. Also found myself walking past a round with designer shops back to back, where I almost got hit by a Maserati driving by a well groomed looking guy with who looked like a supermodel in the passenger seat. I'm grateful to be alive and well :). That's the other thing in Florence - the zebra crossings don't mean the same thing they do in the UK. Haha. I already expected that after being to other Italian cities. In fact, Florence is probably one of the safer places to cross a road in compared to, say, Napoli 😂
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The food in Florence was excellent as expected. If you're a wine lover, you'd probably enjoy Florence dinning more that I did. There's a lot of fine dining there for sure. If you have the money, Florence is food and wine heaven haha. See you soon Tuscany, I'll be back.
Peace & Love,
Adé