Ah, Firenze. So many people hyped me up about this place, so I was actually nervous that I would have expected more out of it being that the place sounded THAT amazing. I’m very happy to say that Florence lived up to their exciting descriptions and even surpassed my expectations. This is a city full of amazing food, rich in history, culture, architecture, and its versatile in landscape. Extremely romantic, there’s nothing better than strolling down the cobblestone streets just before midnight in the gold lighting of the lanterns, listening to cheerful Italians drink wine and play acoustic instruments.
Zach and I stayed in the perfect area, known as the Oltrarno neighborhood. It was not too far of a walk from the city center (say, about 15 minutes) yet far from the hustle and bustle of the tourists. In fact, we were situated in a very local community, with some delicious restaurants, bakeries, and pizza shops. Our Airbnb was one of my favorites yet, and I’ve stayed in many. The atmosphere was perfect for our stay, a cute little apartment within a historic building, quiet neighbors, tastefully decorated, and my favorite part- a private outdoor garden with stone walls, lush plants hanging overhead, and a seating area that was perfect for the several meals Zach cooked throughout our trip. Many of our days we took part in Siesta, which lasts from about 2-5pm. Most of the local shops and restaurants close during this time, opening up for business again around 5 and staying open until about 11pm or midnight. Siesta provided a perfect time to eat a big lunch, followed by a refreshing nap. I remember admiring the powerful afternoon sunlight trying to peek through our Kelly Green shutters, as I dozed into a dream within a dream. As I closed my eyes, I remembered the fast paced, non-stop, high stress lifestyle of New York, which consisted of 30 minute lunch breaks and 30 minute commutes to my last job. “I could get used to this, no problem” I thought to myself, as my dreams consumed me.
Many of our evenings in Florence consisted of strolls throughout the city, admiring the Duomo from different angles because it’s that large, you kind of have to. We ate at Festival del Gelato every night, sitting by fountains, statues of the famous David, or on the bridges by the river. One night, we were drinking Birra Moretti’s along the side of the Arno river, laughing with each other and just discussing life in general. Suddenly, our eyes looked through the same bare patch between the leaves of the trees at the same time, following this bright green glowing object in the sky. At first I thought it was a firework, lime green and shimmering across the night sky. As Zach and I watched it trail across the darkness above Florence and fade into the horizon, we realized it must have been a shooting star. We each made a wish and sealed it with a kiss, and then decided to research green meteors. Apparently, their occurrence is fairly rare. :)
Aside from Siesta, Zach and I spent a lot of time strolling through the famous Firenze marketplace, picking out produce, just baked bread, and freshly made ravioli. Zach tried to pick out minced beef so that he could make a tasty meat sauce for the ravioli, but a few hours later as we munched on lunch, we realized it was definitely something else. We never figured out what it was, it was definitely a taste I wasn’t used to- I just hope it wasn’t something like horse, which I’ve heard is largely consumed by Italians.
We also ate lunch at a little hole in the wall, called Antico Noe. A few people recommended it to me, including Zach, who raved about it. Again, my expectations were blown away. How could I have thought that Panera had decent panini’s all my life? My eyes had been open, my taste buds sent to heaven. These paninis are a must if you’re in Firenze- and ask for the famous Rose sauce on anything, it’s a party in your mouth.
Another cool place to stop by that I would recommend is the famous Leonardo’s Leather. All of the leather products are made right there, with authentic leather. The smell of the place itself is very nostalgic, hard to forget. Zach seemed overly determined to jog his memory into figuring out where this place was, little did I know it was for a surprise. When we finally walked in, he smiled at me, grabbed my hand with an excited gesture, and led me into...the jewelry room. The two women at the counter looked cheery and excited for us, as Zach asked me to put out my hand. My almost jumped through my chest, as my thought process automatically assumed that this was an engagement scheme. “Here?! Now?!” I thought in a panic. Then Zach pointed to a ring in the perfectly transparent case and said “That’s a puzzle ring.” The woman took it out, and placed it on my middle finger while explaining the story of it. Once it’s taken off, it’s hard to put back on. King Henry developed the idea when he knew one of his wives was cheating on him, so when she went to put it back on after a long night out, she couldn’t solve the puzzle. Zach’s reasoning was different, he was intrigued by it, remembering it from his last trip to Firenze. It was a good representation of our relationship- we’re good at solving puzzles. We put the pieces of our relationship together slowly, it’s own puzzle, making shapes from Galway, England, Iceland, Morocco, Australia, Germany, and New York.
One of my favorite parts about our stay here was watching the sunsets from the hill that overlooks the city. If you want free, high quality entertainment, take a half hour hike up into the quiet hills outside the city. You can follow the roadways and the signs to the “Piazzale Michelangelo”
which is a beautiful space filled with weathered statues and rosey pink late afternoon sunlig
ht every evening between 8-9pm during the summer months. Zach and I enjoyed sitting on the steps here and admiring the setting sun over the magnificent, ancient city. There is nothing more capturing than the purple haze that begins to blanket the mountains in the distance, deep pink and orange rays bursting through whatever pockets it can. These rays reach the weathered copper roofs throughout the city, developing an unforgettable, gleaming reflection. As we cheersed with the necks of our bottles clanking in sync with the echoing church bells in the distance, I turned to Zach and felt my heart speed up a bit, my throat became a little tight, but I felt like butterflies had been released in my stomach and my head. I felt so light, as a few tears blessed my cheeks. These were tears of bliss. I wiped them away quickly, feeling a little silly at first, but I was crying simply because I was so happy, and I was in the moment. Shortly after, the last few rays of the powerful Italian sun stretched across the sky, into a pale blue and periwinkle abyss. The crowd around us began to erupt into applause as the last pink strip of the sun disappeared behind the mountain tops in the distance. Zach said loud enough for the crowd to hear: “Don’t worry, it will be back tomorrow” I joined the laughs from all over the world, excited to meet the sun for another day.
Strolling through the streets of the city, I was overly enthused to find the comical, satirical street art of Clet Abraham throughout Florence. I had actually learned about Clet in one of my Urban Design classes at Stony Brook University, with Professor Fasanella, who showed us examples of how Clet incorporates social and political issues and controversies into public signage, in a discrete manner. The city of Florence became and I Spy scene for me, as I searched the streets for signs of Clet’s work. I was overwhelmed with happiness when Zach and I stumbled upon his studio, where we bought several postcards and stickers displaying his work. Afterwards, Zach and I joined together on an idea that we had been formulating since the beginning of our time in Italy- a love lock. Cliche, perhaps. I’ve seen so many since I’ve started traveling. However, to think that each one holds a different story, a different memory, a union of love between two people that was symbolically fastened at this place in time...changes the perspective.
Our story, probably like so many of the other locks we have seen, was special. The lock we had been carrying with us was one that Zach had taken from a the hostel we met at in Galway City, Ireland, not even a year before. We wrote our initials on it and decided that instead of chancing it being taken off the old bridge that was weighed down with hundreds of locks, we would lock it to a street sign that was cleverly and appropriately modified by Clet- an arrow pointing to the left, but with a heart drawn around it. This gave the impression that the arrow was going through the heart, of course, love struck.I watched carefully for the polizi, as Zach crawled to the top of the sign with the agility of a chimpanzee. He locked it to the top, and I smiled as I saw the sun glimmer off of it’s golden surface. We stood back and admired the work, it was perfect.
