Now, you know that Colleen and I are missionaries. You also probably know that we have fairly meager salaries. Colleen and I exercised all our creative powers to be able to afford our stomp through Italy. We grocery shopped for breakfast and lunch and only ate at small holes-in-the-wall for good, but inexpensive dinners. We did not visit many museums so that we did not have to pay admission cost. We firmly believe in walking. Everywhere. Eliminating metros and buses was an easy way to save money. We also took the commuter trains (not the Eurostar/Eurail trains) between cities in Italy. These trains are different than the major rail lines because, while they may leave from a major train station, they usually drop you off at a smaller station in the suburbs of your destination city. This meant that Colleen and I would backpack three or four miles into city center and then go to our hostel from there. Before you think that we are crazy, let me say that walking from the outside of the city in allowed us to see the Florence and the Venice that real people live in. I have discovered that what I like best about travelling is simply soaking in new tastes and textures, sounds and smells of the people who live there. This is hard to do when you limit your experience in a foreign city to the main attractions because you end up spending the majority of your time with other camera-carrying tourists who are just as turned around and lost as you are. Our hike into Florence was one of my favorite experiences in Italy. The weather was warmer than we had expected and neither Colleen nor I needed to wear our winter coats.
We were so far out of the city, that the we weren’t even on the map we had purchased. After asking for directions at a local drug store, Colleen and I decided that instead of taking the bus the woman had recommended, we would merely walk the bus route into town. So, we determined which streets to take and which turns to make by simply connecting the dots between the bus stops that led into city center.
We were greeted at our hostel with good news. Because of some mysterious booking issues, we were given a private room. After the crazy people we lived with in Rome, we were relieved to have our own space. I think this was enough for Colleen and I to fall in love with Florence.
Florence, or Firenze as it’s called in Italian, is a city for window shopping. Colleen and I spent our first night in Florence wandering through the streets, stopping periodically to gawk at the displays in the windows. We passed Dolce and Gabana, Gucci, Valentino, Roberto Cavalli, Armani, Versace... this list could continue. This was my first experience with concentrated European fashion. It was a jaw-dropping experience. When we could peel our eyes away from the windows to the people around us, we realized that we were severely underdressed for a rainy walk through the streets of Florence. I don't think I have ever seen so many well-dressed people in my life. Even their umbrellas were color-coordinated with their shoes. I am not a person who cares much at all about the latest and chic-est trend (and this is a good thing because I would need to take out a second mortgage on my future house in order to afford to be so); however, after two hours in this city I found myself lusting after 4 inch, knee high Gucci boots and a lime green Versace purse. This is a city that could get the pope to covet.
As a penance or actually because we were excited to do so, we attended 6pm mass at Santo Spirito Church. The worship was in Italian, but we recognized many of the words and even the melodies of songs that were being sung. Here is a picture of the outside of the church.
As a penance for coveting - or, more honestly, because we wanted to, we attended 6pm mass at Santo Spirito Church. The worship was in Italian, but we recognized many of the words and even the melodies of songs that were being sung. Together, with our Italian brothers and sisters, we worshipped the new born bambino. Here is a picture of the outside of the church.
After viewing the church's facade, I assumed the church was going to have a plain and minimalist interior... but as I was reminded yet again: appearances can be deceiving. I was shocked to find that this church has 38 decorated, ornamented chapels - and almost all of them are trimmed in gold. We were not able to take pictures of the inside of the church, but here is one I found online. This is Santo Spirito's formal nave:
After mass, we went back to the hostel for a long night’s sleep.
The next day was Sunday, and Colleen and I woke up and walked around Florence until we saw a church that was having morning mass. Would you believe the first place we stumbled upon was the Duomo? We caught the 10:30am mass in chanted Italian. Here are pictures of the Duomo:
After church, we grabbed some lunch and headed to La Accademia to find David.
From there, we went on a city walk. Before I left Slovakia, I printed off a “Florence City Walk” from the internet. This walk took us through the Florence that the tourists want to see, but it also took us through the Florence that the Florentines see every day. One of my favorite parts of the walk was strolling through the Mercato Street Market. We shopped for a while, and eventually both Colleen and I bought pashminas to take home with us.
This is San Marco's Church in San Marco Piazza where we began our walk.
Here is Santa Maria Novella Church:
There was an abundance of street art. We watched as an older man created this:
There was a scuplture park off one of the main piazzas.
This is the view of the Arno River from the Ponte Vecchio Bridge at sunset.
On our last day in Florence, Colleen and I woke up early and hiked out of the city, across the Arno River and into the Oltrarno neighborhoods. Our walk took us up into the hills and vineyards above the city. Florence – the Florence beyond the window displays, gelato stands, and street markets – was beautiful.
We left Florence well-fed, well-walked and very excited for Venice.
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