Florence, Italy
I'm not quite sure if I will be able to put the beauty of Italy into words, but I will try my best. Out of all the countries that we visited on our honeymoon, Derek and I both agreed that Italy was the most beautiful and majestic.
When we got off of the plane in Italy, we walked over to the bus stop. There was a huge line, and when the bus came, we did not think that we would be getting on. The bus came and we got all the way to the front of the line. The bus was full. The driver asked us how many we had, and when we replied two, he told us to jump on. My torso was literally pressed against the windshield of the bus. I felt like I was on an amusement park ride. To add to it, Italy probably has the craziest drivers.... I mean, worse than in Massachusetts. It was a bit terrifying, but exhilarating.
We checked into the hotel, Delle Tele. The manager there was very kind. I was wondering if we were ever going to get to explore the city, because he was so interested in talking to us about America. He said that when he came to the west coast, he was amazed at the food proportions, and how they gave you doggy bags to take home the rest of your meal. We had noticed earlier in the trip that they don't offer for you to take home the rest of your meal in Europe, though we never left much left over. The hotel room was very European and quirky. It was old, but had a really beautiful charm about it.
After seeing on the map how big Florence is, and how far between some of the beautiful sights were, our hotel manager convinced us to buy the hop on hop off bus tickets like we had bought in Madrid. We bought the tickets, and hopped on to the bus right away to head to Michelangelo's square. The bus took us back some of the sights, like a market square and an arc. We went past the church with the graveyard where Galileo and Michelangelo were buried in.
When we got up to Michelangelo's Square, we were absolutely awestruck. It was on top of this big hillside. On the top of the hill was a replica of Michelangelo's David, and all around it was an outlook where you could see the entirety of Florence. I felt myself tearing up as I looked down on Florence, amazed by it's beauty. Even as I write this now, I have a lump in my throat and goosebumps because it was a sight that I am so lucky to have seen in this lifetime. You could see Il Duomo, which it absolutely massive. You could also see the green tops of the synagogue.
When we got up to Michelangelo's Square, we were absolutely awestruck. It was on top of this big hillside. On the top of the hill was a replica of Michelangelo's David, and all around it was an outlook where you could see the entirety of Florence. I felt myself tearing up as I looked down on Florence, amazed by it's beauty. Even as I write this now, I have a lump in my throat and goosebumps because it was a sight that I am so lucky to have seen in this lifetime. You could see Il Duomo, which it absolutely massive. You could also see the green tops of the synagogue.
Most of the tourists there stopped quickly to take pictures with their hideous selfie sticks. In Barcelona, Derek and I had started playing this game called "trying too hard" which was basically us pointing out tourists to each other that were trying too hard for their photos. They were usually young women striking modeling poses with a backdrop of Europe. People were definitely doing this here, and then getting back on the bus. Derek and I wanted to take it in, to breathe in the city. There was a little cafe overlooking the view. So, Derek and I grabbed a table closest to the view and a bottle of red wine. I am not lying when I say that the red wine, especially Chianti in Italy, when you are actually there, is 300% better than any wine that you will drink in the states, even the stuff that they import. Derek ordered Gelato, and I got some pasta in tomato sauce.
After we paid our bill, we walked down to the monastery, which our hotel manager had told us was one of the most interesting things in Florence. At first we got a little lost, and ended up on a walking path that walked us around the high monastery walls. Derek and I tried to imagine what the monks were doing inside at that moment. No one else was around, and we got to take our time and peak through fences into people's villas to get a sneak peek at their olive orchards and private vineyards. When we made our way around the walls, and got to the opening of the monastery, we walked inside and were surprised with another beautiful view of Florence.
We walked our way back down the hill to Galileo's statue, which we found to be very underwhelming. We got back on the bus, and headed down to the market area of the city. We got dropped off where all of the little, overpriced gold shops are. Derek and I decided to get some Gelato at this point, and I got Sorbetto, thinking that I would be safe as it is dairy free. This ended up becoming the Great Gelato Incident of Florence, as later that night I was throwing up and was terribly terribly sick. We think that it was because they used the same scoops to scoop the actual Gelato.
We walked until we got to the Il Duomo. As I said before, it's absolutely massive, and quite overwhelming. Derek and I marveled at the architecture, trying to imagine how it was built back in the day when technology was very very limited. The artwork and sculptures that were worked into the architecture were breathtaking. Derek and I made note to have dinner at one of the many cafe's that surrounded the building.
Derek and I decided to go to the grocery shop to get some water and snacks for the Cinque Terre hiking trip that we would go on the next day. We got some waters, that we realized later were all fizzy. I loved the fizzy water in Europe, which they referred to as "water with gas". It tasted different somehow. Derek got some bread, and I got some Digestive cookies (which ended up coming in the next morning when I was very ill). We headed back to the room to shower and get dressed up for dinner.
We walked back to Il Duomo and stopped at one of the cafes which we had seen on the menu had french fries. Derek and I decided to split another bottle of red wine, and we ate french fries and Spaghetti Bolognese while we took in the spectacular sights of the Il Duomo.
After dinner, Derek and I search and searched for a bar, but couldn't find anything that looked fun to us. Florence didn't seem to have much of a night life, it was more cafes than bars. After walking around for ages, we settled on a little cafe in a square where we could watch a street clown entertain a large group of children with their parents. We split another bottle of red wine. I got a some bruschetta and a plate of salami. We decided to tuck in for the night and prepare for our Cinque Terre hike in the morning, which was the event that we were most excited for out of the whole honeymoon!
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