Day 13 – Firenze and Saying Ciao to Italy

Saturday, July 14th

It really is our LAST DAY IN ITALY!!! Today was the Florence trip. We departed from in front of Nànà at 9:00 and went to the mini-metro in order to make a 10:00 train. The ride is about 2 hours long, so I was able to take a nap. I also got an AWESOME picture of Mohit sleeping on the train next to me. I was freezing on the train – the AC was BLASTING! That’s a first in Italy!

Silly me, I didn’t realize that Florence wasn’t the name used in Italy – FIRENZE! Now I understood why I never saw anything about Florence anywhere!!! When we got to Florence, we were given about 30 minutes to get a bite to eat. We ate right in front of El Duomo, one of the biggest tourist attractions in the city! The Duomo was designed by the magnificent Renaissance architect Brunelleschi. He was considered the father of modern architecture as he figured out a new way to build domes. The restaurant we ate at was okay, but kind of pricey for the quality of food. We had a charge for just sitting there, and even the bathroom had a price!

This was our first major destination with a tour (unlike Assisi). Our tour guide spoke really good English and was very passionate about the history of Florence. Our first stop was obviously the Duomo. I must say, the exterior is a lot more impressive than the interior, but it’s VERY cool that the church can hold up to 30,000 people inside!!! If we had more time, there were tours up to the top of the dome! Max was disappointed that we couldn’t do that. The guide took us all around Florence, showing us the Old Medici Palace and the corridor that connected it to the newer Medici Palace (or the Pitti Palace). The corridor extended all the way from one side of the river to the other, over the Ponte Vecchio! The reason for the corridor was so that the Medici family didn’t need to mingle with the lower class. The old palace was located in a piazza that held many authentic statues as well as a replica David statue. I even saw a statue by Bologna that I recognized and it was an authentic one!!!

Though the tour was really informative and the tour guide was amazing, we were all exhausted from our two weeks in Italy and I don’t think we truly appreciated the opportunity. Afterwards, we had some gelato at a place recommended by the guide. We also went around shopping for a little bit – I got a dress, Pippa got a bathing suit, and we all got souvenirs! We didn’t have enough time to actually go and visit museums – it would have been to tiring anyway.

I slept a bit on the train ride home (this time I was HOT!), and I also listened to some interesting conversation between Mohit, Joey, and Parker. I never really got an opportunity to hear anything about them, so I was interested!

Dinner was planned late again and we weren’t going to eat until 10!!! I had originally thought we would be eating in Florence, but plans were changed. We ate at Enone once again, the chocolate soufflé place that Pippa loves. I had the same ravioli I had tried before, and I even tried a bit of the soufflé – I must say that it was delicious! I hurried out of there as fast as I could, though, because I was worried I wouldn’t make it to Nànà one last time! I was actually really emotional. I even wrote my three favorite waiters a letter to remember me by. My hot chocolate was on the house, I got a packet to bring home, and they also gave me infused teas! Not that I drink tea, but they said I could keep them in drawers for the scent too. I was practically in tears when I left!!!

Day 13 Fun Tidbits:

• Across from the Duomo is the Florence Baptistery where Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise was replicated (the originals are safe in a museum).
• Priscilla and Angelita didn’t have proper church attire so they had to buy 1 euro paper sheets to cover themselves with. They looked like they were hospital patients!!!
• When a customer came into Náná asking where a restaurant was, I knew and Christian didn’t! I’m a true Perugina he says.

Also read…
Day 12 – Shopping with Pippa and Last Night at Nànà’s…
Day 14 – Last Day and Our Trip Home…
Great Neck Music Conservatory Visits Italy!