All roads lead to... Florence

When I was 14 I had a brief (about 2 years) obsession with Italy. After my last few days in Florence, I am happy to say, the obsession is back!

Only three days in Italy was not nearly enough - but it was enough to get a taste of a culture that is so familiar through the cliches that we encounter on tv, the pictures we see, and through the books we read that I felt like I had been there before. It is such a hard thing to explain, every thing I saw and did felt oddly familiar, but at the same time it was such a different world too.

After another atrociously early start and a groggy flight (although sans airport dramas – even missed out on another pat down!), we arrived in Pisa early on the morning of November 9th. It was drizzling as we set out by city bus in search of the Leaning Tower. I took this as a good sign, as when we had arrived in Porto the weather had been fantastic, and then had quickly deteriorated for the rest of our stay, so I figured (read: hoped!) the opposite would happen this time.

Unlike the bus ride into the city which we took when we first arrived in Porto, the city-scape of Pisa did not ‘wow’ me. However, just the idea that I was in Italy: about to see some of the world’s most famous sites; eat some of the most talked about food; indulge in one of the most beloved cultures, was enough that by the time we arrived at ‘The Field of Miracles’, I could barely contain my excitement!

When you arrive at the bus stop outside the Field of Miracles there is nothing obvious to let you know that you have arrived at one of the most famous sites in the world. The bus stops on a busy main road on the edge of a piazza which has a tall old city wall as a boundary on the far side, blocking any view of the wonder beyond. Luckily, we innately knew to get off the bus, and proceeded to the far end of the piazza where there was an opening in the wall.

Walking through to the other side felt like walking into a different world… the field of miracles has three major buildings on the site: the baptistery, the duomo and the campanile (better known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa!). Each of these buildings have been constructed out of grey and white marble. I am sure that they look just incredible against a brilliant blue sky background, but the effect that was created with the drizzly grey sky was almost dream like as the sky and the buildings kind of melded into one.

I could tell already that I was going to enjoy Italy. We decided against splashing out 15 euros(!!!) each to climb the tower – apart from the cost, the idea of climbing a building in the wet which is made of slippery marble did not appeal. And even though it was drizzly and gloomy, we had a lovely time, wandering around the outside of the buildings, admiring the incredible architecture and taking far too many photos, and then indulging in some shopping for some very corny tourist products at the market stalls that were set up along one edge of the piazza.

After a couple of hours of aimless wandering, we caught the bus back to Pisa airport, collected our luggage and then caught another bus to Florence. The one and a half hour bus trip was very interesting: on both sides of the highway were gorgeous traditional farmhouses, with vineyards and olive trees and vege plots. It looked just like you would imagine things would have looked 60 or 70 years ago, with the one difference, being a huge, ugly highway running straight through the middle of it all – progress huh – got to love it!?!

At approximately 2pm we arrived at Florence’s central bus depot… gathered our luggage and headed into the city centre, armed with a map to find our accommodation, get settled quickly and then EXPLORE!