In Love, In Florence
That morning, we set out on the train ride from Rome to Florence. It was a beautiful trip where you could see the progression from the city out to the country.
When we arrived, Bethany went in the direction of her hostel and her roommate from College, and I left with Emily towards our own hostel. Now that Bethany left we could be all gross and cute in public. It was much needed after almost 3 months apart! We got to our hostel which was only a few blocks away from the Duomo! It turns out that we weren't able to check in until later that day, so we dropped our things there and went exploring! First we found a small church near the hostel, as well as a small cafe that is safely away from the touristy parts of the city.
From there we went on to explore the center of the city! We saw Ponte Vecchio, which had lovely shops (to look, not buy...) and a wonderful view of the river. Then we crossed the river to visit Palazzo Pitti. We got tickets to see the costume collection, the sculptures, and most importantly, THE GARDENS! I lvoe me some gardens... So we strolled around the gardens under the Tuscan sun, and Emily convinced me to wear sunscreeen... It didn't matter, I got plenty of sunburn anyway. At that point, it was time to check into out hostel, so we walked back and got settled into our new place.
When we had Wifi (which was not very common), I got a message from some friends. They were staying in Florence for the semester, and I asked them to meet up! Gabby and Amy sent me a message telling us where to go that evening and when to meet up. Emily and I followed their instructions right away! We would have to hurry if we wanted to catch sunset! We climbed the hill and arrived at Piazzale Michelangelo and saw the beautiful sunset over the city. From there we went to a place called Pizza Gusto and ordered take-out. We sat on the steps of the Pitti Palace and ate pizza in Florence. Then we laid down to watch the stars. From there we went to meet Gabby and Amy and they were so friendly. It is always nice to see a familiar face in a foreign place.
The next morning I got a response from my friend Kevin! If you ahve been following my blog, I met Kevin in Berlin on the beer tour! He is studying in Florence, but it from Pittsburgh. He said to meet him that afternoon for gelato, and we happily agreed! Who would decline a gelato date? Emily and I started the day at Santa Croce and continued throughout the day with a ton of different places open to the public. Squares, and bridges, and fountains galore! It was a beautiful day, and we finally got to catch up with Kevin! It is a shame Bethany couldn't make it to see him that day. From there we went to see Il Duomo and the David, as wella s the art collections associated with both. They were all so magnificent. Later in the evening, Emily and I met up with Bethany to get dinner and gelato. First of all, the waitress at the restaurant gave me 6 euros in all 20 cent coins. I didn't know what I did to make her feel that way, but I was on the border of anger and hysterical laughter... SO I took my change and left for gelato! Here is where it gets interesting...
We went into the gelato store and I saw a woman on the ground, with a person fanning them. I thought that this must happen often and they are just doing what they need to. No one was panicking. Emily nudged me and told me to check it out. So I asked this older lady sitting quite serenely next to the scene if she (the woman on the ground) was alright, in English. She responds, in Spanish, "Oh, I'm fine thank you! She isn't doing so well though! haha" Okay, lady... The one time my spanish skills come in handy! BOOYAH! I start speaking spanish with her: "Who is the man helping her?" "That's the girl's mother." Whoops... So I go up to the family who appear to be visiting Florence from Spain and stopped in for gelato when the woman fainted! I started chatting with them and took the woman's pulse as wella s some other assessments. We were cahtting in Spanish and making jokes (they had such a cool, aclm humor about the entire situation) while I was making sure the woman was alright. Then I went to check if the ambulance had come. It turns out that the ambulance flew by the gelateria... to the gelateria two blocks down the road. Ugh. In walks the old, rude, spanish-speaking, Italian doctor. As usual, he butts in and disragards everything I have done up until the point. Classic. The ambulance came, I transferred care and wished them well! So we left. What a surreal experience. An American student, studying in Denmark, travelling to Italy, doing EMS, while speaking Spanish. Side note: the italian-spanish accent is actually hilarious.
Then we ran into Gabby and Amy again on the street! And one of Emily's friends from school! What are the chances! It was quite the eventful night. We then went separate ways and got some rest for the busy day trip to Pisa and Manarola!
