My adventures in Florence continue, day two is just as exciting as day one with all the incredible things I found in the city. So let’s get started…

06:00

I woke up just before 6am, not even in need of an alarm. Another day of exploring was upon me and I needed to get up and out as quickly as possible.

I threw on the nearest outfit to me, forgetting my brand new hat, and rushed out of the door leaving a mess of my belongings behind. I fact I would come to greatly regret later.

07:00

I slathered on the sun cream as I walked, today was going to be another scorcher and I didn’t want to risk my skin getting much more tanned than I intended.

The streets were completely dead. It was after all 7am on a Sunday in Florence, I’d find it strange if I saw another soul. But it all gave me an idea…

At the pace I was walking, I’d be in the centre long before my scheduled activity (I’ll get to that lately), I wondered if I retraced my steps would the monuments I saw be more experiencable without the swarm of people?

As I made it to the centre, I adjusted my route so that I would head towards the Cathedral. This route however  took me down some steps and into a strange subway. This is the Sottopassagio (Under passage) a sort of shopping centre found underneath the Santa Maria Novella station. Right now it’s still early, so nothing is open. But that means the photo opportunity is all the more better!

I followed the sottopassagio to the other end, surfacing near to the piazza. I once more found myself in the winding streets of Firenze and slowly worked my way forward towards the Cathedral. Soon enough, I rounded the corner, and saw it there in the distance. That familiar megalophobia hit the back of my mind once again, the dome towered above me, but below that there was nothing. No crowds, just a few early morning travellers, and me.

I slowly paced in front of the large golden doors. This was not my end goal though, no. My favourite place so far has been the palazzo vecchio, and I intend to see it in all it’s empty glory.

The palazza vecchio is a short walk from the Cathedral, a few blocks away only. So I quickly made my way over there. It was even quieter here than at the Cathedral but time was running short for me.

I gazed upon the bell tower, admired the statue within the fountain, turned on my heel and walked back northwards.

08:00

By ten past the hour, i had arrived at my destination. The Galleria dell’Academia, a museum that stores numerous pieces of famous artwork and sculptures. I had arrived just before the place opens, the very first ticket I could get, because there is one man I desperately want to see.

I passed the ticket guard, quickly gazed upon some oil paintings in passing, and entered into the main room. There he was.

The Statue of David

Carved by Michaelangelo at the turn of the 16th century out of pure marble, the statue of David stands at over five metres tall and is quite the imposing figure over the rest of the gallery. For over three hundred years it stood in front of the palazzo vecchio until the mid 18th Century when it was moved to the gallery where it now stands.

The statue is incredibly imposing, and thinking of it’s genesis makes it all the much more incredible. This was once a giant cuboid of marble, that a man about the same age as me spent years slowly carving with hand and chisel. That level of artistry is above anything I could ever hope to achieve, the entire idea of it is incredible inspiring for my own processes. For now though I just have to stand here in awe.

With the gallery still vaguely empty, I spent around ten minutes standing close to the base staring up at the majesty before me. From the distance I was you could see all the minute details. The muscles of his calfes, the veins of his hands, I could even see the occasional spot where it was clear where a chisel had been used for smoothing… four hundred years ago.

Eventually, the room began to fill with others, and I decided to move on to explore the rest of the museum, glancing back occasionally to see him still standing there, endlessly.

Another room I came across on the route around was the hall of statues and busts. These busts were carved by numerous different people of numerous different people. So many in fact that most of the knowledge about them has been lost. There are a few information boards dotted around the room that describe the busts, showing who carved them and who they depict. These boards are nearly empty in their information, after all these hundreds of years the knowledge has just been lost to time. The art remains however, the lasting legacy of these artists that time has forgotten.

Eventually I felt I had seen everything and, after a quick stop at the gift shop, I left the gallery.

09:00

I now had a few hours to do whatever I liked before I needed to check out from my accomodation. In that time I wanted to slowly stroll around and see any interesting spots I might have missed. So of course, I went back to the palazzo vecchio.

It’s an iconic building, and something I have wanted to see for years. So I want to make sure I’m seeing it as much as I can. I headed back to the square and once again gazed upon the large bell tower that

Then I noticed something interesting, something different from the last few times I’d been here. The doors to the Palazzo Vecchio, they were open! “You can go inside?” I said to myself, already moving my legs in that direction.

During the day, the Palazzo Vecchio functions as a museum and details the history of the building as well as the surrounding area of Florence. Sadly, I don’t have enough time today to explore it properly, but you don’t need to buy a ticket to enter the first room, or courtyard I should say.

Inside of the doors, I first gazed upwards at the magnificent ceiling. Archways surrounded the room filled with artwork of objects and crests. Connecting fluidly to these are different pieces of art on the walls depicting Florence at various stages.

In the centre of the courtyard though, the roof opens up and if viewed from the right angle, you can see that infamous belltower gazing down upon you.

I continued my walk towards the river, wanting to gaze upon it’s waters one last time before I left the city. On my path, I walked down another famous street of Florence. Known as the Piazzale degli uffizi, this street houses the Uffizi gallery, in fact the gallery itself surrounds the street with the gate at the end working as the bridge between the two sections. This bridge is another key symbol of Florence to any visitors and as a tourist myself, I felt I had to come by before I left.

10:00

I made it back to the river Arno, resting breifly against it’s walls and gazing on the shimmering water below. I began my leisurely stroll back westwards downriver.

Soon enough I came across a bridge unlike any I had ever seen before. This bridge was lined with buildings, reminding me of the old pictures of London bridge I’d seen in history books of hundreds of years ago. Having never seen a bridge of this type, I decided it had to be my next stop.

This is the Ponte Vecchio, an ancient bridge that crosses the river in the middle of the city. These days it is lined with jewellery stores of which I am not nearly rich enough to shop at but beautiful to see nonetheless. As I crossed the bridge, I found it fascinating how much it doesn’t feel like you’re on a bridge. That seems an obvious statement I know, but it’s odd the first time you feel it, it appears an ordinary street to any other. But glance to the side at the right moments and you’ll see the Arno travelling below.

11:00

Once I felt I had definitely seen enough of the bridge, I headed back towards the river walk and began to head North once again. My views weren’t yet over though, the river Arno is a beautiful sight to behold, and I often glanced across to see more impressive architecture.

After a while of wandering, I once again reached the Park, and checked my watch… I was late!

I had a checkout time of 11:30 at my accommodation, meaning I only had a short amount of time to get there and make sure everything was packed up. I picked up my pace, and headed back into the winding streets of Novoli. I made it to my accommodation quickly, and impatiently got in the lift to the fifth floor.

Once I got to my room, I cursed my past self. The place was a mess! Clothes were thrown out of my suitcase after my desperate attempts to find an outfit this morning. I quickly crammed everything back in, and just about managed to zip it up. Everything else would have to go into my backpack and after I jammed the rest in there it only just buckled too.

Final checks final checks, damn a sock under the bed! Okay everything was in my possession, I grabbed my key card from the slot and headed out into the hallway. Two minutes to spare!

“Just in time” the desk clerk said. A few more minutes and we’d have charged you. I breathed a sigh of relief. Soon enough, I was topping up my suncream and heading back towards the city centre, my weighty belongings in tow.

12:00

Soon enough I reached town, got myself some lunch from a café and then suddenly felt quite dizzy. Now, I’m twenty-four, quite athletic, and take really good care of my energy levels, but over the past two days I had barely stopped. I’d done nearly 60,000 steps in 30 degree heat whilst also trying to take in the majesty of everything I’d seen. I was exhausted.

I managed to get myself to a seat before I collapsed, and focused on my breathing. I was back inside the underground shopping centre so it was at least cooler in here than it was outside. I took a big swig of water, and rested my head on my arms.

I like to think I have a duty of honesty here, and this is I hope an honest look into the exploring lifestyle. Sometimes you can do too much, you can push yourself too far, and that’s okay so long as you know to stop! The main important thing to keep in mind is your health, make sure you’re eating enough to give you energy and drinking enough to keep you going (with surplus). Take regular breaks to rest your body and don’t feel like you have to keep going for any reason. Yes, today could be amazing, but making sure you make it to tomorrow is even better!

I spent the rest of the next hour relaxing. Barely moving from my spot in the café. I drank my water, slowly ate my food, and listened to the most relaxing music I could find. I may not have seen monuments or landscapes, but this hour was just as important as all the others.

As the hour drew to a close, I heard the announcement for my train over the loudspeaker. Feeling I had enough energy, I got up and headed towards the platforms.

13:00

I found my train with ease, it was the only one currently pulled in to the station. Thankfully there were still seats available too as I wasn’t able to book a specific seat. I got myself set up, but my bags in the overhead store, and felt the sudden jolt as the train lurched into life. My travelling had begun.

On my travels, I meet many interesting people. People who have the capability to change my entire world view, and as my train hurtled through Italy I met one of those people, but I’ll leave that story for another time. For now, my adventures in Florence had ended and as my exhaustion set in, I felt myself drifting off into a nap.

Night night,

Cassie