Falling in Love with Firenze

Cathedral @ Night
The Firenze Cathedral under a full moon.

Just got back from an awesome trip to Italy! It was my first trip within Europe since moving to Spain and I will remember it forever. Italy is a beautiful country! The architecture, the food, the wine, the people, and the language combined make for an incredibly romantic and magical atmosphere that I have never encountered before.

I travelled with three other friends from work at CYPE, and we had a blast. We flew into Bolonia, rented a car and drove to Florence (Firenze) and Pisa. Here are the trip’s highlights:

  1. Parking! It took us at least half an hour to find parking and it involved manoeuvring into impossibly tight spaces and bumping into both cars in the front and back. One parking job required the re-location of a dumpster.
  2. Driving! Italian Drivers drive wherever there is space on the road without much regard for traffic rules or street markings. Mopeds are often seen tailgating ambulances and whizzing past gridlock by driving in the centre of the road.
  3. “Tonight’s Going to be a Good Night” by the Black-Eyed Peas. We heard it at least 2 or 3 times a day.
  4. Ordering 1 L of red house wine with dinner every night.
  5. Finishing an entire bottle of Limone liquor on our first night.
  6. Waiting for 2 hours to see a 20-metre… uh 6-metre tall statue of David.
  7. Getting lost in the walled city of Lucca.
  8. Always being the last ones to eat in restaurants at night, and always finding restaurants closed for lunch at 4pm.

You can also check out a multitude of pictures in my gallery.

Rafa Near Firenze
Raphael overlooking the city of Florence at sunset.