Great Weekends in Florence!

This past weekend was my first major trip during my stay in Brescia, to Florence!  I anticipated this trip all last week and had a blast!  Prior to leaving, I met my new guide and friend named Sara, and we got to know each other.  Sara is a citizen of Brescia, but spent a year in England, so we were able to speak to each other very well.  She was very kind.  I knew we would get along great.

I met Sara on Thursday night and we attended some events in the square including live orchestras, clowns, and drummers which were a lot of fun.

On Friday, Sara and I took two trains; one to Milan, the other to Florence, which was a smooth trip overall.  I noticed the train stations in Italy are different than in America.  They were much bigger and appeared much like airports.

I then found and settled into the hotel with Sara, and then it was time to hit the town.  Florence was a very busy, thriving and crowded city, more so than Brescia.  There were lots of things to see and do in Florence with which I was nothing short of amazed.  I witnessed many events and festivals in the squares, including a gelato festival.   I noticed there are lots of festivals in Italy this time of year.  

   

I learned alot about Florence and some of the many buildings from Sara, who had visited Florence once before.  She explained a lot about some of the historical buildings and churches.  I was happy to have Sara with me.  I learned a lot of history during my trip.  

I also did a lot of shopping in Florence, especially in the shopping malls, which were similar to the ones I remember back at home.  I was never really the type of person to get excited about clothes shopping, but shopping in Florence was a different story.  There were many different types of clothes that I have never seen before. 

On Saturday Sara and I did some more shopping, and visit a bridge which Sara said was the oldest in Florence. 

Although I was unable to go inside the museum, I did get some a picture with an actor dressed as a marble statue, so surprising!

In th afternoon Sara and I took a tour of the Duomo Church Dome.  We climb up endless flights of stairs, stopping at several points to see. 

It was a long, hard, exhausting climb to the top.  I was completely sweaty and out of breath by the time I got there, but I was amazed at the wonderful view from the top!  I could see the entire city, plus the mountains!

The rest of  the day was spent walking around the city and checking out shops.  Sara was very helpful to me, especially while in restaurants and in situations where there were some language barriers.  I had a lot of fun with her.  On Sunday morning we left to return to Brescia.   I loved visiting Florence very much.  There were a lot of things I expected and didn't expect.  I enjoyed exploring the old historical sites as well as the new modern ones, and shopping at the stores and markets.  This was definately a weekend to remember as one of my best times in Italy.

-Gabrielle