Monday, June 22, 2009

18th June - First Day in Florence



For Florence, I’d booked at the Hotel Helvetia cause it was cheap. But the cheap room wasn't available (shame about that) so they assigned me to a room (a nice double with bathroom) in the Hotel Elite (a Pensione) about 100 metres down the road. Nadia at the Hotel Elite was just great - very friendly & really informative. It was quiet & had heaps of character.
I did my orientation walk around the city that afternoon, visiting the Duomo cathedral & the Galleria Dell Accademia. The Duomo (Cathedral di S. Maria del Fiore) is one of the biggest cathedrals in Europe, but I didn’t think it was that impressive, apart from its size. At the Galleria Dell Accademia, I saw the statue, David, by Michelangelo - truly a masterpiece. It was much larger (5 m) than I expected & I was in awe of its beauty & I viewed it from many angles for at least an hour.
At dinner on the first night, I met a young woman called Anne from Germany who was sitting at the next table by herself. We started up a lengthy conversation & at the end said we’d catch up again the next day, which we did. I spent quite a bit of time with her while I was in Florence, staying up late in the evening chatting away. It was lovely to have connected so well with someone new on my trip.

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