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So, in typical fashion for this blog, I will be starting posts about my second (!!) Europe trip before finishing the first. You had better be okay with that. This is my blog and I make the time loops.
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I would meet many speakers of various languages on the trip, but surely the strangest combination was the little boy next to me on the flight to Abu Dhabi. He was from an Indian family living in Zurich, and as a consequence, spoke only Gujarati and German. I could not even get to him with English and patchy Marathi, and could only listen helplessly as he asked me something about the in-flight Angry Birds spiel (game) while his father dozed.
Some hours later, I landed in Rome, with a couple of hours to kill before my bus to Florence. The Vodafone shop in the airport hadn't even opened yet - I would have to wait some more time before getting my local SIM. Roma Tiburtina station was large and interesting, with a bookshop and large candy store. There was even a Banksy expedition which was unfortunately closed at that time.
A winding bus ride and tram later, I had reached Florence's main station, Santa Maria Novella. And nearby, there was a store of the mobile network TIM (football fans would know them as Serie A's title sponsor) and I got a tourist SIM there. Hail Mary!
My hostel, Plus Florence, was a short walk from the station, though it felt long with luggage. It was a nice place with many facilities and very reasonably priced. I also met different people - a Korean tourist, an Indonesian aspiring chef. I would definitely recommend that young people on a budget stay at hostels.
That same night was a welcome event for the conference I was attending, SODA. I was in two minds whether to go, but it was good that I did, as it was also a way to get a feel of the route I would be taking for the next few days. To my own surprise, I struck up conversations with people! Good start. I also found some Indians, one of whom was staying at the same hostel, so we walked back together.
The conference venue was the Grand Hotel Mediterraneo, on the north bank of the Arno. The conference halls were nice and I enjoyed the snacks during breaks too - mostly baked goods and a lot of coffee.
I had looked up how public transport works there, but it took a couple of days to fully understand. Instead of buying tickets on the bus, you have to buy them before boarding. There aren't even ticket machines at bus stops, but there are at tram stations and you can also buy them at corner shops. Once you have validated your ticket on the bus, it is valid for 90 minutes. What I took a while to figure out was that there is no limit on the gap between buying and validating the ticket - so you can buy 5 tickets at the store and use them over the next few days. That was a good model. Alternatively, of course, you can walk everywhere since it's a small city!
On Sunday evening, we walked to the Duomo or Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral, by far the most prominent structure in any skyline picture of Florence. It's massive! We didn't go to the top, just walked around looking at various interesting shops.
The local football team is Fiorentina, which has a lovely distinctive violet colour. They have a (rather one-sided) rivalry with Juventus.
Monday evening was my talk, so that was all I could think about since morning. Ultimately, though, it's just one of the 190 paper presentations across three parallel tracks, and doesn't mean very much. I think I got my points across - sincere thanks to the good people nodding in the audience - although 17 minutes isn't long and I had to speed up slightly towards the end. Afterwards, we went to check out the other main hostel in town, Yellow Square. They were having pictionary night and we had fun joining; the other big group there were some young Australians.
The next evening, I really wanted some fresh air, so I went to the other side of the Arno river and walked along the banks for a while. I don't know what it is about water bodies, they just clear the head and fill you with peace.
I returned to the north bank by the old and beautiful Ponte Vecchio ("old bridge"), which during the daytime is covered in jewellery shops. We went to a pizzeria for dinner. The thinness of the crust means one person can realistically have a full pizza, even if the size is comparable to a medium pizza here. The authentic one is a class apart, the hype is justified!
The final day of the conference was a half-day, so it was time to finally plan the real tourist part of my trip. The other Indians were leaving immediately, so I took a walk with Jakub, a Czech guy I had met previously. There is real charm in the tiny streets. True to being an artistic city, there are also small galleries here and there.
Jakub too had a flight to catch, so now it was time to explore on my own. I found out that Pitti Palace had a combined ticket with Uffizi Gallery, so I bought that and entered the palace. The facade is deceptively small. The palace has a vast art collection, apart from a collection of the royal riches. I ran into some of the other conference attendees there, but I was moving significantly slower than them and had to let them go!
Solo travelling rules. On the way back, I felt like having a gelato (even in the cold) and so I did! No one was around to stop me from spending 10 euros on something fleeting.
Thursday was Uffizi day. I reported bright and early after an energy-filled breakfast - which was good, because the first thing you do is climb to the top floor! The corridor is lined with (mostly Roman) sculptures, and you go in and out of the painting galleries.
Every art gallery has its "superstar" paintings, and Uffizi's are Botticelli's Spring and Birth of Venus.
Afterwards, I went to the Santa Croce basilica, which had Cimabue's crucifix and also the final resting places of many prominent people. It was a beautiful basilica with a quiet and hallowed feeling.
I was yet to visit the vast Boboli gardens attached to the Pitti Palace, so I made my way there. It's a pleasant place to spend an afternoon, though perhaps not something to write home about.
For my last evening in Florence, I wanted to go to the Piazzale Michelangelo, atop a small hill south of the Arno. The walk up was a little taxing, having been on my feet so much that day, but it was totally worth it for the view.
There was a little place near my hostel called Il Vegetariano, that I wanted to try out. I expected it to be sparse, but to my surprise it was full and I had to wait to be seated! I had a salad and a rice-based dish that was not really spectacular but it was nice to have rice after a few days.
I had one more thing to cross off before my midday train - David, in the Accademia gallery. So there I went, in the morning. That gallery is a lot smaller and David is obviously the main draw. The interesting thing is that he is not "perfectly" proportioned (his head looks outsize in straight-on photographs), but is intended to appear so from below.
There is also a gallery of the musical instruments collection of the Medicis, and a plaster gallery.
Some more snaps before we go:
I got some bananas and a ready-to-eat lunch at a supermarket, and then it was back to Santa Maria Novella for the next leg, across the border. See you in part deux!
