Every year at this time WEP organises a trip for those of us exchange students who were together in Rome to meet up again in Florence, to sight-see for two days. The excitement began when I arrived at Milano Centrale train station and, after a small wait, two of my close friends from Rome, Ellen and Céline, arrived. After not seeing each other, or any other exchange students, or any other Australians, for a couple of months it was absolutely wonderful to be together again and to talk about everything that had happened to us since we arrived in Milan for the first time and said goodbye to each other. We spent the whole train ride non-stop talking and it didn’t get any better once we arrived.
Unfortunately as the trip to Florence is optional and everybody’s schools and host families have different timetables, not everybody could come. Céline, Ellen and I (traveling from the “Milan-area”) were the last to arrive as those from Turin, Venice, Rome and Naples had already arrived. We were a small group of thirteen, plus two WEP Representatives Pietro, who was with us in Rome, and my coordinator from the Milan-area, Giulia. We were absolutely ecstatic to see each other again and didn’t even mind that Florence’s weather was threatening to rain on us.
After a quick stop at the hotel to leave our bags and change shoes we began with a tour of a few of the city’s important sites lead by Giulia, heading towards a lookout from which you can look over the city, hoping to beat the rain there.
An example of some of the better street performers you might find around Florence, try watching just the Frog!
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| The group, crossing the river looking across at the ever-famous Ponte Vecchio |
Passing through Piazza Vecchia where Alice and I spent some time the last time I was in Florence, we arrived on Florence's famous Ponte Vecchio ("Old Bridge"), always brilliantly lined with jewellery stores and lovers leaving their lock and throwing the key into the river.
A famous Pig on the side of the Market Place which brings good fortune if you rub its nose!
Naturally, Gelato time!
After a bit of free-time where we split up and crazily rushed through the markets and shopping streets, it was time for dinner in a Pizzeria.
A cute street on the way to dinner
After a night where not one of us could stop talking long enough to sleep a wink the next, rainy, morning began with a trip to the Duomo Cathedral. It was interesting to be there again as with the different weather the light was completely different, and because we couldn't walk up close to the front to see the stunning Dome ceiling as it was blocked off for the filming of a movie!
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| A beautiful thing about going a second time was that Giulia acted as our tour guide and explained the significance and history of a lot of parts of the city. I found this clock particularly interesting as Giulia explained how to read it. Note that it has 24 hours instead of 12, the one is at the bottom, counting up in an anti-clockwise direction. |
The group toughing out the weather!
Walking to our next destination we passed by this place and, looking inside, we discovered it is where they re-paint, repair and replace parts of the Cathedral as they grow old and get ruined.
Next stop; the house of Dante, Italy's most famous poet of all time whose name I have been hearing all year
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| Moving houses from the 4th story in Florence 101 |
Back to the main square, crowded despite the weather!
I am now very embarrassed to have described this sculpture as "some famous statue" in my last blog about Florence as I have since opened my eyes and realised that it is in fact a copy of Michelangelo's "David"; perhaps the most famous statue of all time. The real one is also in Florence, in the famous Uffizi museum.
The next part was the most interesting and my favourite part of our two days in Florence, as we took a guided your of the Palazzo Vecchio. The following photos are only the foyer!
Ishka and I leaving our mark in the guest book
The tour then began in the main room of the palace, where we stayed for about half an hour seated admiring and learning about the stories of all of the grand, old paintings/portraits plastering the walls and ceilings. Our tour guide, although taken aback by our lack of knowledge regarding Italy's history, ancient families and most famous artists, explained to us how, when and why the room was designed. It was the room used for all conferences and meetings held by the King of Florence many, many years ago. If you look closely, you will be able to see that all of the portraits tell a story of the battles Florence fought against Italy's other most important cities, Venice and Pisa.
We then headed upstairs to another room full of paintings, although instead of telling the stories of battles fought, these paintings told the stories of the Kings.
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| This portrait, although it may not seem particularly special at first, was fascinating as our guide explained how every detail was chosen purposely to represent something; the sleeping dog and lion at the King's feet represent the animals symbolic of other cities the King conquered in his reign, a painting of a Ram in the background represents his star sign, etc. |
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| The view out of the window of this room looking over the roofs of Florentine houses |
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| Again continuing upstairs |
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| From the next level we arrived at a platform from which you could look down at the first, grand room we were in |
After passing through another few rooms, all decorated in different ways for different reasons, we arrived in my favourite room of the whole Palace; the Map Room.
As the name suggests, it's a room whose walls are plastered with the most up-to-date maps of Italy, Europe and also America, Africa and Asia, the royals could get their hands on at the time. In the centre of the room there was a huge metal globe, although our hearts broke to see that, as it had not yet been discovered, on the maps on the walls there was nothing of Australia and on the globe there was simply as large circle as they had assumed that there was something there.
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| Although it is hard to see in the photo, this map shows North America, and in some parts has written "Terra o Mare" which means "Land or Sea", as they were the small parts not yet officially discovered. |
Already we had fallen in love with this room, all of us reading the maps when suddenly our guide asked us if we thought the room was really used just for the King to come and look at maps all day. None of us saw a problem with that reason, but the guide explained to us that rooms like this don't exist without another reason, and in fact this room was where the King wanted to hide some important things. He then reached out and pulled at one of the paintings, which opened up into a large wardrobe!
At this we were absolutely amazed, gasping and taking photos as none of us had expected there to be something behind the paintings. Whilst we were all crowded around the wardrobe, the guide walked over to another part of the room, shouted out "Want to see something cooler?" and pulled at another painting which, would you believe it, was a door to a secret room!
The door led us through to first a small, seemingly pointless room, which the guide told us was probably used to hide the women when there was an attack on the palace. On the opposite side of the first room, there was yet another door, leading outside to a small courtyard, with yet another door on the other side. We asked if we could go through and he told us to go ahead.
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| The courtyard |
The second room was absolutely beautiful, completely decorated and complete with a marble desk. As it turns out, this room was also used for hiding women, or at least a particular woman; this was the hiding room of the King's mistress.
The place just kept getting more amazing, as somebody asked what the small window on one of the walls was for. Get ready for this; it was a small window through which the King's mistress could look down into the first main room to see everything that happened in the official and unofficial meetings!
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| IT'S JUST LIKE PRINCESS DIARIES 2! |
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| Heading back through the courtyard |
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| The secret doorway! |
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| Anna and her sandwich |
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| Ishka |
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| Keira |
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| Cèline! |
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| Me! |
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| This is not the bag I ended up buying, although looking back at this photo I ask myself why |
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| Bags bags bags |
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| Leather leather leather |
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| Gelato stop! |
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| A really lovely real leather souvenir bag one of the other girls, Ishka, got! |
Unfortunately, our short trip then ended. Saying goodbye at the train station was definitely hard as for some of us it was the last time we would see each other because the people on 6-month programs would be going back home soon!
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| The view of the sunset on the train heading home |
My feet were in agony after all of the walking we had done through the rain so I was more than excited to get off the train and go home, but Chiara and Massimo had decided that, as it was Friday, we would go out and get a Pizza. Being my favourite Pizzeria, I managed to forgive them, especially when Fra and I shared my new favourite desert, the Tartufa.
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