On Monday we decided it was time to try venturing outside the city. We awoke again at around 4:30am, tried to sleep again, then decided to start the day with another run in the city. After returning from our run through the cobblestone streets and across the river, we took our time preparing for our day. Robbie seemed to be fighting a cold, so we did not plan to do anything too strenuous.
Our first venture would be locating a wonderful sandwich shop I had heard of from other college students that had visited Florence-inlcuding my cousin BJ :) We found it pretty quickly as it turned out to be pretty close to our apartment. Sadly, they were closed and would be gone until August 31st. I guess I'll just have to try them later in the trip- no luck for Robbie though.
Next on the agenda, find the major leather market. Again, not a problem. We had become pretty familiar with the streets at this point, so it was easy to know what direction to head in. The main market is located outside of San Lorenzo, another large church. Once you get to there, there is no missing the market. It consists of stand after stand of vendors with leather leather leather. A few stand sell scarves, souvenirs, shoes, and sunglasses. It's a wonderful sight for a girl like me. Walking through is almost overstimulating for a purse lover. There are so many to see!! The air lingers with the odor of leather surrounding the street. It's wonderful!
The market is very crowded and a major attraction for tourists, which means it's a major attraction for gypsy pick pocketers. Two teen gypsies slipped in right behind Robbie at one point. Being super aware of the setting I noticed them right when they scooted up in Robbie's personal space behind his backpack. I looked at them quickly, looked at the bag, and then made eye contact with them again. They knew they had been seen. So I pulled Robbie in one direction and the went the other and tried to disappear so we wouldn't point them out to others. It would have been hard for them to get anything of worth in our bag, as we pushed anything of value to the bottom or the bag, but it's always a relief to know you have avoided it in the first place.
We decided to put shopping aside for a another day when we could dedicate a few hours to the event.
It was tme to take an adventure outside of Florence. We caught a bus to a small town north of Florence called Fiesole. It's a 20-30 minute ride out of town and up hill. The local buses are fun because you get to see a lot of the local personality. Many locals ride these buses, teens, local nuns, elderly, families, and of course tourists.
The day was nice and hot again and we knew that once we got to the city, the views would be beautiful.
Fiesole was a very charming small town. To get the best views one must walk up a steep cobble stone street. Along the walls you can see grape vines hanging over the top from local homes. We took a few different walks around the town. First we went off the beaten path to see the opposite side of town. We ended up at an elementary school, closed of course, with an open playground that sat on a wonderful field with a view. I wondered if the local kids enjoyed this view when swinging on the swing set.
We walked back down to the town square and stopped to have a quick drink and cool down before the next hike. We then hiked the main steep road leading to a view we had read about. Well worth the hike. It was a shorter hike than we expected, but lived up the the steep description. Our view was gorgeous. We could see all of Florence and the surrounding countryside. It was interesting to see the city from such a different point of view. We could see the soccer field, which we had not known the location of before. The churches and Duo
mo looked so small compared to when we are in town enjoying them.
We hiked an little extra to get to the church on the top of the hill for more views. Again, worth the sweat. The church was charming and they had an old convent living area open for visitors to view. I couldn't believe how small the rooms were! I'd be clostrophobic.
It was now time to head home. We caught another bus and headed home for the evening to plan another adventure for the following day.
This is our last post for a few days as we are headed to Cinque Terre. Can't wait to share more fun when we return.
Arrivederci!
~Chelle
Our first venture would be locating a wonderful sandwich shop I had heard of from other college students that had visited Florence-inlcuding my cousin BJ :) We found it pretty quickly as it turned out to be pretty close to our apartment. Sadly, they were closed and would be gone until August 31st. I guess I'll just have to try them later in the trip- no luck for Robbie though.
Next on the agenda, find the major leather market. Again, not a problem. We had become pretty familiar with the streets at this point, so it was easy to know what direction to head in. The main market is located outside of San Lorenzo, another large church. Once you get to there, there is no missing the market. It consists of stand after stand of vendors with leather leather leather. A few stand sell scarves, souvenirs, shoes, and sunglasses. It's a wonderful sight for a girl like me. Walking through is almost overstimulating for a purse lover. There are so many to see!! The air lingers with the odor of leather surrounding the street. It's wonderful!
The market is very crowded and a major attraction for tourists, which means it's a major attraction for gypsy pick pocketers. Two teen gypsies slipped in right behind Robbie at one point. Being super aware of the setting I noticed them right when they scooted up in Robbie's personal space behind his backpack. I looked at them quickly, looked at the bag, and then made eye contact with them again. They knew they had been seen. So I pulled Robbie in one direction and the went the other and tried to disappear so we wouldn't point them out to others. It would have been hard for them to get anything of worth in our bag, as we pushed anything of value to the bottom or the bag, but it's always a relief to know you have avoided it in the first place.
We decided to put shopping aside for a another day when we could dedicate a few hours to the event.
It was tme to take an adventure outside of Florence. We caught a bus to a small town north of Florence called Fiesole. It's a 20-30 minute ride out of town and up hill. The local buses are fun because you get to see a lot of the local personality. Many locals ride these buses, teens, local nuns, elderly, families, and of course tourists.
The day was nice and hot again and we knew that once we got to the city, the views would be beautiful.
Fiesole was a very charming small town. To get the best views one must walk up a steep cobble stone street. Along the walls you can see grape vines hanging over the top from local homes. We took a few different walks around the town. First we went off the beaten path to see the opposite side of town. We ended up at an elementary school, closed of course, with an open playground that sat on a wonderful field with a view. I wondered if the local kids enjoyed this view when swinging on the swing set.
We walked back down to the town square and stopped to have a quick drink and cool down before the next hike. We then hiked the main steep road leading to a view we had read about. Well worth the hike. It was a shorter hike than we expected, but lived up the the steep description. Our view was gorgeous. We could see all of Florence and the surrounding countryside. It was interesting to see the city from such a different point of view. We could see the soccer field, which we had not known the location of before. The churches and Duo
mo looked so small compared to when we are in town enjoying them.We hiked an little extra to get to the church on the top of the hill for more views. Again, worth the sweat. The church was charming and they had an old convent living area open for visitors to view. I couldn't believe how small the rooms were! I'd be clostrophobic.
It was now time to head home. We caught another bus and headed home for the evening to plan another adventure for the following day.
This is our last post for a few days as we are headed to Cinque Terre. Can't wait to share more fun when we return.
Arrivederci!
~Chelle
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