A Foreign Land with a Stranger

I've read about Academia Hostel being a great place to meet other backpackers, and it proved to be a truthful statement. The next morning, over breakfast, I sat with a girl from China who had just finished her exchange semester in Finland. Since we were both alone, we decided to take on Florence together. Probably for the better since we were both getting a little homesick.

Amongst the numerous statues that stand on the streets of Firenze.

After seeing a queue that probably would reach the moon if unwound, we decided to bypass the museum and take a look at random visitor's attractions en route to Piazzale Michelangelo. One of the attractions is Ponte Vecchio. This bridge used to be populated with fish stores (mmm... fish...), but then the stuff that got washed off the bridge contaminated water sources, so now they're banned. The bridge is now full of tourist traps gold shops selling all sorts of expensive jewellery.

Ponte Vecchio from afar.

Delicious. I want some now!

We strolled around in town for a bit, and I introduced my travel partner to gelato (yes, this is where I would expect gasps of "she didn't know about gelato?"). OK, truthfully, travel buddy, you didn't know what was special either, did you. But that's ok, because that means I get gelato, plus I was looking for this famous gelato shop anyway. Anyway, I just did some research on wiki, sugar content and fat content in gelato is lower than most ice creams, and unlike commercial ice creams, gelato is generally frozen (and made?) in small batches. Coincidentally, Florence was where this mouthwatering dessert has its roots. Mmm, gelato.

One of a series of stickers on signs.

From Piazzale Michelangelo.

Piazzale Michelangelo, at long last. It took some getting lost and lots of walking to finally reach the outskirts of the Firenze core. But the view was rewarding enough, and I can't let the gelato go straight to my waistline, right? I spent the rest of the day lazing around, since my new friend had to get on the train to get to Vienna.

From here on, I go to Venezia!

By fishii with 3 comments