Location: Florence, Italy

M: So our hostel is a little quirky. They are very nice and the hostel is clean, but they kick you out of the hostel at 10 am for cleaning. They actually come into your room and wake you up if you’re still asleep, which we definitely were this morning when it was time for us to be out. Once we were forced to roll out of bed, John, Paddy, Sav and I walked down to the city centre and found some amazing giant cappuccinos with sandwiches. We spent a good chunk of breakfast laughing about last night with the two of them. Thankfully, both of my shoelaces made it home.

Recharged and ready to take on Florence, we slowly walked through the streets and took in the Duomo in the daylight.

S: We passed by these people dressed like statues and all I could think was ‘UNCANNY VALLEY! UNCANNY VALLEY!’ It was so creepy. We picked one statue to get photos with and he ended up holding Meaghan’s hand and hugging my neck. We were laughing but super nervously and I had the worst heebie jeebies after! I don’t understand how someone does that all day for a living!

I’ve been wanting to check out the Uffizi museum, so we decided to head in that direction. I am not usually super stoked about art but I was excited for the Uffizi in particular because the museum itself is old. It’s not just an old building that is now a museum, it’s legitimately an old museum. 435 years to be exact. When we walked up the grand marble staircases inside we ended up in this incredibly long hallway that wrapped around a courtyard in a large square shape. The hall was completely filled with statues and busts in a pattern of one statue, then two busts, then another statue, and so on. Above them, packed tight, were hundreds and hundreds of portraits. The ceiling was painted right to the edges, in what must have been over a hundred beautiful pieces of art. The large windows let in light throughout, shining in rays that showed the dust motes floating in the air. The atmosphere was just so beautiful.

M: There were also adjoining rooms with different displays along the hallway with even more famous artwork. Looking at all of this art that has been in the collection here for hundreds of years I can’t help but wonder who else has looked at these in wonderment, who else am I sharing this moment with over time? I really enjoyed some of the paintings because it almost feels as if these famous old artists are in the room too, like the artists touched this painting two feet in front of me and I’m sharing something special with them. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this.

There is so much to look at in the Uffizi and we eventually got tired and decided to move on…to some gelato! John, Savanna and I walked along the Ponte Vecchio towards a suggested gelateria. It is a fun little bridge full of jewelry shops. We spent quite some time window shopping, alternating between “That is horribly tacky who would ever wear that?” and “That is beautiful I need it now.”

We wound up at the Gelateria Santa Trinita and were absolutely blown away. I’m not sure how John felt about this gelato, but Savanna and I agree it is tied with Luka’s gelato from Split as the best gelato of our lives. Savanna got a sacher torte flavour that was to die for! The flavours all looked interesting, so we have to go back to try out some more.

S: We had a recommendation to eat dinner at a restaurant called Cipiglio, so we grabbed a couple guys we had met from the hostel (Paddy, Paul and Kyle) and went adventuring in the opposite direction. I only say adventuring because my navigational skills are horrible, and it took us twice as long to get there as it needed to! For a girl who makes maps for a living I am shocked at my inability to get anywhere with any sort of efficiency.

Pizza and seafood carbonara, paired with white wine? Food heaven. Definitely a wonderful recommendation for some classic Italian food. My pizza expectations have increased tenfold since coming to Italy… Which doesn’t bode well for my Friday night dominos orders with my roommates back home. Paul and Paddy were tired, so they went back to the hostel while the rest of us went our for some sangria. A coin flip later and we were ordering a second round and playing 21 with adjusted rules. Instead of drinking when you messed up in the game, the group got to collectively ask you a personal question. It was an informative and hilarious spin on a game Meaghan and I have enjoyed playing throughout this trip!

M: Sadly, this was our last day with John as he is leaving at 6 am to Brussels for a flight home. We have had such an amazing time and gone on so many adventures with him since Budapest. One of the things we liked the most about our time with John is how things almost never go as we expect, but it turns out to be ten times the fun. Also, he can be very insightful and asks questions that really make you think. We had a quiet group goodbye hug in our hostel room before crawling into bed for a well-deserved night’s sleep. We will miss John so much, but we’re glad we got to meet him and know him so well.

S&M