España 2011: Thanksgiving in Florence!

I had an absolutely phenomenal weekend in Florence. My friend Rachel and I arrived on Thursday late afternoon around four and my cousin Sarah met us at the train station. We dropped our stuff off the hostel and then we headed to her house to make a delicious Thanksgiving dinner of turkey, mashed potatoes, veggies, stuffing, corn bread and PUMPKIN PIE! It was the perfect Thanksgiving away from home! On Saturday morning, Rachel and I, headed out to the Parque de Pinocchio because her great, great, great uncle, Carlos Lorinzini, wrote Pinocchio. The park is in the small town of Collodi which truly isn’t that far from Florence but when we went to the train station to figure out how to get there we were told that there were not any trains that went directly to the city. After asking people in the bus station and train station we figured out that we could take a train to a town called Pescia then take a bus to Collodi. When we got to Pescia we asked someone where the bus stop was and they told us it was two kilometers away from the station. Then he told us how to get ahold of the only taxi driver in town. We found him and he took us to Parque de Pinocchio and gave us his number so he could pick us up when we were done in the afternoon. Unfortunately, once we got the park we found out that it was closed for the winter. However, two men came out of a gate and one of them motioned us in. We still had to pay but we were the only two people in the park! It was a blast because we played on the swings and took pictures with all the statues and the giant whale! After spending about an hour in the park we left and bought some souvenirs then we attempted to call the taxi driver so he could pick us up. Upon talking to him all he told us was “no es posible ahora” aka it is not possible right now. He then continued to tell us he could pick us up in two hours. After speaking to some locals we figured out that there was a bus that could take us close to the train station that should come in about 15 minutes. We got on the bus, didn’t end up paying and the driver dropped us off right in front of the train station! It worked out perfectly!

Once back in Florence we went and got some lovely sandwiches on focaccia bread then we decided to go visit the Duomo and climb to the top! The climb up is incredible because at the very end you climb stairs that take the shape of the dome. At the beginning it feels like you are going straight up a ladder then slowly the incline lessens as you reach the top of the dome. The view from the top was absolutely breathtaking! You can see the entire city and I truly believe that Florence is one of the prettiest cities I have ever been to! I next got my hair cut (exciting) and then Friday evening we went out to dinner with Sarah and Matteo to a place called The Three Benches. It is called that because it is a very small restaurant with only three tables. The food was absolutely amazing! Probably some of the best that I have ever had in my life! The first course was pasta in a Bolognaise sauce, then we got fresh spaghetti with fresh artichoke hearts, then we had delicious steak and deep fried veggies. For dessert we had cheesecake but it was warmed and I have no problem saying it was my all time favorite dessert! Aw… it was an incredible meal!

On Saturday we woke up early and went to an American bakery and got bagels for breakfast! They were absolutely delicious! We then walked around Florence passing the Ufitzi, the Ponte Veccio and many other things. After meeting up with Sarah we went and got pizza for lunch and man do those Italians make good pizza! There is just nothing that can even touch how good it is. The remainder of the afternoon we went to the leather market and continued to explore Florence. For dinner that night we had another Thanksgiving dinner at one of Sarah’s friends house and it was wonderful to be included and yet again the food was amazing. The best part about that night is that I ate apple pie, which has been sounding good for weeks! YUM!

Sunday morning we woke up and got ready to head back to Spain. Sarah, being the amazing hostess that she is, packed Rachel and I lunches to eat on the plane; therefore, we had another Thanksgiving meal! All the turkey and American food was exactly what the doctor ordered after three months in Spain. We had a few hick-ups getting to the airport in Pisa because the majority of the trains were not leaving Florence due to strikes but after switching trains twice and taking a cab we finally made it to the airport with just enough time to spare to go to the bathroom before getting on our flight. It was most definitely cutting it a little bit close. We spent the flights home and our lovely layover in Barcelona doing homework and studying! I had the absolute perfect weekend and I am absolutely in love with Florence because it is such an amazing city. There is just this ambiance about the city that makes me want to spend more time there exploring all the streets, eating all the food and meeting new people.

Love you ALL! Another post to come later today about my time in Barcelona! Sorry I am a little behind on my blog… oopsies!