Four hours in Florence
Over Thanksgiving break, we went to Italy for seven nights. Because of the brevity of this trip, we decided to fly into Rome and out of Venice. But, what is a trip to Italy without a stop in Florence?
I had studied in Bologna for the school year in the early 1990s. When I was bored with Bologna it was an easy train trip to Florence for a day of wandering around and shopping. So I know my way around a bit, and know that the train station is very close to the heart of town.
I booked our train trip so that we would leave Rome at 9:30 get into Florence at 11:10 and depart Florence for Venice at 4:30pm. This short trip was contingent on us being able to stash our bags somewhere at or near the train station. My friend Bikem, who lives in Venice, assured me that there was a good “pose valise” at the station. I had read that it was to the left of the tracks and as we walked out of the station the only signs were taped pieces of paper saying “bagalli”.
The “Kipoint” luggage checking place was at the end of a line of fast food places and rough looking cafes. Clean and bright, the young attendants apologetically told us that we could check a bag for 6 Euros for four hours “each bag” he said. I would have paid three times that. Liberated from our roller boards we set out to explore Florence.
I was traveling with my two teenage children and my slightly older niece, none of whom had been to Florence. I told them that we were heading to the “Duomo”. They put it in maps which told them to go along the road in front of the station. I overruled the directions and suggested we walk inland a bit. We stumbled happily along the very large leather market. I bought my son a leather belt and Bettina and her cousin went off to find a nice leather jacket. We got separated from them (they ditched us), so jack tracked them on find my friends. “There in here” he told me as he entered the large building in the center of the leather market. I thought it would be more leather goods but to our delight it was a food hall, the “mercado central”. We sat at a prosciutto centered stall called “il prosciuttaio” where I had a most delicious prosciutto and cheese sandwich on focaccia bread for about 6 Euros. Jack wandered down to a pasta window where he was served a scrumptious ravioli with a butter lemon sauce. The girls joined us, Bettina donning a new leather jacket. The food hall was great – it made me think that this must have been the inspiration for Chelsea market in New York. They would even vacuum pack your large meats for the trip home – but we didn’t have time for that!
A few short blocks later, we rounded the corner to see the stunning “Duomo”, probably the one sight most associated with Florence. The green of the building and its sheer size next to the narrow roads made us say “wow” out loud. We continued our walking tour towards the Uffizi gallery. I pointed out an incorrect replica of “David” and then found the correct one hiding behind some scaffolding. We went down a pedestrian way, where Jack stocked up on some new underwear (washing machines were not readily available where we were staying), and my niece found some leggings.
We walked towards the river (I love a good river, it helps me find my way!). Many people were hanging out on the wall along the Arno, enjoying the sun in one of the more open spots of the city. We walked towards the Ponte Vecchio the famous bridge which is lined with jewelry shops. It just feels old, with the large box like way that the stores are put to bed every night. On the other side of the bridge I made sure that my glove store “Madova” was still in existence. I live in Florida, and don’t need any beautiful cashmere lined leather gloves, but I’m glad to know that it’s still there. Bettina bought a canoli at the bakery next door. I believe that is a dessert from Naples in the south but she gave the baker high marks.
I tried to navigate towards the general vicinity of the center of town and happily we stumbled upon the other, smaller, leather market, the “Mercado Nuovo”. I got myself a beautiful orange eyeglass case and a little makeup bag from a vendor. The girls peeled off to H&M which just smelled so awful, I could not stay. They met up with us and helped Jack pick out a gift. Bettina noted that there seemed to be a lot of kids studying abroad in Florence with their parents in town for Thanksgiving. The parents were very excited with the leather market, and the kids were like “whatever!”
We fired up our “maps app” and navigated back towards the station. Our bags were there although when we presented our ticket, at first they only gave us 4 of the 5 checked bags. It was an honest mistake which thankfully we caught. We paid the 30 Euro and were quite happy with our four hour excursion. We know it will be a place we will return to. We had a two hour train ride ahead of us and we all slept soundly on our train to Venice.