Italy - Florence
September 23, 2015Florence is another of my favourite city. There aren’t exactly many things to do at Florence but I really like it there. I ...
September 23, 2015
Florence is another of my favourite city. There
aren’t exactly many things to do at Florence but I really like it there. I stayed
at Hostel 7 Santi, which was pretty far away from the tourist attractions but
close to Campo Di Marte train station.
The hostel was a 40 mins walk from the central.
The city
I am taken aback by the beautiful façade of
The Duomo at Florence. I love the combination of the pastel colours and it
looked like a huge painting standing in front of me.
I also went to one of the popular Leather Market in Florence, which reminded me of 女人街 in Hong Kong. It is
very much like Singapore’s “Pasar Malam”, except that almost every stall sells
almost the same leather products ranging from jackets to bags and pouches.
Houses from medieval times are still around in pockets of Florence. If you spot one with an angled wood supporting infrastructure on the side of a building, that building has existed since the medieval era. Back then, taxes were charged according to the amount of land area owned. To own a larger area without incurring higher taxes at the same time, people extend the surface area of their upper storeys by constructing their houses like a v shape.
The weather wasn’t as good in Florence and
it began to pour in the late morning. I regretted not bringing my jacket
because I was freezing like crazy especially when the wind blew in my
direction. I took shelter in the souvenir shops for quite a while as I was
too cold to walk on the streets. Although I prefer it not to rain, it was an
interesting experience to explore the streets in the rain with my umbrella.
Initially, we signed up for a free walking tour. However, the bad weather and size of the group made it difficult for everyone to hear what the guide was speaking. Hence, we took off half way.
Welcome to Europe. Litter everywhere.
The Food
Strongly recommended by one of my friend, I
went to Zaza restaurant for dinner. Since
Italy is THE place for pastas and
risotto, I have to try them when I am here.
I had one of the best truffle fettuccine
(9€). The truffle flavour was very much infused in the cream sauce. It would
be even better if they have some topping to go with.
My friend and I also ordered seafood
risotto (10€) and it was delicious. They were pretty generous with the seafood
topping. Not usually a fan of mixed seafood dishes but I actually like this
dish and it is one of the restaurant's house dish.
We arrived at the station at 6am the next day to take a train to Rome.
