Firenze, Italia 🇮🇹 Pt. 2

Letter #56: Day 2 of my time in Florence, and an exciting update at the end of the post. (Well, at least it's super exciting for me! 🎉)

The fountains beneath Piazzale Michelangelo

9/11/23

I slept in super late that morning of Friday, July 21st, I think making up for the previous travel day and late night I’d had on Thursday.

Marzia had told me about a running route outside her house so I put on my gear and headed out. You may have already guessed it, but yes, it was SUPER HOT out. I had to walk/hike the first part of the route as it was straight uphill to reach Basilica di San Miniato. After that, the route turned into a leisurely, slowly graded downhill that wound back to Marzia’s AirBnB. It was a short route, under 3 miles, but with the heat and the late start to the day, I was impressed I had made it happen anyways.

I got home and took a cold shower in the strange half bathtub that’s meant more for sitting down and bathing with the shower head than standing up and showering. 😑 I was not interested in trying to figure that out so I propped up the shower head and took a regular shower, even though there wasn’t a shower curtain to prevent the water from going all over the floor. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I could wipe up the floor after. That’s definitely something I learned during my travels—so many places I stayed at didn’t have a shower curtain or door. The shower would be directly next to the sink or toilet, sharing the same floor, no step or ledge to keep the water contained. Instead, it would all drain from the floor and the rest of the bathroom would eventually dry up. It is SO different from what I am used to in the US, where the shower is completely separate from the rest of the bathroom amenities (save for the rare tenement style New York apartment where the tub is in the kitchen) and you wouldn’t dare let water get onto the floor. In these accommodations I’ve been staying in, the entire bathroom becomes one giant wet room. 🤣

Anyways, I could hardly stop sweating enough to put makeup on, and I pulled out my most serious summer clothes, knowing I’d only get sweaty again from walking around. I heated up a quick breakfast—Hil’s soft-scrambled eggs, a slice of bread, and a tomato salad.

I decided to take a leisurely approach to the day. Florence is known for having ample amounts of sightseeing, but honestly I wasn’t in the mood for crowds and figuring out how to fit it all into the day. So I decided to stay around San Niccolò and Santo Spirito, exploring closer to my AirBnB. I visited Villa Bardini, a heritage museum and garden that was featuring a photography exhibit from Lisetta Carmi that was really beautiful, and happened to be a perfectly unexpected discovery for the day. I walked around this expansive villa observing the photos and reading their stories before stepping out onto the terrace to take in the sweeping views over Florence. I snapped a couple selfies and panoramic shots, and it wasn’t long before I was approached by a pretty girl, immediately asking me to take a photo of her with the view. I’m always happy to do that, and often I’ll offer to take a photo of friends or couples together so that they can get a group photo where one person isn’t left out, and then can return the favor and take one of me (especially with all the solo travel, I end up with too many selfies 😅).

But, pretty soon, she’s shifting from sweet pose to sexy pose, movements that looked unnatural in this natural space. I snapped several shots and made a move to give her phone back. She grabbed it to check my work, and handed it back to me, art directing my method to capture her from the waist up. 😬 I snapped a few more shots and handed the phone back and got the hell out of there. I was not about to ask for a photo in return, and risk becoming a wannabe Instagram model’s photographer for the rest of the day. 😂

When I headed back into the museum, I had a short chat with the security guard who had recommended I go out to the terrace in the first place. I told him how lovely it was, and thanked him for the recommendation. He was a Senegalese man speaking Italian, and, with my limited understanding of the language, our conversation did not get very far. I finished touring the remainder of the exhibit, my favorite parts being the photographer’s visit to Morocco and Palestine to capture the lifestyle of Arab women in the 1970’s, and her account of transgender women living in Italy in the late 1960’s. It must be my fascination with the history of humans that interests me far more than art and science.

Views from Villa Bardini and some of Lisetta Carmi's work

As I was about to leave, I waved goodbye to the security guard and turned the corner. He came rushing after me, handing me a note he’d roughly written in English, asking me on a date. It was quite heartwarming, but I politely declined, using the “I’m so sorry but I have a boyfriend” white lie of a line that hopefully lets someone down easier than just a flat out “no”. I was surprised—it was already the 3rd or 4th time I’d been asked out since I reached Italy 3 weeks prior. I NEVER have such success in the US! Either I must not be as popular there or everyone has become too reliant on the apps to ask anyone out in person anymore (myself included). Although, I suppose success isn’t the right word to use, because none of these men were what I was looking for, and so I turned them all down. But it still offered a great boost to my confidence. 🥰

I spent the next couple hours walking through the sprawling gardens of Villa Bardini. I sat down at one point to journal for a while, realizing it was one of those moments I dream about when traveling. Usually I’m visiting a country for only a week or 2 (sometimes less!) and so, no, I have no time to sit in a garden and journal for an hour, even though I so wish I could (I suppose it’s more along the lines that I do not prioritize it). So much of this year has been about soaking up the time of doing nothing in a beautiful place, or of shopping for groceries, being lazy, and living like a local.

Once I had finished wandering around the gardens I decided to head up to the Basilica and then over to the Piazzale Michelangelo. Unfortunately, even after my sweaty hike back up to the Basilica, the guard wouldn’t allow me in as I didn’t have my shoulders covered (I’d completely forgotten to bring something to wear over my tank top). So I explored the outside and then walked over to the piazza to see the esteemed bronze statue replica of Michelangelo’s David.

To be honest, I was underwhelmed by this point of interest. The entrance to the piazza was lined with tour buses. There weren’t any gardens or greenery within the this expansive plaza, and while, yes, it did offer a panoramic view over the city, the place was filled with tchotchke souvenir stands. It sort of felt like a huge parking lot overlooking Florence with a statue in the middle. The view was nice (although the one from Villa Bardini was better), and so I was a bit confused what all the hype was about. I’m sure in the past this was a beautiful place to look out over the city, but the vibe had since been ruined in order to cater to the whims of all the tourists. I had brought my journal with me, picturing I’d sit on some huge staircase at the top of the piazza, listening to the buskers play their music and do some writing. Maybe I had arrived too early (it was well before sunset), but it wasn’t the type of place I wanted to hang out at.

I headed back down in the direction of my AirBnB, passing some beautiful fountains built into the hillside. When I reached home, I jumped in the shower to wash off the day, and got ready to take myself on a dinner date. I chose a place only a 5 minute walk away. When I arrived it looked like there was a line to get in, and nearly every table was filled. Lucky for me, being a table for 1, the host was able to seat me next to another couple on the sidewalk so I could observe all the people passing by. I noticed almost immediately that this place attracted way more locals, so, finally, I wasn’t surrounded by so many tourists. That meant that the menu would be promising. The local couple next to me had both ordered pizza and beer. And while I wasn’t in the mood for pizza that evening, I took note that it must be good there (I also overheard them telling another family that the pizza is worth it, as the family commented on the breed of dog the couple had sleeping next to them while they dined).

I ordered some sort of pasta dish—maybe a carbonara?—and of course red wine. Luckily, it had cooled down a bit so it was pleasant enough to eat outdoors. I read my Kindle a bit while I finished my wine, then ducked inside to pay the bill. (Many places have you pay inside at the counter rather than at the table—we’re used to this only at diners in the US). 😊

I headed back to the AirBnB—it was still early, only 9pm or so—so I settled in to watch an episode of Season 3 of Ted Lasso before falling asleep.

Giardino Bardini, a Fiat parade at the Basilica, views at Piazzale Michelangelo

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Quick Update…

I’m currently in Manchester in the UK. I leave Saturday for Madrid where I’ll meet up with besties Katlin and Sasha who will be flying in from NYC. But my REAL update is that I’ll be joining Cohort 11 of Write of Passage! I hadn’t been super interested in this online writing course until last year when Nate suggested I apply for a scholarship for Cohort 10. I already knew I wanted to start writing about my experiences during my travels, and felt WoP could be the perfect place to get me started. Unfortunately, I was denied the scholarship, and since I wasn’t sure how passionate I’d be about writing, I decided to put off investing in the course. It was also poor timing—I already knew I’d be leaving my job and so I’d have to spend a lot of time tying up loose ends, selling off all my things, and planning for my move.

But this year was different. The scholarship opportunity came up again and I applied, feeling like this time I actually KNOW I want to be a part of this course. I wasn’t awarded the full scholarship, but was given a large enough chunk of it that investing in the course felt like a wise way to spend some of my remaining funds of the year.

The kicker is that, about 45 minutes after I’d opened up the partial scholarship email, I received a Venmo notification that my dad had sent me a gift of cash. It happened to be the EXACT amount that would cover the remainder of the course. I was OVERJOYED. I could feel the universe pulling me in this direction.

I committed to calling Nate about it the following day so he could get me amped up again about his own experience in the course. He’s been writing on and off since 2018, steadily since 2020, as a way to get his ideas out into the world, find his people, and create community (especially around design). His newsletter is brilliant, and he was the one that inspired me to start my Substack.

Anyways, only 2 minutes into my phone call with Nate and I had solidified my decision to enroll in Cohort 11. I am so excited to see where the course will take me as I continue to explore this new mode of creativity, and forge the path ahead for my next career. You’ll all be reading more of what I’m working on in WoP, which launches October 2nd. I’m sure I’ll be trying out some new material so my voice may sound a bit different?! I’m not sure what to expect yet. 🥰😅

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Hey! Would you like to connect over creativity, self-growth, and problem-solving? Or just to have a virtual glass of wine or mocktail? Please book a time on my Calendly for us to chat! I can’t wait to see you. XOXO.

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