Hello everyone!
On my third year in university I applied for Erasmus programme and studied in Bologna, Italy for 1 year. For a year I traveled in Europe. And I will try to post about the cities a visited that year as much as I can remember.
From Bologna, we traveled almost everywhere with train and with high speed train it took half an hour to Florance-Firenze. Naturally we spent quite some time in Florance.
The city -that is famous with the scientist and artists that lived there throughout the years- is a cultural, architectural and historical wonder. Everywhere you walk is worth seeing, but i will try to tell you about my trips and give you an idea on where to start.
One of the most important masterpieces in the city is The Duomo. Florence began construction on the cathedral in the 13th century, long before the Renaissance began.
If you don’t want to wait in line to enter this cathedral, I suggest you to buy your tickets online. If you want to climb to the top -which I strongly suggest since there is an amazing city view- there are 463 steps. I climbed them not once, not twice but three times!
One of the most famous bridges in the world is in Florence, Ponte Vecchio. It is located on Arno River and you can find many famous brand’s stores on this bridge. Though watching the bridge from a distance is very delighting, walking on it is something else, you feel as if you are in middle age Europe.
Signoria Square and Vecchio Palace is another must see location in Florance. In Signoria Square you can see works of arts belong to many artists including the imitation of Michelangelo’s David. There are many cafes and restaurants on the square which you can cool of on a summer day or get warm on winter.
Another beautiful square is Republic Square with the carousel in it and the historical buildings around, there is amazing atmosphere. The square is pretty close the shopping area of the famous brands.
If you want to get away from the crowd and find a little piece and quiet, you should visit The Boboli and Bardini Gardens. This is a great secret of Florence. However, one of my biggest regrets now that I’m looking back, I don’t have a good picture of these places.
I'm finishing my post with one of my favorite quotes;
“A man who has not been in Italy, is always conscious of an inferiority, from his not having seen what it is expected a man should see.” -Samuel Johnson