Adventures in Italy: Getting Lost on the South Side of the Ponte Vecchio (Sunday Jan. 29)

THE VIEW from Piazzale Michelangelo

A little note: I live on the other side of the river from the city center. My area is less touristy and very hilly. One of my dreams before coming to Florence was to take a random street and walk on it to see what I could find.

Luckily, my roommate Jackie had the same intentions, so we are bosom friends in our adventures! On Sunday, January 29th (the day before classes), we picked one of the streets that took a 45+ degree angle in the late morning hours to wherever it would take us. This one curved up the steep, tall hill forever with very few turns off of it. In Florence, it is a good idea to get on the correct street the first time--you may not be able to get off the road otherwise!

We passed an old fort that was fenced in quite royally, though we managed to peek through some holes in one of the gates. Also, a random museum was early on that road. It was a quiet, nice walk. Pretty houses behind tall walls. They were definitely more house than apartment. In the city, all you have are six-story-tall buildings with shops in the ground floor and everyone else living on top of one another. I wish we would have been able to see the yards of the houses we passed on that road.

I do not recall how long we walked, but it was through the forever neighborhood until a busy street close to the outside of the city. Then we walked back and had lunch.

After lunch, we decided we were not done! There was another random steep hill-street we had not taken yet. So, without any other thought, we went up it. It was shorter to arrive at a prominent destination than the morning walk. Unplanned, we managed to climb to the highest point in Florence, Piazzale Michelangelo. I plan on going back with my camera, but for the time, Jackie let me borrow hers. Up there, we had gelato even though it was windy and cold. Good stuff.

And here are some pictures to share!