Wonderful Florence: June 5th-11th

When we looked at places to stay in Florence, we found two. Both were campsites, and one was in the city and the other was just outside the city. The one in the city was a bit more expensive, but they had rooms available for for the 5th and 6th. The cheaper one did not, so we booked 2 nights at the place in the city and booked the rest at the other one. Anything to save a little money!

(Looking out over Florence from our first campsite that we stayed at.)

When we got to the train station in Florence on the 5th, we were not quite clear on our directions (go figure!), but we ended up at a bus stop anyway. A girl who was waiting there too asked if we were going to Camping Michelangelo, and we said that we were. She was too, so we joined forces and starting chatting with this friendly Canadian named Karen. She was traveling alone, so as it is our habit by now, we invited her to join us in our room. We had book a 3 person room, but there were only 2 of us, so she agreed.


(This is bridge that took us into the city center of Florence. All the little house looking things are actually shops.)

The campsite was much nicer than the one we stayed at in Venice. Our tent houses were twice as big, and much nicer. The only complaint against this place really was that we had to walk uphill about a mile to get to the bathroom, and in the middle of the night, that wasn't fun. Other than that it was great. We ended up meeting loads of nice people there. That night we ate dinner at the restaurant across the street from the campsite. We were joined by 3 more Canadians and an Aussie guy. Then we returned to camp and hung out in the communal area, where we met loads of other folks. I can't remember everyone's name to be honest, so I won't even try.



The next morning, Shane, Karen and I woke up and decided to walk down to Florence and explore a bit. We both fell in love with the city at first sight. It was magnificent, and exactly what we had pictured. There were tons of markets, museums, art, people, icecream stands and of course, there was so much Illy coffee! We spent most of the afternoon walking around, but then it started raining, so we headed back.



That night, we hung out in the communal area again, and met lots of other nice folks. My favorite had to be a Brazilian guy called Douglas. Picture this, a Brazilian named Douglas first of all, and then one with an Irish accent. He was quite a mixture. When I asked him if he knew how to dance (I admitted that I had this naive idea that all South Americans could dance), his response was classic. He said, "NO! I can't dance. I am a pitiful excuse for a Brazilian...my name is Douglas and I can't dance!" I also met a nice couple from Victoria, Canada named Kristy and Brandon. (You might wonder why I tell you all these names, but they will be relevant later, so you need to know them.)

On June 7th, it was moving day. We had to move campsites. We were a little bummed about it, cause we had made so many friends at the first campsite, but we knew we needed to save the money. We went back to the train station to catch the train to the new place. Once we were on the train, we started thinking we had really made a horrible decision, because this campsite was further outside the city than we thought.

When we arrived in the little town where our new campsite was, we called them to send a shuttle to get us. Then, as we were walking out, I noticed a guy and girl trying to figure out how to use the payphone. They were obviously backpackers and were speaking English, so I took a chance and asked them if they were going to the same place we were. They said they were and were relieved that we had already called for a shuttle. Their names were Mark and Molly, and they were also brother and sister. Molly was 21 and Mark was 19, but they might as well have been Shane and I. Mark was obsessed with working out, eating and protein shakes. Molly wanted to see all the art, museums and architect in every city. She had been living and studying in Greece for a month, and their parents had sent Mark over to travel with her for 3 weeks after she finished her program. We all became fast friends.
(Our new friends, Mark and Molly.)





(Shane, Molly and Mark before our last dinner together.)

When we arrived at Camp Girasole, we thought they had taken us to the wrong place. It was a 4 star resort really. We had our own private cabin, with a bathroom right next door to Mark and Molly. There were 4 swimming pools, a water slide, 4 restaurants, a spa, jacuzzi, excellent gym, gelato stand, market, wine cellar, internet cafe, store and even a doctor for crying out loud!! And all this for $14 a night. We forgot all about the first campsite. We immediately decided to extend our stay there.


(One of the pools at Camp Girasole.)

(A rainbow we spotted one night during dinner.)(Shane enjoying breakfast one morning at Camp Girasole.)

(Another one of the pools at Camp Girasole.)

Over the next few days, we met two other American girls, and we all went back into Florence to explore some more. We lounged by the pool quite a bit, worked out, ate, talked, played cards and just had a blast. Every morning, we would eat breakfast and drink wonderful Illy coffee, and then Shane, Mark and I would work out. Then we would either go into Florence, or lay by the pool. At night we would eat dinner at one of the restaurants and then, go visit our friendly gelato guy. That guy was the nicest icecream guy I've ever met.

(A random sign leading to Texas in the middle of Italy.)

(Raphael's David...this was my first look at him. It's not a very good photo cause I was sneaking to get it. Photos were not allowed.)

(Jen and Kimberly, the 2 American girls we met at Camp Girasole. )

One day, we waited in line to see Raphael's "David", which was probably one of the most memorable moments for me. We saw tons of art and architecture that I never dreamed I would see. We also spent a large portion of one day walking through the markets in Florence. The vendors at the markets there are the funniest and friendliest people ever! We loved just walking through and talking to them, or listening to them talk. They all had a line, but we didn't mind because they weren't obtrusive about it the way some vendors are.

(Shane and Mark on the train on the way into Florence.)

(And then Shane and Mark on the way back to our campsite. I think they were tired.)



(Mark had a strange thing for pigeons.)

By this point in our trip, we were in love with Italy. What was not to love...great food, amazing coffee, delicious ice cream, super friendly people and of course...a wonderfully fun language! They really say things like, "Mama Mia" and "Ciao Bella."