February 2019 – Finding Florence

Getting Lost in Florence

By Reese Bentzinger
Photo by the author

A tourist (or perhaps just me), will find it very easy to get lost in Florence.

The curved roads here are different from those back home. It’s hard to tell when the brick-lined street you’re walking on will spill into a piazza or turn into a narrow alleyway.

This isn’t something to raise alarm, it’s part of the city’s charm. After all, when you get lost you never know where you’ll find yourself.

I’ve discovered some amazing places whenever I’ve gotten lost in the city. Just this morning I stumbled into a hole in the wall with a coffee vending machine. I got myself a shot of espresso for 30 cents that was surprisingly good considering the fact that it didn’t come from a barista’s hands.

Not that you should rely on random vending machines for food or drink. If you ever get lost in Florence, try to make your way to somewhere that offers food. I usually find myself at a coffee bar, enjoying a shot of espresso and observing the city around me.

There’s a lot of activity in the streets of Florence. You’ll find cart vendors selling anything from antique books to leather goods. The many piazzas around town offer excellent places to sit and relax with your friends. To top it all off, you’re guaranteed to be surrounded by some gorgeous old-world architecture.

Of course you don’t want to get too lost. Make sure you have a cell phone with data that will help you find your way back to where you’re staying. But if you’re on your way to the Duomo and make a wrong turn, use it as an opportunity to explore somewhere new.

It might be tempting to stay in the touristy areas of Florence, but this offers only a glimpse of the city. In order to see it’s true nature without having to wait in line, walk around the city and step inside a shop that you didn’t make plans for.

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Green Spaces around Florence

By Katie Weiler
Photo by author

It’s nice to get out of the city air every once in a while to recharge on a nice day. Luckily, I had just that in mind when I found out about the Giardino dell’Orticoltura, or the Horticulture Garden of Florence. This garden is outside of the city center and has an air of mystery surrounding it.

The greenhouse in this garden was built as the result of a movement for more green space in the city, and for all the nineteenth-century splendor it was built in, did not have all of the crowds I was used to in Florence. I was anxious to see what I might find and if it would even be open.

As soon as I crossed the street, I was met with the open doors of the park. It was a lot bigger than in the pictures online. After walking a lap around the garden, I sat on a bench and tried to be as quiet as I could be. I found myself listening to the birds and writing in my journal. I could hear the people reading a few benches over turn the pages to their book every now and then. Others had parked their strollers next to the benches while the children slept. Some were taking a smoke break or reading the newspaper. There were many pathways lined with small pebbles, so that when people walked by even a few meters away you could hear their feet crunching the ground beneath them. I watched the people walk past with their friends and their dogs. I saw people sit down on the grass right next to the smaller flowers, the first of the little weeds that were starting to pop up in mid-february.

The greenhouse was a sight to see. It sparkled the sun off of its clear windows which stood out against the white structure inside. It was completely empty inside, but there will be flower exhibits in late April that I’m told will fill the building with color. The tropical trees around the greenhouse make it very picturesque. Even on a colder day, the trees lend a feeling that the warmer weather will soon be here. The park itself seems out of a magazine, scattered statues of dogs are all around the place. What stands out to me is the decorated taxi that is in the grass on a raised bed. The taxi is covered in fun childish paintings and drawings of cartoons. After translating the message in the window, I learn it is the Milan 25 car, which was a taxi driven to cheer up children in hospitals. The taxi was decommissioned and replaced, so the old one is in the park for everyone to see and visit.

Although I wanted to stay in the quiet park all day, I decided to start making my way back to the city center. The streets were nearly empty on this side of Florence, and I noticed there was a lot more car traffic than I was used to in the historical district. I had to wander down the street to find a crosswalk, and when I did I found another small outdoor area. My directions were telling me I should cut through a park, but once I saw it I told myself I needed to make a detour. As soon as I saw the amazing Fontana Della Fortezza da Basso, a fountain with benches and sidewalks that was conveniently placed next to the base, I knew I had to come back here many more times in my days in Florence. I encountered many more Florentine sights on my way back, but none stuck to mind quite like the outdoor spaces did. I had never seen this side of Florence before and it seemed everywhere I turned, I had a new memory of this fantastic sun-filled day.

See more of Florence and Italy at FUA’s FB, Instagram, and Twitter.

The Power of Disconnecting

By Murphy Thompson
Photo by Qin Quan Lin

As my plane landed in Florence, I immediately reached for my phone to switch it off airplane mode. To my initial horror, it read “No Service”. A wave of panic rushed over me as I attempted to calculate the texts I would need to send and the posts I would need to like. As I sat in the cab to my new apartment with an unusable phone, I began to truly see and appreciate Florence.

The prioritization of social media drastically takes away from living in the moment. Frequently, I catch myself scrolling through my phone rather than being present. Checking Instagram appears to be therapeutic: you check it when you’re happy, sad, and anything in between. It is harder to concentrate on one task with the temptation of social media within grasp. I am not blind to the fact that this social mutation is detrimental. The misconception is that individuals think they cannot live without connection to social media. The lack of mindfulness is where people go astray; however, the moment at the Florence airport was a wake up call.

Since arriving in Florence, I have noticed that I am checking my phone less. Maybe it’s due to the lack of service, but my mind seems lighter and less worried about what others are doing or posting. In hindsight, social media created an anxiety and fear of missing out. For me, once the step had been taken to disconnect from the virtual world, it was much easier to appreciate what was in front of me.

See more of Florence and Italy at FUA’s FB, Instagram, and Twitter.