Tuscany - I'll be back!

The idea with my trip to Italy was to get some sun and to celebrate mine and my mum's birthdays as they are both in June. Two birds with one stone :) Sun we didn't get, but we did have a lot of fun, visiting four towns in five days. For me, it was six towns in seven days as I had long layovers in Zürich and Geneva too. This marathon wasn't really planned as I was hoping that I would just chill in the sun in Florence. When it turned out that it would rain the whole week and that the tempereature would be lower than in Stockholm, I thought we could at least turn this into a city trip and see as much as we can. My mum lives in Bulgaria so we had a lot to talk about when we met and the train rides didn't seem as boring. I will tell you in short about the three components that I find most interesting whn I visit a foreign place: the people, the spirit and the food.

The people

You would not believe how much Italians resemble Bulgarians. Everything from clothing style, behavior, even physical appearance is exactly the same. When it comes to clothing, I think Bulgarians are one idea more stylish though. If we look at physical features, we are very much he same. If anything, there are a bit more contrasts in my home country - for example the most common look is jet black hair and ivory skin - I think this is kind of unique for the Balkan people. The similarities may be due to some movements in the past of which you can read more here in case you are into anthropology - I personally think it is fascinating. Apparently, in the 4th century a large tribe of bulgars moved to Sicily - and that's how the mafia was born (I guess).

About behaviour - I will just give you one example. There is one local Florentine dish that I really wanted to try just because others thought it was so "disgusting". It is called Lampredotto and is a sandwich with cow intestines and spices. I asked at one restaurant and the owner only looked at me and shouted out loud "Lampredotto anyone? Do you know where they sell it??" It was so funny as all the guests started talking over one another telling us about the best place to buy this specialty. Two of the guests were so curious that they sneaked behind us when we walked down the street and then waited for us to take the first bite to see our reaction. Now, I have to say, the lampredotto-thing tasted really good but the point of my story is that these kind of spontaneous human interactions is something that pleasantly surprises me when I am abroad (i.e. not in Stockholm).

Add the way public transport works, the fairly warm evenings and the smell of lime trees, I can say that I felt as if I were at home in Bulgaria. :)

My mum

Talking about style, I fell in love with this bag by Elisabetta Cosmo.

I regret not having bought it as it is not available online :(

The Food

Oh the food... Even a simple baguette that I bought at the Central station tasted as heaven - the bread, the sausages... You cannot go wrong with anything you try in Florence, and especially not in Bologna, which is known as the culinary capital of Italy. I don't know if it was because I had very high expectations, or because Bologna was the last city we visited, but I wasn't that impressed by it as a city and architecture. The food was however 10/10! A thing that I found funny was the service charge that they have everywhere. I ordered a coffee and it cost 2€. Just when I was on the way out with it, the waitress shouted at me "No, no - you have to drink it here at the bar, otherwise it costs 4€". Since I really wanted to enjoy the sun outside (it had just stopped raining), I paid the extra 2€ and was headed out with my coffee again, when she was like "No, no - you paid for service so I have to bring it to you". So we went out – me walking like a princess with my coffee coming behind me.

Bistecca alla fiorentina

Afternoon coffee in Bologna

Enjoying a pizza on the sounds of a violin on my last day in Florence

The cities, the history, the spirit, the architecture... <3

I will keep it short here. Tuscany is magnificent! Just go and see. Words can barely describe the majestic buildings in Florence, Pisa and Siena, and not even photos can give you the right impression. not even as heavily filtered as they are ( I didn't know I will be starting a blog back then - OK?) First I visited Pisa. The tower was not what impressed me most, but the buildings around it and the intricate carvings on the Cathedral and the Baptistery on Piazza dei Miracoli. From the railway station to the old fortress you just go on a straight street full of small coffee shops, Italian fashion stores and souvenir stands. On my birthday (Day two) we went down to Siena. Siena is said to be the most perfectly preserved medieval city in the world. It was pouring with rain, but the sun showed up just as we were on the way out. Then we found a cute aperitivo place where we had a beer and snacks out in the sun - that was probably the best moment of my whole stay! :) Day three we stayed in Florence and took it easy. The Old Bridge (Ponte Vecchio) is a must-see. During WWII when all the bridges were destroyed, this one was spared by personal order form Hitler. There are many interesting stories about this bridge, which nowadays host the shops of old goldsmith families. The cherry on the cake was Florence Cathedral - Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore. This is honestly THE most magnificent building I have seen in my life. I will leave this one up to you to go and see. Uffizi Gallery is of course another must-see but I wasn't that impressed by it either, because I was so fed up with Rennaissance art by Day three that I could have gone without watching even more catholic-themed paintings and sculptures, be it Botticelli. A tip: go on a Sunday so you don't have to pay the 30 € entrance fee. My mum is a fan of ancient mythology so I think she enjoyed it more than I did. Actually, if there is at all something that you can get tired of in Tuscany, that is the catholic themes. There are icons and mini-altars hanging on the street at literally every corner. And also churches, cathedrals, basilicas... you name it. It is understandable, as it is the heart of the Catholicism, it is just too much for someone coming from Scandinavia.