My next stopping place is Florence, the capital of the Italian region Tuscany. The flight is at 10 o'clock in the morning, so I did not have much time to say goodbye to the grand city of Madrid. At least, I had enough time to sleep well and to eat my breakfast.
I go to the airport with a train, which cost me 2.60 euro. And it took me about 30 minutes to get there on foot.
I already had my boarding pass printed, so I did not need even to check in. Surprisingly, the procedure of the inspection was extremely fast and without any barriers. It must be a privilege of Shengen visa.
The trip from Madrid to Florence took two hours and fifteen minutes. During the whole trip we were overflying the Alps. Those were the breathtaking views!
Now we are approaching Florence, and it is clearly seen from the window that this area is covered by numerous hills, which in my mind have the strong association with a typical Tuscany landscape. By the way, according to wikipedia, hills make up nearly two-thirds (66.5%) of the region's total area.
In general, the airport in Florence looks rather shabby and outdated. Nevertheless, I am pretty happy to find myself on this fruitful land. Luckily for the budget tourists there is a bus shuttle to the downtown called Volainbus with a relatively small fee of 6 euro. The bus stops at the Santa Maria station. However, I continue my trip with another bus to get to my home. So, my stop is Caracciolo 03, which is the tenth stop from the station.
Right now I can make some conclusion about Florence. In comparison with Madrid and Munich it is more dirty and it is crowded by numerous refugees, at least in the area of the station. Moreover, for me, it is too noisy here. Everyone is whistling, singing or talking in a high voice.
I reached my house rather fast. My room is on the second floor, small but cosy with a double-decker bed and a big window. The host is an aged Italian man. He speaks English very bad, but can use Google translator very well. What I knew from my host when I checked in is that the tap water is potable here, and you must pay 1.5 euro per night if you stay in Florence as a tourist.
After a short break I headed for the city centre. Fortunately, the bus stop is only 100 metres from my house. Plaza del Duomo (or Cathedral Square in English) is the heart of Florence, and it is the most visited area of the city. So many attractions are concentrated here, and lots of African people are trying to sell something to numerous tourists. Military men, who keep an eye on the order, is another attraction of this area.
Surely, the square looks impressive, but the smell is unpleasant. It smells urine here and there, probably, due the fact that there is no free public toilet nearby.
Another interesting fact about Florence is that at almost every restaurant you should pay coverta. For example, at the restaurant ZaZa, where I stayed for my evening meal, coverta was 2.5 euro.
ZaZa Tratoria is located close to the central market and was strongly recommended to me by my friend. He has not mistaken. I went for the beef escalope salted in a secret mixture of Italian fresh herbs and extra-virgin olive oil with a side rosemary potatoes. For the dessert I choose tiramisu and a cup of espresso.
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