Saving My Sanity in Italy: Florence

An exercise in relaxation.

The second day of my “Farewell to *Student’s Name*” tour I hopped on a train and zipped over to Florence.

Despite being a classic travel destination, I didn’t have much on my itinerary. Ok, I didn’t really have anything in mind other than finding my hostel and figuring it all out later. Depending on your perspective, this was either a great plan or a terrible one. I could have planned out my every move and whipped around the city trying to hit all the museums. Instead, I wandered around the streets and sympathized with all the tourists standing in line. Seriously. The lines. Every museum or attraction had a line out the door and around the block. In some places the line for people with scheduled advanced tickets was even longer than the regular walk up line. At that point, I felt pretty good about my decision to not plan and thus not stand in line. Most of those people didn’t look very happy.

So, no, I did not see David. I did not visit the Uffizi Gallery. I didn’t even go inside the Duomo at Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral.

Replica David

However, I did stroll down the streets and over bridges. I sat on fountains and drank cool lemon drinks. I walked up to Piazzale Michelangelo and enjoyed looking out over the city. I ate fresh sandwiches and crazy expensive gelato. Perhaps most importantly, I relaxed. After all, relaxation was what the “Farewell to *Student’s Name*” tour was all about.

xo, jill