Saturday 13-7-2013

This is actually pretty funny looking back at this entry, because I kept writing new things every few hours, so you get to see what mood I was in at the time.


Florence - Saturday 13-7-2013:

Self-ie

[9 am]

Since I could only stay in the hostel for 1 night I had to make a decision:  Either I found another hostel/ hotel to stay at or do as much as I could in 1 day and go home.  (I ended up doing the second.)

Also, (not to brag), but I am a genius! I made a few sandwiches before going to Florence and I swear, it was one of the best decisions I've made during that whole week!  Those sandwiches... so good... (why am I writing about sandwiches?  I must have been really hungry.)

Actually, this was based of a photo of me eating pizza in Paris

Another thing I've observed here (in Rome as well) is how some of the creepy beggar women stand guard at the entrances of churches like ticket officers.  Then they glare at you, trying to make you feel guilty.  I know its the Christian thing to give money to the poor, but I've had enough!  I'm sick and tired to being taken advantage of and hustled on the streets by these people (who I swear are acting).

if one more hustler comes up to me again,
I'm going to punch them in the face.
(... passive aggressive much?)

In then end I gave up on going to one of the churches (where one of these beggars were) and went to a cafe for a cappuccino instead.  At least I was able to get something to drink/ eat in peace! (For those who don't know me, I get really angry when I'm hungry, so that pretty much explains why I was whinging so much just now, haha.)


[1 pm]

Just climbed up the super tall bell tower next to the Duomo cathedral (there's a Duomo in Florence too) and saw the whole city, it's pretty cool.

I think I must really be a glutton for punishment, because I keep paying money to suffer and walk up stupid stairs.

Me dying from exhaustion

 While I was there I decided to do the artist thing (since that's what I am), and draw the Duomo, which was next door, but then I experienced a déjà vu.  Where have I seen that before?  Now I remember, it was in one of the artist books that I have, where the artists sent in street drawings from around the world.

I think i'm getting closer to becoming the person that I want to be.  Spontaneously took the train from Rome to Florence just to climb a tower to draw... Sounds like a real artist.

Duomo

Then suddenly I saw something in the distance...

Look closer...

Those jerks!  Who do they think they are climbing higher than me?!  Now i'm going to have to climb up the other one too!  (Haha, just an obnoxious excuse to suffer some more.)

But before that I had to recover... with gelato! However I must have not payed enough money (snobs) because the restaurant people kicked me out of the seating area, which wasn't very nice :(
especially since my legs were shaking uncontrollably ever since climbing, kind of like this ==>


[2:34 pm]

Currently sitting in the shade on top of the Duomo.  Good thing I'm not claustrophobic, because it was like climbing a dungeon in the sky to get up here.  (A dark, sweaty dungeon made to keep tourists in.) But I though it was worth it, since I like high places.  The breeze is really nice and cool and you can see the whole city, also there aren't thousands of annoying people bugging the shit out of me, so that's a plus too.

After that I went into the (actual) dungeon/ basement and saw the church, a bunch of old ruins and a skull in a box.  It kind of reminded me of the ruins in the bottom of Notre Dame actually.

[5:13 pm]

After waiting in lines everywhere I decided to go off on my own to explore.  My friends said that the old(er) part of Florence was on the other side of the river, which had a bunch of cool stuff, but by the time I got to the actual river I though.  "Screw this! I'm not going all the way over there!" (I should remind you that it was burning hot that day too.)  So I climbed up onto one of the bridges and drew the river.

Yes, the stop sign really did have a face.

After that I tried to go window shopping, in some air-conditioned shops, but they were all really high end paces that pretty much no one could afford, like Gucci, Giorgio Armani, etc... Also going there made me feel 100 x poorer and scruffier that I actually was.  So I moved to a place which was more within my economic status and comfort level; McDonald's!

Which was where I ended up writing this entry

I really did a lot of things that day.  I actually didn't need to say in Florence for a few days like the guide book suggested, so I guess it was a good thing that I booked by train back for Rome that night.  (Besides all the tourist attractions were too expensive and were kind of pissing me off.)

Here's a tip for future travelers:  Don't ever go to tourist attractions (unless you really want to go/ or research it before hand), because everything is really crowded and over priced.  Also the locals usually hate your guts and want to rip you off as much as they can, because you look gullible. 

Which is why I love being a student, because you have more time and opportunities to learn about the culture of a country from an insider's perspective.

The only bad thing about booking my train ticket this morning is that they have set times, so I ended up waiting in McDonald's for about 4-5 hours, which can kind of make a person go crazy sometimes, but then again, at least they're not really snobby.  (I only had to pay about 2.50 E for a large ice tea, which lasted the whole time.)

Here is the product of waiting for so long:

About 50 stupid comics... Holy cow, I really drew a lot!  I swear this must be a new record or something.  It's amazing how much work a person can do due to boredom.

and these stupid sketches too

Finally on the train.  As Tatiana would say:  It looks like i've lost the will to live...