Rest Day #1 (Somewhat)

After a few very big days and still bigger days coming up, I took a well needed day off (or so, I intended). I spent much of the morning in bed, taking it easy before feeling as though I'd have to do something productive to justify the costs and time spent getting here. As such, I made my way to the Central Market of Florence. Outside was mostly clothes, leather and jewellery for sale - none of which I am in the market for. A lot of the stuff for sale was all the same, to be honest, and so that furthered my disinterest. I then made my way inside, where it was much more interesting. This was the food section of the market, and where I began to hunt down some lunch. There were so many things to choose from and I am incredibly indecisive. My stomach had shrunk slightly over the past few days with lots of travelling and barely enough time to eat, but I was keen to get a big feed into me. In the end, I sat down at a nice old couple’s stall, and they explained to me that the most traditional Florence dish they offered was something called Lampredotto. It was tasty and an interesting texture. I later learned that I had eaten the lining of pigs' stomach, but it was still an interesting way to enjoy the culture of Florence. After this, I was pretty much gearing down for an early night.

But a mate I had met a couple of days earlier from France messaged me on WhatsApp to go for a drink somewhere. Given that I didn't have many friends and hadn't had much opportunity to meet people, I jumped at the offer. He was also solo travelling, and we met when he simply stopped me in the Plaza outside the Ufizzi gallery and introduced himself. I thought for sure he was trying to rob me or scam me somehow but when he messaged me it all seemed legit. It ended up being a much bigger night than I had expected given that I was having a rest day. We had gone to Santo Spirito for a drink, and he was a very interesting person indeed. He was riding from France to Croatia on his bike, as a “holiday”, and stopping at major cities. Because he camps along the way he doesn’t meet many people other than by just stopping other backpackers in the streets. He would set up camp whenever he got tired and was lucky if someone would let him camp in their front yard, otherwise it would be anywhere he could find. Something in Australia that would be outrageous if not impossible. After a few drinks, we thought it necessary to try and make some more friends. This is where the Italian laws and nightlife can be very treacherous. Half anxious and unsure of how we would do it, we wandered into the main Plaza and was instantly swamped by girls trying to talk to us. He and I were shocked beyond belief. It felt too good to be true. That's when we eventually learnt that they were in high school and at most 17 years old. In Italy, the drinking age limit of 18 is more of a recommendation, apparently. After a quick look at each other, we decided it was time for a "drink" so we could escape that situation. We left and got a drink and tried to find somewhere to sit (away from the children). Once again, it didn't take long for some nice-looking English people to approach us. This time, they were asking for the location of a nightclub, which, as foreigners, we could not help them with. They eventually invited us to join them, and we figured we would oblige. After about 40 minutes of walking drunk through the streets of Florence, we ended up in a very fancy night club in the middle of nowhere. It was expensive but was my first taste of nightlife in Italy and it was awesome. We had a view over the city, good music and the English people were good fun. Eventually, we decided it was time to leave at about 3:00 a.m., and we headed back to theirs. They invited me to stay with them and given the opportunity to sleep in a comfy bed for a night with air-conditioning for a night. I jumped at it.Leggi altro