This Friday, our school sponsored a hike into the Fiesole Hills, which are the hills surrounding Florence. It was about a 20 minute bus ride north of the city and about 25 of us met at the base of the hills around 10:30, where Lorenzo, the director of the program was waiting for us. During the hike we were able to see some incredible views of the city. We basically kept winding around on some dirt paths/ uphill trails for a couple hours until we got to the top of Monte Ceceri. From there we made our way down to eat at one of the best pizza places in the area.
Later that night, I went to the synagogue, and this was an experience. We had to be there before 5 because they lock the doors after that for security reasons. When we got there around 4:50 they we had to check our phones and cameras into the front desk, and then we were escorted by a security guard to the main entrance. This is the only synagogue in Florence, and it is strictly Orthodox. The inside is unbelievable; there is gold paneling, dark old wooden benches, very elaborate decorations, and a great big dome in the center. It sticks out in the skyline of Florence as the building with the teal colored dome.
Unfortunately, the attendance of services was very small. There were only about 25 people there all together. I’ve heard that there are only about 1,000 Jews in Florence. It was an orthodox service, which is not quite my style, but we were somewhat able to follow along. After services, I went with Chabad for a Kiddush and Shabbat dinner. At Chabad there were people from France, Argentina, Israel, the U.S. and Italy. We also met some other American students from NYU that live close to us.
Then on Saturday, I took a day trip to Pisa and Lucca. I went with 5 friends from school, and it was our first time taking the trains, therefore it took us a while to figure out how they work. Our first stop was Pisa which was only an hour train ride. Pisa is a city that revolves around tourism. The only sight to see there is the leaning tower. It is definitely worth seeing, but you can’t really spend more than 2 hours looking around and taking pictures.
From Pisa we took a half an hour train ride to Lucca. Lucca is a walking city surrounded by massive walls built to protect it. We entered through this tunnel that opened up to a gorgeous view on top of the city walls. We walked around for a couple hours taking pictures, admiring the old buildings, and window shopping. A highlight of the day was finding the Amphitheater in the middle of the city. We got lost looking for it, and we were expecting to find a structure like the coliseum. After searching for a good hour, it turned out that it was a hidden round plaza that looked just like the rest of the city. From there, we watched the sunset with the hills in the background behind the city walls (check out the pictures, they are pretty awesome). For dinner we took Rick Steves’ advice and made a reservation at Trattoria Del Leo, which is one of the restaurants he recommends in his book Rick Steves’ Italy 2009 (This guide book was extremely helpful for this trip!). Before our reservation at 7:30 we went to a local bar for apperativos. Many local bars and even some restaurants have this throughout Italy. It’s a time before dinner where you can order a drink and then help yourself to a buffet of appetizers. After filling up on appetizers, we had a delicious dinner and caught the 9:45 train back to Florence. I highly recommend going to Lucca. It has a very relaxing atmosphere and delicious food.Lucca has been one of my favorite adventures so far. I had a great weekend, I was able to explore three different parts of the Tuscany region! Next weekend I am going to Sienna San Gi
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