FLORENCE, ITALY

We decided to fly to Italy only 2 days before, so we had to plan everything quickly. We bought only the essential things first:

Plane tickets. We bought it from Ryanair. It is very important to buy tickets as soon as possible, as one day the ticket cost £ 38 (both ways) and the very next day the price went up to £ 44. In total: £ 53 (both ways).

Train tickets. (To and from London Airport). Also, it is very important to buy tickets in advance because then they are the cheapest. Since we bought everything 2 days in advance, we paid £ 25 (£ 50 in total).

Hostel in Florence. Cheapest hostel: Hostel Santa Monaca. Location 10/10, in the center, rooms had 10 beds, we lived with other people (but everyone was our age (19-25 years), it was very fun. Bed price: £ 16 per night + city tax + deposit = in total 60 £ (you won't find anywhere cheaper in Florence).

In general, Florence is not a cheap city, because it is a tourist place - like Palanga in Lithuania. It is rare for locals to live in Florence because people have found it more profitable to rent apartments to tourists than to live there themselves. The "cheapest" hostel is still not that cheap. Even in central London, you can find cheaper rentals.

We flew to the small town of Perugia (because the flights to Perugia were the cheapest) (140 km from Florence). To save money on trains, we wanted to hike and hitchhike all 140 km in one day (although we later realized that this was not possible, by 7 pm we had only covered ~ 40km).

When I got off the plane in Perugia, I was immediately drawn to the architecture and colors of the house. All houses are beige, pastel, and brown in various shades. Window shutters are like from fairy tales. You can immediately say that here is the Mediterranean style. Very different from Western Europe. What I still really liked was that there was a lot of nature. All the houses on the hills, around the trees.

We walked nature trails, through the villages. Very beautiful nature, we have always been accompanied by mountains and forests. Italy is a very mountainous place, I had to constantly climb or descend a mountain. People were very nice, we didn't have to wait more than 5 minutes to stop the cars - someone always stopped to take us (not like in England - there would be no one to stop there in an hour). In general, I think hitchhiking is popular in Europe, and people are used to it more.

I expected more people to speak English.

From Perugia, following the main road, we came to the very beautiful river Trasimeno.

At 8 pm realized that we need to travel by train to Florence (trains are also not cheap, it costed 15 € for us)

FLORENCE

A paradise for people who like to eat delicious food. A paradise for lovers. I realized that the Mediterranean countries attract me the most - narrow, cobbled streets, colored window shutters, brown and beige, of various shades, houses. It felt like a fairy tale, like a movie. In addition, the way of life of the locals is more attractive to me than in Western Europe: slower, less capitalist, people's hearts warmer, and more open to those around them.

PARADISE FOR ARTISTS

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ART GALLERIES

In any capital in Europe, there are a lot of events, art, and music, but little of nature. And in the smaller towns - there is a lot of nature, but not enough culture. And Florence is the perfect place for both: green nature and art in one place, around every corner. There are both operas and jazz played on the streets. The walls are decorated with both modern and contemporary art.

Florence is full of Renaissance heritage: full of sculptures, modern art, paintings, full of museums, and art galleries. Famous people such as Donatello, Dante, Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Galileo Galilei were born here. There are so many paintings, sculptures, and architecture from the Renaissance that there is no place to exhibit them. Original gold paintings hang in abandoned churches or studios.

The most popular art galleries in Florence to visit:

(tip: book your tickets in advance because the queues are insanely long. Tickets are not cheap: 15-20 €, but if you are from the European Union (and have an ID), the ticket price is only 1-2 €!)

• UFFIZI GALLERY (requires full day)
• ACADEMY GALLERY (there you can find David of Michelangelo!)
• PITTY PALACE (there are 3 famous galleries and 2 famous gardens)

I preferred contemporary art, smaller, underground galleries. so I made a list:

• casa Buonarroti
• Collezione Roberto Casamonti Arte Moderna e Contemporanea
• Rinaldo carnielo gallery
• palazzo Strozzi + (cost 12 €, modern art, Donatello exhibition, I don't think it's worth paying so much, it didn't leave an impression, but maybe because religious art is on display there).
• collezione roberto casamonti
• Museum of Novecento
• after art gallery
• aria art gallery + (liked the most)
• beast gallery + (very nice hosts)
• firenzeart gallery
• tobian art gallery +
• florence art gallery +

(There are few tourists there because everyone visits the most famous galleries. Also, all are free except 4).

There are also a LOT of museums. Because, as you already know, I am not a fan of modern, religious art, we didn't go to museums. However, we visited more contemporary art. I highly recommend:

GUCCI GARDEN (£ 5)
Very worth it. Full of contemporary art, sound, video installations, illusions, and other exciting things.

MORE RECOMMENDATIONS ON WHAT TO SEE

I highly recommend watching local events through EVENTBRITE. There are a lot of theatrical performances, movie screenings, art performances, operas, concerts, etc. We didn't have any money at all, so we had to enjoy free things:

Free tours of Florence, in English, take place every day, 5 times. I highly recommend it because I learned a lot of interesting facts about Florence, I got to know the city, the places, the culture. In general, no matter where you are, GO TO TOURS! Guides recommend the best places to eat, places to visit, and much more!

You haven't been to Florence if you didn't see:

• Duomo (Cathedral of impressive size)
• Piazzale Michelangelo the viewpoint (panoramic view of all Florence)
• Michelangelo’s David (in the Academy Gallery)
• Ponte Vecchio (it is impossible not to see that bridge over the city).
• Cappelle Medice (church, we didn't go there because the entrance costs ~ 10 €)
• Bardini and Boboli Gardens (in the Pitty Palace)
• Santa Maria Novella (oldest perfumery in the world)
• Santa Croce church (we didn't go either because the entrance to the church is ~ 10 €)

Florence is a small city. There is no need for buses, it is easy to walk everywhere. As you walk around Florence you will see various squares, even more sculptures, street art, musicians, unseen interesting shops, ones that are cheaper and very luxurious. I walked that network of narrow streets, between the buildings of Renaissance architecture, and I thought: it’s no surprise that so many songs and poems have been written about Florence, it’s so inspiring!

FOOD

So much food, so many options so we tasted the main ones:

• panini
• schiaccata
• cannoli (cookies with creamy filling)
• pasta
• gelato (it is said that ice cream is the best in Italy!)
• wine

I really wanted to try it, but I ran out of money:

• Arancini
• Ribollita (vegan soup)

I was hoping not to spend so much money. The whole trip costed ~ 300 €. But I spent so much without saving - we ate in cafes, and we went to all the most famous museums. There was a shortage of money, but how will you be in Florence and not see Michelangelo’s David! Nonsense!

We didn’t visit the most famous churches inside (because the entrance was too expensive) and the Uffizi gallery (because we knew that it is a very large gallery and you need the whole day for it).

AND KEEP YOUR HEAD LIFTED WHEN GOING! Because you will miss the most beautiful ornaments and art on the roof-tops and buildings.

Now I can't believe we saw and experienced it all in 4 days …
The rush was worth it; D

We were in Italy from Monday to Thursday, all the clubs were closed, unfortunately, but if you are in Florence for the weekend, here is a list of techno clubs:

techno clubs:

• tenax (everyone says this is the best, # 1)
• manduca
• woodstock club florence
• fortezza da basso
• kauffman club
• illusion club florence

Grazie!