I have a terrible case of wanting what I can't have. And as many months as I have been looking forward to spend time in Italy, now that I am here, I am also terribly homesick. Just before the Easter weekend, I was feeling very lonely having no family to celebrate Easter with. I had virtually no plans and Pisa didn't seem to have much going on. With a little help from google, I found out that Florence explodes a cart every Easter Sunday outside the Cathedral. With bus tickets priced just below 10 euros from Pisa airport to central Florence and travelling time of an hour, you know I had to make my way towards the capital of Tuscany.
Scoppio del Carro is what the explosion is known as. An elaborate cart is built, pulled by a pair of oxen on a procession ending at the square between the Baptistry and the Cathedral. Later, it is blown up and fireworks are released for a good 10-15 minutes. My Easter has never been this explosive so it was fun but there was so many tourist I could hardly see much given my height (I'm short). You can watch the video and here to have an idea of what it is, also that website is good for any official events you want to find out about happening in Tuscany.
I used to have an idea of what kind of tourist/traveller I am, but I'm starting to have doubts in terms of what I enjoy when I visit some place new. I didn't visit all the "must see" things in Florence due to first of all time constraint and second I just didn't think I needed to see them. Granted, I would probably make my way back to Florence given its close proximity to Pisa and also the need to get out once in a while. This is definitely something I like to work on and discover exactly what kind of travel I enjoy most, to you know, maximise my utility (I try really hard not to throw in economic jargon into my daily talk but I can hear the voices of my lecturers in the weirdest times...)
Here's my mini itinerary of what I did that day: I joined the massive crowd outside the Cathedral for the explosion of the cart, then I attended Easter mass half an hour late trying to push my way through into the Cathedral (which was one of the oddest services I have ever attended because of the sheer amount of tourists present). Later I had myself some pre packed egg sandwich as lunch and went exploring the streets in search of Grom for some Gelato. I was not disappointed as I devoured the soft cold chocolate and egg custardy flavoured cream. They were so melt-in-your-mouth I was so tempted to go back for a second helping right after. The one thing I kind of put on my list that I wanted to do was to go to the highest point of Florence which is Piazza Micheangelo. Nearby was Basilica San Miniato al Monte which was absolutely beautiful sitting on the peak of the city where I suggest you pack some food and have a mini picnic there while looking into the horizon with the city as a back drop.
Florentine Bernardo Buotalenti is advocated as inventing modern day ice cream back in 1565, and if you're in search of Gelato in Florence, you'll definitely won't be left without one. There is a shop selling gelato at every corner in the city it gets dizzying trying to decide who to get it from! I did my homework though, so I went for Grom a little hidden away near the Cathedral and like I said, perfection. I read somewhere that the "better" Gelaterias will not have their products on display and are instead kept in barrels. Another way to tell a good one is to look for the pistacchio flavoured gelato where a more vibrant colour would probably indicate artificial flavouring/colouring. If you don't fancy yourself as a gelato snob however, than you will be spoilt for choice. I don't think anyone of them sells bad gelato anyway.
Here's my mini itinerary of what I did that day: I joined the massive crowd outside the Cathedral for the explosion of the cart, then I attended Easter mass half an hour late trying to push my way through into the Cathedral (which was one of the oddest services I have ever attended because of the sheer amount of tourists present). Later I had myself some pre packed egg sandwich as lunch and went exploring the streets in search of Grom for some Gelato. I was not disappointed as I devoured the soft cold chocolate and egg custardy flavoured cream. They were so melt-in-your-mouth I was so tempted to go back for a second helping right after. The one thing I kind of put on my list that I wanted to do was to go to the highest point of Florence which is Piazza Micheangelo. Nearby was Basilica San Miniato al Monte which was absolutely beautiful sitting on the peak of the city where I suggest you pack some food and have a mini picnic there while looking into the horizon with the city as a back drop.
Florentine Bernardo Buotalenti is advocated as inventing modern day ice cream back in 1565, and if you're in search of Gelato in Florence, you'll definitely won't be left without one. There is a shop selling gelato at every corner in the city it gets dizzying trying to decide who to get it from! I did my homework though, so I went for Grom a little hidden away near the Cathedral and like I said, perfection. I read somewhere that the "better" Gelaterias will not have their products on display and are instead kept in barrels. Another way to tell a good one is to look for the pistacchio flavoured gelato where a more vibrant colour would probably indicate artificial flavouring/colouring. If you don't fancy yourself as a gelato snob however, than you will be spoilt for choice. I don't think anyone of them sells bad gelato anyway.
So walking around in Florence, I once again established the knowledge that I am not meant for the little town. I thrive in a bigger city-like environment. For now, I'll count every second I have in Pisa as golden and hope that my future will bring bigger cities into my life.
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