Despite its rich history, parts of Florence are surprisingly modern.You step out from the train station and it's almost like any other Italian city. But it's when you get to the centre and you see the Santa Maria Cathedral and the ancient streets that you feel completely lost in this whole new world. It's my favourite thing about Italy; the history of it is literally everywhere, reflected in everything that surrounds you. You feel completely immersed in another culture and that's what inspires me about travelling. You realise that outside your little bubble of a home town, there's a vast world out there, each part a bit different from the next. Florence has remained true to its routes, embracing its history and welcoming the millions of people that visit each year. Tourists everywhere take pictures of something so simple as a water fountain. It makes me wonder that if people from the other end of the world visited my home town, what would they catch on to and think was so different. Probably everything. You see, in this world, there are lots of other worlds, each completely different yet almost the same.
There are street artists who are so dedicated to their craft that they sit there for hours at a time under the blistering sun. I complimented an artist who was painting small canvas panels of ancient streets from memory. He asks me if I'm an art student here in Florence and I reply with "oh I wish." We talk about the weather and his art and eventually I wonder off to buy an ice cream. That's what I love about adventure. Meeting people who are having different adventures, but still having an adventure. The fact is that when you pass someone in the street, you're completely unaware of their life story. But we're all aware of Florence's life story. Because it's been documented so heavily by us all. That's the beauty of it really- the people.
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