The start of my journey to Florence

Hello everybody! I hope that this post finds all of you well. It's been a while since I posted anything so, now I'm back in my beloved city Lima, and I have a lot of things to tell and share in this blog.

To begin, I'm going to create this blog first about my experience in one of the most beautiful cities that I have been lucky enough to get to see. This city is called Florence, which is also known as Florencia in Spanish and Firenze in Italian. It's one of the most stunning cities in Italy, and I lived here for practically 11 months. I didn't know anyone when I moved, but after a short amount of time I managed to meet some marvellously special people who made me want to return to this city to continue with my life and my journey.

Basically, I want to share the following topics in this first publication:

• How I got to Florence and the reasons I chose to go there.
• The job interview and the processes I had to go through.
• My trip around the city of Florence on my first day living there.
• The situations that I had to experience to be able to find somewhere to live.
• Le Cure, where I lived in Florence.

With this photo I want to share one of the images of the dome of Florence which is in the heart of the city and you can find many of the city's important monuments around it. Santa Maria dei Fiori, the heart of the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance in the following image:

The beginning of my arrival to Florence

It all started the opposite of how you'd want it to. The truth was that I didn't think that Florence would become my second home at all as it was that moment in which I found myself on the hunt for somewhere to live. After just having graduated with a degree in Tourism Administration from the University of Bologna on the Rimini Campus, life gave me an unmissable opportunity.

Once I graduated from the University of Bologna, I started the clock of looking for a place where I could start to write a new story. In fact, more than once I wanted to write in my blog again, but my fatigue, job and my life where I was trying to find myself again made me take a break from this for a long time.

My graduation was in March 2018, and I was very lucky as less than 2 weeks after that I received an email about an online video job interview on Skype for the Reception position in the Hotel Westin Florence, which is found right in the centre of Florence. Let's say that the interview went well, I had to do the whole interview in Italian, and from there I then started quite a long and tedious process to get the "permit in anticipation of employment". This is what they give to people who aren't European, like in my case, who want to live in Italy after having graduated university. I'm not lying to you guys when I say that it was a nightmare, but I got it and with that permit I could start working in the hotel. Initially, things were a little bit complicated because of me having to get the permit. This is because I had to get a part-time contract so I could get a contract for full-time work afterwards.

Arriving in the city of Florence

After having had my job interview, they called me to invite me to the hotel in Florence so I could have an interview in person. I remember the day perfectly as it was pouring down with rain, and I had to use my umbrella just to be able to get out of Santa Maria di Novella station. I had barely left the station, and I felt all the movement from people walking from one place to another, as if there was a road just for people from different parts of the world. I couldn't believe that I felt this way in this city after having been in Rimini which isn't very big. Although it's very lively during the summer, it's somewhere that can't be compared with Florence. Without even mentioning Milan, which is somewhere that seems a lot more cosmopolitan.

I must admit that I don't have a good sense of direction so one of the things I had to do was to look over the GPS more than once just to know where I was, and I was so far away from the hotel. Luckily, I arrived at the door of the hotel a matter of minutes before the interview. I waited a few minutes so I could dry my face and then continued afterwards so I could tell them I was here for the interview. I had this feeling that I knew that I had already been accepted. I felt the Westin brand upon entering this building that was clearly more than 800 years old. To be able to get a job here I have to read the whole history of the hotel and what facilities and services they have inside.

In the following image, I present to you one of the views from inside the San Lorenzo market in the centre of Florence. By climbing the stairs of this market, you can find this space where you can eat tasty dishes at all kinds of prices during your trip around the Tuscan city of Florence:

The job interview

The job interview was something quite regal. For the first time I felt free to not just depend on a permit, but on my own qualities more. It was an interview that I can define now as human, simple and there was a lot of chemistry between those who turned out to be my work colleagues in this beautiful hotel, that I keep very fondly in my memory. I have always thought that in a job interview, one must present themselves as someone that sees themselves clearly, and must make sure to highlight the different qualities that each individual has. This was why I presented myself as the person I truly am, without fear, but with a smile.

Going back to Rimini

I took my train back to Rimini, and I had to catch the regional train to a stop in Faenza. In approximately 3 and a half hours I got back to Rimini. I felt that I had to start a new story now by living somewhere other than Rimini. I knew that it was already my moment to start worrying about other things, like being able to flourish and carry on with my dreams and goals. The student life I had over those two year were unforgettable. It was a place where I met so many lifelong friends who I'll keep in touch with, but life was telling me to move on. So, I looked for my own way through life just as each one of my university friends did.

Rimini has become a little home for me always, and I will forever want to go back there time and time again. The truth is that despite spending so much time there, I can't say that I know it like the palm of my hand. Sometimes when I spoke about the university with my friends, I could see the connection that each of them had with Rimini which was deeper and different to the one I had. Maybe it was one part to do with me because I wanted to leave, and I was searching for a new destination. I always had the intention of coming to Italy to establish myself in a city that I had more of an accordance with. That was what I wanted. I'm not saying that Rimini isn't a beautiful place, as it's the opposite. I was grateful for this city. However, I knew that this journey would end sooner or later, so it did.

In the following image, I want to show you guys one of the churches you can find in the centre of Florence. This is the church of Santa Maria di Novella. Exactly, it has the same name as the predominant train station in Florence because both points are very close to each other:

And it was as if my time in Rimini ended so I could start in a new destination called Florence. Somewhere that, I have to be honest, I didn't intend to live in. The first time I went to Florence was in 2016 when I went on a last minute trip with one of my friends from the University of San Marcos that came to Italy as a tourist. We met each other in Rimini to then go to Florence together. We only went for one night, and I thought the city was immensely beautiful, but not for me. The sheer beauty of it was too much for me. So many things go through one's head when you're in a time in your life when you're out of touch with things, but that's how I felt and I like to be honest in what I write. I'm sincere in each small thing I share you with as I feel a special type of catharsis when I think about my memories and myself.

I had to leave Rimini, and I left loads of my things in one of my flatmates' house (a very pretty Peruvian who I'm still friends with now). I left Rimini in the morning by train. It did the same trip as before with the stop in Faenza, so the trip costed more or less €14, one way without a return.

Starting to live in Florence

My arrival in Florence was strange. I remember when I left with my suitcase and I went on my way, as they say "fresh off the boat", when a man (with features that suggested he was from India) shouted at me tell me to not walk that way as you had to use a bike to go in that direction. So, my initial reception wasn't as spectacular as it could have been, right? But that's the least of it. The truth is that I often think that I have been very lucky in my work since my boss was able to help me so that I could live in a company room for two months. I had to share with a man who also worked there named Moreno. This was very beneficial for me as I had more time to find somewhere to live in Florence without any predicaments and without thinking that I had to find somewhere quickly. Also, I had to wait until I had a bit more money to pay the houses guarantee.

The first day in Florence

The first thing I did was walk around the hotel and I was welcomed by my boss and went with him to the hotel's garage. Yep, the garage of the hotel. You won't believe it, but the garage had a second and third floor which is found in the quiet "palazzuolo". There were several rooms for the hotel staff, which is where my room is (to my great fortune, that I didn't have to pay anything for). Because of this, I saved a lot of euros before I even received my first months pay check.

As I was telling you earlier, about the nightmare about getting my permit to work and not receiving a full-time contract, my boss then made me only work part-time which were around 20 hours with three days rest per week. The truth is that I wanted to work more hours so I could learn more, but I couldn't. Not only because of that, but also because I wanted to show the rest of my colleagues and myself that I could be a hard worker. Only time would tell whether they would give me more hours, or a reason for if not.

The first afternoon in Florence

I also walked around the Human Resources department to sign my contract and to sign what seemed like an endless number of documents. Honestly, I didn't understand anything of what I was signing. I only knew that it was all part of the Italian bureaucracy, but afterwards I was already learning when I received my first "busta paga" (pay cheque), with details of what they were paying me.

The room I lived in was small with a simple bed, with a wardrobe where I could leave my things. There was also a nightstand with a lamp with quite a dim light. Right there was where I started to write about my first afternoon in Florence. I didn't want to leave before listing my favourite selection of songs, and now I remember very clearly that the Internet didn't work well at all. So to be able to talk to my family and friends, I had to leave the garage and sit myself in a plaza to respond to my messages. At the same time, I was able to breathe in a bit of the city air as the window in my room looked out onto the garage, and didn't have natural light.

I left the garage, and I walked down the River Arno where you can find several bridges. The most famous of these bridges is the oldest in Europe, which is the beautiful Ponte Vecchio. This bridge has a lot of history which serves as a connection between the centre of the city and the house of the most powerful family in Florence, who were the Medicis.

And suddenly, without expecting it, I felt a strange pang of sadness. I should be happy, I'm in a beautiful city, with unique architecture and so many people. I don't know if it's ever happened to you, that despite being in the middle of a crowd of people, instead of feeling united with them, you feel alone. That's how I felt in that moment, and I also remember that whilst these feelings passed through my head, I started to walk through the centre and walked past the most beautiful places in Florence, like those such as the Duomo di Santa Maria dei Fiori. That place will leave a mark in my memory, and little did I know that it would leave me with an endless amount of memories that I still hold dear in my heart as if it were yesterday. This feeling of mine in Florence had to happen so something else could. Every feeling has a cause and effect.

During my first days in Florence, I learnt to recognise the streets of the city but above all, how to walk close to the River Arno which is one of the most stunning rivers that can be seen in Italy. This is due to the fact that the architecture of the city fits perfectly with the river. In the following image I'm showing you a view of the river Arno in one of the many trips I had through the centre of the city that embraced me for 9 months.

I wanted to keep walking. I wanted to keeping walking more and more, and despite this feeling, I wanted to discover things that were for me in Florence. I felt like life was magical in Florence, so I walked until the little plaza of Michel Angelo. This is where you can have one of the most beautiful views in Florence, from where if you sit you can see an incomparable view of the city. I have to admit that Florence is a romantic place and it magically creates this atmosphere for couples and friends who sit on the steps to watch the sunset with a bottle of beer in hand, where they can sit and talk about things and enjoy life. The best of all is that to get to the plaza, you don't have to pay, it's free! You'll experience the best feeling of energy that Florence can give you, and that's the truth.

Right there, whilst contemplating the city that was going to accept me for the following few months, I felt a crazy necessity to leave. There were so many mad ideas passing through my head, which is what happened when you're so far away from your home, culture, family, friends and customs. Is it true that I'm the only person that has experienced these strange feelings? I don't think so!

The first places of the afternoon

Basically the first places that I started to tour around were those that were near the hotel's garage. Very close to here, you can find a small plaza for example, with a few seats you can pass few for a few minutes, listening to music and responding to messages from friends. Other places that I often went to were practically only in the mornings, and they were by the river Arno, but not those that are located in the direction of Piazzale Michel Angelo but in the opposite direction where you can find a small ramp to walk down and take photos with the backdrop of Florence.

There's also the plaza of Santa Maria de Novella close to the garage where there are two museums and some hotels that will also catch your attention. In the centre of the plaza there are some banks where you can sit to watch and listen to some free street music concerts. Right in front of it you can find one of the bus stations to be able to get to different parts of the city.

By seeing all this, one will start to realise that Florence is a city that you must walk around on foot. It's a city that invites you to travel this way, especially through the centre. My first 10 days were done in this way, walking from one side to the other, losing myself amongst its streets without knowing a single person more than those who I worked with. I could guide myself through this city that welcomed me for the following few months.

On the same street that the hotel is on, there's a supermarket called Conad where I usually bought my food. I had to buy simple things to eat as where I lived didn't have a kitchen, and only had a fridge that I shared with the other guy who worked in the hotel with me (even though he worked in another part of the hotel).

Locating myself in Florence knowing that my sense of direction isn't the best in the world was a little bit difficult. Because of this, before leaving Rimini I remember that I took a book out of the university library that only talked about Florence and its different quarters that you can find in the city. So, for me, it was a great opportunity to be able to see each one of these marvellous areas so I could lose myself in them without fear, nor need to think about doing anything else but working tomorrow. And plus, I only worked for 5 horus a day and had 3 days rest per week. So as you can see I have a lot of freedom to be able to do whatever I wanted in the first few months, so I took advantage of it in the first few days. Every day I spent less and less time in my room and only went back to sleep or rest a little bit. Florence helped me find myself again and I discovered habits of mine that I had lost years ago, but I will explain those in my other posts.

After travelling around different parts of Florence, I remember that I started to go a little bit further from the centre every time I left the hotel. In addition, I had to search for one of the things that would end up giving me a bit of a headache, which was finding accommodation to live in as where I had already found I was only allowed to stay there for a maximum of two months. This was a sufficient amount of time to be able to find the perfect place to live for my stay in this Tuscan city.

Looking for somewhere to live in Florence

I already had experience in looking for accommodation from when I arrived in Rimini, and I knew that things wouldn't be easy. Obviously it all depends on your budget and each person's situation. In my case, for example, one of the things that complicated my search was that I wasn't a student anymore, so the majority of the adverts were for students. Also, a lot of them were just for women. If you're a man and you're going somewhere for work, you have to pay a little bit more for a flat in Florence, as maybe in many Italian cities they have a bit of a tarnished perception of men, that they make more of a fuss than women. It's a matter of preferences when it comes to finding a flatmate in a new place. In my search, every day I went onto a Facebook page where there was a group of people that offered accommodation, as well as being able to find adverts for different parts of the city.

The first thing I did was to look how far away my place of work was, the average being about 2 kilometres. Although, clearly the flats that were right in the middle of the city were worth practically twice as much as the others and the truth is that I couldn't give myself the opportunity of living in the heart of Florence. Although, it's true that I had already lived in the centre of the city but I knew that my time there would end sooner or later.

The thing that makes you go a little bit crazy is being able to find accommodation in Florence. The days were going by quickly and I realised that I was taking more and more time to find the perfect place to live in Florence. No matter what, life was giving me this challenge for some particular reason that I was going to find out.

As the days went on, I received different messages offering accommodation that didn't suit what I was looking for. But, fortunately, I found one that could meet some of my demands that was located in the Novoli area. I had already been told by my flatmate that this area was the most modern in Florence, so I had to take a bus to get to the flat. I arrived and honestly, there was an immediate connection with the two girls who I met there. The house, or better said the flat, was high up in a building where you could see the Duomo from. It was a calm area, like a residential zone. I stayed there conversing with the two girls, but they told me that they had to keep looking at the rest of the "candidates" and that they would respond to me within the next week. The second place I went to see, after many days, was in the southern area of Florence, which is a little bit further from the centre, about 5 kilometres away. I had to take one of the train lines and after walking for a few minutes, I arrived at the house. Sincerely, I really liked that house although it was far away from the centre. It was well decorated and only two people lived there. They had an inside garden with a tree and somewhere where they had put a barbecue. The cost of this house cost around €400, everything included.

This house was maybe the winner for me, but the only problem was that it was quite far away from the centre, and I saw that I had rotating timetables in work, so sometimes I would have to leave work at midnight. In this case it would be difficult to be able to find an adequate bus or train to get home. Anyway, what I did was tell the guy that I was interested in his offer, and that I would confirm it or not in the following few days. The area was quite calm, although right in front of the house, after realising on GoogleMaps, that there was a club there. Surely this was going to be pretty busy on the weekends. I don't remember the name of it, but I'm already getting closer to the point of the story where I don't take the house. The room that would be mine, would be located in another part of Florence, a place known as Le Cure.

Finding the place that I ended up living in: Le Cure

One of the many adverts that I found on the pages for accommodation on Facebook, I was able to find an announcement from a girl who hadn't posted any photo of the room, but was looking for a flatmate. It said that they could be working and not a student, and the profile fitted me well. I immediately messaged her to book a time to come and see the flat, and the flat was going for around €380 with everything included. The house was around 3 kilometres from my work so it seemed perfect, so I wanted to get to know this area.

I remember that my work mates were starting to realise that I was finding it a bit difficult to be able to find somewhere to live, so much so that one of them offered me one of the rooms that she had in her flat. But, in this case, I told her that it depended on me making the decision about the flat I'd just seen. Anyway, I was going to be able to find a new and last home offer to be able to make a decision.

This time I started walking from the garage until the new house, to be able to know how to get there on foot. It took approximately 50 minutes walking at a normal pace. The "via" or street that the flat was found on was called "Via Faentina" which is a long street which where they usually park the cars that come from the Fiesole area. It's one of the areas that I would recommend for you to visit as from there you can also find some fresh Tuscan air. You can get to this place easily as it's only a little bit further out of Florence and you can get there via bus.

I arrived to the house a little bit later as I honestly thought that the meeting was at 15:30 when it was actually at 15:00. Anyway, there were two people waiting for me, one that was leaving the flat and one that would be in charge of selecting the person who would live in the house with her and another girl who was from Naples.

Whilst I was inside the house, I felt a positive energy about living there. I think the girl also felt the same way and she told me that the house was mine, without a doubt. Well, the room, so straight away I accepted it, but I had to wait for two weeks for the other person to move out and for me to move my stuff in. Also, I had to go back to the flat on another day to meet the landlady called Carolina who was a very friendly lady, who had a cat and dog who lived with her in the same building but in a different flat. Things kept moving on smoothly bit by bit I was about to start my new life in Florence. Also, I wanted to share the good news with my work mates that finally I had somewhere I could call home.

I had to let the human resources department know that I had luckily found a place to live. So I only had a few more moments to make the most of relaxing and living in the centre, and getting to know the different environments that you can find there. I can only think of Florence as a city that fills me with happiness.

Life in Florence had begun. I then went to see what other things I could do in my spare time, and it was in that moment I realised that Florence had so much to show me, and took me by the hand. The city showed me so many places, people, experiences and life lessons which I was going to start cherishing like great relics in my life. The truth is that no city in the world apart from Lima could give me the same feeling of peace and love and tranquility as I had experienced in Florence, a place that even today I can call home.

And that is everything to get the ball rolling on my first post of my new blog for this new period of time in my life. The only thing I have left to do now is express my gratitude to those of you who have taken the time to read this. Sending a big hug to each one of you, and see you at some point in the future. Thank you so much! Enjoy this wonderful Friday that's just begun.

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