“A nomad I will remain for life, in love with distant and uncharted places” –Isabella Eberhardt

Although I wasn’t particularly ready to leave Paris when the time finally came, as soon as Maria and I stepped onto the train I got that familiar excited, apprehensive, giddy feeling I get every time I leave for a new destination. Packing the past five months away in my suitcases was a rollercoaster of emotions, and an ordeal to say the least. Sorting through all my things brought back floods of memories, which brought back some tears, but mostly smiles. As I had been mentally preparing for my departure for weeks, when the time finally arrived I felt surprisingly ready to face it. The train for Florence left at 6:50pm from the Bercy station in Paris, so after taking my last final and collecting my bags, Maria and I met with Gabi, Carolin, and Emily at Bercy for one last lunch. True to form, we spent more than 2 and half hours eating, chatting, reminiscing, and reflecting. After eating every last morsel of food, and recalling every last memory, we knew that it was time to really say good-bye. The parting of ways was a mix of melancholy for what we were leaving behind and happiness for what we’d experienced together. The combination made for long, drawn out hugs with tears, laughter, and final words of encouragement and love. Finally I was able to walk away, ready for the next chapter, the next adventure.

Then next adventure began shortly thereafter upon boarding our overnight train to Italy. After inspection of our tickets, the conductor found it fitting to take our passports with him as he walked away without any explanation. Never, during any of my travels has anyone insisted that they keep my passport. Having heard horror stories about European trains and their sometimes crooked employees, I was extremely skeptical. I leapt out of my top bunk and speaking frantic French, chased after the conductor. Despite the fact that we were technically still in Paris, the man spoke no French and seemingly no English either. He instead scolded me in Italian saying we would get out passports back in the morning. I nervously called Christelle and Gabriel to ask if this was something I should worry about. Finally Christelle called me back and assured me that this was in fact normal and was because we would be traveling through Switzerland during the night. The ride was off to a great start. The 4 American girls sharing our cabin did not do much to make the journey more enjoyable as they sang and complained loudly throughout most of the evening. At 7:15 in the morning both Maria and I were very ready to get off that train. As it rolled into the station, we experienced the Italian countryside for the first time. Rumor had it that Italy is one of the most beautiful places on Earth, and I have to say from what we saw, Rumor was right.

Upon arriving in Florence, we promptly got lost in the maze of tangled streets that made up the city center. We finally stumbled across a couple speaking English in front of a café with a map who were able to point us in the right direction. We had walked about 20 minutes in the exact opposite direction of our hostel, so we had to retrace our steps and walk another 15 minutes from where we started in order to reach the hostel. After setting down our bags, already exhausted, we tried to check in only to find that we had in fact walked to the sister hostel and that our hostel was 10 minutes away on foot. So once again we picked up our backpacks and headed out into the city. Finally, more than 2 hours after leaving the train station, we were all checked in and ready to explore the city without our excessively heavy backpacks weighing us down.
The city of Florence was everything I imagined an Italian city to be—an endless web of winding streets and alleyways filled with covered markets, spectacular architecture, quaint restaurants, and hidden treasures galore. The Mercato Centrale was a blast to explore. It was a large indoor market filled with Italian delicacies, dried fruit, cured meats, cheese, olive oils, Tuscan wines, balsamic vinegars, and enough bustling activity to keep us people watching for hours. The neighboring outdoor covered market sold jewelry, leather purses, jackets, bound books, and shoes. It spilled out at the façade of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, the impressive cathedral in Florence, with evident North African influences. That’s one thing I love about traveling around, I absolutely love to see how very unique different places are, but seeing how much they have influenced one another. For instance, after visiting Morocco, it’s so much easier to recognize the Arab influences on cuisine, culture, and architecture in southern European countries…it makes the world seem a whole lot smaller.

We continued to meander through the lovely Italian passageways chatting away and soaking it all in. We sampled the wines of Tuscany, ate endless amounts of bruschetta, walked up and down the river, explored the gelato festival, and mostly just reveled in each other’s company. One the things I loved most about my trip with Maria was realizing how well we travel together. Our adventure was the perfect blend of exploration and relaxation and I couldn’t have enjoyed it more. We decided to rent bikes in order to experience more of the city and to ride across town to watch the sunset. Riding bikes throughout Florence was probably one of my favorite parts of our European tour--it was absolutely delightful. The sunset was beautiful, and the atmosphere of the streets at night was completely different than the feeling during the day but both were equally as enjoyable. Florence at night reminded me of Spain, the city was alive.

For me discovering new places is intoxicating and addictive. This trip has made me sure that travel will always be an integral part of my life. These new places spark a curiosity about the rest of the world and spur my imagination. Although I am very much looking forward to coming home and staying in one place for a while, I know I’ll always dream of far off places and wonder. I know some day I’ll have to travel less, or differently, but I hope I never, ever lose my hunger for new things and new experiences. There will always be something mysterious and inexplicably alluring about the undiscovered.