The south of France was amazing, but we wanted MORE. Take us away from these dreamy beach towns full of rich history and picturesque landscapes we wanted something way different. In our plot to change our scenery we decided on Florence, Italy. Okay okay so it wasn’t so different, but to our defense there wasn’t a beach. We devised a plan to take a night bus from Nice to Florence. We had Kira’s aunt purchase the tickets because despite all the two hours of Duo-lingo I did before this trip we could not read, write, or speak French. Lesson 7: google translate really doesn’t work unless you have wifi or are on data, so come prepared.
The days leading up to the trip we prepared our itinerary spotting all of the places we wanted to visit. We planned to stay for 3 days in an Airbnb and take the night bus both ways.
The day had finally come when Kira’s aunt dropped us off at the bus station. It was about 11pm and we were excited to jump on the bus and sleep our way into Italy. Well reality hit quickly. The buses stink hit us as soon as we stepped on. Hoping for the best outcome of nose blindness we searched for our seats, only to find out someone was sitting in them. We tried to explain to the man that we had our seats. He put up a fight of understanding we wanted him to move, yet acting like he could not understand our english. Seeing this situation Kira’s aunt jumped onto the bus and spoke in stern French to have this gentleman move from our spots. After that we headed on our way. The night buses A/C system was broken however and with people crammed in a double decker bus it got hot quickly. This combined with the drivers almost reckless driving whipping through the empty streets and curvy coast it didn’t take long to realize I wasn’t going to be sleeping through the night. I let Kira get some rest as I attempted to stay vigilant. We had simple directions, get off on the bus when the driver says we are at our Florence stop. Well, the thing with not really speaking French or Italian and listening to a driver on a broke PA system is its hard to tell when your stop is coming up. Kira’s brother and I both swear to this day they said next stop Firenze which is the Italian name for Florence. We woke Kira up from her nap as it was 4am exactly when we said we would get to Florence. Shuffling off the bus because they do not mess around we exited and very quickly noticed something was off. We were at a bus station instead of the city center. We were quickly trying to get our bearings and when we realized we got off at the wrong stop we turned around and the bus was gone! It was 4:30am and we did not have any wifi, no idea where we were, and no idea how to try and get to where we were going. In all of the panic Kira ended up just turning her cellular data on and we realized we were one stop too early. Lucky for us the bus took us to the metro station, so we were able to hop on the metro and make it to Firenze city center. It was 5am and the only people on the street were us and the street sweepers. The morning sun was just peaking out and we were able to walk around the town past the Duomo completely alone with the most striking lighting. It was truly a once in a lifetime moment. Lesson 8: Sometimes plans are best broken. That being said we did plan on meeting our Airbnb host at 5:30am when we got there no one was there and no one would pick up the phone. Almost every shop was closed at this hour, so we were left on the street with our packed bags. Attempting to once again make the best out of the situation we went to an open coffee shop. Hearing “Buongiorno!” for the first time was another core memory. We ended up getting ahold of the Airbnb host and they told us they could not come by until noon to even let us set our bags down and then from there we couldn’t get the keys until 3pm. We ended up just walking around and hitting some of the spots on our checklist while scoping out different coffee shops and food.
The rest of the trip was exactly how it sounds. We had the most amazing time in Italy and I cannot wait to go back. We walked everywhere and were able to eat at the most amazing places. I would need another section just to talk about the meals we had in Italy. One fun tidbit we went to the same coffee shop every morning and sometimes even went twice a day. It was right across from our apartment and had wifi, so if we ever needed a place to go we would circle back there. Our time there was well spent and we did all of the tourist checkmarks. Including going to the top of the Duomo and the clock tower, talk about a lot of steps; the workout helped to offset some gelato and was worth the view. Every meal we had was phenomenal. In Italy is where Kira and I discovered our love for elderflower liquor especially with a bubbly wine like a Prosecco we were obsessed. I feel like I could go on and on about Italy, but just like our time in a blink of an eye we were back to the night bus.
I do not think I need to explain any further about how terrible the night bus was, but it did get us to where we needed to go. We got off on the right stop Nice, France. Some notable experiences on the way home was we once again had a stand off for our spots except this time we lost and had to spread out to random seats. The A/C was still not working on the bus and it was so hot on one of the stops if Kira’s brother did not get us cold drinks I think I would’ve had heat sickness. Finally to add to the drama there was a thunderstorm we drove through and we got stopped by the border patrol fully armed and checking everyones passports. I am not even exaggerating when I say I watched the border patrol visibly gag at how nasty hot and sweaty it smelled on the bus. Also of course someone forgot their passport and tucked it away in the bus and delayed us about an hour. All said and done it was convenient to not have to drive and to get in early, but I am not sure if there is another option. I would definitely explore another option.
Back to France we go. Italy was a dream and our vacation suddenly seemed like it was coming to an end too soon. One more part to go!
