My initial impression when I first got into the shuttle bus to make it to my apartment in Florence, was impressed. I was blown away at how they could fit everything in such a small area. Every street/alleyway between buildings has just enough room for a small or narrow car to fit in with room for one pedestrian on either side of it. Of course this is probably due to the fact that the city was not made for cars, however it’s still cool how all the space is used efficiently. The Duomo is right next to our apartment and we walk by it almost everyday when we are going out to see different things. It is very beautiful from the outside and the amount of detail is mesmerizing. Something that really stuck out to me was a fact that was said during a presentation from our Italian providers. They said that in the hospital in Florence they have a special wing for heart attack symptoms. In Florence, apparently people will begin to have shortness of breath, chest pain and all the symptoms that align with a heart attack, as a result of the beauty of Florence. It is a phenomenon that has occurred since the 1800s. I thought this was very cool, because I had never heard of anything like it, or that a city could be so beautiful it physically affects you. So far it has been cool seeing the contrast between the spots the locals attract to and the spots the tourist attract to. Of course tourists are mainly attracted to all the big attractions and you would think a local would want to be very far from that. After lots of observing and exploring I have realized the locals aren’t actually that far from the tourist areas, they are just in the shadows or hidden alleyways of those areas.
