My first real experience in Italy was on the bus ride from the airport to the Santa Maria Novella train station. That was quite a ride! It was the first bus I ever remember seeing with seat belts in it... and after that ride, I understood the need for the seat belts. It also reinforced my decision against renting a car in Italy. The bus driver was very nice and kept trying to talk to me (even though his accent was so thick that when he was trying to talk English to me I thought he was speaking Italian, like when he asked me if I was in Italy to "stoodee or olleedeh") but I wished he would stop turning towards me as he talked. It seems Italians have a habit of ignoring the driving lanes and driving on whichever part of the road seems convenient to them at the time. And, as my mom says, they use their horns instead of their brakes. At one point the bus was within inches of clipping the back corner of a car ahead of us, and when the driver noticed this at the last second, it didn't seem to faze him a bit. His only reaction was an "Oops" with a sheepish grin. I don't think he even slowed down; the car just fortuitously scooted out of the way.
I didn't do much in Florence my first night there, though I did take a walk around the block to take some night pictures of the Santa Maria Novella church since I wasn't sure if I'd have time when I returned the following Saturday night and it looked pretty with the lights shining on it at night.
I got a cheap hotel room at the Hotel Elite on Via della Scala right near the train station. I was afraid it was so cheap that I was going to have to contend with bed bugs, but I had a very nice, neat and clean room, and I didn't even have to fight anyone for use of the communal bathroom down the hall.
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