This, the fourth in a series, appeared in the "Horizons" magazine issue dated June 1996.
Life as a Con by Annette Malvar
Have you ever had that dream vacation in your mind? That place which has always lured you, but you've never been able to visit? Me too and that place is Florence.
Its history, culture, wine and food — what's not to dream about? Actually, I finally did make it there last year with a good friend. But Florence will continue to elude me because I never got the chance to discover it.
How can that be you ask? Let me explain. First, we arrived the same weekend a big fashion show was taking place — apparently an annual event in this city. That meant Florence was packed with tourists.
Ironically, my friend had assured me prior to our departure that September was the shoulder month. Secondly, my friend insisted that we didn't need to make hotel reservations. "There's plenty of hotels, l am not going to spend more than $45 a night" she stated confidently.
Naturally, we ended up spending $90 a night, because the cheaper hotels had all been booked in advance. Once resigned to the situation however, I started looking forward to some sightseeing.
Since my friend had already been to Florence more often than an art critic, she'd seen every church, statue, museum and landmark in town.
For this reason, we didn't go to see the world-famous statue of David, she said the $22 entrance fee is too high. Nor did we see the famous Boboli Gardens, she said her garden at home was nicer.
We didn't climb the tower of the Duomo (a must for every tourist) for the most outstanding view of the city, my friend felt the line-up was too long. All was not lost however because my friend assured me she knew the best restaurant in all of Florence.
You guessed it; we spent all week looking for it!