A Night Out in Firenze.

BOTTOMS UP.

Along with all of the traveling I did while I was living in Europe, going back "home" to Florence was always exciting. Florence's city center is not only beautiful, but incredibly busy and cultured as well. The streets are filled with locals and tourists no matter the time of day. It's urban life in a completely different light than urban cities in the United States.

Some of my favorite nights were ones that were spent in Florence. Since it is considered a "college town," the nightlife is pretty exciting. No matter the day there is always drink specials and special events going on at bars around the city. The two bars that I enjoyed most were Uncle Jimmy's and The Lion's Fountain. They both had similar atmospheres and attracted the same type of people, mostly study abroad students and travelers. Even though the drink specials there were great, if you had a wristband you got a free shot of whatever you wanted, the best thing about the bars were the bartenders. I can definitely say that the bartenders at The Lion's Fountain and Uncle Jimmy's were some of the people that made my experience. If you're ever there, look for Karl, either Lorenzo, Luca, Lapo, Anto, Claire, or any of them really. :]

Themed parties are great and you run across them a lot when you are going out in Florence, when I was there we attended a toga party, 80s night, and halloween of course. DRESS UP. It's fun and the perfect reason to.

I didn't go to many clubs in Florence, the times I did were mostly rough nights at bar close when we weren't ready to go home yet. Some of the clubs I attended were Full-up, Space and Twice. Space, Twentyone and Yab were ones that were featured on the Jersey Shore and are probably are the most popular in general. Space is really big and I had a lot of fun when I was there. We got into VIP and had a really good time the whole night.

Going and getting food after bar close is something that happens often no matter where you are in the world. The best late night food option in Florence is by far the doner kebab. It is a popular turkish sandwich all around Europe. Places that sell them are always open really late and they are usually packed around bar close so I am not the only one who knows how great they are. Another popular after hours food in Florence are ones you can get from secret bakeries. There are secret bakeries located all around Florence and they open around 1 or 2 AM. They sell cheap bakery items in the middle of the night, how awesome is that? We never made it to one but if you can figure out where one is, I recommend checking one out!

Going out and partying in your study abroad city is a part of the experience. Not saying that it is a necessity if it isn't your thing, but if it is you will most likely find yourself doing it a lot. Drinking and partying is completely different in Europe. Since there isn't really a drinking age, alcohol related offenses are numbered and don't happen very often. This means that there isn't really a negative social stigma to it like there is in the United States. Just make sure that you make smart decisions if you decide to indulge after hours in your city, stick with friends and don't drink too much.