Happy St. Patrick's Day!Mar 17, 2012
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On the train to Florence
Duomo Florence
Duomo Florence
| Buena sera! We made it to Firenze and it's fantastic! We had an early morning and opted for the water taxi to the train station (which ended up being free because they never came by to sell fix as there was no machine at our stop) versus the water taxi that the hotel suggested for 60 euro for a 10 minute ride. So...liked Venice...glad we went. Not on my list of "must returns". Very expensive and people weren't that friendly...I don't think they need to be to get people to go there. And they're right...so unique and so much to see...impossible to resist at least checking it out. Now with the water taxi (and John may claim my dilly-dallying which is completely false), we missed the 9:27 train by about 3 minutes. Saw it pull away but didn't have time to get tix. So we caught the 10:27 and made it to Florence by 12:30. Got checked in to a very charming hotel...definitely not fancy, but great location and absolutely wonderful people. We have a beautiful room with a little terrace where we enjoyed a book and some wine this afternoon. The weather is gorgeous...about 70 degrees. We also went and checked out the Duomo since it is closed tomorrow. Beautiful...not as impressive as St. Marks but beautiful. We also climbed up the Campinile, right next to the Duomo. An exhausting 414 steps to the top...no lift. But we made it and the views were amazing!! Then we went to a market...great leather goods, purses, coats. Didn't buy yet but might be more in the mood tomorrow! Went to happy hour at the hotel...they have it every night. Very nice and in fact, we decided to stay here an extra night rather than spend a night in Siena. We'll still go to Siena on a day trip (and Chianti) but will come back here to sleep and save the extra running around. Saves an hour on the journey to Cinque Terra too. Had an (other) amazing meal. Great pizza, outstanding wine. And topped it all off at an Irish bar just down the street. It was packed...we assumed because of St. Party's day, but in fact, once the soccer game was over the place cleared out! And now relaxing in our room and ready for bed. We have museum reservations starting at 10 ... Florence does seem like a great city. Pretty laid back but still lots to do and lots going on. People are extremely nice...and shopping is great! Can't wait to see more. Ciao! |
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