Italy Part II: Florence

They next stop on the backpacking adventure was Florence. We ended up arriving at a different train station than we had originally planned, so we did not have any directions to our hostel. Minor problem. So we bought a map. . .which didn't end up having the train station we were at on it. Minor problem. We decided to take a bus. . .but none of the bus ticket machines would work for us. Minor problem. We followed the bus route on foot until we were on the map and found our hostel no problem after that. We are experts. The hostel was the smallest one I have ever stayed it. It was just three rooms and one bathroom. Luckily, they had messed up our reservation and only had room for us in the double private. What a shame! :)

We spent the next two days going to Mass, eating gelato, and exploring all of the markets of Florence. The weather was warmish but it rained frequently, which put a damper on my love for this city. We found great pashminas and other small trinkets, and ate AMAZING waffles with chocolate.

Though we could have spent lots of time in museums and art galleries, we really didn't. Our trip was more focused on just being in Italy and walking and seeing. However, we did decide to go the Academia, where David is, because we thought he was the most important. He was breath taking. A good amount of time was spent admiring him before we headed back out onto the streets.

Florence was very beautiful, but the weather really got in the way. I think that I would like to return someday during a warmer time of the year so I could do more exploration of the outskirts of the city and to sit outside and eat gelato. The last and final stop of our trip was to Venice. More on that later though....

Peace,
Colleen