Day One: What a stressful day we had! We got up at 7:15 in order to eat, pack, and catch our bus to the train station to catch our 8:59am train. We became worried that we would miss our train when we didn’t get on a bus until 8:10 or so, of course, all worry was in vain as we made it to the train station by 8:40 and were waiting on our train to arrive when Lucas realized he left his backpack, with my laptop in it, on the bus. *Sigh* then the drama began. I won’t pretend that I handled the situation ideally, but we did handle it in the best way we knew how; which basically meant I yelled and cried and Lucas apologized and comforted me. We missed our train trying to track down his bag and in general trying to locate a number or someone who might be able to help us. In the end we waited at the train station and checked every #11 bus that came to the station until the next train to Florence at 11:59. At 11:30, with still no bag, we found our platform and I sat with bags and waited on the train while Lucas went to see if any more buses came in the next 10 minutes. Wouldn’t you know he returned with his bag and everything still in it just 15 minutes before our next train arrived! That, my friends, is a modern day miracle! I couldn’t believe it, God is so faithful! I couldn’t imagine trying to replace a brand new, $700 laptop anytime soon.
So we were finally on our way to Florence, only 8 Euros poorer and only 2 hours behind schedule. We arrived at 2pm and found our hotel, the hotel Andrea, a quaint hotel in true Italian style (meaning it’s small and very old fashioned). Fortunately the hotel recently installed an elevator so we didn’t have to haul our luggage up the 3 flights of stairs to where our hotel was located. We checked in with no problems, went straight to shower (we had run around all morning checking buses and Florence is HOT), and then had to get the desk clerk to show us how to turn on our AC (turns out it has a remote). Then we decided to wander around and get our bearings. We ended up exploring some local street markets, the Duomo, the Basilica di Santa Trinita, and watching the sunset over the Arno River. Be sure to check out our breathtaking pictures and the picture of Splinter, the oversized Italiano river rat that lives there!
Day Two: Oh my feet are killing me. We did a bunch of exploring today which was a lot of fun but my feet are starting to revolt! We began the day by sleeping in to a decent 9:00 (we are on vacation after all) and then enjoyed the complimentary breakfast and coffee in the little dining room near the entry. They had a nice assortment of cereals, pastries, rolls and cheeses, and my favorite… coffee. I also had a lovely cheese Danish… yum. We started our touring by walking over to a fort which turned out to be just an old fort; nothing to see on the inside, and then proceeded to the Santa Maria Novella church which was closed… so we headed on to the mercato centrale and checked out the local produce. For lunch we ate at this hole-in-the-wall that Rick Steves suggested and had procutto and goat cheese sandwiches on homemade bread sitting curbside with locals… I thought it was yummy and quite the experience. Throughout the day we also saw the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata, the Chiesa di Ssan Michele, statues in the Palazzoo Vecchio courtyard.
At 2:00 we had reservations to enter the infamous Uffizi gallery which houses famous works of art by Rembrandt, Leonardo DaVinci, Botticelli, and Michelangelo. We spent a good 2 hours exploring and appreciating the progression of art from medieval times to the Renaissance and beyond. Fortunately we had a great audio guide to help us better appreciate what we were looking at. After the Uffizi we walked a couple blocks over to appreciate the Chiesa di Santa Croce to see the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo (plus an amazing church). Apparently the pope had wanted Michelangelo to be buried in Rome but the Florinians stole his body away in the middle of the night and had him buried in Florence as he had requested while alive. And Galileo had been exiled due to his outrageous thinking that the earth revolved around the sun. It wasn’t until 100 years after his death that he was moved to this honored tomb. At this point we retreated to our hotel to rest before venturing out for dinner. We found a quaint café and had brushetta, salad, lasagna, and wine… yummy!
So we were finally on our way to Florence, only 8 Euros poorer and only 2 hours behind schedule. We arrived at 2pm and found our hotel, the hotel Andrea, a quaint hotel in true Italian style (meaning it’s small and very old fashioned). Fortunately the hotel recently installed an elevator so we didn’t have to haul our luggage up the 3 flights of stairs to where our hotel was located. We checked in with no problems, went straight to shower (we had run around all morning checking buses and Florence is HOT), and then had to get the desk clerk to show us how to turn on our AC (turns out it has a remote). Then we decided to wander around and get our bearings. We ended up exploring some local street markets, the Duomo, the Basilica di Santa Trinita, and watching the sunset over the Arno River. Be sure to check out our breathtaking pictures and the picture of Splinter, the oversized Italiano river rat that lives there!
Day Two: Oh my feet are killing me. We did a bunch of exploring today which was a lot of fun but my feet are starting to revolt! We began the day by sleeping in to a decent 9:00 (we are on vacation after all) and then enjoyed the complimentary breakfast and coffee in the little dining room near the entry. They had a nice assortment of cereals, pastries, rolls and cheeses, and my favorite… coffee. I also had a lovely cheese Danish… yum. We started our touring by walking over to a fort which turned out to be just an old fort; nothing to see on the inside, and then proceeded to the Santa Maria Novella church which was closed… so we headed on to the mercato centrale and checked out the local produce. For lunch we ate at this hole-in-the-wall that Rick Steves suggested and had procutto and goat cheese sandwiches on homemade bread sitting curbside with locals… I thought it was yummy and quite the experience. Throughout the day we also saw the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata, the Chiesa di Ssan Michele, statues in the Palazzoo Vecchio courtyard.
At 2:00 we had reservations to enter the infamous Uffizi gallery which houses famous works of art by Rembrandt, Leonardo DaVinci, Botticelli, and Michelangelo. We spent a good 2 hours exploring and appreciating the progression of art from medieval times to the Renaissance and beyond. Fortunately we had a great audio guide to help us better appreciate what we were looking at. After the Uffizi we walked a couple blocks over to appreciate the Chiesa di Santa Croce to see the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo (plus an amazing church). Apparently the pope had wanted Michelangelo to be buried in Rome but the Florinians stole his body away in the middle of the night and had him buried in Florence as he had requested while alive. And Galileo had been exiled due to his outrageous thinking that the earth revolved around the sun. It wasn’t until 100 years after his death that he was moved to this honored tomb. At this point we retreated to our hotel to rest before venturing out for dinner. We found a quaint café and had brushetta, salad, lasagna, and wine… yummy!
Day 3: What a great day! We decided to make today a leisurely day since yesterday was pretty crazy and headed straight to Pisa to view the infamous leaning tower of Pisa. We enjoyed an hour train ride to Pisa viewing the incredible countryside and arrived at the station in Pisa at around 11:30. We decided to walk to the tower, about a 30 minute walk, getting a feel for the small town. As we rounded the corner in contemporary Pisa, suddenly, there was the tower looming crookedly over the town. We spent the next couple of hours taking our “holding the tower up” pictures, perusing the souvenir stalls, and laying on the field of miracles that is home to the leaning tower, the baptistery, and the duomo. We then headed back to the station, stopping for lunch along the way at a pizzeria where we got 3 pieces of pizza (2 for Lucas, 1 for me) and a bottle of water for less than 5 Euros and then got some excellent cherry gelato next door. After the train ride back we retreated to our hotel for a quick 20 minute rest break and then were off to the Piazzale Michelangelo and the San Miniato church.
After catching our bus, we made it to the San Miniato church just in time for the daily Gregorian chants that are sung every evening at 5:30; it was soooo beautiful. To hear the Latin being sung in a massive church with amazing acoustics; incredible. Next we headed out to get some breathtaking pictures overlooking Florence from the Piazzale Michelangelo. Finally, we caught a bus back and got dinner at a little place we found with an all you can eat buffet for 6 Euros-that is a steal here! The food was actually quite good if not a little different. We sampled potatoes and hot dogs (weird combo), sautéed veggies, sausage and tomato tortellini, and several different pasta salads. After dinner, we called it a day heading back to our hotel to pack up and get an early night’s sleep to hit Rome, and hopefully the Vatican the next day.
After catching our bus, we made it to the San Miniato church just in time for the daily Gregorian chants that are sung every evening at 5:30; it was soooo beautiful. To hear the Latin being sung in a massive church with amazing acoustics; incredible. Next we headed out to get some breathtaking pictures overlooking Florence from the Piazzale Michelangelo. Finally, we caught a bus back and got dinner at a little place we found with an all you can eat buffet for 6 Euros-that is a steal here! The food was actually quite good if not a little different. We sampled potatoes and hot dogs (weird combo), sautéed veggies, sausage and tomato tortellini, and several different pasta salads. After dinner, we called it a day heading back to our hotel to pack up and get an early night’s sleep to hit Rome, and hopefully the Vatican the next day.
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