Florence Day 1

We arrived in Florence and set off to our Plus Hostel. The train station was located close to the hostel and Amy was able to navigate the coble stone, curvy, unmarked roads again to our destination. Unfortunately it was raining in Florence off and on day one...that didn't stop us though and we were still able to hit the town and see some of the major sites. The first venture was to find true Italian Gelato! The delicious local treat was just what we needed before we ventured into the history in Florence. We made our way to the Duomo. It was located in the center of the city and after a short wait; we climbed the 463 steps to the top and found the most magnificent view of the city: 360 degrees of true Italian beauty. The cathedral itself, Cattedrale de Santa Maria del Fiore, was built from 1296 to 1436 and is large enough to fit 20,000 people! The interior was made of marble in green, pink, and white shades and murals lined the ceilings. So beautiful! We were also able to see Pallazzo Vecchio, Santa Croce, San Lorenzo, and some of the other beautiful architecture the city offered. Of course we were able to find our way to some shopping as well. Markets lined the streets for some great shopping opportunities. During our shopping extravaganza we learned quickly what “Aqua” meant too! Since it had been raining, the vendors needed to get the acclimated rain off the roof of their tents and with stick in hand, they yelled “Aqua” and the water came tumbling down. THUS, Aqua = get out of the way or get wet. Lesson learned!

After the eventful part of the day we made our way to a small Italian restaurant that offered BIG flavor. Pizza, Cannelloni, and Lasagna were ordered and shared amongst ourselves over some of the local Chianti wine. With such a long day behind us, we grabbed some wine and headed back to the “hostel” to soak in the pool and enjoy the sauna. (Who said Hostel life was bad?). After a quick trip to the bar to share a card game or two, we all called it a night.