[Previous entry: "Florence - July 5"] [Next entry: "Sienna...not. Then to Rome - July 6"]
07/08/2004: "Florence - July 5,6"
Our last bit of time in Florence...
After leaving the EasyInternetCafe for the last time, we found a great (cheap) restaurant for lunch. It was right around the corner from our hostel, which probably explains the inexpensive price - we weren't in the greatest area, and our hostel was located on a stinky ally. The restaurant was great though. For lunch we ordered Bruschetta, Pasta dishes, a bottle of wine, bottle of water, Tiramisu, Mike had a roast chicken dish....all for 29 Euro! After lunch we went to see the churches of Florence (we went to see them all together, because we didn't want to have to wear pants for too long). San Lorenzo was the Medici family's church and Santa Croce was the burial spot for many famous people including Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Gallileo, Machiavelli, etc. The finally we went to the Duomo to walk up the 414 steps of the campanile (tower). It was gorgeous up top, and the breeze felt great! The views of the city were absolutely amazing. We will put up pics tonight if possible.
Monday we did a lot of walking around/exploring/and shopping!! In the afternoon we were able to complete the majority of our gift shopping. After returning to our hostel to rest a bit, we headed back to the same restaurant for dinner. It was great again, and a very good price! Instead of getting Tiramisu this time, we went to the 31 Flavors of Gelato stores that we had noticed while we were wandering around. We each got three scoops this time! Then we went to a bar shop and bought 2 beers and went to the Piazza Reppublica to check out the nightlife. There were many street artists (most were spraypainters), and we watched one for a bit, then we found a performer who was doing the walk-on-glass-swallow-fire-bit. He did a great job, and included his dog in the act, so we tipped him a euro (Mike told me I was a cheap skate though!). It was getting pretty late so went back to our hostel - we would have a long day on Tueday. Shortly after we went to bed, the power went out - there were only 4 of us in the hostel at the time, the Australian guy who worked there, a Japanese girl, and me and Mike. As soon as we realized what was happening, the very well-prepared two of us got out our flashlights (the Aussie guy was trying to use a lighter as a light source to figure out the circuit breaker). Then after Mike looked at the circuit breaker, he figured that there must be a larger one somewhere, and he was right - there was one downstairs. When we got our light back, the Australian said "Good show, Mate" to Mike, and we went back to bed.
Tuesday...In the morning, we went to the Accademia to see the real David, and we were amazed with how beautiful, perfect, and huge he was. It was so realistic looking and a very bright white up close. It was obvious to us why it was considered one of the great masterpieces. Then we went to the train station and said goodbye to Florence!