Archi Rossi Hostel Florence

Today Jen and I woke up early so she could go swimming out in front of Vernazza. We thought (at first) that check out time was around 11 or 12, so we went out and she went for a swim while I sat on the rocks and watched the early rising locals doing their morning routines, yoga, fishing, chatting, whatever. About half way through Jen's swim I decided I'd go make sure I was correct on the check out time, and I'm glad I did, we only had an hour! So we rushed back up to the hotel room, took show...

This morning we woke up pretty early because it was so hot in our room, but not early enough for the free breakfast our hostel offered. We got ready and headed out to head to the Duomo, only to be distracted by the street markets. Vendors were everywhere! Booths with leather purses, souvenirs, t-shirts, scarves, jewelry, and much more were lining several streets. We (me and Jen) were instantly distracted and set off to find her a purse. We all strolled around, buying various items for about a...

Hello from Italy!! We arrived this evening in Florence after a chaotic train schedule that took us several miles out of our way for a connection in Milan. The trains here are rarely on time, make a lot of stops, and go through many tunnels on the trip- kind of cuts down on the views of the Tuscan countryside. But Florence is beautiful... and extremely hot!! Right now it is almost 10:30 at night and still over 80 degrees fahrenheit!! Tomorrow is supposed to be about 90 (cooler than it has been...

We have finally hit high season. All of the other places that we have been so far have had tourists, but nothing compared to Florence. The lines to everything are horrible and everywhere there are giant tour groups to weave through. Florence and Italy in general are beautiful, but summer is not the time to go. We have walked around a lot today along the cobbled streets and ancient fountains, taking some pictures and facing the 90 degree heat. We planned on going to see the David and other lat...

This is just a note saying that I couldn't put pictures on.. i guess there has been a problem with people's thumb drives crashing due to viruses on these computers so I didn't want to risk it. Today was long and hot in Florence and we had an amazing dinner that entailed a sampling of 5 different kinds of pasta and sauce as well as samples of filet mignon in blueberry sauce and balsamic sauce. We didn't try any Tuscan wine but I wish I could bring some home to all you winos. lots of love, will...

Our hostel here is awesome.They have free breakfast, and, unlike every other single European breakfast, they serve eggs rather than bread and jam! Eggs! Real ones! They give you two! Also, they feed you supper! Pasta! Home made! The hostel itself is also nice. They let people draw and on the walls and write their names. Its very artistic. Richard wrote my name and that he loves me. I walked down the stairs and found it. He accidently wrote 2008 though, rather than 2009.

Florence itself...

This is Robert again! Laura is upstairs in our BOMB DIGGITY hostel looking at our Eurail timetable booklet because we are planning what to do tomorrow, the day of my BiRtHdAy! So far we have planned: attending church service in Il Duomo, taking the train to either Siena for a bike ride, or taking a train to La Spezia to hike the Cinque Terre. We just dont know yet!!!

Anyway, we got to Florence last night! After an overwhelmingly warm train ride through Tuscany, we walked to our hostel,...

So, as the night falls over Florence, it's time for more of my inane ramblings. I got up this morning determined to brave the chaos at Milano Centrale and get on the train to Florence. That took all of 15 minutes, and I sat on my bag watching the train staff manually change the numbers on the display board whilst using a crane. I had paid a higher reservation fee to get on the Eurostar service to Firenze Santa Maria Novella, and we stopped in Bologna before taking a very scenic tour of Italy ...

EDITORIAL NOTE - For those who read Catherine earlier, I meant Caroline. Obviously the Italian sun beats too brightly on my head, for all that it is February. My most profound apologies. Hello, my blog friends. To pick up where I left off last night, I grabbed some food quickly and then went upstairs, feeling kind of lonely - it had been four days since I had had a conversation with anyone. I held out very little hope in my dorm room, however, since all the other present occupants seemed to b...

So, after a pretty quiet night in, I woke up this morning to a city that for once, was quiet. I actually had quite a lazy morning, with reading and writing. At ten, I left with the hostel group for a walking tour of the Oltrarno, the region located across the river Arno in Florence, which comprises the artisanal district of Florence (so I was told). The tour was pretty good, comprising palazzo architecture, some stories about the Medici, tours of the Ponte Vecchio and the Basilica, and it was...