Hotel Raffaello Florence

... was buzzing with a variety of languages and the overall atmosphere was jubilant and festive. Despite challenges with the "menu", it was a great way to end our visit to Italy. <br><br>We'll retrace our steps through Rome tomorrow and will wind up in London for the night before catching our flight back to San Francisco on Sunday. It was quite fitting to end our journey in Florence, where so much of our current culture emerged centuries ago. <br>

... busy streets. [And side note, Rome traffic wasn't as bad as we thought it would be. NYC is much crazier, minus tiny, unmarked, cobblestone alleys.] GPS saved the day and we easily made it out of the city after we realized the device was in simulation mode and showing us the course we would eventually take, and not the course we were currently on. It was hysterical!! However, this "fake route" took us to an unbelievable overlook of Florence ...

... rooms they are housed in are amazing - it must have been a truly beautiful place to live when the Medicis lived there. <br><br>After that I had more gelati (I ate A LOT of gelati!) at Vivoli, which is another famous gelaterie. I had dark chocolate, bannana and caramelised pear. So good! <br><br>That was about it really. The next morning I went to the markets to pick up a few things, bought some postcards and then jumped on a train back to Pisa Airport. Of course my ...

... companions in Carozza 10 helped me to bring down my heavy backpack from the train rack, brought my shoes out from under the seat, and put the backpack on my back. I said a jolly "grazie" and "ciao" to them. First thing I did, I popped into the small tourist office in the station and got charged 1 euro for a map (this is the first place in Italy where the official tourist office charges you, and it may be the only one). <br><br> Outside SMN station, I surveyed the ...

Rented an apartment in a villa which was at the top of a mountain (like most villas in Tuscany), however, our journey to the top was not on a paved road which made for some challenging driving. The villa was really nice with its own pool and great view over the countryside. The owners also provided fabulous meals in their other ...

... Again, we walked in without a problem but got mobbed when inside. The Uffizi is set up in more or less chronological order. So we saw Medival, Gothic, Baroque, Renaissance, Mannerist, Realist etc... <br><br>Highlights were Birth of Venus, Springtime, the Medusa shield, Portraits of the Duke and Duchess of something or other and lots more that I also can't name by heart. <br><br>The Uffizi is huge. So our feet were dead. Luckily there is a ...

... had to collect them and walk straight in, no waiting in the 2 hour line. While waiting the two women we met on the train came to get their tickets..thousands of people around and we bump into them again.<br><br>Later, as we were emptying our water bottles to go into the gallery (couldn't take fluid in) we bumped into the same women again....very freaky!<br>We loved the gallery, especially the building's interior and the ...

... single shop on the street to find similar ones (apparently all the shops are owned by the same person so they can do this.... imagine how much money he would make!). Anyways, she found some similar ones that I really liked that cost in the vacinity of 300&euro;..... (!!!!!!!) I told her I would "ask my mother first" before making such a huge decision and called mum, despite it being 4am back home..... When I told mum how much it cost she laughed, so I took that as an answer of "thats ...

... Academy Gallery. Early in the morning we had stood in the line to visit the famous "David" for an hour before deciding that we would try to come back later when the line would be shorter. When we got in line it was only a little shorter than earlier that day. After an hour and half of waiting we finally entered the gallery. The first and by far the most impressive piece of art that we saw was the famous Michelangelo's David, which was ...

... still wasn't 100% sure I was in the right place until I saw the sign on the 2nd floor (Many business names are not displayed out on the street, besides restaurants &amp; shops - it's so opposite of what we're used to in the States!). There were 2 other students in my little "class": Eva from Greece and Joanna from Singapore. Our chef was Valentino and she whisked - he he :) - us away to the kitchen, which ...