Tina (No Facilities) Florence

... Anyway after much driving we met a local who understood English… unfortunately he seemed only able to say he understood English .. And with us asking for the sea and him agreeing with everything.. It was more sea..si sea.. Si….very confusing…anyway put feet in a creek which seemed to be heading for the sea… and called it quits…..

The rain picked up again and it was a bit of a difficult drive for Geoff to make it to a town ...

There are a few reasons I went to Florence; it was easy to get to from Switzerland, I was running out of time to head south, and I found a decent looking hostel. Maybe not the best reasons, but I'm glad that’s how it worked out.

Usually when I meet people at hostels, everyone is leaving on different days and you only have a day or two to hang out. A bunch of people I met in Florence were ...

Okay, so its now the middle of October and we aren't even in Italy anymore, but being behind on the updates is enough of a sign of good times.

I'll do my best to catch you all up in a few short blurbs, but just rest assured that Italy was an adventure we are still trying to live out...

Florence was amazing. Full of tourists however and very very crowded, especially in the mornings as everyone embarked on their daily tours.

Our hostel was incredible. A big ...

... Ponte Vecchio was also the only bridge not to be destroyed by the Nazis in 1944. Today it is just full tourists and overpriced shops.

We made our way up to Piazza del Duomo where the cities most iconic land mark is, the Duomo. One of the worlds largest Cathedrals (the fourth to be exact) its red tiled dome dominates the Florence sky line. Personally the mix of Green, Pink and White just doesn't ...

... food. We made our way into the city centre through the historic old quarter to Mercato Centrale, Florence largest market, inside an iron and glass structure dating to 1874. Inside Shona managed to snag a plate of fresh pasta for breakfast. What? We are in Italy and we plan on making the most of it. Dino choose the classic, a slice of Pizza.

The rest of the day we just spent walking around the city and getting to know the city.

... along the river and bought some gelato (only 1euro). After seeing the billions of flavors I knew I’d be returning often! I decided on dark chocolate with black cherry which was out of this world! We then stumbled upon an outdoor concert so we sat and listened for a while. Very good voice, one song choice included, “Material Girl” so needless to say it was entertaining.

I’ll update you soon,

Siara

... wrote down everything that we owed when we ordered it and then added in the price of water, cover charge, and bread when we go the bill but apparently that's too hard for some people to do. I was upset that people couldn't pay for their whole meals, so Karla pitched in the extra 12 euros needed to complete the bill. She was not happy, at least she had a good meal though. We all thought we could use a drink to relax after the ...

... bus to Milano Centrale, the main train station in Milan. Then I had to wait about 2 hours for my train to Florence. Everyone should be very proud of me, as I didn't spend any money on food or novelties until I arrived in Florence. I made 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before I left, and packed 2 of my chocolate chip cookie bars from food day at work on Thursday. Those tided me over quite nicely and I didn't waste my VALUABLE ...

... about the basilica and some of the famous people entombed inside. The tour ended at the Ponte Vecchio. While walking to the Ponte Vecchio, we spotted Patrice, Sandra, and Andrea still in line for the Uffizi Gallery. Apparently they left at 6am to catch the bus. It was already around 10am and they were still nowhere near the front of the line! The Ponte Vecchio was the oldest bridge to cross the Arno River and the only one that survived World War 2. The main activity on the bridge ...