Day #3 - A leisurely day in Florence

Hello again everyone!~ Today was another WONDERFUL day - we slept in, we shopped, and we saw some great stuff. :) We started with great scrambled eggs at our hostel, after sleeping in until 9. On Mondays in Italy, all the museums are closed, so we had to find other things to do to take up our time. Luckily, there is a HUGE touristy market close to our hostel, so Katie and I ended up spending a looong time walking through there. I think I've definitely spent more on souvenirs here in Florence already than I have in total anywhere else! They just have so much cool stuff here, like leather, fun t-shirts, scarfs, jewelry, etc, that is better quality than you'd find anywhere else.

Our first sight of the day was the Duomo, which is the gigantic domed cathedral in the center of the town. We had to wait for around an hour in line to climb the dome, but that seems pretty typical in Florence, having to wait for everything. The views, however, were AMAZING - we could see the whole city.

After some quick pizza for lunch, we headed to the Ponte Vecchio, which is the bridge over the Arno River which has tons of gold and silver shops. Katie and I strolled along, licking our afternoon gelato, and picking out our $4000 engagement rings... :) Then, we went across town to Santa Croce Church, which had the tombs of Galileo and Michelangelo. It was also Cathedral #3 of our trip - yes we are keeping count, because we expect the total to be a LOT. :)

After that, we headed across the river to Piazzo Michelangelo, which is a steep hike up to the top of a hill, but sooo worth the view. It has a copy of the David statue in a square overlooking the city - which was just amazing. I really like the look and feel of Florence - so much more laidback, and just more cultured and Renaissance-feeling than Rome ever was... We wandered around a bit by the hill, and then went back across the river for dinner at a random ristorante - this time I tried risotta (rice), since I've been meaning to try it. It was really good - tasted pretty much like pasta, actually. After that, Katie and I sat in the Piazza Republica square for awhile and listened to some street performers. But, again, time for an early night, because tomorrow we're going to get up early to go to the Uffizi! Otherwise, we'll have to wait in line for like 2 hours again, and I think we've had enough of that... :)

Well, I hope you're all enjoying this blog, please comment if you've read it so we know you have! Thanks and buona sera!

Debra