Europe 2001: Florence (There Might Be Such a Thing as Too Much Gelato)

Awful train ride this morning.  It was raining hard as we went through Italy and the seats were very very uncomfortable.  When we arrived in Florence I was glad that it was sunny and warm outside, without nearly as much humidity as Venice.  We found our hotel easily, and the room had a fabulous brick wall view.  We wandered through the markets and rounded a corner that led to the Duomo, which had an exquisite exterior, but the inside was very plain compared to the other churches and cathedrals we had been in but still, it was very impressive.  We went up the millions of steps in a very narrow stairwell to the top of the Duomo's tower.  Along the way, we ran into a very grumpy Australian who was cursing loudly.

We heard his echoes while we went further up.  When we reached the top, I decided the view was well worth the strain (and five dollars).  The breeze felt good and we could see the surrounding rolling hills and the Uffizi Gallery, which would be our next stop.

We came back down, and as we walked to our next destination we passed a sweet shop where I bought some chocolate covered coffee beans and Amber bought some nougat.  Next we got some gelato (to be prepared for the long wait in line).  We waited for 2 1/2 hours.  Good thing we were early.  The Uffizi Gallery was okay.  I liked the Botticelli masterpiece, but I liked many of the lesser-known paintings much better.  I bought a book about Leonardo di Vinci.  Next we wandered the streets and markets.  I found a beautiful piece of pottery for Penny.  I hope she likes it.  As we were walking around, one man waved to me as he went by on his scooter and another told me I was cute.  Afterwards, Amber was on a mission to wash her clothes, so we found a laundro-mat around the corner and put our stuff in the washer.  I had seen an internet cafe along our way, so we went and I sent a quick email to my mom.  I got sick from the ice cream I had eaten earlier but I found a bar that would let me use their bathroom.  I'm okay now.  After our clothes were done and dry we went back to our hotel room. As we were on our way back to our hotel, we could hear a child wailing.  We rounded a corner to find a little boy standing on a scale that measures your weight after inserting a few coins.  The boy, clearly in need of a nap, was crying and screaming while his mother was trying to get him to leave.  "I've seen women act that way after they've found out how much they really weigh," Amber commented.  I laughed hysterically for the next three blocks.  When we got to our hotel we crashed early since we have a 6:05 am train to Rome tomorrow.