Third Stop: Florence (May 24th to May 26th)

We arrived in Florence on May 24th. On our way to the hotel, we stopped at a café to eat breakfast. We wanted to try the ice cream displayed at a bar inside the café. Right there, we discovered the real Italian Gelato, which became a food group for the rest of our stay in Italy. Later in the day, we headed back to the train station to buy tickets for the rest of the tour in Italy. At the station, we decided to go to Pisa that afternoon. Before taking the train to Pisa, we visited the Santa Maria Novella church. Then, we traveled to Pisa and enjoyed the view of leaning tower. And then, we climbed the stairwell to the top of the Tower, where we took more video and pictures of the beautiful city view. At night, we returned to Florence. On our way to the hotel, we made a stop at the Ponte Vecchio and listened to local musicians playing covers and music of their own.

The following morning, we went to the Uffizi Galeries, where we saw the masterpieces of our favorite Renaissance artists. We then had lunch on Piazza della Signoria, where we carefully selected the restaurant and the seats that would enable us the best view of the whole plaza and the statues in the Loggia dei Lanzi. We later walked back to the Ponte Vecchio, were we admired the scenic view of the buildings and the bridge being reflected on the Arno River. We took some of our favorite pictures right there.

Our last day in Florence focused on the Palazzio Vecchio, once the palace of the Medici, and the Piazza del Duomo. We loved everything we learned in these places. The Baptistery of St. Giovanni was stunning; Gerardo can’t stop talking about it. Close to mid day, we went to the top of the bell tower built by Giotto, and while being feet away from the bells, these went off. It was loud up there, but beautiful. I felt fortunate to be observing Florence from the heights of the tower. In the afternoon, we went back to the train station. Rome was waiting.