Florence

Day 1

Today I arrived to Florence in early evening.  I got a little overjoyed by the fact that there is WiFi at the hostel, so I didn’t get out to do any sightseeing this evening, but I did manage to find the nearby supermarket – score!

Also, there was a bit of a shock when I arrived back to my room after going out for groceries – the hostel owner had warned me that there would be a man (and another female) in the hostel room.  But, when I returned to the room I found out that the male roommate was a middle aged man (not the 20-something backpacker that I had envisioned)….and he was chilling in the room in his boxers (Europeans are weird).  Needless, to say both me and my female roommate (another 20-something female backpacker) were not amused.  But, all the beds were full, and it was past 9 pm so we were stuck.  Luckily, the old fart went to bed early…so by the time I came into the room he was in bed.  Still not amused, we left the door open to sleep.

Note to self: ensure that you’re not sharing a room with an old fart before paying for your stay!

Day 2

Well, good news, both me and the female roommate made it safely to the morning, not that either of us slept well.  Our room faces the street, and last night was street cleaning night….which meant a night of continual noise.  Thank goodness for my earplugs, or I wouldn’t have slept at all.

After finally decided to get up and start my day, I got ready, stopped at the grocery store, and was on my way.

This morning I went to the Academia Gallery to see Michelangelo’s David.  David was really impressive, as were the other un-finished Michelangelo statues.  After the Academia Gallery I did a self-guided tour of Florence.  I saw the Duomo, Dante’s House, a bunch more churches, a bunch of statue replicas (including David, all of the originals are now in museums), the outside of the Ufuzzi Gallery, the Ponte Vecchio, and saw the Pitti Palace.

I also saw a few interesting do not enter signs today:

I returned to my hostel quite tired, but had just a little bit of downtime before having to leave to go to the station to get my tickets for tomorrow’s train adventure.  I’ll be going from Florence to Rome (to pick up my camera), then on to Venice.


Day 3

Today I didn't have long in Florence - just enough time to pack my bags, get breakfast, then realize I forgot my water bottle at the hostel, jet back to the hostel, then get on the train to Rome.  It was a bit of a chaotic morning.