(As with the last one, there will be a "log in" button, but you should be able to just hit the "view slideshow" option in order to see the photos without logging in)
I arrived in Florence just as the rain did, which meant walking through the cobblestoned streets to my hostel while feeling the raindrops in between my toes. Needless to say, it wasn't raining all that hard, or for very long. Once I left my stuff off, I decided to walk over to the Duomo and wander the streets a bit to get my bearings. And of course, first thing I did was to get a little lost. Instead of heading south-west, I headed north-west, and ended up having a lovely lunch at a cafe near the Piazza della Liberta. Once I reevaluated my map and figured out where I wanted to be going, I headed out again, this time in the correct direction.
I had numerous people in Rome tell me that I should climb to the top of the Duomo for a spectacular view of the city and surrounding area. I was not disappointed. I was, however, exhausted. I managed to leave my inhaler at home, so after 583 steps to get up to the top, I stayed up there for a bit, taking in the views, and the air, before returning down.
That evening was an exciting one in all of Italy. The Italian soccer team was taking on the Romanian team in the EuroCup tournament. All the vendors on the streets were wearing their soccer jerseys for one team or the other, and all were prepared to watch the game at 18.00 that night. My hostel had assured me that the game was on there, and since I didn't know anywhere else in Florence yet, I figured it was a good place to watch it. It's entirely different watching soccer games with tourists than it is with the local Italian fans. At halftime, I left the hostel to find somewhere else to watch.
I managed to stumble upon a restaurant near the Piazza del Mercato Centrale that was showing the game. Not only was it showing the game, but the place was packed. And all the windows were open so that the waiters of the nearby restaurants could watch the game too. And whenever everyone started yelling and cheering, you'd see all the waiters running across the street to see what happened. It was great fun, and much more enjoyable than the hostel. In the end, the game was tied 1-1, but the Italians were still excited. (A loss would have knocked them out of contention; the tie still kept them in it) I ended up watching the second game that night (and the second game the following night) back at my hostel along with a few Canadian tourists and a lot of beer. My hostel was okay, much larger than the one I stayed in in Rome. The location was great (two blocks from the train station again), and the price was also great. It was just kinda loud. Not loud traffic or thin walls or anything like that, but loud in a "freshmen year in the dorms" kinda way, where everyone hangs out after quiet hours outside drinking beer and making lots of noise. Fine for me (who can sleep through most any noise), but one of my hostel-mates found it rather annoying.
The next day I went to the Galleria dell'Accademia (home of Michaelangelo's David) and the Uffizi Gallery (near the Ponte Vecchio). While waiting for my time slot at the Uffizi, I sat out at the Piazza della Signoria, writing postcards, eating gelato, and listening to a local musician playing anything from Mozart to Paul Simon on his violin.
I didn't have a lot of time in Florence, but enough to see the highlights and figure out what I want to do next time I go back....
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