Day 8 : Florence Italy (21 June 2008)

After breakfast in the hotel in Rome we were ready to leave for Florence. We did not get far when our bus driver noticed something wrong and we had to stop.  He had to take our all the luggage to see what the problem was.  After about an hour we were on the road again. 

We stopped for a quick lunch and were on our way reaching Florence about 13:30.  First we had to get a pass for the bus and then our driver dropped us in the city for our group photo. Afterwards we went to look at a leather demonstration at a shop and walked around for a bit


At 14:00 we met the group again in Piazza della Signoria for a guided walking tour of Florence.  Our guide told us more about some of the statues and buildings in the square. 

Hercules

Replica of David by Michelangelo
 




Fountain of Neptune

Persus with the head of Medusa
We then walked to the Uffizzi museum but did not go inside.  It was very warm and we had trouble concentrating on what our guide was telling us.
We then walked to Ponte Vecchio, the oldest bridge in Florence over the Arno River.  Legend is that if lovers lock a padlock on the bridge and through the key in the river they will be together forever.  The padlocks damaged the bridge and there is now a fine if you are caught locking something to the fence.














Next we walked pass the Piazza della Republica to the next stop, the Duomo and Baptista.  The Duomo is a huge church with red, green and white marble on the outside.  It is too big to fit in a picture.  The walking tour ended here and we went to explore on our own.
Baptistry

We went inside the Duomo.  The dome is amazing.  We did not have much time because of the broken bus.  We left the church to buy some souvenirs and walked to Santa Croce.  We waited for the rest of the group and walked to the replacement bus to take us to the hotel.
We had a fun night in Florence.  We started with a Tuscan Evening at a restaurant called “La Certosa”.  There was a lot of nice food and entertainment.  At 22:00 we got back on the bus and drove the Space Electronic Disco.  I am not really a disco person but when would I get another chance to go to a disco in Florence.  It was still empty when we arrived but it soon got busier.  We danced until 1:30 am before getting a cab back to the hotel.

Read more of the trip to Europe in 2008:
10.        Day 5: Venice Italy Cont
11.        Day 6: Rome Italy
12.        Day 6: Rome Italy Cont
13.        Day 7: Vatican City
14.        Day 7: St Peter's
15.                Day 7: Rome Italy
16.                Day 7: Rome Italy Cont
   17.       Day 8: Florence Italy

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