Firenze

Ugh! €4,30 for one hour on the internet! Practically highway robbery! But, at our camping site, it's €5, so I guess it's a bit cheaper (right now I'm at the central train station in Florence, which I'm finding out makes a good shopping mall!).

Anyway, it's our 3rd day in Florence now....We were originally going to see Siena on the way here from Rome, but since there were no direct trains, we decided to save that for another day. After a 4 hour train ride from Rome (which we could barely stay awake for), we got to Florence and had a bit of an adventure trying to find our bus and get off the right stop for our campsite, near Piazzale Michelangelo. Our tent is tiny! The campsite is crowded...much more than we Canadians are used to, but it has showers and bathrooms, so I'm good.

Since we got here so late, we just decided to take a walk around the center after we got settled in. Took a walk across the river to Piazza Santa Croce, then down to Piazza della Signoria. We sat around for a bit and looked at the open air museum there....it was already around 5pm, but still there were long line-ups for the Uffizi! We then walked down the Ponte Vecchio (mostly goldsmiths) and to Palazzo Pitti, where we decided to see the gardens while they're still open. The Boboli Gardens were huge...lots of pathways you could get lost in. Lots of stairs though, but great views at the back or the top. After they kicked us all out, we looked for a bite to eat, then back to our campsite for a quick drink at the bar before bed.

The next day, we decided to do the huge bus tour (on open air double deckers), which took us to Fiesole (small-ish town outside Florence) where we walked around for an hour. Then back down to Florence to see the Duomo and climb the dome!! Then, a quick look-in at San Marco (the museum was closed, unfortunately). We checked out the flea market by San Lorenzo (where I ended up buying a purse for €5! not leather, but I can't afford those), then a sit down dinner at an osteria (no wine, unfortunately...ariane didn't want any and I didn't feel like drinking alone).

Today, we woke up early-ish to see Uffizi...got there around 9am, which was too late, cause we ended up waiting for 2 hours before getting in! Worth it, though (I think). We got out of there around 1pm, had a quick lunch, then off to see Santa Croce. The entrance ticket was worth it, great artwork in the church itself, plus the tombs of Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. Then, we made our way down to the train station to get tickets for tomorrow's day trip to Siena. And so, that's how we ended up here, at the station. Ariane's somewhere window shopping, while I'm here getting gouged by internet prices!

Alright, more later...probably when we get to Venice. Day after tomorrow is probably a day trip to San Gimigniano, then off to Cinque Terre! Bye for now!