We were at the train by 7:20. We wanted to get there early incase it was packed with people. We wanted to make sure we got seats. We did get seats and sat next to a nice couple from Australia.
We arrived in Florence about 10:10 and we headed directly to the information center. From there we headed for a hostel that I had picked up a flyer on. It looked nice from the flyer so we were going to check it out. We got a room, but couldn't check in yet. We left our bags there are went to explore the city.
We were looking for the Duomo. We found it; there was no way you could miss it once you were close. It is the 4th largest cathedral in the world. The exterior is beautiful. Across from it is the Romanesque baptistry and it the oldest in the world. It is famous for its gilded bronze doors. Especially one set done by Lorenzo Ghiberti.
There were lots of tour groups out. They are usually quite large and the leader parades around with a staff with a flag, handkerchief, or some kind of marker to distinguish one group from another. It would be very easy to get lost and separated from your group. I am glad the ones we have done have been small and intimate.
After admiring the Duomo, we walked toward the Arno River and then over the Ponte Vecchio Bridge. This bridge is the only bridge that survived WW II in Florence. The bridge is lined with gold and silversmith shops. Originally the shops housed butchers.
We crossed the bridge and then we were on search for a church that was having a concert tomorrow night. We wanted to find it before tomorrow night because it would be dark when we go there. We found it then back tracked to the bridge, but didn't cross it. We headed up Piazzale Michelangelo. It was up a hill, but worth it. It gave us a terrific view of the city with the Duomos sticking out above everything. I wondered if there are height restrictions on buidings. In Rome, anything built has to be lower than St. Peter's.
We made our way back to the hostel to check out our room. The room is roomy and looks clean. The rest of the hostel is nice. It has an outside terrace. I sat out there for awhile, but it was chilly so I didn't stay long.
Laurie and I walked back up to Piazzale Michelangelo. I wanted to be up there for sunset, but I got caught up doing wash. It was dark by the time we got there.
The walk there was eerie. Earlier in the day it was packed with tourists and street vendors. Now it was dark and empty. The street vendors packed up their carts and were wheeling them into some storage area. I actually felt a little uncomfortable.
We got to the Piazzale Michelangelo and the city looked beautiful from up there. All the lights where on and you could see the river lit up.
Also, on top of the Piazzale is a copy of the statue "David". "David" is one of Michelangelo's. The real "David" is in a museum in Florence, but Laurie and I were too cheap to pay the 10 euros to go to the museum. We settled for the copy. "David" was all lit up on the Piazzale. Looked nice.
Laurie and I walked back down and found a restaurant to eat at. It was close to the hostel. I think I have succumbed to the European style of eating late. It was about 10:00 at night. By the time we got back to the hostel it was time for bed.
September 20, 2003
Laurie and I were up early. We wanted to use the internet at the hostel and wanted to grab it before anyone else. After a few emails, I had breakfast. This is the first hostel in a long time that offered more than bread and butter. They actually had eggs. I was beginning to wonder if the Europeans ever ate eggs or knew how to cook them.
Laurie and I then went to the train station. We were going to go to Siena and San Gimignano and going back to the hostel tonight.
The train was about 1 1/2 hours to Siena. We then caught a bus from the train station to Siena center. We just walked around and checked out Piazza del Campo and also the Duomo. The Duomo had the same color marble as the Duomo in Florence, but not as impressive.
We made our way back to the train by way of the bus. We had to wait a little before the bus. We hopped on the train which took us to Poggibonsi. From there we had to take a bus to San Gimignano. It was only about a 20 minute ride. San Gimignano sits on top of a hill and you can look out to the Tuscany valley.
There are 13 towers still standing in this small town. There were 72 at one time built during the Middle Ages.
One thing we noticed were these different looking trees.. Well, at least they were different to us. I noticed them because they looked like they were planted in rows. The leaves also looked different to me. Laurie and I found a tree and noticed a round small brownish/purplish berry. I thought it might be an olive tree. We asked someone and they did say it was an olive tree. The question is, do they use them for olive oil or olives?
After walking around, we went to wait for the bus. We waited and waited and waited. In the time that we waited, we felt that there should have been at least three buses. We weren't the only ones waiting. Finally someone told us that there was an accident and traffic was backed up. We had been waiting at least 1 1/2 hours. It must have been a bad accident. Laurie and I decided that we didn't want to wait anymore for the bus. We decided to hijack a car. Well, not really hijack. We asked politely. There was a parking lot next to the bus stop. So we went to the parking lot and waited for the people that were leaving and asked if they were going to Poggibonsi. We got an older, well dressed couple to take us. They didn't seem to want to, but agreed to do it. We told them about the accident and told them that we wanted to get back to Florence for a concert.
