Firenze!

Friday, August 4, 2006 (DAY 10)
12:45 midnight
Florence, Italy

Florence has won Italy over for me! So far I haven’t seen much, but what I’ve seen is what I originally expected from this country. Cobblestone streets. Apartments above stores with laundry hanging out to dry. Patio cafés serving gelato of every flavor and panini sandwiches that are to die for. Yes, this city has much to offer and I’m ready to take it all in tomorrow.

As for today, we drove a little more, trekking through the Tuscan countryside. It was beautiful, with its vineyards and fields of sunflowers. Along the way we made a surprise pit stop in Pisa, which was awesome! The famous tower wasn’t tall, but it definitely leans. Haha. Of course I had to take some cheesy pics and buy a leaning shotglass as a souvenir. Oh the joys of being a tourist!



Once we arrived in Florence I spent my free time roaming around the city. Stopped in an Internet café to catch up on some news back home and picked up a small pastry to eat on the way back to meeting up with the group.



Tonight Pete took us to the Red Garter, a karaoke bar. Another Contiki tour full of Aussies were there and by the end of the night we all were having fun. A few of us snuck out a little early to experience Florence at night. We traversed the streets, making our way to the Arno River, and stopping for a cup of gelato. Gelato comes in like 10 sizes, I had the 1€80 version (about the third from the smallest) of the Nutella flavor. Deliciouso!



Now I can sleep contently and prepare for a full day of this beautiful city!

Ciao!