We got up bright and early so we could catch our fantastic free breakfast at our hotel before we caught the train to Florence (Firenze). Thankfully, we were able to get one last espresso drink and some of the most amazing eggs ever (what DO they put in there anyway?!).

The train to Florence is a high speed one – it took over an hour – but much different than our experience from London to Edinburgh last year. (Trains had been cancelled due to high wind – lines on the tracks – and overcrowding on our particular route). We were told that we might be able to sit next to Jon and Yvonne in business class if the conductor let us – well, it’s safe to say that was a hard no. However, we did enjoy our short lived experience in business class. (Although I don’t think I would ever pay for the upgrade!)

Once we made it to Florence we had to stow our bags – which was an adventure in itself. Jon had paid for these prior to the trip – but unfortunately the lockers we were assigned were on the top row. Poor Andy had to lift with his legs (not with his back!) to get them up there – but thankfully everything fit. We started our route to get our rental car – which was supposed to have been a small SUV. However, we got a Jeep Renegade. This normally would have been fine – but between our luggage and Jon’s chair it was going to be tight quarters. We tried to see if they had anything larger – but that was it! The Renegade was now part of our trip.

After picking it up – we made our way to the Ponte Vecchio area. We knew this would be a central hub for everywhere that we wanted to go. We had trouble locating where we could park – but thankfully we noticed a few police officers talking in a lot. They guided us to a spot in the lot we had been driving through. And then we were off!

We found a cute restaurant in a little side alley. We had some delicious pizza and the house red.

(Not an ad – Andy and Yvonne enjoying lunch).

After finishing our lunch we made our way to the Duomo. And you could see that structure from so far away. It was one of the most beautiful buildings I had seen yet. It was made of beautiful white, green, and pink marble. The dome was stunning (as per usual!) and it looked like the people in the painting were 3D looking down at us. This was an impressive area – the Baptistry and the Gates of Paradise were stunning too.

Jon had researched two gelato places – and we actually ended up with the second choice. However, it was some of the best gelato we’ve had so far! We even met a woman there that had studied at a culinary school in the San Francisco area – and she had said this was the best gelato place in Florence!

Next we ventured over to the Accademia to see David. Wow! Honestly, it’s amazing what Michelangelo was able to do with stone in order to make a work of art! Poor David had been through a lot – he had some small weathering on his shoulders (we really weren’t able to see this from our vantage point) and his left arm had been broken off during a riot and previously attached. I couldn’t see it – but apparently another lunatic had attacked David’s toes with a hammer. I thought it was amazing. The rest of the museum had plenty of religious paintings dating back to the 1200-1300s.

We bid farewell to Florence and made our way to Tuscany – to stay in our agriturismo (basically a B&B). We arrived shortly before sunset – and we were greeted by a very friendly kitty. We could tell right away we would already like this place more – mainly because there was a lot more space to spread out in our room!

We had dinner at our place – and that was our first night in Tuscany!