Italy Trip - Day Cinque

Hello!  Welcome to Thinking Out Loud Thursday.  Today I'm thinking about our day five from the Italy trip.  If you need to catch up on days one through four, click the day below.


                       Day Uno       |       Day Due       |       Day Tre       |       Day Quattro

Day Five took us outside of Rome to Florence.  We were up bright and early to catch the train north and arrived at the train station well in advance of our departure.  As it turns out, we probably didn't need to arrive as early as we did because locating our exact train and departure track was a breeze.  We had purchased our tickets about five weeks before we arrived in Italy and the round trip cost of each ticket was just under 55 US dollars.  Well worth the day trip to Florence!

The hour-and-a-half train trip was very comfortable and the scenery became more mountainous the closer we got to Florence.  Eric, Linda and I chatted about our day ahead and mapped out our plan of attack.  We had pre-purchased our tickets to both the Accademia Museum and the Uffizi Gallery so we would not have to waste precious time waiting in long lines.  That plan worked like a charm!

We arrived right on time and began wandering the streets looking for the location where we wanted to grab lunch.  The sights and sounds of Florence were fabulous!  It was pretty easy to immediately fall in love with this city!

As luck would have it, Linda had recently reconnected with a past student of hers.  Guess where said student is currently living -- you got it, FLORENCE!  Unfortunately, she was going to be in the US during the time we were in Florence.  But she was able to give us some great recommendations.  One of them was the spot we choose to have lunch -

We literally walked past this little hole in the wall several times before realizing it was the place we were searching for.  So glad we were persistent because it was SOOOO worth it.  You stepped up, ordered your sandwich and found a place to enjoy it on the street.  

After lunch, it was time to get to the Accademia.  David was waiting.  Guys, David is as big as you have heard is.  This Michelangelo masterpiece is still in perfect condition even after 517 years. 

The Accademia had a tons of other statues and a whole area of classic musical instruments.  

From the Accademia, we headed back across town to the Uffizi Gallery.  Eric was particularly excited to hit up this museum so he could see the Birth of Venus painting by Botticelli.  Mission accomplished!

From the Uffizi Gallery, we meandered in and out of a few churches.  So many beautiful things to see!

All day we had been walking past the Duomo, each time I couldn't help but snap a few pictures.  The place is exquisite!  With only one day in Florence, we had elected to skip climbing to the top.  But we spent plenty of time in awe outside looking at it from all angles.

Late in the afternoon we hiked to the Piazzale Michelangelo.  Guys -- don't skip this location if you go to Florence!  This spot is high on a hill with a view of the entire city.  I'm not going to lie, it's a trek to get there.  If you don't want to climb a bazillion steps, take a cab.  We had to stop for a snack on the way.

You just can't beat the view from Piazzale Michelangelo!  As the sun began to set, I couldn't take pictures fast enough.

We ate dinner at the restaurant at the top named la Loggia Ristorante Caffetteria.  Guess what happened while we were eating.  The couple at the table next to us got engaged!!  Now, you know how I love all things wedding so you can only imagine how excited I was to be snapping pictures of their special moment.  Thankfully they welcomed my camera being in their business!

We said goodbye to Florence and hopped on our train back to Rome.  This is one city we just HAVE to return to one day so I can saunter up and down the streets and enjoy the atmosphere.  Goodbye for now Florence.  See you again some day!

Now it's your turn.  What are you thinking out loud about today?  Link up and share!

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