We caught the metro train from Termini to Tiburtina to catch the fast train to Florence. Once we arrived at Florence the group caught a bus from the station to the closest stop to the youth hostel. Mrs Hayes and Mr Rand caught the first bus because there were too many people on one bus to fit everyone on. Mrs Beale and Mr Wray stayed with everyone who couldn’t fit on the first bus.
When everyone had reached the youth hostel we all unpacked and headed for the town for some lunch. After lunch we went sightseeing and saw the Duomo(Santa Maria del Fiore - Saint Mary of the Flowers Cathedral) and climbed the bell tower which is 414 steps to the top (there is no elevator). All around the Duomo are winding streets and historical points of interest, so we had a look around for about 45 minutes.
Just before dinner we saw the palace of Medici which had a copy of the statue of David. The real statue of David is located in Academia, Florence which we will visit on Tuesday. We also visited Ponte Vecchio (bridge) across the Arno river. This was the first bridge built in Florence in 1345. It is the only bridge in Florence to survive intact. Adolf Hitler ordered this bridge not to be destroyed during the allied advance into Italy in World War II.
At 7pm we had dinner at a local restaurant Osteria Dei Baroncel in which we had risotto for our entrée, roast chicken and potato for our main, coffee flavoured cake for desert. Then we headed back to the youth hostel for an early start in the morning.
Ben
