Firenze, Day III

Today is Sara and I's third day in Firenze. We didn't exactly plan on having a third day in Firenze, but a third day here makes for a more interesting blog entry than a day-long scenic train ride to Paris would. This morning Sara and I headed to the train station to attempt to book tickets on the same train Yiting and Rosie were taking to Paris, the same one I tried to book last night before they closed in my face. Conveniently, there was only one ticket left aboard this scenic train. Sara and I opted instead to book tickets aboard the overnight train to Paris, which would get us to Paris first thing the next morning, and would give us a third day to explore the amazing city of Firenze.

With this plan set, Sara and I checked our luggage at the train station and said goodbye to Yiting and Rosie before heading back out into the city. We weren't too sure of what to do, but we walked around the city, exploring a lot of the merchant stands. The area around the Basilica of San Lorenzo is lined with hundreds of merchant stands, so it makes for an entertaining walk through. They alternate between aggressively trying to sell you merchandise to practically ignoring you. Nearby was a restaurant that we were recommended to go to for lunch, but had been closed the past two days due to the Easter celebrations. Thankfully it was finally open on our extra day in Firenze, and its quality was demonstrated before we even went in by the line of people outside. You put your name down and they called you in, often seating you with other people simply because there is just not enough room inside. Sara and I sat at a four person table with two other people. My meat pasta dish was excellent, and were both very pleased with the place. Sara's friend's recommendations of where to eat in Firenze turned out to be great.

After lunch, we headed to the Bargello, a museum we had passed by several times but hadn't a chance to enter. It is inside an barracks and prison, which is ironic seeing as it is an art museum. While there aren't as many famous statues in there as there are at the Galleria dell'Accademia (namely the David) it still had quite a few interesting works of art, probably more than the Galleria had, simply because the Galleria makes its name off Michelangelo's David. It was definitely worth the visit, and took up most of our afternoon. For dinner, Sara and I headed to the Santa Croce plaza, where the church was unfortunately closed. There we dined on fine cuisine of bread and Nutella before deciding to go to a nearby pizzeria for a real dinner. After dinner we slowly made our way back to the train station where we grabbed our luggage and boarded our train to Paris.

In quite an interesting twist, we were in a six bed compartment with four other people, all American, and three of them having spent the night with Yiting and Rosie on the night the two of them spent extra in Roma. It made for a fun night of card games and talking before finally going to bed. It made the world feel like a small place, which I suppose it kind of is. Anyway, tomorrow will be our first day on the grand adventure of Paris, but I am going to miss Firenze; it is an incredible city.