And Four to Florence! Oh-no Three! Yeah Four!

Time to pack up and head to Italian City 2 in our Helgason/Hack travels. I’m upright again and good to go to Termini and get on the train. In 2 hours we will be in Florence in a new Airbnb with many wonderful things to see.

We have loved the train in Europe (well all except for one train, if you’ve been following the posts!) It is such an efficient, easy, inexpensive way to get around. The stations are always city centre, trains are clean, comfortable and some very fast. This one travelled as high as 248k an hour on the short trip. In no time we were in Florence and only 7 minutes away from our place.

We arrived and settled into our new Airbnb. This one actually has a lift and it’s a good thing because we are on the top floor. This last pic above is the view from our kitchen window. Wow.

I was only running on one cylinder still so I tucked in for a nap and the gang went to find a grocery store and to snoop out the neighbourhood. We had a 5 o’clock walking tour with Marco (a guide I’d been communicating with for a few months). He was going to walk us through the historic neighbourhood and teach us about Florence’s history and the connection to the Medici family. We had watched a series on Prime called “The Medici” about the ruling family in Florence and we loved the series – so we wanted to get the real story.

We met him at 5 and started our walk. Within a few minutes Heather knew that her turn had come for the stomach bout. She and I headed home, both tucked into bed and were out for the night. The men walked with Marco – went across the river and went to a bar for a drink with him. They loved their tour and learned lots about the history of this city.

Poor Heather went down hard and spent 24 hours at home feeling lousy and sleeping. So too bad!! We were back down to a group of 3 and spent that day with Brad wandering the streets and enjoying the neighbourhoods – but we saved the big items for tomorrow when hopefully, Heather was feeling better.

Jim and I both needed haircuts and I needed a new SIM card in my phone so it became a bit of a catch up afternoon. Fun experience to get a haircut by someone you don’t share the same language with. The little salon down the street squeezed us in – and the prices were very similar to home.

Heather insisted that we head out for a nice supper just in case this flu continues and tomorrow Brad or Dad are eating applesauce. Tuscan steak is a regional specialty and the guys wanted to give it a try so we found a Trattoria and ordered the Tuscan steak! Unbelievably good! I had a few tastes but my tummy wasn’t quite steak ready yet – I ordered the Italian Bread & Tomato Soup (Ribollita) and loved it too.

We went to bed with fingers crossed hoping that Heather would be feeling better, no one else will have gone down and we can explore Florence like we want to tomorrow!!!

Success – Heather’s a trooper – We are 4 strong again! – I’m sure she’s not 100 percent but showered and ready to go and off we went – full day ahead. I won’t to into all the details of everything we saw but highlights were: another study of the Duomo, Mercato Centrale-Florence’s Food Market, The Academia to see the famous statue of David, Palazzo Vecchio – Palazzo della Signoria, Ponte Vecchio- the famous bridge that survived the Second World War as the only bridge left intact and Palazzo Pitti – The Medicci’s palace. Then up out of the city to see the views of Florence from Piazzale Michelangiolo, and my all time favourite -San Miniato al Monte – the church high up on the hills outside Florence. What a great day. What a great city. Heather stayed strong and actually felt better and better as the day went by.

In spite of the flu, we had a wonderful time in Florence. It is one of the most beautiful cities in the world – the history is intriguing – the art and the sculptures are so magnificent – and the food is awesome! If you have to have the flu for a day – waking up to feeling better in Florence, is OK!!