Today we departed Rome for the second leg of our adventure. We rose a bit later, had breakfast then checked out of the hotel. As we were nearby and had plenty of time we walked over to the railway station. We wanted to ensure that we had things figured out to get onto the right train. The first of twelve for this journey. We waited in the lounge, bought sandwiches for the ride, then carefully watched the board for our train platform. As I had all the tickets booked from home we just had to scan the QR codes to enter the platform area. This trip we were in business class (yay!) So we were in the second car and had wonderful seats sitting across from each other. Within an hour and a half, we arrived in Florence! That bullet train really did fly.

Once we arrived we realized it would take the same amount of time to walk as to take a taxi, so walk we did. A bit hectic with our bags with the amount of tourists, but we made it to our next hotel just fine, already passing the amazing Duomo.

We settled in to a room and bath that would remind Mandy of our place in Paris – compact but really all we needed. But I couldn’t remember the last time I got a room with an actual key on a heavy key fob.

We opted to just wander around for a while to get the lay of the place. We first headed to the Porcellino, where we placed a coin in the boar’s mouth and rubbed his snout. It’s supposed to ensure that you return to Florence.

Next we saw the Loggia dei Lanzi, with many statues outside. Then continued to wander. I found a lovely water color by a local artist depicting the Duomo. I was hemming and hawing a bit about actually buying one, so I asked Silas was he thought – just get it, Grandma! So I did. Then we happened to pass some other artists who were doing charactatures which seemed to intrigue Silas, so we had him sit down for one – he was thrilled with the result! And of course we had the requisite gelato.

Next was several glasses of wine at a sidewalk cafe, with tiny birds zipping over and around us looking for crumbs.

We headed back out to dinner, along the way hearing a street musician playing “drums”. We’ve been happy to hear any number of them as we wander around. The restaurant we chose had a ridiculous line so we mosied over to another where we had a delightful meal. Another wonderful day!