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Today we go to Florence! Everyone was so excited. We took the super fast train non-stop from Roma to Firenze. The train was very nice, very smooth. We were able to see a little of the countryside, which was so beautiful. We passed little tiny villages, sunflower fields, and went through many hills. After what seemed like no time at all, we were in Florence! At the train station we stopped to use the bathroom before our 1/2 mile walk to the bed and breakfast. It was 1 euro to use the bathroom! Crazy! Then we started off. Right next to the station was a beautiful church- the Santa maria Nuova. We were able to go into it but not to take pictures, which seemed to be the theme of Florence. The outside was decorated with beautiful white and green marble. Max told us to remember that. Our bed and breakfast was so beautiful. Jeremy and I shared a room with a large bed and a couch. Our windows overlooked the square below. We were able to relax a while in our rooms before we started on our first tour in Florence. For lunch we went to a cute little sandwich shop. Jeremy called it an Italian Subway. I had salami, eggplant, pecorini cheese on focaccia bread! It was grilled/smashed. So good. I sat on the steps of the church and ate my sandwich, overlooking the square. We met our guide, who was very nice. You couldn't help and notice she had a limp. But she definitely could walk the tour. our first stop was the Pitti Palace. This was the palace of a family who rivaled the Medici, so when the Medici took control, they took this palace. We then moved on to the amazing bridge that was covered in shops. The Medici were scared of the people basically so they built a long hallway thing so they didn't have to walk on the road from one palace to another. This was on this bridge. Also this bridge is special because it was the only bridge in Florence not destroyed by the Germans in WWII. After the bridge we walked to the Uffizi Gallery, our first museum. Sadly we couldn't take pictures inside. I really enjoyed having a guide in here because she pointed out the best parts and gave us some insight on the pieces. We went from Middle Ages to around the 1500s. The highlight for me was definitely the Botticelli room. We were able to see in person "Spring" and "the Birth of Venus". We also saw Giotto's "The Virgin of All Saints" In this room we had to decide which was the old to newest. I correctly chose Giotto's as the newest! We were also able to see one of the first paintings by Leonardo di Vinci - "The Annunciation" We learned that Michelangelo really preferred being a sculturer to a painter, but we were able to see one of his paintings - "the Doni Holy Family". Raphael definitely sounded like a character. We wandered around listening to stories for close to 2 hours. In the piazza outside the Uffizi there were several statues, including a copy of Michelangelo's "David". We then walked to the market. There we sadly saw that they were closing up for the day. There is a wild boar statue next to this market. The wild boar is the symbol of Florence. If you rub its nose you will come back to Florence, according to our guide. All of us immediately went over to rub the nose! We decided to slowly go back to get ready for dinner. The ristorante was right outside our B&B. This was the longest supper I have ever done! We first started with antipasti. I had melon and prosciutto. That combination of sweet and salty was beautiful. The melon was so perfectly ripe! For first course I had just a fresh tomato spaghetti. I ate that entire plate with no problems. It was so fresh and light. So good! Second course was the best fillet I have ever had. They did not ask how I wanted it. It cam to me about medium rare. Oh, that fillet melted in my mouth from the first bite! Even though I really wasn't too hungry, I ate pretty much the whole thing. I was not going to let that amazing plate go to waste. Yes, I did have dessert! An amazingly fluffy cheesecake. Again, really didn't need it, but totally finished it with Nicole. We then sat with the guide and talked for probably another hour. I was so exhausted, that when we got to our room, I took a shower and got right into bed. And we were only half way done with Florence!
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