Oh the culture and shopping in Florence Arrived in Florence in time for dinner after our stop at Pisa. After dinner some of the group headed into a bar in Florence called "The Red Garter", no, not a strip club, it was a pub. And this pub sold cheap cocktails so of course we had to have some. A few "fruit tingles" and "sex on the beaches" later, we were up dancing when the attack of the Italian men started. Now, I've heard stories about Italian men but really, it has to be seen to be believed. They just pounced on all the unsuspecting girls and wham! It was sleaze central. Highly entertaining but sleazy just the same! Although, definitely an experience I'm glad to have had and will forever think of when I hear about Italian men! On out way back on the bus, the drama of the night started when one of the girls, Jen started having an asthma attack. She became the second of the tour group that day to go to hospital, Venecia having gone earlier that night due to excessive pain in her legs. It was quite the excitement and I was absolutely exhausted as I managed to be the one who had to run up and down the huge hill to our cabins multiple times to try and find Jen's asthma puffer. I collapsed in bed, shattered, and it really was no surprise that the next day it all caught up with me and I came down with the flu that was starting to make its rounds on the bus. Our first stop in Florence was to go see a leather demonstration, seeing as Florence is famous for it's leather. After that we were given a walking tour of the city with a local guide, which was very interesting and allowed us to hear about the history of the city and to imagine what it would have been like when all those great thinkers (Plato, Socrates) and artists (Michelangelo, da Vinci) were living there during the renaissance. It must have been an awesome city during those days. It still is an awesome city but unfortunately I wasn't really feeling well enough to enjoy it the way I wanted to. I would really like to go back to take advantage of the shopping and the art galleries. I did however make sure I got to go and see Michelangelo's David and what a surprise that was! Whereas the "Mona Lisa" was much smaller than I imagined, "David" was so much larger and even more impressive than I had thought it would be. That night we went out for a five, yes five, course Tuscan meal which I found to be very nice. Served pasta, chicken, vegetables, bruschetta and many other things, it was a fitting end to our time in Florence. Florence is high on my list of places to go back and see due to not being able to enjoy it as much as I would have liked to. It is a beautiful city and so cultural. And of course, the shopping for leather and gold is well worth a visit alone! Yes, I will definitely be returning to Florence one day, hopefully next year.