Our bike tour was scheduled at 10 this morning, but I still woke up fairly early so that I could shower without worrying about waiting in line for the bathroom. I also wanted to make sure I was there when they put out breakfast, because the two girls from Copenhagen had told us that there was an amazing fruit salad, but it went quickly. Luckily I was one of the first ones there, so I definitely had 2 cups of fruit. It was delicious! & they had musseli and croissants and delicious coffee... it was so great, and I was already bummed that we were going to have to leave to catch our train before breakfast tomorrow.

After checking where the meeting location for the tour was, Gabe and I headed out. We both had a really great time on the tour; it was cool to be able to bike instead of walk, and our tour guide, Michele, was very nice. We definitely covered more ground on bikes, but a bike tour in Florence is not for those faint of heart. There are crowds of people, bikes, mopeds, horses, and even buses that you had to weave through on narrow cobble road streets. Let's just say that my biking experience at State and my bike bell came in handy ;] The other people in our group had a bit of trouble sticking with the guide, but not Gabe and I! I'm also seriously considering putting a bell on my bike at home, because people actually got out of my way when I rang it....

We covered a lot of ground on our tour, but unfortunately that meant that we didn't get to spend very much time in any one place. I would have preferred a longer, more detailed tour, but it was a good way to get orientated to the city and hear a bit more about the history of building, sculptures, and the town of Florence itself =] Construction for the Duomo, for instance, began in 1296 and it wasn't structurally completed until 1436! Until the modern era, it was the largest dome in the world. It still remains one of the biggest churches in Italy and the largest brick dome ever constructed... not to mention that it is absolutely breathtaking to look at. I've never seen a cathedral like it...

We saw the Ponte Vecchino, the old bridge in Florence, on our tour, too, but you'll have to ask Gabe for the history on that one... The only thing I know about it is when the Germans were retreating from Florence during WWII, they blew up all of the bridges but at the last minute decided to leave the Ponte Vecchino standing because it was too beautiful to destroy... Anyway, we were on one of the other bridges looking at the Ponte Vecchino when I spotted a couple of singles on the water. I was so jealous! Not to mention instantly distracted with taking pictures of the singles with Florence in the background... they probably thought I was such a creep ;]

The best part of the tour was the stop for gelato, and it was included in the tour price so there was no chance of us accidently purchasing a €12 gelato again ;] I got nutella, and it was delicious. They were still in the process of making the gelato for the day, and they had literally just made mine. I'm going to have a really difficult time going back to German, let alone American ice cream after this trip...

Gabe and I wanted to go back to some of our favorite places we had seen on the tour and do a bit of shopping the rest of the day, so we headed for the Duomo first. I didn't care too much about going into the Uffizi Gallery because it's not my favorite type of art and we didn't get tickets beforehand so we would have had to wait in a long line, but I really wanted to see the David. Gabe didn't, though, and we also didn't have a ton of time in Florence, so I'll have to save that for another trip. When we got to the Duomo, the line to go up the tower was pretty long, so we agreed we would come back in the early evening and keep our fingers crossed that it would be shorter then.

We saw the Ponte Vecchino on our tour, but didn't go across it (there's so many people, it would have been impossible with bikes) so we decided to head there, passing the Piazzo Vecchio (city hall) first so that I could take some more pictures of the statues we learned about on the tour, especially Perseus and Medusa and The Rape of the Sabine Women. The Ponte Vecchino is the old bridge I mentioned earlier, and it is lined on both sides with expensive jewelry stores. It is quite pretty to look at the bridge from afar, and the street itself is very cool. I definitely picked out my wedding ring, so now all I have to do is meet a cute Italian boy who will teach me how to speak the language and make pizza and I'll be all set ;]

We wandered around the other side of the river for a bit and grabbed lunch and my first Italian tiramisu =] Then I talked Gabe into doing some shopping. I have such a weakness for dresses... I bought two! But one will work great for formal next year, and besides, wearing them will always make me think of Florence and how much I love it here =] I thought about getting a leather coat because Florence is famous for leather, but after buying the two dresses I couldn't bring myself to splurge on a leather coat... somewhat regretting that now... but just another reason to come back, right!? =]

After my shopping fail, we decided it was time to head back to the Duomo and check out the line for the tower. Unfortunately with it being Easter Week the dome itself was closed, but the view from the top of the tower was supposed to be breathtaking. Luckily for us the line was significantly shorter, and we only had to wait about 10 minutes—not bad! Then we started the climb. 414 stairs to get to the top, and let's just say the staircase was not designed for tours to be simultaneously going up and down. It was super narrow and winded at points, which was especially difficult when you reached someone going the opposite way! But the view was definitely worth the climb and price of admission, although I did like the one from the Michaelangelo Piazzo better... we stayed up on the top of the tower for awhile so I could take some pictures of the city, and when we reached the ground again it was time to head back to the hostel for the Meet and Greet. The girls from Copenhagen had already left for Rome, but the two guys were still there, and Gabe and I met two guys from London and two girls from Texas, too.

After hanging out on the terrace for a bit, a group of us decided to go to this house concert that an Italian singer, Erica Mou, was performing at. I'm not sure what I was expecting exactly, but the concert definitely exceeded my expectations. The concert was held in a really cool apartment a few blocks away from our hostel; it was two floors with a windy staircase and access to a terrace on the roof. There were probably about 20 or so people there and Erica sang and played her guitar while we sipped wine and mixed drinks with "strawberry mush"—it was a really cool way to spend our last evening in Florence. Gabe and I had a train to catch for Rome at 7 the next morning and the red wine and strawberry mush drink was making me sleepy, so we said our goodbyes and headed back to the hostel.

I wish I could have stayed in Florence longer, but I know I'll be back =]

Ciao ciao, Florence! Ciao ciao, Rome!