This morning was an early wake up call, as our train to Florence left Murren at 7:06am. The entire trip would take about 6.5 hours and consist of 5 trains and 1 gondola. On the first three legs Muren-Lauterbrannen-Interlaken, we were the only passengers so we could relax and not feel crowded. However, once we got to Interlaken, our quiet revere was over. From that point, the trains were packed!   
 
We got our Interlaken-Spiez train with no issue and had about 10 minutes between the Spiez-Brigs leg, but after waiting for a few minutes at the track, it was announced there was a mechanical issue and the train would be 30 minutes late. Had it been on time, we would have had a lengthy 33 minute layover in Brigs, but now it was going to be a very tight 3 minutes. I checked with the ticket counter, and they assured me that we would make the Briggs-Milan train. When we arrived in Brigs, we and most of the other passengers rushed to track 6 only to find the train hadn't arrived yet! So, we were very safe in making the Milan leg.  
 
That was the longest leg at 2 hours, and would have been quite relaxing had it not been for the raucous french foursome behind us, who were enjoying wine and loud conversations for most of the trip. About 45 minutes from Milan, an older gentleman finally asked them to be a bit more quiet and luckily they did so for the remaining time.  In Milan, we had 30 minutes, so we were able to grab a quick snack before getting on the final leg to Florence, which was a quick 1.5 hours due to getting up to a top speed of 296 KM per hour. I knew the scenery was flying past, but didn't realize we were on a bullet train until Ken pointed out the speed on the monitor above our heads.
 
Arriving to the Florence train station was a vastly different experience than our leaving Murren earlier in the morning. While Murren was calm, serene, quiet...Florence was loud, crowded and chaotic. Ken tried to convince me to walk or try the city bus, but with our huge-ass suitcases, I was not in the mood to wander through the city where we weren't familiar.  We caught a cab and took the short ride to the hotel, but after seeing the route, we were both glad we had taken that option as while it wasn't far, it was a bit of a convoluted route.  
 
We rang the doorbell to the IL Bargello B&B and the door unlocked. So we headed up the stairs, and then up some more and more....5 flights in all, with no lift in sight. I went on an advanced scouting mission to see where the place was, so Ken stayed down on the first floor with the bags. I was welcomed by Simone, who promptly went down to fetch Ken and also helped bring my bag up, which was no small miracle. She showed us to the Executive Apartment, which had 2 bedrooms, 1 bath and full kitchen...we could live in it with no issue!  
 
After relaxing and catching up on the blog/emails, we went for an exploration of the city. I knew that Florence would be crowded, but we were surprised at the vast amounts of people in every direction. Since we are going to be here all of next weekend, we weren't as worried about getting in the sites, but just wanted to get a sense of what was available. Our first stop was a little cafe to get acclimated and have a quick snack.   
 
For those on my facebook, you may remember my horror that the Kim/Kanye West nuptials were going to be in Florence today, of ALL days for two media hogs...it had to be when we are here??? Well, as we we were enjoying our snack, a tall, African-American guy, dressed in a very expensive suite and white fedora, followed by a movie camera guy and two guides went to the counter to order a snack. We had no idea who he was, but our guess was that he was part of the K/K wedding. I tried to take a picture, but it turned out more like a surveillance photo, so not helpful. Luckily that was the only reference to the wedding that we experienced.
 
We did a long walk around the city, stopped for some gelato and went back to our room to relax. While Ken was getting a nap, I did some research on dinner choices. Simone had given us two recommendations close to the hotel and they both looked to be good options. Since we were both still sore from the hikes and now from our long walk around town, the closer the better.  
 
We walked a block down our small street, to Berrieria Centrale...translation: Taproom Central. While there were beer options, they weren't as many as you would think for a taproom. We were early by Italian standards, so our dining companions were families with young children. Ken had one of those  "I'll have what he's having moments" , when the food was delivered to the table next to us. It looked to be pasta with a very dark meat topping, which we found out was pappardelle with chianti beef...it was very good. I had tortoloni with truffle and porcini mushroom sauce...very rich and very yummy.  
 
After dinner, we picked up a bottle of wine, a small chocolate bar and headed to the roof of our B&B to watch the sunset and listen to the many church bells ringing throughout the city. Welcome to Italy!