There was a train from Rome to Florence leaving Termini Station every 30mins so we had no real reason to hurry this morning, we set ourselves for a mid-morning departure so we could arrive in Florence at check-in time. Leaving Rome on a Sunday created a small transport issue, the buses run only every 40-50mins and with a couple of school groups staying at the camp ground in meant there was much more than a bus load of people waiting at the stop. We had seen a lady come and go a couple of times from the stop with a mini-van full of people, turns out she was charging €3 a head to shuttle people to the nearest metro station. Having seen her leave and return already in quick time we decided it was a safe option, parting with €3 each and avoiding a possible 2hr wait at the stop. So with 7 others we hopped in, paying only when we arrived at the metro a few minutes later. Her unofficial shuttle must make her a lot of money on a Sunday!
Having worked out a rough itinerary we realised that we have 8 more Eurail travel days on our ticket but 9 actual travel days on our plan. We would need to purchase a ticket on one of our trips and Rome-Florence would be the cheapest one as it's only 1.5hrs. A short time later we were away, purchasing the tickets only 30mins before departure meant that we were sitting in separate seats.....in separate carriages. This hour & a half would be the first time we've been apart in 6 weeks, enjoying it while we could.....
Hello Florence, for both of us the best city in Italy. We were staying at "Camping Michaelangelo", part of the "PLUShostel" chain growing quickly through Europe. In Italy they run camping areas due to their close proximity to the city centers. Located next to Piazza Michaelangelo near the banks of the river, this site literally looks over Florence. We're in a "Tent House" consisting of a bunk, a single and a key locked sliding door with a lamp attached to each bed. At only €19 each per night you get beds, sheets, blankets, lights and a key. With toilets, showers, shop, WiFi, bar and pizza restaurant (not to mention an amazing view) on site this is outstanding value for money.
After settling our things we headed out for the short walk into Florence and to make us miss Charlie even more we stumbled across a dog fair run by the Florence equivalent of the RSPCA. There were dozens of dogs there and we set about cuddling as many as we could, even buying Charlie a souvenir for his collar.

Dragging ourselves away we crossed the river and moved into the centre of town stopping first in Piazza Della Signoria outside the Uffizi Gallery. A replica of the Statue of David stands out front, the real one being inside but was closed for the day and doesn't open on Mondays so we wouldn't be seeing it on this trip. There are many statues of famous moments and people of Florence's history in this Piazza and after taking it all in we headed on to the Ponte Vecchio. This famous bridge across the river houses all the jewellery stores in Florence and we quickly came to the realisation that we may find the perfect ring right here. Sarah tried on many as she narrowed in on exactly what she wanted and with decisions to make we decided to move on to allow thinking time.

It was now approaching dinner time so we found a nice looking street side restaurant and enjoyed pasta and wine under the warmth of their outside heater. An espresso and a short walk later we were back at camp ready to rug up for the chilly night ahead. It's now dropping to almost zero degrees at night and tents aren't known for their insulating abilities.