Florence

As mentioned, I took a train to Florence (Firenze) today. As I was taking the train to Florence, I was thinking "Oh, how nice the weather has been, and it's raining when I am taking the train! Perfect, hopefully it will not be raining when I get to Florence." Unfortunately, it was raining, and I had to walk around trying to find my hostel with my umbrella (which doesn't cover my large backpack, so some of it got wet) and I was wearing sandals, bad idea. Anyway, eventually found my hostel, checked in, and hung out for a while until it stopped raining. Headed around to explore the city, and of course, got an espresso and croissant as I do almost everyday here, heading towards the Duomo. I explored some of the piazzas and streets on my way there, and headed into the Santa Maria Cathedral (where the Duomo and Baptistry are located). I really appreciate having taken an art history class in college, even if it was some what annoying, as I now am familar with many major works of art. And again, since I apparently do not have such a steady hand with taking pictures without a flash (in a museum/with weird lighting), I was forced to use a tripod to get a nonfuzzy picture. And...it still wasn't enough, so I have 0 pictures for the inside of the cathedral that are not fuzzy. A few good ones of the dome painting though. I climbed to the top of the Dome, and when I paid to go up it was NOT raining, of course, by the time I got up there it was raining, and raining hard. I was determined to stay up there until it stopped raining, which eventually it did. And it was totally worth the hike up those stairs, and the €6. After it stopped raining, I was taking pictures for a while, because the view of the city just kept getting more and more beautiful by the minute when the sun was emerging out of the clouds. And, by request of mi madre, I got some other tourists to take a few pictures of me on top of the world. By the way, it is sometimes very narrow where people are coming up and down the stairways, so if you are claustrophobic you may not like it for some of the journey up/down the stairwells. I walked around alot, and I wanted to try eating at a place recommended in my guide book, Trattoria Marione. I waited about 30 minutes to get in, as many places in Italy will close for siesta till around 7pm. It was THE BEST meal I have had in my life, hands down. I got a 1/2 litre of chianti, mixed cheese dish, pasta e fagioli (aka bean soup), and ravioli filled with ricotta cheese and covered in a pesto sauce. I was sitting next to a couple from the US (Georgia), and talked with them about half the time I was there. That way, I don't feel so weird having dinner by myself. I didn't even want dessert...
I went back to the hostel to digest and get ready for the next day.

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