Under the Tuscan Sun

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In our train ride from Venice to Florence, I believe there were more loud Americans than I’ve seen in 5 months, and that includes the one I was home at Christmas for. We decided not to stop in Bologna, and instead get to Florence early. We were happy with the decision, as we instantly decided we loved Florence. We had lunch after checking in at the hostel. It was the best meal we’ve had so far. Jessie got some sort of pasta, while I got a steak. We both loved it, but I saw her enviously looking at my meat a few times. We walked to the Duomo, an awe-inspiring church with the Gates of Paradise at the Baptistry in front. I think they’re duplicates, as my art teacher said the originals have been being refurbished for the last 17 years. We climbed the bell tower next door for an awesome view of Florence. I saw a lot of the churches I wanted to see but knew we wouldn’t have time for all of them. We went walking and I looked for a place the book said had the best gelato in Florence. I never found it, so we moved on to see the river and walk across it to where we were have dinner—after having gelato from a place that had gelato, but apparently not the best in Florence. On the way to dinner, Jessie provoked the start of a few heart attacks by stopping at all the windows of the gold jewelry places. Dinner was probably also not particularly good for the heart as we shared a massive bistecta all florentina. It was delicious and the best piece of meat I have ever had. We walked a long walk back to the hostel, stopping for, what else— but more gelato on the way.

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