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Well, this morning we bid adieu to Venice and made our way aboard the train to Florence. It was sad to leave Venice and realize that today marks the halfway point of our trip, but the optimistic side of that is that we still have one full week left on this vacation.
The train ride was great and took only two hours (sure made the GO look awful). We're staying at Hotel Rex and, though we've barely been in the room itself, it seems like a good choice. Our hotel is situated right in the heart of Florence, allowing us to walk to the Uffizi (sp?) Museum and all of the other sites. We're also right around the corner from a beautiful church and maze of markets, most of which sell the same things (how much leather can anyone really need?).
The only site we have seen thus far is the Museum of Science, which has a wide array of telescopes and other insruments dating back to the times before the heliocentric universe was actually known. They even had some items used by Copernicus, though the focus was definitely on Galileo and his many discoveries. It was quite fascinating to see the exact wooden instruments he built in order to "discover" acceleration... rudimentary but also ingenious. It was also interesting to see the tools used by the alchemists in their failed attempts of the day.
We've since went in search of a SIM card so that we can use the data plan on the iphone. After meandering through the various markets and small streets, we did find a phone company, but it appears that Telus has locked my iPhone so that I can't use the SIM card of another provider. I know how to unlock it but it's irreversible and voids the iPhone warranty so it's just not worthwhile. Using the Telus data plan isn't even an option... at $25 per MB, it would cost us $100 just to upload a single photo! Stupid damn Telus.
Tomorrow we head in search of the Statue of David and the Da Vinci museum. If we are able to visit the Uffizi then we'll do that as well. There's no wifi in the hotel so we're hoping to find another free spot at the Internet cafe in order to post again.
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Heather
non-member comment
Lovely
You are bringing back so many great memories I have of Italy. It really is a special place and Florence was my favorite. I went for a bike ride through the vineyards one day ... best day of my trip! Sending love and peace. Have some Gelato for me