We all slept really good. For me, it was a luxurious night of sleep because I had stolen the extra pillow off of extra bed. 2 pillows. Seriously luxury. I ditched the jeans and a tee for a cotton skirt and a tank top and flip flops. Change from traveler clothes to vacation clothes. We headed towards the San Lorenzo Market.
The San Lorenzo Market was huge, full of vendors selling leather, leather bags, leather wallets, leather belts, ties, scarfs, etc. etc. The vendors loved us for our American looks and Stacy's ging hair. We spent about an hour or more wandering the market, looking for the perfect gifts for those at home, and trying out our bartering skills. We wandering through the fish and meat market, which actually made me nauseous so I escaped outside as soon as I could. We found a cute cafe for lunch and enjoyed some bruschetta and ravioli.
We walked towards the river, crossed the Ponte Vecchio which was alive with jewelry stores, and headed up the hill to the Boboli Gardens. It was 10 euro to get into the gardens, but with our Irish Garda card proving we were EU citizens (temporarily at least) we only had to pay 5. We headed in and wandered with no ambitions, just taking it all in. We found a bench near a fountain surrounded by lemon trees and sat down enjoying the scenery and making jokes about which little kids that were touring the gardens best represented us.
It began to rain and we sought shelter in a little garden room until the rain subsided and we headed up the hill and more through the gardens. The hill was steep and a good work out, life's a climb, but the view is great. We could see the whole city and the mountains surrounding it. Perfect.
We sat on a bench for a bit and enjoyed the view. Then we continued to wander and found a cute little nook to enjoy.
It began to rain again so we found a stone gazebo carved in the hill and we sat inside listening to the rain. Written on the wall was a simple message "Happiness Only Real When Shared". Ironically after we returned from our Italian adventure, we watched the movie "Into the Wild" and the ending of the movie ends with that exact phrase.
We walked down the hill and out of the gardens, in search of our true Italian love: gelato. Flavor of the day: dark chocolate and mint. We walked along the river and sat by the bridge while Claire checked on the hours of this art museum that she wanted to go to. People were scattered along the river, sketching and painting with watercolors.
It began to sprinkle again so we sought shelter in a chocolate cafe. Claire and Stacy got the world's richest hot chocolate and we enjoyed the quaint cafe with views of the square.
We decided to head back to the hostel to change into jeans and grab jackets, then headed out for dinner. We wandered through the streets of Firenze and found a cute restaurant to have dinner at. We ordered a bottle of wine and some calzones for dinner. We sat there for a while, talking, laughing, drinking wine. Stacy and I had cheesecake, and when our waiter suggested Chello, we said why not. When in Italy, do as the Italians do.
We had planned on making it up to the Piazza Michaelangelo for sunset, but the sun had gone down somewhere in the middle of our dinner. Still we headed towards the hill to see Firenze by night.
We sat on the railing and looked out on the city of Florence sparkling like fireflies in the night. Stacy wandered away and returned with a bottle of wine and two dixie cups. Cue Kenny Chesney...these are the moments that don't happen twice. We enjoyed the view, laughed, talked, and headed back down the hill. Happy. Or as the Italians say: La Dolce Vita. The Sweet Life.
And to Bebop's...a bar Lydia had recommended for their Tuesday Night Beatles Cover Band. When we found it, we headed to the bathroom, where we literally ran into Stacy's roommate Maria from U of I. Small world. Maria is studying in Versailles and we just happened to be in the same place at the same time. Stacy decided to stay and hang out with Maria and her friends, but the bar was really hot so Claire and I decided to head home to our hostel. Stacy said she was going to stay with Maria at her hostel, so we were a little surprised when she knocked on our door at 3 am, didn't say a word and went to bed. But nothing was as great as when she locked herself out when she went to the bathroom, knocked, gave up, and decided to sleep on the ottoman outside our room until I opened the door and let her back in. Another great day and great night in Florence.
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