Florence!

This morning Hanna and I took a train to Florence. We passed these gorgeous sunflower fields and lots of nice mountains. Upon arriving in Florence I was not really impressed because the area around the terminal is not that nice; also, the first fortress that we saw was kind of ugly and the next church kind of bland. But then we saw the beautiful Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral that is made entirely of marble! It is the 4th largest cathedral in the world and composed of pink, green and white marble. We got a very nice map from our Hostel so we walked around and saw the highlights of the city--the church of Santa Croce, burial place of Michaelangelo, Gallileo, Dante and Machiavelli, and the Ponte Vecchio (main bridge), a nice bridge full of shops. The water is very still and pretty...again another very romantic setting! Other things we saw include the Pitti Palace and the Uffizi Gallery and some other buildings that were less impressive. We got to see the sun set over the Ponte Vecchio, and then we made our way up to Piazza Michaelangelo, a high point where you can see the entire city. Hanna almost died on the way up. I was walking ahead and then I hear a cough and a wheeze behind me. But when we got up it was indeed a very nice view and we waited until the city was lit up before going back down. I got 4 mosquito bites in the process though :(

Of course we got gelato, and we went to a popular gelato place where they have won awards at "slow food" competitions. I suppose San Franciscans would love this. The rose flavored gelato was so good that I plan to go back again tommorow! For dinner we had this pasta dish with sausage and truffle sauce that I plan to try to duplicate when I get back home. What is interesting is in America Italian Sausages are quite popular, but here in Italy I have yet to see "Italian Sausages"! Whenever is says sausage on the menu it is usually like salami...perhaps they have a different name for that? Or perhaps it is not even really Italian!

Our hostel is very clean and we are in a small all girls' room with a TV. Hanna and I have been watching a lot of Michael Jackson, hahahaha. I feel kind of bad for Farrah Fawcett though...she died too but no one seems to know...

Today I found a new love! Actually, two new loves! Panna cotta and Bambolinos! I think they are called bambolinos...it is an Italian donut filled with cream, jam, or chocolate and it should probably be served hot but we got ours cold. It is very good! That is another thing I plan to eat again tomorrow. Good thing we are walking so much everyday, otherwise I would be a the size of a small cow by now. The panna cotta we had is similar to a creme brulee, which is my favorite dessert!

From Florence we plan to take day trips to Sienna and Pisa. July 2nd is the famous horse races of Seina so we already booked the tour for that. Unfortunately we have to wear these very ugly bright orange T shirts so that we do not get separated from the group. Oh well. I am very excited for that.