We are in Florence!!!

And we got here by sleeper train!

When we booked the sleeper train I imagined a luxurious private car, like in every movie I’ve ever seen. When we got there I saw a coat closet with six beds. Three attached to each wall.

I was kind of worried at first, but once you lay down it’s actually really roomy! We even met a nice couple from Orlando, Florida-- they had the top bunks. It was a nine-hour ride, but it went by really fast. For me. There was a disturbing screeching noise that came out of nowhere not too long into the ride. I was able to fall asleep but it kept Justin awake until he found his earplugs.

Florence is so gorgeous!!! I love it here. I love the way the city is laid out, the way the buildings look, the color and size of the cobblestone streets, the food and the shopping!



We ate lunch at a café across from a palace and near one of the major art collections in Florence (the Uffizi). It’s so warm here that we sat outside. We were not even wearing coats!!!

After eating we walked down to some shops that are actually on a bridge (the Ponte Vecchio). I guess it started over a hundred years ago with merchants selling gold, and just caught on and turned into a major jewelry shopping area.

Here's a shot of the bridge.



Next we went to the Duomo. The Duomo is a 700+-year-old church, which is famous for its dome. The architecture and the detail on the outside are gorgeous and when Justin asked if I was up for a hike to the top I said “sure!”.

We entered the building and walked up a ton of really narrow million-year-old cinder block steps. The walls seemed to be closing in on us, but Justin said we were close to the top of the inside of the dome, so I pushed through.

Then we got to the inside of the dome. And we walked around it.

Imagine being up really high in a circular shaped building. And then there’s a tiny ledge built during a time when people were lucky to live thirty years, with some old railing topped by some not-so-sturdy looking plexiglass between you and the floor a thousand feet below. And you have to walk single-file halfway around this massive dome, with tons of people in front of you stopping to take photos and tons of people behind you prodding you on!!! And you can’t move!!! And you’re going to fall off and there is no room!!!

That is how I felt.

I wanted to cry, but I saw the door out of the ledge circle room of anxiety so I held it together.

I did it! Now we can get out of here!

But that was only the halfway point.

We had to climb what felt like even narrower stairs with even narrower walls. It was like the worst MRI ever. It was getting insane. I had no idea when we would be outside, or when these stairs would end, or how much narrower the walls would get. As soon as I got to a little cubby I ducked into it and lost it. I saw Justin, along with everyone else, was going on his way, and I managed to squeak out “Justin!”.

He turned around, with a few others, to see me crying in the corner blurting out “it’s the height and the narrow walls, it’s too much!”.

After him consoling me, and everyone passing getting a good look at the grown adult who couldn’t do what small children and elderly people could do, he convinced me to keep going.

So I did.

And it was totally worth it!

We got to the top of the dome, outside, and had an amazing view of the city, and I was hardly anxious at all from the height.

Until I found out we had to take an even scarier ledge to get down from there.



Here is the dome.





And a view of the city.



Our train bunk partners (Jose and Melissa) had been to Florence before and recommended a restaurant called "Il Latini". We made a reservation for 7:30 and showed up on time. There was a massive crowd at the door.

The staff was eating inside, and they hadn't opened up yet. After they opened up and we all forced our way in, we were seated at tables with other people. We thought it would be like a regular restaurant. You sit, you order, they bring you food, you pay.

But instead, they brought us like, five appetizers, which we loved, and then asked us what kind of pasta we wanted, which we thought was our dinner so we filled up on it, then they asked us what we wanted for our main course, then brought out little desert scones, and then brought us actual dessert! Everything was so good, and since we all sat down at the same time, it had a family vibe.

When it was time to pay, the waiter brought the "check guy" over to our table. He ran through what we ate, and the check guy thought for a minute and then wrote a number. I don't think there are actual prices, they just sort of come up with what seems fair in that moment.

We loved it.

We also ran into our train bunk friends! They were at the restaurant, and after dinner we all went out and got gelato!