Day 7, Tuesday 19 June, 07

After a long (14 hr), overnite trip from Paris to Florence (Firenze), we had a reasonablely early breakfast at de' Castellani Restautant in downtown Florence. We got to leave all our luggage on the bus, but we would not be able to get to the hotel until the evening. Some of us were really wanting showers and clean underwear! but a wonderful, long day in Florence lay ahead, and we went on to enjoy it to our best.

We had a very good walking tour of Florence with our guide Simone. We started just before it got hot. Italy was 10+ degrees warmer than Paris. We saw everything important, the Familia Palace (former home of the di Medici family, and the current city hall) The statue of David by Mike Angelo used to stand out front. Now a copy does. The uffitzi Gallery is next door. We visited the Duomo (Florence Cathedral), with the Giotto Belltower,and walked through the Plaza de la Republic, where the country of Italy was proclaimed. We walked across the Ponte Vecchio, the last remaining and most famous medieval bridge across the River Arno. It is now a gold "flea" market. Along the way, we spent some time at the Leonardo Leatherworks, where we watched leather articles being made, learned about leather quality, and had an opportunity to buy stuff. This was in a narrow street just up from the church of Santa Croche, where many famous Italian artists and politicians are buried or memorialized. (Rossinni, Dante, etc.) During free time, some of us toured this church, then ate lunch.

Everyone went their on way during our free time, then met again at 6:30 to eat dinner at the Trattoria Ponte Vecchio. They made us wait, so don't go there when you visit Florence. The best thing about it is that it is 1 block from the Uffitzi. There is an old olive tree nearby that commemorates (or protests) a car bombing in this famous, old neighborhood.

Our hotel, the Hotel Moderno was a ways outside of Forence, but was nice and quiet. The AC did not work, and the Bartender was surly! Oh, well, all we really needed was a shower and sleep. Sleep well, Assisi tomorrow!

Howard D.





They were all old enough to go inside, but we did not! Just down the hill from Montmarte!



Here is our bunch posing at the Trocadero, across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower.