First trip to Italy, but definitely not the last.

Florence is a quick 5 hour train ride from "home" so made sense to book a trip ASAP.

We did a good deal of reading up on what to do, took many suggestions and a friend planned the majority of our days, which was great because we enjoyed every minute. We pulled into town around lunch, went straight to our hotel to drop off our bags and got started.

We toured the market place full of "leather" handbags, ate lunch at Trattoria Za-Za (pasta of course), passed by Santa Maroa Novella, Piazza Duomo and climbed to the very top of Piazzale Michelangelo, all truly spectacular.

On Sunday we decided to grab some quick but delicious cappuccinos and head straight to the train station. We took the train to Pisa which is a quaint but fun little town and of course we then tested out our photography skills with the Tower of Pisa. We returned to Florence and browsed through the market again, then we headed to this little place called I'Mangiarino, and discovered the true meaning of slow food and tiramisu.

We decided to end the night heading to the local nightlife hotspots - Piazza Santo Spirito, where we of course stuck out given our lack of Italian, but we did experience some of the amazing sights on that side of the bridge. Then we took a stroll back over the world famous Ponte Vecchio bridge and discovered gellaterias and even live music. The bridge was incredible! The views, the locks of love story (see here if interested ) and the ambiance were breathtaking.

On Monday, I only had a few hours before my train departed at 1:00pm. I also learned through a lot of reading that many of the most famous museums are closed on Mondays. Come to find out, that was perfectly fine, I chose two things that turned out to be amazing!

First, I climbed 463 stairs to the very top of the Duomo.  The Duomo according to my reading, means the most important cathedral in the area and this one is particularly well known in Florence.  All of the paintings have been removed from the building, except for one...at the very top! This was so incredible. You can see the entire city and all its' beauty! My favorite part of the trip.

Before heading to the train station, I stopped at the Bargello.  An art museum that is only open on Mondays and is said to hold Michelangelo's first piece. It was remarkable, the whole experience, unlike one I have ever had.

I can't wait for my next trip to fill you in on! Uncle Tom, I hope you enjoy these few other photos, I hear Florence is your favorite!