Last day in Florence... tear

Florence has been so good to us that we are a little sad to be leaving but also excited about the last week of our trip.

Yesterday we woke up late and met our Aussie pal for lunch and shopping. Then we went our separate ways, and Katie and I hit up Santa Croce Church before going to the Uffizi Gallery with the best Italian paintings. We met back up with Christina (Aussie friend) and had dinner at this great restaurant overlooking the Ponte Vecchio (bridge). After dinner, we hiked up a long flight of stairs to make it just in time to see sunset at the Piazzale Michelangelo, which offered gorgeous views of the city.

Christina hadn't been feeling well, so we hopped on a bus (although we had no idea where it was going but figured it would get us closer to our destination) and made our way back to our hood. All in all, another fabulous day.

Today was our side trip day to Pisa and Lucca. We opted to go to Lucca first since it had the earliest connection. Once we got to Lucca we ran into a couple from our Siena wine tour. We ate lunch and then rented bikes to ride around the town. I was loving being back on the bike and giving my calves a rest when my chain feel off about halfway through. If you know me, then you know I often have chain issues, so it shouldn't have come as a surprise to me. I couldn't get it back on the gear because it was covered, so I sent Katie on her way and pushed it back to the shop. I was frustrated with the situation until I realized that I AM in Italy.

Then we headed to Pisa to take the obligatory pics with the Tower. Not much else to see there really, but now we can say that it really does lean.

We had an easy time navigating the eurail, which is great since we will be riding it for the next several days. I have found it odd that they don't check your tickets here. We haven't been asked once to show our tickets on the bus or train. Another interesting thing to note is that all of the trains are different. Our first train had little leg room and no a\c while the last two were air conditioned and much more spacious.

Another thing we have found humorous is the influence of American music\media everywhere. All of the restaurants and stores play American music: Celine Dion, Michael Bolton, Michael Jackson, JT, Akon, Maroon 5... While we were waiting for our train this morning we jammed out to "It Must Have Been Love" by Roxette.

To end our blogs from Florence, we decided to make an "All Good Things Florence List," so here it is:

10. the Medici Family - powerful and influential family way back when
9. the smell of leather - Florence is known for its leather
8. sleeping in Tracy style (until 11 yesterday!!!)
7. not getting lost (as much)
6. all of the friendly tourists we met
5. seeing Santa Croce Church
4. regaining our faith in RS
3. climbing the Dome to see the 360° view of the city
2. seeing all of the many priceless works of art - the David was our fave
1. reuniting with Christina - she thinks of me as the All-American girl and said she pictures me as a cheerleader with a letterjacket

Tomorrow we will be heading out to Cinque Terre - five small towns along the coast that are supposed to be gorgeous. There we will be doing a 4-5 hour hike through the towns, hitting up the beach (McB: get your running shoes ready!!!), and enjoying some pesto. We are guessing we won't find an internet cafe out there, so don't be surprised if you don't hear from us again until Wednesday when we are in Venice.

I will post more pics once we get to Venice!

Cheers,
tracy