Long Weekend in Florence

Thursday was a national holiday, and we never have class on Fridays... so that meant a very long weekend here in Cortona. I'd say about eighty percent of the students here decided to head up to Florence for the weekend, and we all ended up staying in the same hostel again! I guess we just can't get enough of each other. We took the train Thursday afternoon - it is approximately a 1 1/2 hour train ride, and headed out to wander the streets once we arrived. Florence is filled with awesome locations to shop, so that was the primary mission for most people this weekend. I bought a toque, although I don't have any pictures of it... yet... to put on here.

Friday was mostly spent shopping in the market and in all the leather shops. If you want a leather jacket while in Italy, Florence is the place to look. The selection is outstanding, and usually you can get a pretty good deal for what you want. I'd say it was a successful day.... I bought a leather purse, a leather jacket, some jewelry, and a scarf. I had wanted a purse that was big enough to fit my camera along with my wallet etc, so that I didn't need to carry my camera bag every time I went out. The key point of all the selection, is that you wait for the PERFECT item before you buy. A picture of one of my purchases below....

Friday evening we went to the Duomo, which is the religious heart of Florence. I had seen the outside on the last trip, and it is gorgeous, but this time I wanted to go inside. Pretty typical cathedral, but the inside of the dome was incredible. Afterwards we walked over to Ponte Vecchio, took some pictures and bought some gelato. I don't think I'll ever get sick of gelato.

The duomo at night

Ponte Vecchio

Mmmmm Gelato

Saturday morning we got up bright and early and hiked up to the top of the Duomo. Steep spiralling staircases, and minimal headroom (good thing I'm tiny)... and so worth it. Left us out of breath, from climb AND the view.

After the duomo we grabbed breakfast and took a train to Pisa. We spent a few hours taking silly (and classical tourist) pictures. Once we had our fill we decided to take a different route back to the train station. And got lost. Of course. BUT! Getting lost did result in our discovery of a charming park inside an old stone fortress. Sometimes getting lost is worth it.

Sunday was check out day, so after we packed our bags we decided to do a little bit of last minute shopping. Breakfast was.... wait for it.... WAFFLES topped with GELATO. Be jealous. It really doesn't get better than that. Unfortunately the shopping excursion was not fruitful for me, as I am still on the hunt for the perfect pair of leather boots. Oh well, I am sure there will be more trips to Florence in the future.