After Bologna, was Florence. We slept in at Aemilia, grabbed a taxi, and made our way to the train station. After our last overwhelming experience at the Bologna train station we had a better handle on how to read the schedule, and we made arrived in Florence late in the afternoon (the trip flew by for me because I was busy listening to the first Hunger Games book (I learned from this trip that starting a REALLY good book when you are vacationing with someone else is a mistake, as I started to prefer spending time with my headphones in to spending time with my adorable travel companion, ooops))).

We checked in to our hotel on Monday evening with just shy of 48 hours to explore. At the front desk were told that due to a strike, we wouldn’t be able to see David and some of the other must-see attractions of the area.

Would you like to know a secret? We were secretly relieved. This allowed us to spend time on our vacation doing the things that we like, not worrying about making sure we somehow pleased everyone else by doing what was popular. I’m glad we learned this lesson now, because we hopefully have lots of vacations ahead of us and we’re going to enjoy them much more if we plan them according to our own interests and desires. After learning about the strike we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and trying to figure out how we would spend our time over the next few days.

My favorite part about our time in Florence was the two runs I decided to go on. Running through the ancient streets of Florence, over the bridges and into the residential areas of the city felt amazing. Taking workout clothes and shoes was a bit burdensome, but if you’re a runner I would recommend making some space in your suitcase the next time you go on vacation because the experience can be so exhilarating.

The next morning or our only full day in Florence was eaten up by our attempts to figure out whether we needed to get an international driver’s permit to rent a car. We had secured them before our tip, but ended up leaving them in Chicago, with no time to have them rushed over the Atlantic to us. A nice gentleman in the government office helped answer our questions, with him speaking just enough English, and me speaking just enough Italian to understand each other. We ended up walking away empty-handed, and took the risk of hefty fines during our time driving throughout Italy. It’s a relatively recent law and thus not very well known, but if you’re planning a trip to Italy make sure you read up on licensing requirements and fees if you are caught driving with an international permit.

The sidewalks of Florence are very narrow, making walking side-by-side difficult, and causing us to step off to the side whenever we passed anyone else. I find it charming.

I admire street artists. So much work, no money, all for a temporary masterpiece.



This couple’s pose may be a bit graphic for some, but I found it to be rather romantic. Sitting on ancient steps drinking in the presence of the one you love most? Ohh la la.

Most of our day was spent walking and exploring, with our late afternoon time devoted to drinking in the beauty that is the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore and surrounding area.

It’s perfect for people watching, and the level of detail throughout is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

I saw a man taking pictures of bicycles zooming past, and I realized he was attempting to capture a portrait with motion blur. It looked fun, and so I started attempting the same thing. Just as I pulled my camera down and started to walk away, this couple on the right rode by. She was sitting on the handlebars laughing hysterically as they weaved in and out of the crowd. It was everything you think of when you imagine the romance to be experienced in Italy.

The next morning, our last day there, we slept in (part of our “This is our vacation now!” commitment) and walked over to climb the duomo. The line was long, so we chose to climb Giotto’s Campanile instead. I think it was 6 euros a person, and the climb was long and the stairway cramped, but the beautiful views are worth it.

We didn’t know anything about the climb going in, and it’s a funny experience because you climb up a step of cramped winding stairs and emerge into the sun thinking “Wow, we’re already at the top!”. Then you realize you’re at one floor.. of many, many floors. I liked watching people emerge from the upward climb onto each floor, because you could tell many of them had the same experience we did.

After the climb we went back to the hotel, packed up our stuff, and picked up our teeny tiny rental car. Our destination? A little slice of paradise.

Also: