Florence Part 1

Continuing our love of public transport we caught the Metro to Milan Centrale Station and found our way to the departure area for the inter city trains. MDW was keen to get there so we only had a three hour wait and no seats were available. It was packed. So we went to a cafe where we paid extra for seating and purchased a coffee and hot chocolate. Italian coffee is fairly strong but usually of good quality and I find it very drinkable. The size is small but because of the strength it is probably sufficient. MDW’s hot chocolate came in a large mug and was like a cup of melted chocolate. Thick brown syrup, MDW said there were enough calories in it for a year, you have it. So I slowly spooned the chocolate until I had half finished it. That was enough. We took our bags to the departure area and spent the next hour looking at the departures notifications along with a thousand other train travellers. Eventually we were able to board and found our seats. It was a high speed train from Milan to Florence. With speeds of 300km it was a two hour journey and quite comfortable. The Florence station was 1 kilometre from our hotel, The Hotel Villini. 10 minutes walk, no public transport options and a mile long queue for the taxis. Google maps pointed in the right direction and off we trekked. The non existent foot paths made us wheel our bags along the paved road along with many others including cars and push bikes. It was a battle at times and we did think the wheels could fall off at any moment. After our 10 minute walk we found the entrance to our accommodation. This hotel was picked by MDW, 2 Star. I think 1 star for having a bed and 1 star for having a bathroom, a disaster of no kettle so no cups of tea, but 5 stars for location. We were greeted by two work experience students who explained the bar opens at 6pm but if we wanted something earlier they would look after us but don’t tell the boss. We unloaded our bags, noticed there was the standard bidet in the bathroom, something that will remain unused, and headed out. 20 meters from the front door we were in the main piazza. The 3rd biggest cathedral in Italy I was informed by a tourist guide. It is immense, spectacular, amazing etc etc. We walked around it, up and down many streets then sat near it for a cold drink. My glass was frosty and the “almost a long neck” very cold. I poured the beer in the glass and suddenly had a frozen beer in front of me. But it was refreshing. After dinner we walked around for a few more hours marvelling at the spectacular buildings, watching and listening to buskers and walking in and out of a 100 shops. Back to our room we collapsed and even the hard bed seemed almost comfortable.
One thing whilst people watching, we have noticed is the various stances people take before having their photo taken, it is an art form and at time amusing.Read more