Awake: 7:00 am Sunny & cooler overnight @ Hotel Monica..Florence
A good sleep for us. The Hotel Monica is part of the same building that
houses the apartment that Katrina & her roomies share. The hotel is on the
2nd & 3rd floor, the girls apt is on the 4th. In reviewing my notes, I
think I had them on the 3rd floor...they are on the 4th.
Katrina has classes today @ 1:15 pm so she takes us on a walking tour
around the city & the 4 bldgs that comprise her college, "Lorenzo de
Medici" before her classes start. This college has no campus...the 4
bldgs(with some classroomes) are scattered throughout different locations
within the city center. The furthest distance to a class for her is a 15
min walk. We visit a few of her classrooms: history, art, language....and
meet one of her art teachers who had very complimentary things to say
about Katrina.
Next we shop for groceries at her favorite downtown market which is huge.
Most foods displayed, fruits, meats, veggies, breads, cheese, etc., are
made fresh daily. Katrina buys food for dinner tonight to eat @ the apt. I
buy a loaf of olive/nut bread & a hunk of cheese for our lunch today.
Then we seek out a bank nearby to exchange greenbacks for euros. We lose
25% from every dollar plus a service fee of 7% because of our weak
currency over here in Europe....not good!
It's time for Katrina to leave us & attend her classes...now we have a
chance to tour on our own & take a city sightseeing bus tour of Florence.
The bus is a London-style double-decker with hostesses who give each of
the passengers an audio guide (in 7 avaiable languages) to plug into seat
jacks. The bus makes 15 stops where we could get off & on and look
around, then wait for the next bus to continue on. We didn't do that
because of time
constraints. There are 2 lines: red & green. The red line concentrates on
downtown touring...green line expands into the suburbs. We actually did
the red line twice because we couldn't grasp everything we saw the first
time around. Each circuit takes 50 min. After that second round on the red
line, I had the streets pretty well figured out & many of the historic
spots, famous bldgs, piazzas, churches, homes, museums, etc. Too many
things to list of course & besides, we didn't get off the bus to explore
in more detail. Pay toilets are common, so while waiting for the green
line, we visit a McDonald's across the street for a free pause for the
cause.
Next we do the green line tour which among other places, took us up into
the hills of Fiesole with a terrific view of the Arno valley & the city of
Florence. In this town of about 15,000 people, there is a well-preserved
Roman theater(c.80 B.C.); the ruins of Roman baths, a Franciscan church &
convent , etc. We would have liked to get off the bus here & spend more
time but again, our touring time was limited for the other things we want
to do this afternoon. As the day gets shorter & ole sol fades away, the
temp drops drastically & reminds us that this upper outside bus deck is a
cool place to be. The green line round trip time was 1 hr & 5 min.
Ok, so now we're off the bus walking around the town....and what do we do
to warm up: Have some Italian Ice Cream of course. It is famous & sooo
good.
It's dark by the time we return to the girls' apt....Katrina returns from
classes about 8:30 pm. Kistinn(Katrina's jewelry making classmate from
Grand Junction, CO) visits for awhile then leaves before dinner. While
Katrina cooks dinner, we re-pack our suitcases, change clothes, then eat
dinner with all the roomies, Marie, Jen, & Jenny.
We enjoyed meeting Katrina's roomies & girlfriends. They do well together
& have a wonderful hangout.
Kathy & I say our thanks & goodbyes to Katrina & her roomies around 10:00
pm then walk over to the train station. We had some confusion finding our
track listing because it was not labeled Zurich on the main departure
board but labeled Basil. Our sleeper car this time had 4 young people...3
guys & 1 girl also going to Zurich. These sleeper cars are Ok but a little
tight for 6 travelers with baggage. These kids however, were very
considerate & friendly. Our departure time was @ 11:10 pm. After getting
ourselves organized & into our night clothes, we talk a little with the
young people & then...and then....the ZZZZZZZZ's come quickly. We are on
our way back to America & to our motorhome in Pennsylvania.
Lights out: 12:20 am
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