Day 12 - Venice to Florence

Had breakfast at the hotel in Venice. Left the hotel at 7:50 and walked to the valparetto (the water bus system that everyone uses to get around Venice). One of the girls was listening to the Saturday Night Live song “I’m On a Boat” on her ipod. She was singing along, but editing out some parts. We were laughing when we were imagining the singer on our gondola ride singing that song. Once we got on the bus, we all sang happy birthday to Cindy and gave her a card and a scarf bought in Venice. People were playing Uno on the bus, including Gary. I was reading about Florence and watching the scenery.

Stopped at an auto grill for lunch. These are rest areas, but they have really good food - pastas, meats, salads, fresh fruits, breads, olive oils for dipping and for salads. We had linguini w/pesto and tortellini, along with fresh pineapple and bread. After lunch, on the way to Florence, Jennifer gave us a seminar on the Renaissance.



Arrived in Florence and we had to do what was called a “precision drop-off.,” which meant we pulled over somewhere where the bus is not allowed to park and we all had to run off really fast and grab our little suitcases out from the underneath storage area and get going fast. It was pretty funny. We then checked into the Hotel Accademia in downtown Florence. It’s really nice, all marble floors and stairs. Our room is huge and also has a huge bathroom. And free wireless (in the lobby). Pretty good place. We had a few hours until we were to meet up as a group, so we walked around town. Gary climbed up to the top of the duomo, while I walked around with one of the girls in the group and had gelato.

We went out walking on a little tour of Florence with our guide, Jennifer, and then toured the Accademia Gallery, where Michaelangelo’s David is located and a lot of other pretty neat ancient paintings and sculptures. Then, we went to dinner at a local restaurant for one of the dinners sponsored by the tour and it was the best meal yet. I don’t think it will be topped. We first had a plate of three types of pasta - a type of penne, ravioli, and gnocchi. Gar had said how much he loved gnocchi and I had bought some frozen at Martin’s and fixed it, but didn’t see what was so great about it. Well, now I do! This stuff was out of this world. I am now a fan of gnocchi. I was full after that, but then came the meat course, which was Florentine steak with arugula and some roasted potatoes. Very excellent. Then, out came a birthday cake for the lady whose birthday it was and we all sang. And then came the dessert cart with all sorts of desserts on there. It was a great meal! After that, we headed back to the hotel and passed out.