Ciao Roma, onto Firenze

Day three saw a slower pace as we did not have any reservations, so we could take our time getting up and going. We did need to go to the termini train station to buy tickets to Florence for the train, so that was on the to do list. We had also written a few postcards and bought some stamps, so we decided to head to the train station, then back to the Vatican so that we could mail the postcards from there. Diana decided she wanted to go with us, so we let Ed sleep in a bit and the three of us were off.

This was Diana's first experience with the termini train station, and I think it is safe to say she was a little overwhelmed. From the number of people fast moving to their destinations, to the warnings we gave her about the pick pockets and their usual scams, her eyes were wide open and she never left our side. But we made it through just fine, and were able to buy the tickets from a vending machine they now had set up in the main square. In fact, there were no people selling tickets anymore, just machines. What a change from when we were here 5 years ago!

We quickly headed back to the metro and were off to St. Peters square. We spent a bit of time leisurely going through the church again, with Tim asking if we wanted to go back up to the top of the dome again. Michelle assumed he was kidding, as even her knees screamed NO!

We headed back and collected Ed and were off for a light breakfast and a visit to the Trevi fountain. We also swung by the Pantheon for a short Rick Steves audio tour and then to another cafe for some cappuccino. I tell you, we all might become addicted to those things! Between that and gelato (which we also enjoyed after the cappuccino), we may all decide to just stay here!

After all that eating it was back to the hotel to grab our bags and off to the train station. Though it was a bit nerve wracking to travel with 4 people and all of our bags, we made it through just fine and were able to get onto our train. The problem was that we wanted to get there early so that we could all sit together. But since it seems like everyone in Italy was headed to Florence on this same train, we ended up squeezing ourselves into two different spaces, sitting two by two. Michelle and Ed were in a compartment with two Italians and a nice lady who lived in Italy but was originally from England. As one of the Italians left, we moved Diana into the compartment, and the nice woman from England let us know she would be getting off soon, so we could all be together in another 2-3 stops.

The second half of the trip was spent all together in a compartment, which made it much more relaxing. Once in Florence we made a long hike to our hotel. The hotel is in the city center, but is a good 20 min walk from the train station. Ed and Diana hung in there like true toopers, though they are taking "a few minutes" to rest before going out for dinner. When we made these reservations we reserved two double rooms, and were surprised that the hotel had a 2 bedroom appartment. The thing that surprised us most was that the cost was twice the cost of reserving two separate rooms. So we booked the two separate rooms for the cheaper rate. Once we arrived though, the owners of the appartment changed their minds and are letting us have the appartment for the same rate! So now we have two very big rooms, access to the internet in our room (versus the lobby) and a living room, clothes washer and kitchen. It is a beautiful place, and it is ours for the next three days. Ahhhhh!

After a rest, we are going to try to eat at Mama Gina's, with the hope that it is still as good as it was 5 years ago! Ciao!