I woke up quite a few times during the night, expecting my travel partners to return to the room. After eating breakfast downstairs in the hotel, I waited around the room for a bit longer, expecting them to come back. Around noon, I decided not to waste the day, and headed out on my own again. I left the remaining cash in Euros that we had (228.90) for my group, along with a note telling them I would be back around 7, so that we could eat dinner together.
I then headed to the train station, so that I could exchange some money from dollars into Euros. I decided to change another $2000 into euros, at the rate of 0.71811. That gave me 1420 euros after fees.
Once at the train station, I decided to board a train to Florence. For only $130 round-trip, I had an economy seat on the high-speed train. I was seated next to an Italian businessman, who spoke minimal english, but was polite enough to make conversation a majority of the 90 minute ride.
Once in Florence, I knew I only had about 2 hours to walk around before I had to head back to meet up with my friends. I wandered from the Firenze Santa Maria Novella train station, stopping at a tourist guide conveniently located just outside the terminal. In just a 10 minute walk, I took the Via de’ Panzani followed by Via de’ Cerretani to the Duomo in the heart of the city.
Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is the cathedral church (Duomo) of Florence, Italy, begun in 1296 in the Gothic style to the design of Arnolfo di Cambio and completed structurally in 1436 with the dome engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi. The exterior of the basilica is faced with polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white and has an elaborate 19th century Gothic Revival facade by Emilio De Fabris.
The cathedral complex, located in Piazza del Duomo, includes the Baptistery and Giotto's Campanile. The three buildings are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site covering the historic centre of Florence and are a major attraction to tourists visiting the region of Tuscany. The basilica is one of Italy's largest churches, and until the modern era, the dome was the largest in the world. It remains the largest brick dome ever constructed.
The cathedral is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Florence, whose archbishop is currently Giuseppe Betori.
Very cool to look at, especially the view from the bell tower, my two hours passed quickly, so I hurried back to the train station. Buying a sandwich and some water while on the train, I was eager to tell my travel mates what I had seen.
Unfortunately, they were again not at the hotel. My note and the cash had disappeared, so I waited around for them to come back. After a couple of hours, I left another note and headed to the Piazza Pasquino. This is an enoteca - wine bar - which serves good wines by the glass and also does great food - ideal if you want one or two dishes, rather than a long formal meal. It's a narrow place like a corridor, so there's not much space and single diners may end up sharing a table. I of course, got grouped next to some loud spanish tourists, but I tried to make the most of the hours I spent at the bar waiting for my friends to show up.
After two bottles of wine, I was pretty drunk and really tired of waiting for my friends. I stumbled back to the hotel room, where I found my note still sitting on the bed. Not sure where my friends were, I took my comfortable spot on the bed and waited for them to come back in.
by: Ben
Funds spent today: $130, 75 Euros, Converted $2000 into Euros (rest of group has 528.90 euros)
Remaining Budget: $83208.28
Cash in Euros: 1345
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