| Erin's Florence Journal #2 4-11-02 Still sick, I slept in this morning at our hotel. That's one of the main benefits of hotel over hostel; there is no time you need to vacate your room unless you're checking out! The hostel in Bologna was closed from 10am to 5pm every day, so you had to find other places to be, and if you didn't feel good, too bad! While I stayed in bed, Glenn went out and took our clothes to a laundromat. What a wonderful guy, doing all our laundry!!! By the time he came back around noon, I was up and showered, but still feeling a bit under the weather. We went to find lunch, then wandered around the city center, viewing such great sights as the Duomo (yes, another one! It seems like each city has a duomo, and some, more than one!). Having heard that this city is rife with pickpockets, we were both vigilant and managed to avoid any trouble. Plus, we keep all our valuables tucked away inside our waistbands, so we pretty much KNOW when someone is getting into it! We were also both struck by how many sidewalk vendors there were everywhere. This town is definitely rigged for tourists! We went back for a rest before dinner, where I read my book and Glenn worked on journals. At 8pm, we met up with Andres and Sylvia, our friends from Bologna, to find dinner. We went to a place their friends had recommended as being very authentic Italian food, and greatly enjoyed it. Glenn and Andres each tried the bistecca della fiorentina, which smelled heavenly and made both boys practically drool before tasting and grin stupidly all while devouring it. Good stuff! After dinner we walked back to our hotels and arranged to meet up again the next day. |
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| Firenze's Duomo, an architectural masterpiece and the first ever to be designed this way |