We planned a late morning train and left our Roman accommodations with plenty of time to reach the main train station – Termini, supposedly just 15 minutes away. We were told that the tram would take us there and so we hopped on board feeling good about our timing. The worst and perhaps best part of Rome is the complete lack of signage on public transportation as to their route or any information that might help a tourist figure out where s/he is heading. Thus, we found ourselves thinking we should have reached the station by now and in unfamiliar territory.
After alighting from the misleading tram, we attempted to ask a bus driver how to get to the station. He was not helpful preferring not to speak any English. Thus, we contemplated our map and realized we were in the university area of town. So, we took the next tram back, to a metro station and finally made it with plenty of time to our train. Good thing we left early! π
Now, having been spoiled from years of Shinkansen and Japanese trains, I’m a bit snoody about trains that are called “first class”. We purchased our tickets the night before from very easy-to-use machines for Italy’s train system – Trenitalia. You can book tickets online and pick them up at the machines as well, but it was just as easy to get them the day of or before.
According to Rick Steve’s book, it is recommended to pay the extra Euros for the first class tickets. To keep costs down, we bought tickets for the slower train (2.5 hrs vs 1.5 hrs) so that we could do just that. As we passed the six passenger cabin seats in second-class, I was more than relieved to be in the comforts of first-class seats with plenty of space and leg-room to take a snooze.
The countryside to Florence was pretty, though the vineyards are not yet in bloom.
Upon arriving in Florence, Mom was alert enough to realize that we needed to get off at the second Firenze stop because the train did not stop in the main S.M.N station – who would have known that? We taxied to our hotel – Residenza Betta – and were very joyfully greeted by Adriana who offered to book our museum tickets (this should normally be done way before you go on your trip…off-season is ok, though), and we decided to do a tour of Tuscany the next day since the main museums are closed on Mondays.
With all that settled, we prepared to explore Florence. Everyone had told me it’s a beautiful city and amazing. So, I may have had rather high expectations for the place. It was definitely nice to be in a smaller town than Rome. We hardly got lost and it was a much more relaxed atmosphere. The streets were quaint and the buildings lovely. However, perhaps the grey skies and pending rain made it less amazing than expected.
Still, we meandered through the market since leather is the big product in the area. Though we were more interested in discovering the wine – Chianti – which comes from Tuscany. π
The piazza did have a fine showing of their Duomo, which was beautifully carved and adorned with all the religious icons and images. It was something to stand nearby as the church bells rang (video on the Picasa site) and look in awe at the building. Sometimes, it’s just too overwhelming to take in all the amazing artistry in one place.
With a few stops for a cappuccino and snacks, we called it a day as we were already feeling weary from walking and our Roman wanderings.
More to come…
