We awoke, checked out, and made the long walk to the Termini station. We slowly realized after several false starts that we were required to purchase reservations to ride any of the fast trains to Florence, which resulted in a long delay at the station, much waiting in lines, and a great deal of frustration. Eventually, we boarded the train and two hours later arrived in Florence.

There, Phyllis and I waited in another long line to get reservations for our trips to Venice and then to Cannes, something we’ve never had to worry about before now. Eventually we had what we needed and we walked from the station to our rooms. It turned out to be farther than I thought it would be, but since Florence only has a bus system and bus systems are harder to figure out, we had little choice.

The rooms turned out to be an apartment, and they were very nice. Air conditioned, and with good wifi. After settling in, we caught a bus to the old town area, and walked to the Duomo.  It was early evening, so we did not go inside, but just wandered the streets in the area, stopping to eat at a pasta and pizza place. Kaitlin was amused that the bathroom sinks were controlled by foot pedals rather than knobs.

After eating, we walked toward the river, where Phyllis bought a giant gelato cone.  We had to turn back just a block away because Judy’s knee was hurting her. It took us a while to make our way back home, walking most of the way before catching a bus for the last stretch.

At the room, Phyllis and I reserved rooms ahead.