The cabin on the ferry Marco
Polo wasn’t as plush as the one on the ship from the US to Spain, but we
got a good night’s sleep on the crossing from Split to Ancona, Italy. Our exile from the EU is over and we
will spend the next three months in and around Italy. A three-hour train ride later and we were in Florence, one
place I have been looking forward to visiting for years. Florence was the home of Lorenzo “Il
Magnifico” Medici, Leonardo and Michelangelo, among others, the Ufizzi Gallery,
the Ponte Vecchio, the Duomo, the Pitti Palace and so much more.
Our walk from the train station to the Hotel Benvenutti was much
longer than it appeared on the map – but it was definitely worthwhile. Large hotel rooms in a nice part of
Florence, complete with wifi and a fridge, are hard to come by for less than 40
euros. Granted, it is “off season”
and cold but we are here for the history and the art, not for the weather. We spent the afternoon getting our
bearings, picking up groceries and replacing the defunct lens on my
camera. I couldn’t bear being in
Italy without a good camera, even though most of the museums forbid photos. We also found a laundromat, a rarity on
our trip so far, and a major necessity right now.
