Journey Back to Florence

Yesterday when I left you I was on my way to the train station in Monterosso to catch my train back to Florence. The train station was literally 50 steps from the hotel so no biggie. I took the regional train so it wasn't as nice and it took a little longer than I'd have liked because it made so many stops along the way but I still got to where I was going and it was much cheaper. I paid 14 Euros for the train from Monterosso to Florence. It stopped in Le Spezia where I had to change trains but after that it was straight to Florence.

There were many different types of people on the train but everyone is so nice. I had two different men help me haul my bags up the train steps and back down when I got off the train. One of them wasn't even Italian. After about a 3 hour train ride total, I finally made it to Florence at about 4:07 pm. Alessandro was there at the end of the platform waiting for me. He grabbed my bags and we walked over to his restaurant. Once we arrived we put my bags up in the office and I decided to sit out on the patio to relax a bit. I had a cappuccino and a caprese salad. We walked around for a little bit until he had to go to the gym. I didn't want to go so I decided to walk around some more and be come accustomed to Florence again. I could seriously walk around this place for hours on end. There is so much to see and so many people to watch.

I made it back to the restaurant at about 7:30 pm and decided to play on my laptop a bit. I have free wifi at his place so it's nice to get a chance to blog, check facebook, and upload pics without feeling rushed. I even got to chat a bit with mom, Tab, and Mary. After a few hours Alessandro was ready to take a break for dinner so I sat inside with him and I swear he just kept ordering food and ordering more food for me to eat. I finally had to say stop because there was no way I'd eat any more.

After bruchetta, assorted cheeses, octopus salad, spinach and potatoes, and minestrone soup I called it quits. He gave me a limoncello and I was spent. I can't wait for dinner tonight though; I'm going for the eggplant Parmesan.

So, today I walked around Florence again and took a few more pictures. I did a bit more shopping as well. I can't wait to get home and give everyone their special gifts. I made reservation for the Uffizi Gallery for tomorrow at 3:00 pm. I wanted to go to the Galileo Science Museum today but it closed before I got there. I'll go by there tomorrow as well. I went into the Duomo today and got some great pics.

It's been another wonderful day in Florence. I can't wait for tomorrow.

Ciao!!!