Day 14: Rome to Florence

8:00am - Alarm goes off, "Let's sleep a little longer"

8:30am - Alarm goes off, "Let's sleep a little longer"

9:00am - Alarm goes off, "Let's sleep a little longer"

9:30am - Alarm goes off, "Alright, let's get up"

We checked out of the hotel and made the short, 10 minute walk to the train station in order to catch a train to our last stop on the honeymoon, Florence. When we arrive the line for reservations was as long as the line to the Vatican (not really, but close). If you don't know by now, EuroRail changed and you have to get seat reservations to go along with your ticket. If you didn't know don't worry because neither did we until after we were on our way to Lyon. Anyways, I stood in line while Laura waited on the side with our luggage (She's really good at this). After about 35 mintues or so I got reservations for the 12:15pm train to Florence. We had a little time so we grab a quick lunch at this great little cafe in the train station that served Happy Meals and McNuggets. I was told they have a few these scattered about the U.S. I must try it when we get back. We waited to board our train and when it arrived we fought the crowd to get into our car, are bags stored, and our butts in our seats.

During the ride Laura finished "The Book Thief" and as tears streamed down her face I knew she felt the same way that I did when I finished it in Nice. If you haven't read the book it is about a girl who learns to read and write with the books she steals while living in Nazi Germany. We both agreed it is our favorite book and we both cried heavily at the ending. It is a remarkable book and maybe even the greatest of our generation. We both recommend it to any book lovers who have not already read it.

We arrived in Florence admittedly tired, but still upbeat from what we heard of Florence. We took a taxi yet again to our hotel which was smart because our hotel is on the outside of town, but it is a Hilton and it is very nice. After gathering our thoughts we headed to the bus stop, where we found out we had to go back to the hotel to by bus tickets. When we finally figured it all out and we arrived in the city center it was 3:30pm. And, because it was such a hot day there were only two logical things to do. Swim in a pool or eat some refreshing gelato. So, we same in a pool of gelato. Laura's telling me this didn't actually happen and it is a figment of my imagination. Instead she says we went to "Grom" which is a gelato place Ryan suggested, which was near the Duomo. Laura and I both ordered dark chocolate and coffee gelato on a cone. It was certainly great, but not as good as Berthillion in Paris, sorry Rhino!

Next we headed to the Market so Laura could finish off my bank account! We found it with relative ease and wandered the streets looking for items. I don't want to give away what we got since there are presents for some family members, but we did manage to drop some dough. On the way into the market we passed Zaza's which was a restaurant that Ryan recommended and so did Lonely Planet and Frommer's. So, we made note of it and when we were done with our shopping we headed back to it. It had a hodgepodge decor with all sorts of stuff ranging from chandeliers and wine bottles to crazy art and pictures of celebrities when they visited the restaurant. It was pretty cool and we had a picture of Pavaratti gleaming down on us as we grubbed on old world style fettechini alfredo and lasagna, which we pretty much split. Really good stuff! No dessert tonight as we are getting near the end of our trip and the end of our budget. Plus, we had great gelato a few hours before. Laura and I calculated that today was the least amount we spent on food on the entire trip, yet it was a good eating day. After dinner we wondered the streets while the sun started to fade. We hopped on a bus and headed back to base camp for the evening. We were sweaty, tired, and itching for air conditioning. Tomorrow we will explore the city and spend our last night on this wonderful honeymoon. Until then ... sleep.

Lessons Learned Today:

1. "The Book Thief" is a tear-jerker, have tissues ready!

2. Florence is the Italian city I have been waiting for! Great streets, lovely cafes and good shopping.

3. Laura managed not to miss the big Loft sale today by shopping on-line. Laura Abrams (Yes Dave, this is your daughter, not one of my cousins) has been awarded the Shopper of the Decade Award by her husband.