Florence was beautiful. Whereas Rome was a city filled with attractions, Florence was like a quaint Italian town, unchanged over time. The Duomo was magnificent.

During a bathroom break (they don’t use the term “restroom”) a parade passed by. Unfortunately for me, I was distracted by this princess. Somehow, I got separated from my group. In fact, I was lost for approximately one hour. Needless to say, it was pretty scary. My heart started pounding and my mouth got dry. I told myself to stay calm. I realized that I was OK since it wasn’t a travel day. Worst case scenario, I would catch a cab back to the hotel and miss out on the tours. My strategy was to walk back and forth from the Duomo to the Square along the main road. After my 8th or 9th trip, I was spotted at the square. Relief! Then I told myself to not let this spoil my experience in Florence. It didn’t….

We visited a leather factory. There was a demonstration and a bunch of shopping. I didn’t buy anything.

Then we had lunch at a sidewalk café at the Piazza della Signoria. This was hands down the best pasta that I’ve ever had in my life! I ordered the Tagliatelle with mushrooms. The sauce was unbelievable.

Ahh. Fiorenza….

After lunch, we went to look inside the Duomo. Because it was a Sunday, it was only open after Mass. It was very beautiful inside as well.

Then we went to the Accademia Museum to see the statue of David. Unfortunately, photographs are not allowed. While inside, one of the ladies told me to go look at the crack in the back of the David statue. I replied, “Ewwww….” She laughed and said, “No, there’s a crack on the back of his leg.” I said, “Oh….”

During our free time, we visited the river and some of the shops in Florence.

At one of the squares, we caught a delightful marionette show and were again pestered by the many street vendors.

We had dinner at a restaurant called “i 5am ci.”