Day Trip to Florence!

For our last free day of the trip, some of us decided to spend the day hanging out in Florence. After taking a ridiculously early train, we arrived in the city at about 8:30. We then spent the entire day wandering around the city, shopping, eating, and checking out the different sights. One of the first things we decided to do as a group was to buy tickets to visit different areas of the Duomo, the cathedral in the city. With that ticket, we were able to climb 414 steps to the top of the bell tower. Though I thought I was having a heart attack on the way up, the view from the top made it well worth the effort.

  

Bell Tower and the view from the top.

After recovering from the climb with some delicious pizza and pasta, I spent the afternoon walking around the city with Alexis, Rachel, and Ellie. I really enjoyed the more relaxed pace of this city in comparison to Rome. It made for a nice change from the hustle and bustle of the larger city. One part of the city that was fun to walk around in was by the Ponte Vecchio, which is a bridge that hosts several extremely expensive gold stores that I'll never be able to afford to shop in. Here we are looking cute by the bridge:

By the Ponte Vecchio

Naturally, all of that walking led to us having to make a stop for gelato. My cone was pretty tasty, but not as delicious as the Frigidarium in Rome. 

Gelato!

Before heading back to Rome for the night, we stopped and had dinner at a restaurant near the train station. I'm really going to miss having days like this with these awesome people when we have to go back home. All around, it was an amazing day and a perfect way to wind down the trip. 

Dinner with the squad.