Off to Florence - Day 3

After two full days in the big city it was time to make our way south to Florence so we booked an evening train leaving at 5:45 from Central Station. I guess this ended up giving us an unnecessary, third full day in Milan, so we did some very productive things like wander the streets window shopping and testing out the French macaroons at this multi-level department store adjacent to the Duomo. I'm on a quest of sorts to find my favorite French macaroon that started in Korea when I noticed every bakery had their own version of the delightful little cookie. I gave the first title of "Favorite Macaroons" to the ones from Payard in NYC but soon handed it to the ones at Guillaume in Seoul. The rose flavored one here in Milan definitely captured the true essence of a rose but Guillaume still holds the title.

Violet and Rose

The Train to Florence

Trains are such an easy mode of transportation; SO MUCH easier than flying. We definitely need more of them in the U.S. The long train to Florence, which is the one we booked because we didn't know there was a more direct one took 3.5 hours and was exactly the time I needed to catch up on the blog and write the earlier posts. Oh yes, besides being just easy there are electrical plugs and wifi on board which definitely makes it just plain better than flying. Not to mention, the countryside only got more gorgeous as we got further away from the city and it definitely peaked our excitement for the upcoming Tuscan part of the trip. 

On the platform, on our way to Florence.

RCP's train-mate who discreetly watched him do things on his iPad the entire trip.
We found out later he goes to school in Switzerland and his mother who was seated next to me
has both of their houses for rent for vacationers which proves you never know where your
next accommodations will come from. We didn't book anything with her.

Blogging while drinking Prosecco...straight from the bottle.

Arrival in Florence

Finding accommodations in Florence proved to be rather difficult, probably because we were trying to book something the night before....and we're here at the beginning of the high-season. So we had to "downgrade" a little due to our lack of planning. But as is usually the case, we ended up finding the most unique room in town at The Fiorentino. Some would consider it a downgrade, going from a 5-star to a 1-star, but beauty (and ratings) are always in the eye of the beholder. The Fiorentino was wonderfully charming, beautifully clean, incredibly well-located and very Tuscan with some nods to Renaissance era living. Did I mention we were in the attic? Thats where the Renaissance part comes in. The tiny windows opened right out onto the tile roof. The Basilica of Santa Maria Novella is also right next door, so the tolling of the bells every morning out our window provides lovely Renaissance ambiance. It's kind of awesome.

1-Star from a 5-Star, but what The Fiorentino 

didn't have in crystal and gold, it made up for in charm and coziness.

It was fantastic.

We're pretty sure this used to be an attic.....
in the bathroom the shower head just came straight out of the wall,
in between the toilet and sink...efficient because you can take care
of three things at once.

Windows that look out to Santa Maria Novella and a kitchenette...what more could you ask for!

A late night dinner after arriving and settling in: lasagna and minestrone soup.