Florence

Saturday 11th & Sunday 12th of April

On our train to Florence, there was a heatwave in the car our seats were in. No air-conditioning for us! In order to breathe we had to play musical chairs the rest of the way to Florence. Pick a seat... a new passenger gets on... they tell you, "I'm in seat 86."... pick a new seat... a new passenger gets on... you get the idea.

Once we made it to our campground in Florence, I made everyone play the game called What Did Jenon Forget on the Train?

Passport? No. (THANK GOODNESS!)
Money? No.
Waterbottle? No. (Already lost that, remember?)

Long pause.....

My North Face coat.

I just laughed about it, which came as a surprise - especially to me - considering how I handled the waterbottle situation a couple weeks ago. Apparently I value hydration over warmth.

My coat - and my London Underground pass - is somewhere in Naples, Italy. I think.

So Florence started off coat-less, but I didn't need it anyways. The weather was beautiful, and our view of the Florence and the surrounding Tuscany region was brilliant from the campground where we were staying.

We relaxed our first night and took in the scenery around us while eating delicious gelato.

We stayed in house tents, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes to sleep for cheap. It had nice fake wood floors, and a bed with sheets for each person in it. And two lights. Yes, it did get chilly during the night, but we grabbed two blankets and bundled up. (It was just like cold airs at good ol' AGD, so I felt like a pro when I went to bed.)

The next morning Billy, Kathryn and I woke up early to go on a run. It was very calm and gave us a great chance to get our bearings of the city before heading out for the day with the rest of the group.

This day was Easter, so we headed to the city's cathedral for a Catholic Easter Mass in Italian. We spent over three hours there, and during the middle of the service, they lit a dove on fire to set off fireworks.

We had no idea what was going on.

We walked around Florence most of the day after that, the streets buzzing with hoards of people.

At night we drank Tuscany wine and once again enjoyed the view that made us all fall in love with Italy.

I think Florence reminded me that things don't always go perfectly - I am sure I will lose another coat or two in my lifetime.

Florence made me relax.

It was definitely the type of relaxation where I would let out a deep sigh, all the while smiling because I knew how blessed I was to be in such a beautiful place.

Venice was great, but Florence made me realize how much I was beginning to fall in love with Italy.

And not just for its gelato.