First Day in Florence

Florence
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We left Milan for Florence on the train at noon today. The country surrounding Milan was not very pretty but once you got further south toward Parma, Bologna and Tuscany the countryside was beautiful to look at. Lots of farmland, hay, orchards, hops and of course vineyards all very green and well kept. We had lunch on the train in the dining car, salad, gnocchi and veal scalopini - very good! We arrived in Florence at 2:30pm and were checked into our hotel by 3:00pm. After resting for a bit we went exploring. Our hotel is located on a busy shopping street about one hundred yards from a beautiful piazza filled with shops, gelaterias, cafes and restaurants. We wondered on to the Ponte Vecchio which is a very old bridge crossing the Arno River. It is now filled with shops and street vendors - and lots and lots of people taking photos, having fun and checking each other out! We had dinner at a pizzeria on the piazza close to our hotel, our waiter was very charming, the food was great and there were musicians playing and singing around the piazza - very romantic. Also, the weather since we arrived has been perfect.