Florence, Italy

May 21st, 2008

We arrived in Florence around 12 and had our group photo in front of the Sante Croce church. It turned out great however I did not buy it knowing someone would put it on facebook very quickly. We were taken to a leather demonstration to figure out how to determine what is real leather (boring) and then were free for a few hours to walk around on our own before starting a guided tour of the city. We went inside the Sante Croce for 5 euro to see the burial sites of Galileo and Michaelangelo as well as a monument to Dante who isnt really buried at the church. Afterwards we grabbed a quick slice of pizza for 3 euro and headed for our guided tour.

The tour guide was quite knowledgeable about the city and took us to some of the large squares with famous statues (a replica of David) and went to the Ponte Vechio and the Duomo (inside and outside). I had not known of the Ponte Vechio before I went, and it turned out to be my favorite place in Italy. It is a large bridge with really expensive gold and leather shops on it. Since we had such a nice day the views from the bridge were breathtaking and great for photography. Those who wanted to see David (the real one) did not go on the walking tour and our tour manager told them a technique to sneak in the exit which a few people managed to do. Otherwise the line is over 2 hours and almost impossible to get in without a reservation. Considering we saw a replica, I was content, and would much rather see the Ponte Vechio. The Duomo was one of the 4 largest domed cathedrals in the world, and it was beautiful on the inside. The dome itself has amazing paintings detailing Heaven and Hell and everything in between. I was going to go up to the top of the Duomo or Giotto's Bell Tower but decided against it, and I am glad I did for what came later in the evening. I grabbed a quick gelato of mint chocolate, strawberry, blackberry, and berry yoghurt for 4 euro and headed back to the meeting spot to go to the campsite.

The original campsite every tour goes to was booked up and we had to go to another one at the top of a hill overlooking Florence. The roads going to the campsite gave breathtaking views and got really tiny very quickly. Infact it got so tiny we ended up blocking traffic for 20 minutes trying to pull through and got pulled over by the police. Once the tour manager yelled at the police officer enough we received a police escort to the campsite (coaches are not allowed up the hill). Even with the escort to the top, we still had to hike up a large hill to get to the campsite while our bags went up in a van. If this wasnt enough the cabins were the tiniest things I have ever seen (although were immaculately clean) and our first cabin was next to an over flowing sewage drain. The smell was horrible and we got moved to another cabin. While everyone cleaned up for the Florence dinner I decided to head up to the bar to check out the place and turned out to have the most breath taking view of the city I have ever seen. A few other guys wandered up there and we just sat there for 45 minutes next to the bar and pool while looking at such an awesome view before heading back into town for the dinner. If you end up at camping panoramico do yourself a favor and check out the view from the bar.

We headed back down the hill and into town on the coach (with the tour manager clearing traffic) for our Tuscan Dinner Excursion which was amazing. We had large platters of food brought out to us with a 1.5L bottle of Chianti at each table. The food included anti pasta, bruschetta, pasta marinara, penne with pesto sauce, ravioli, pork and meat, potatoes, salad, and a dessert plus an ending lemoncello shot (they love these things over there). After gorging ourselves and gaining a contiki baby (term coined for being full) we walked over to a local bar we got booked into to watch an amazing soccer (football for you non-Americans :-P) game for a bit then headed back to the campsite to enjoy the night view from the bar and call it a night.

May 22nd, 2008

We woke up at 6:30 for a 7:00 breakfast with zero visibility from the bar due to clouds. More than 3/4 of the tour missed the great view from the campsite which was really disappointing. We left at 8 (needed extra times to get our bags down to the bus) for a rainy and cloudy day. We drove until 12 and had a service stop and then drove from about 12:45 to 4:30 until reaching Lucerne, Switzerland. On the way we drove in the longest tunnel in Europe (over 15 km) and passed beautiful LAKE COMO. However 5 minutes later we crossed over into Switzerland with more breathtaking lakes than Lake Como, so the allure was shifted to Switzerland very quickly.

Photos: The attached pictures include the day sheet, accommodations, excursions, and great pictures from around Florence. For more pictures of Florence see the following albums

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2089687&l=aa959&id=21902759

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2089688&l=52cdb&id=21902759

Jun 4, 2008

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