So clearly we're lost. I thought we got on the train to Florence, but I can't see the "Florence Ya'll" water tower anywhere. Still, this so-called "Fake Florence" seems nice enough, so we'll stay for a bit.

We wound up taking a slow, local train to Florence, which was about 3 hours as opposed to 2 on the high speed. But on the flipside, it was 20 euros a ticket compared to 50. When I think about how many beers 60 euros can buy, that sounds like a good deal. Plus we got to see a bit of countryside, which was nice.

Since we took the slow train, we arrived at the old station - which was part of the plan, since our hotel was in walking distance of there. But we had a few hours to kill before the room was ready, so we stopped off in a local cafe for a sandwich and to kill an hour. I forgot to mention that Ella brought a little painting kit on the trip, and has been painting her favorite photos as we go. This has been really nice, because I'm amazed at how good she is, backed up by the random compliments from strangers.

So, one thing about Florence is that I really like the city itself. The buildings and roads are made of stones, so it looks like someone converted a castle courtyard into a city. I also love how walkable it is, since there were very few cars. It reminds me a little of the Tianzifang neighborhood in Shanghai, which is a good thing. I'd love to live in a city where cars are banned or heavily restricted, because it just makes everything so much nicer.

Anyway, we walked to the Santa Maria Cathedral, which unfortunately was closed for the day. But we still walked around the square, which by itself is really impressive. Even though the restoration work of the church made a few vantage points less scenic, most looked like something out of a fairy tale. So after dinner in a wine cellar, finished off with gelato, we got some rest to get a proper start for the next day.

We started with a visit to another church we passed, Santa Croce. I knew absolutely nothing about this church, we just saw the bell tower and thought we might as well look. Turns out it's kind of a big deal. It has the graves of Dante, Michaelangelo, and Galileo. I'm not really sure where the other three Ninja Turtles are buried, but that was a nice surprise. Also, I find it kind of weird Galileo is buried in a church after the church kind of ruined his life, but hey, whatever man. I always thought "he was just a poor boy, from a poor family."

We did come back to Santa Maria (AKA the Duomo), and waited about an hour to get inside. Gotta say, not worth it. Santa Croce was much better, except for the ceiling. Actually man, something I've learned on this trip - 1) Italians really like dogs (seriously, everyone has a dog), and 2) Italians are the best ceiling makers (ceilingsmiths?) ever. So, bang up job for the ceiling, the rest of the church was meh. If there's no line it's worth it, otherwise no.

But I guess the main draw in Florence is the art. I suspect that outside of perhaps Paris, there is no place on Earth that could compete for the quality of art available. I say that like I know what I'm talking about, of course I'm an art idiot. Ella is not though, so this trip to Florence was predominantly an Ella art tour. Out of the three super famous art museums here, Ella wanted to see The Uffuzi and The Bargello. We also went to see the Pitti Palace, which turns out is much of an art tour as anything. So, quick rundown of each: The Uffuzi has the most famous paintings, like The Birth of Venus. The Bargello has the coolest building, like a medieval castle. It has mostly Christian art, still quite nice but not quite as impressive. The Pitti Palace is my favorite. It didn't really have anything super famous (to me, anyway), but it felt like what I imagine the inside of Cinderella's Castle to actually be - every room is unique and covered with art that could be a museum by itself.

Unfortunately, after two solid days of seeing art, I was getting pretty art-ed out. Like, I saw some really amazing stuff apparently, or at least things even me, an art idiot, recognize from books. So that's cool. Ella was really enjoying everything, as well as sharing the photos with her parents, both artists themselves. But I have mixed feelings on Florence. It's a beautiful city, and I enjoy hanging out there. But for me, there's not actually that much I'm interested in doing, aside from seeing a good example of city design, as I mentally curse at the few cars that brave driving the alleys. I think I prefer Rome as there is so much to do, but Florence is definitely a great weekend getaway. Certainly I saw more world-class art than I ever have in my life, and if you're a fan, Florence is the place to be. Or if you like to cosplay at a Renaissance Festival, I think you'd fit right in among the cobblestone roads. Anyway, I feel Florence is a city more to be seen than described, so I'll put some extra photos at the end.

Anywho, the next stop on the agenda is Venice. We opted for the high speed train this time, so we could have a point of comparison. Speaking of urban design, I think it will be interesting to see a city where the roads are replaced by boats. Let's see how that goes.