This morning we started out in Florence.  We made a visit to the Museum at the Duomo; it was nicely done, quiet and had a good flow to it.  A highlight was an unfinished sculpture by Michelangelo, a Pieta – we’ll see another Pieta by Michelangelo when we visit the Vatican Museums. 

We also visited another old church, San Lorenzo.  It was very nice and had some nice paintings and an interesting library with a staircase designed by Michelangelo.

After a lunch of McDonald’s at the train station (which was exactly the same as you would expect it to be) we boarded our train for Rome.  As coincidence would have it, our seats were right by some people we’d waited in the Accademia line with earlier in Florence, so it was funny to see them again.  About 10 minutes outside of the station our train slowed and stopped and then sat there for about an hour and ten minutes.  Engineers and other train personnel were going up and down the aisles, apparently trying to figure out what was going on.  When the train stopped, the power went out so there was also no air conditioning.  Jeff and I both agreed we each went through a few minutes of trying not to freak out because it was so hot and stuffy, but we dealt with it. 

We finally arrived in Rome a little after 4 pm and took the subway to our hotel.  We knew the stop to take, but not which way to go after that, so it was a little tricky figuring out where our hotel was.  Our rooms here are very nice; smaller than our room in Florence, but definitely more nicely decorated. 

We decided to go see the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps since someone told us the Trevi fountain  was nice at night.  It was nice, but extremely crowded.  And I’ve never seen so many street peddlers in my life.  They just keep coming and coming.  The craziest thing was these guys stealing coins from the fountain with these extendable metal sticks – apparently 1 and 2 euro coins are magnetic???  Not sure how it worked, but there were 2 guys and they were just moving along peering into the water.  Then they’d see the coins they wanted and pull this antenna-like thing out and extend it and get the coin.  Here’s a picture of one:

It was really weird.

After dinner, we went to the Spanish Steps and ate gelato, and then went back to the Trevi Fountain to see it lit up.  I wouldn’t have thought it possible, but it was even more crowded than it was earlier. 

We’d heard that the subway was closed late, so we took a taxi back to our hotel.  That was quite possibly the most harrowing, yet exhilarating, 10 minutes of my life!  Our driver took fast corners and sped along at crazy speeds, but it was kind of fun.  And I made it back alive, so it’s okay!

Tomorrow we’ll go to the Coliseum and the Forum and the Borghese gallery. 

Ciao!