August 3: Pisa and Florence

We caught the early train to Pisa and stored our luggage at the train station so we could travel light.  After doing some wondering and asking people who didn't speak English we finally found the cafe that sold bus tickets.  After a short city bus ride we were dropped off at the gates  of Piazza del Duomo or Cathedral Square.  This is a walled area where the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Cathedral are located.  There were market stands outside and inside the gates selling souvenirs and leather purses.

The wall around the piazza

The street market

Everyone has to take at least one photo like this!

Leaning Tower of Pisa

Well, maybe 2 photos!!

Inside the walls

The cathedral

We hopped back on the bus and headed back to the train station to see if we could catch an earlier train to Florence.  We picked up our luggage (12 E for storing the 3 bags) and got our tickets with just a few minute to spare.  The trip went by quickly as we traveled by hill towns and villages.  Our hotel was just a 5 minute walk from the train station and we were able to check in when we arrived.  We were pleasantly surprised with how large the room was and everything was very clean.  After a bit of a rest we headed out to explore Florence in the scorching sun.  We had a gelato stop and then hunted for some shade along the busy streets before heading back to the hotel.

We had  a delicious dinner at a small trattoria near our hotel and then went for a walk towards Ponte Vecchio.  We stumbled across a young woman playing guitar and singing so we sat on the church steps with the rest of the gathering crowd and enjoyed the music.  From there we headed to the bridge and found another pair of musicians that were drawing a huge crowd. We stopped at a small market near our hotel and then called it a night!!

Beautiful music on the street

Musicians on Ponte Vecchio

The Duomo at night