Day 1 report of 2013 Italy trip

My first blog entry for this trip.  We're now sitting on the high speed train in Rome, awaiting departure in a few minutes.  Right now it is a few minutes before noon, local time, and 5 am in Austin.  We'll arrive in florence in 90 minutes, and that will complete 19.5 hours of travel, via 2 planes and 2 trains, although that travel time includes almost 4 hours in Chicago between flights, and about 30 minutes waiting for trains here in Italy.

Everything has gone very smoothly, and although we slept a little on the flight, we're tired but we'll probably feel energized once we get to our hotel in florence and get freshened up.  There's rain in the forecast for Florence and there's also a very big bicycle road race event going on there today, so it should be interesting once we start strolling the cobblestone streets.  We'll likely start by seeking out a nearby enoteca, which is a wine bar where you can also get tasty snack food to go with wine, such as charcuterie, cheeses, bread, etc.  We've left today unscripted, knowing that we would be tired, and uncertain of actual arrival times, due to possible delays, getting lost, etc, but none of that happened, so that leaves more time for resting, strolling, and wine swilling.

(Now writing again later in the evening, before going to bed.)

The hotel in Florence was only about a 10 minute walk from the train station, but we we're pulling along a 22" carryon suitcase and carrying an umbrella in a pretty good rainfall.  We checked in at 2 pm and they gave us a free upgrade, so we have a comfortable a spacious room on the second floor overlooking a small courtyard.  The bed seems gigantic and is very comfortable.

We got freshened up after the journey and started out in search of wine and light food, and found a nice little place where shared a charcuterie and cheese plate.  That was also fun because at a nearby table was a group of old Italian men watching the bicycle races with a group of young German men, apparently here for the race.  Their lively conversation and attempts to communicate were fun and refreshing.

Then the sun came out, so we walked around some more, finally going back to the hotel for their happy hour, where we met other travelers staying here, several from the US.  Finally, to finish the day, we went out at 8pm for gelato, and at the gelateria we met an art professor from Toronto, along with a pretty student also from Toronto, with whom we shared a table and nice conversation.

I'll close with this picture of th inside of the elevator in our hotel.  Look closely and you'll see a button for "-1".